The dictionary defines persnickety as; fussy about small details, overly particular about trivial details, requiring great precision and snobbish.

The chill is in the air and you can
actually find a place to park in Cape May.

 Fall is here and one of my favorite holidays approaches.
Thanksgiving, a holiday built around food. Around 385 years ago the pilgrims gave thanks for the harvest. Mainly, they gave thanks to the natives who introduced them to corn, cranberries, squashes, turkey and other uniquely new world foods that helped them stay alive. Proving the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished, it was one of the last times there was harmony between the locals and the new guys.

 The feast they celebrated has changed over the years. I don't believe that in Plymouth they had to coordinate the time to cook the turkey with kick-off or half time. I doubt they fought over the drumstick or who had to sit at the little table.
Every family has their own traditional food preparations and people can get very persnickety if forced to suffer a Thanksgiving dinner without their favorite dishes. Heaven forbid if you ever decide to get creative and try something new at Thanksgiving. The first time I made pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving I feared from the reaction of my family. I was afraid that I would spend eternity at the little table.

 So the question is - how can you add spice and flair to Thanksgiving without offending your family and maintain your seat at the big table? Start with small changes. If you want oyster stuffing, make 2 batches, one traditional and one oyster. Try a soup, butternut squash bisque, apple-onion soup or corn chowder. To the old war horse, green bean casserole, put away the cans of Campbell soup and Durkee's fried onions, and make a mushroom cream sauce and homemade fried onions.

 It was not officially Thanksgiving growing up without the dreaded can of cranberry sauce, served in a dish shaped like the can with the grooves still on it. But cranberry relish is so simple to make with a food mill just add oranges and lots of sugar. Even my one grandmother who couldn't boil water, made a very good relish.

 The most important ingredient to Thanksgiving besides family and the requisite many bottles of wine to deal with said family is the turkey.
Find a good fresh turkey. A lot of times the free turkeys you get for the million dollars you spend at your local grocer are not worth what you pay for them. The key to a good turkey is keeping it moist. The best method I have found for this is filling the space between the skin and the meat with butter and the herbs. And by butter, I mean pounds of good quality unsalted butter. The first time I did this for my family, the horrified look on my health conscious sister's face was priceless. They were appalled, until they tasted the turkey, which was succulent and juicy. The Herbs I would suggest are sage (but don't go crazy, it can overpower the meat), thyme and nice thin slices of garlic cloves. Start your turkey breast side up, halfway through cooking (for times I cheat, the best source for minutes per pound cooking info consult “Joy of Cooking”) flip the turkey over and cook breast side down to let those dark meat juices run into the breast meat. Cover with foil during the last ½ hour.
Flip it back over, remove foil and increase heat to crisp the skin.
Always be careful of new ways to cook turkey. One Thanksgiving, a relative of mine read in a well respected food magazine to stuff under the skin meat with cornmeal. When my grandfather cut into it and a layer of saw dust like material was revealed, he thought the poor bird was diseased and would have none of it.... The turkey, besides looking very scary, also was drier than a summer day in the Sahara.
The lesson is - don't try something that sounds very unusual, unless you are prepared to send someone on a quick run to KFC and convince your family that it is a special, gourmet fried-midget turkey.
For the all important part of the Thanksgiving Feast - dessert like pumpkin and pecan pies are a must. Sweet potato pie is also great. For a twist, add some fresh cranberries to your favorite pecan pie recipe for a nice tart counter balance to the syrupy goodness that is pecan pie. For a nice southern twist, look up Paul Prudhommes' Sweet Potato Pecan Pie. The mixing of the two classics yields a dessert that will put you on the couch in a sweet-induced coma that you should awake from in time for Christmas dinner.
Till next month, when I offend more family members with the ghosts of Christmas meals past.
Bon Apetit from the little table which after this column I'm sure I'll be sitting at come the fourth Thursday in November.

For this Thanksgiving try two persnickety favorites,
butternut squash bisque and oyster stuffing.
A postscript please, cook your stuffing separately with a little stock from the necks and giblets. Although I don't mind offending family in this column, I never take the chance of accidentally making anyone sick or worse.
So Don't cook the stuffing in the turkey, it is not worth the risk.

Butternut squash bisque

4 Butternut squash split with seeds removed ¼ lb whole butter 8 cups chicken or if you must vegetable stock fresh sage kosher salt fresh ground black pepper

Place squash skin side down on sheet pan, place slices of whole butter on squash top with salt, pepper and chopped sage. Roast at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until pulp is caramelized and very soft.

In you soup pot start with a little butter and lightly sweat chopped onion and shallot. Add squash pulp without the skins, cover to 2” above pulp with warm chicken stock, simmer 25-30 minutes. Add 2 cups of heavy cream and simmer for 10 more minutes. Puree and adjust seasoning.

Serve with a rosette of sour cream mixed with a little honey.

Oyster stuffing

1 leek diced 4 ribs of diced celery 1 med onion diced 1 carrot peeled and diced ¼ lb butter chopped fresh sage chopped fresh thyme ¼   cup Riesling wine 2 pts oysters with liquor 2 lbs cubed bread 3 eggs kosher salt black pepper 1 Tsp old bay seasoning 1-2 cups chicken stock

In large sauté pan over medium heat melt butter and lightly sauté vegetables. De glaze  with wine , add oysters. Cook  2-3 minutes, till oysters are lightly cooked. Mix in large bowl with cubed bread and fresh herbs. Add eggs and toss gently.

Bake in casserole dish for 40-45 minutes, covered at 350 degrees. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes. To give stuffing that cooked in turkey flavor, add a few turkey drippings while cooking stuffing.