thanksgiving tears

a quick hello and some fun tears from a thanksgiving spread i styled. look for these delicious holiday dessert recipes in the november issue of everyday with rachel ray - shot by the talented jose picayo! it was so much fun to bake such a great variety of sweets and the whole crew enjoyed taste testing as well.

we had fun apple picking and can't wait to share some of the tasty recipes we came up with after the adventure. we also stopped here on the way back to the city and loved exploring such a beautiful old place full of history.

thanksgiving favorite

thanksgiving was a great meal and we had a lot of fun cooking for everyone. the spread included spinach souffle, wild rice salad, roasted winter vegetables, mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots & creme fraiche, whipped sweet potatoes with orange, buttermilk biscuits with green onion, cranberry tangerine conserve and, of course, turkey. i highly recommend brining a turkey overnight, which we tried for the first time this year. but with all those delicious sides to choose from, our favorite by a landslide was the baked mac & cheese. gooey, oozy, and oh so comforting, this is a dish i'll be making again soon . . . maybe for christmas!

Baked Mac & Cheese

1 pound macaroni or shells

1 quart milk

6 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

12 oz Gruyere, grated

8 oz sharp cheddar, grated

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

preheat oven to 375 degrees F. bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. drain well.

heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat but do not boil. in a large pot, melt butter and add flour. cook over low heat for 2 minutes and stir with a whisk. slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2-4 minutes until smooth and thickened. take off the heat and whisk in cheese, salt and pepper. add the cooked pasta and stir to combine.

pour into a 3-quart baking dish and top with bread crumbs. bake 20-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and top is nicely browned. enjoy!