I spent the weekend finalizing our Thanksgiving menu. My long list of 30 or so dishes was slowly whittled down as I made notes, crossed items out and subbed some new ones in. I turned to Dan for opinions, and when we got stuck, I texted Heather:
“Finalizing Thanksgiving menu. Opinion: carrots or collard greens? We already have brussels sprouts.” (The winner on that one was the carrots.)
“Okay. How do you feel about handheld pies of various flavors v a regular pie?” (Mini pies it is.)
I’m sure I’m still making way too much food for 4 people. But honestly, the leftovers are almost as important as the meal. To my thinking, if I’m going to put so many hours into creating a single feast anyways, we might as well get a few more meals out of it, right?
One thing is for sure, though. As we cook and eat our Thanksgiving feast, we’ll be sipping on some holiday cocktails. After all, it is a holiday and a party!
Use this infusion in any recipe for which you would usually use rum. Our favorite is a Holiday Dark and Stormy: 1 part rum, 3 parts ginger beer and a few squeezes of lime juice per glass.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 8 cloves
- 8 allspice berries
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 liter rum
Instructions
- Using a mortar and pestle, crush the cranberries. You want to make sure that at least half the fruit is crushed so that they more easily release their flavor and color to the rum. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, pulse the cranberries in a food processor 4-5 times instead.
- Divide the cranberries and spices evenly between two quart-sized Mason jars.
- Pour the rum over the fruit, dividing it evenly between the jars.
- Cover tightly and allow to infuse for 1 week, shaking the jars once a day.
- Strain the alcohol and discard the solid pieces. Rinse out the jars and return the rum to them. Cover and refrigerate.
I love the pistils in the jar! So pretty.
This is genius! Sounds so delicious and looks so pretty with the cranberries floating in the jars.
And totally agree, Thanksgiving leftovers are just as important (if not more important) as the actual meal!
30 Dishes for 4 people? I love it! I agree that it’s about the leftovers and that’s one of the main reasons I like hosting the meal. We feast all throughout the weekend…and of course there are holiday cocktails involved!
Haha, no! The list started at 30, and I narrowed it down to about 9
I really hope Heather chose the mini pies over the regular — that sounds so fun! Also, this rum sounds delicious.