Friends Thanksgiving

This Sunday a friend and I hosted our first annual Friends Thanksgiving. It was beautiful! I was so proud of our efforts and think it is a really nice tradition to start. Since most people are going to have the traditional Thanksgiving meal again this week, we didn't want to do everything standard for fear that people would find it redundant. Since my friend had married into an Italian name and I have recently married out of mine, we decided to host an Italian-style Thanksgiving feast. We started with a pumpkin soup that I decided to make on a whim. Sunday morning it was a pumpkin and Sunday evening it was soup! It was a success and I felt very "Martha" We also made lemon garlic asparagus instead of green beans and roasted sweet and new potatoes with olive oil and fresh herbs for a fresh twist on the standard mashed version. We had two types of stuffed shells- my family recipe with meat, and a new artichoke and cheese version for the vegetarians. We also made a citrus, white wine, apple, butter and herb seasoned turkey and it was fantastic. My husband said that the white wine and apples really added something special to the gravy. The best part was the table decor-- we filled 3 low round vases of different sizes with cranberries and wide candles and in the center was a fishbowl shaped vase full of pine cones. My friend made lovely runners that criss-crossed the table and napkins to match. We ended the evening with pumpkin cookie sandwiches and apple pie and pumpkin ice cream. It was truly a night to remember and to see the smiles on our friends faces made us feel as if it was the start of something special.

Marinated Shrimp with Champagne Beurre Blanc

I made this recipe that i found on Epicurious.com for our annual seafood Extravaganza! It was amazing--and it looked so good I took a picture. In fact--i think it is almost as good looking as the picture that came with the recipe

Sauce base

2 cups Champagne or other dry sparkling wine

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or other white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Shrimp

1 cup Champagne or other dry sparkling wine

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons minced shallots

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

24 extra-large uncooked shrimp (about 2 pounds), peeled with tail left intact, deveined

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

For sauce base: Combine Champagne, shallots, vinegar, and peppercorns in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup liquid, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

For shrimp: Combine Champagne, olive oil, shallots, and ground pepper in resealable plastic bag. Add shrimp to bag and seal; shake bag to coat shrimp evenly. Marinate shrimp at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, turning bag occasionally. Mix chives, tarragon, and parsley in small bowl.
Preheat broiler. Spray broiler pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Drain shrimp; discard plastic bag with marinade. Arrange shrimp on prepared pan in single layer. Broil shrimp until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Stand 3 shrimp, tails upright, in center of each plate.

Rewarm sauce base over medium-low heat. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, just allowing each to melt before adding next (do not boil or sauce will separate). Season beurre blanc to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon warm sauce around shrimp. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve.
Market tip: Champagne and sparkling wines labeled extra dry are actually slightly sweeter than those labeled brut. The latter works best for this dish.