For foodies, there is no greater holiday than Thanksgiving. Sure, Christmas has egg nog, Chanukah brings rocking latkes, Easter is all about chocolate bunnies and hidden jelly beans but Thanksgiving is the one day a year where time stands still as we breathlessly await one 5000 calorie meal! Pull out the drawstring pants and get those forks primed for action because it’s T-Day!

Norman Rockwell has given way to a new breed of feast. Today we have brining, flavor injectors, compound butters, cranberry chutneys; if there is a way to embellish the tradition, we found it, with scrumptious results. For some, tomorrow is all about Jennie-O turkey, Stove Top (to make it fancy, my aunt adds a chopped apple), and the kind of cranberry sauce that retains the ridges of its former tin home. For others, shallots are already caramelizing, acorn squash is roasting and no one remembers where they put the damn chanterelles. I’m not saying either is better, I’m just thrilled that for a few glorious days, people understand how I live every day; solely focused on what I’m about to eat. For those of us who live and die by a farmer’s market schedule, consider The Joy of Cooking our Bible and Martha Stewart our deity, Thanksgiving preparation began long ago. I’ve been fantasizing about what I’ll put in my stuffing for weeks now. It’s like Super Bowl Sunday, High School Graduation, and the Oscars all rolled up into one.

In the spirit of the day, I thought the best thing to do was remember what I’m thankful for (Ryan Reynolds in Blade 3, the return of Project Runway, a chicken burrito at Chipotle) and enjoy the company of the people I love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since I was 12, I’ve been in charge of Thanksgiving dinner. Both my father and I are obsessed with Apples and in the mid-90’s I discovered the simplest, most delicious way of making an apple crisp. It’s been a tradition ever since.

Apple Crisp
Yeild…depends on how hungry the crowd is

3 pounds green apples (preferably Pippin, but Granny Smith is great and easily available on the East Coast), peeled and sliced
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 cube unsalted butter, cold, cut into slices
1. Place sliced apples in a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients, except butter.
3. Add butter and dig your hands in, crumbling the ingredients together until dough is the size of peas
4. Cover apples with crisp topping.
5. Bake 350, 45-50 minutes or until mixture is bubbling and browned on top.
6. Serve with whipped cream, Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, or Caramel Pecan Yogurt Blend Dreyers (It’s AMAZING!!!!!)
7. Enjoy!