Still Thinking

There's Michael Chiarello dressed up like Dracula. Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, I'm still working on my "Dinner Menu" meme, tagged to me by Mike at TV Food Fan. I didn't forget!

I was thinking I would be completely out of Thanksgiving mode since I've already eaten the turkey, had the stuffing (not "dressing") and devoured the pie. Still, even though I'll be away from family this Thursday, I'm tempted to offer a Thanksgiving-y menu. Maybe I'll actually make the things on here.

For a pre-drink (since Sandra Lee might stop by), I've been dying to try one of Dave Lieberman's flavor-infused simple syrups to use as a mixer. He has a whole chapter on this in his new book Dave's Dinners.

The lemon-thyme martini sounds fun. It's made with a lemon-thyme simple syrup, vodka or gin, lemon slices and sprig of fresh tyme. Gotta try me one of those soon.

I might skip the traditional appetizer and opt for one of Dave's more gourmet salads like the Boston Lettuce and Avocado Salad with Lime Dressing. This would hopefully complement the citrus theme seen in the drink.

Main course: since I'm trying to stay somewhat close to Thanksgiving, I think Dave's Lemon Brined Turkey might be a good try on my part, since I've never actually cooked a whole turkey myself. I like the fact that I wouldn't have to rub anything up under the skin (Tyler Florence) or spend a huge amount of time touching the raw bird. His Sourdough Bread Stuffing sounds good, but so does Tyler's Cornbread Stuffing. Hmm...

For dessert, I don't think I'd go overboard with the citrus and serve some sort of lemon cake (although I love it). I recently made Dave's Stout Chocolate Cupcakes made with Guinness and they were great. His "Best Chocolate Cake" sounds delicious and so does Amy Sedaris' Lady Baltimore Cake. That was the one featured on the episode of Martha Stewart. I like it because the cake and frosting don't have any butter.

Soooo, that's what I'm thinking. Who's hungry?