I am Thankful For... Onion + Thyme Butter Buns

I am thankful for all of the people I spent Thanksgiving with: the parents who raised me and continue to teach me more about life than anybody I know, the sister I used to fight with and can't live without, the baby in her belly who will soon to grow up to be the coolest person ever, my always-down-for-whatever brother in law, my brother in law's sweet mother and fun father, 6 Par Farmer, Grandma Cookie, Dolce Vita Evans and Kenzie Kovarik, and lastly Sister A (not my real sister, but my sister's sister in law, whom I like to call sister, because she is fab.)

Sister A is multi-talented. She makes cheese balls and flower arrangements. She travels around the globe (and, apparently, is always getting upgraded to first class. Insert profanity.). And she has a dry sense of humor I have always wished I could replicate, but, instead, I just admire.

Tonight, our Thanksgiving feast was all very tasty, as we spent the holiday with sister's mother in law (there has to be a better way to refer to these "relatives") who is a gourmet cook. It is hard to pick just one dish to focus on, but Sister A (who is super hip and chic) was reading the recipe for her Onion and Thyme Butter Buns on her IPad. It caught my eye, because it was on a great blog and had some fantastic photographs. So, for your cooking pleasure, I highly recommend this delicious bread complete with pearl onions and fresh thyme. Mmm...

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/11/in-the-kitchen-with-nikole-herriotts-butter-buns.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

Advocaat: Dutch Eggnog

Advocaat or Dutch Eggnog is a creamy yellow liqueur made from a rich blend of egg yolks, sugar, cognac, vanilla, and a pinch of cardamom and salt. The Netherlands exports this drink to over 50 countries.

I first sampled Dutch Eggnog at Swing Wine Bar in Olympia. I overheard the bartender talking about special holiday drinks, and this one caught my ear. You only drink about a shot of it and you don't really drink it at all. It is so thick, you eat it with a spoon.

Clearly, any cocktail that doubles as a dessert has my vote, so I tried it out. Delicious! Quite cognac-ey, but buttery and delicious. Like pudding, only better. Turns out, the mixologist at Swing had recently published the recipe, and I decided to make some for Thanksgiving brunch dessert. (I believe dessert should be served with every meal.)

So tomorrow, for brunch we will dine on Montana Ham (enjoyed in Lincoln and the Whitehouse alike), fresh biscuits (boyfriend's foodie sister's recipe), yellow corn grits (prepared according to a favorite southerner's explicit directions), pears with manouri sheep/goat cheese and olive oil, and Advocaat served in my cute little Turkish coffee cups I carried back from Istanbul.

And that's just brunch. Oh how I love Thanksgiving!