Be Thankful and Brine Your Turkey!

I woke up thinking thankful thoughts this morning. Thankfulness has become a daily thing with me lately, as I read the news and see what kind of a mess America's in now and how hard it is for people just to get by.  my thankful list grows longer all of the time but to sum it up to the top five.

1.) I'm thankful for my wonderful sweet Andrew, every waking moment . You are all wrong,  I have the best man in the world =P

2.) For having lived a wild and adventurous life, all things considered , I'm pretty lucky to only have an arthritic knee!  Andrew is equally thankful to still be alive and kickin'!

3.) I own my house outright, no mortgage!!!
Sure it needs paint and a new roof (crossing my fingers that it doesn't leak this winter), but we have a huge yard, fruit trees, privacy and quiet!

4.) Andrew has a great job that is continuing to grow despite the rotten economy so that we can actually afford to pay some on the bills each month AND afford to eat =)

5.) That, though I might rant about them sometimes, I've got a  wonderful family and family-in-law and wouldn't trade them for anything in the universe =)

How about you, what are your top 5?

Ok, all rounded up this might make for 6 top Tankfulnesses, but it's cold and blustery on the Palouse today and I'm SO grateful for all that I have that allows me a comfortable simple life! My sweetie is off work for the holiday and is slurping down coffee and playing some weird computer game and I'm off to brine the thawed turkey. Here is a great link that explains brining. Turkeys that have been brined  are so smooth, moist  and delicious! Give it a try and you won't go back =)
 http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2010/11/turkey-brining-101---best-brine-recipes.html
I will be adding rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, pepper corns, grated orange peel, garlic and Herbs d Provence to my itty-bitty turkey  =)

We will be having a round of Brie and some fabulous chicken liver and make this. it IS to die for1 pate mousse with home made crackers for our appetizers

Then we will bring the lovely golden bird to the table with a cornbread dressing full of dried cranberries, apple and bits of  bacon, fresh cranberry sauce with orange zest, home made gravy, gingered carrots and braised leeks in brown butter with almonds. For the sweet finale, it will be gateau au chocolat and pumpkin pie with an almond flour crust!

Here is a wonderful recipe for  gateau au chocolat, which is a dense, very rich flourless chocolate cake from France. If you are a chocolate fan, do yourself a favor and make this sinfully delish dessert! It IS to die for!!

gateau au chocolat
Serves 12
List of Ingredients ~
   7 oz (200 g) of good quality semisweet chocolate or dark chocolate
   4/5 cup (200 g) butter
   1 cup (220 g) sugar
   4 eggs, separated
Directions ~
    Preheat oven to 350 F
    Line a 9 in (23 cm) cake tin with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease.
    Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
    Beat the egg yolks with half of the sugar.
    Fold in the melted butter and chocolate mixture.
    Beat egg whites until frothy by using an electric mixer; gradually add the remaining sugar,      beating until stiff peaks form.
    Gently fold in the  egg whites with the chocolate mixture.
    Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden skewer center comes out clean, about 40 odd minutes .
    Use a knife to separate the cake from the non-stick paper. The cake is quite sticky and terribly rich!
I like to serve with either fresh berry sauce or a little mound of fresh whipped cream dusted with cocoa or nutmeg. I have also added extracts to flavor the chocolate mix. Our favorite is orange-chocolate with grated orange zest! This is pure chocolate bliss at it's best.
Enjoy!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

P.S. If you don't celebrate thanksgiving, you will still love the chocolate cake ;)