Thanksgiving feast in the Florida Keys

“Practicing gratitude doesn’t mean that you stop working or yearning for those things you want or need. It’s simply about taking the time to pause no matter where you are in your journey, and give thanks for the journey itself.”

Thanksgiving is all about food, family, friends, and lots of gratitude.

This year, our Thanksgiving took place at Casa de Keysme in the Florida Keys, where we experienced a new culinary adventure.  Instead of just a good old Turkey, we had a Tur-Duc-ken which is Turkey with a twist.

If you are like us, and have never tried a Turducken before, you might wonder what in the world is a Tur-Duc-Ken?!

Turducken is a poultry dish that consists of a deboned chicken that is stuffed inside a deboned duck, and then both are stuffed inside a turkey. It reminds me of the Russian dolls, one inside the other. It’s a three-for-one kind of deal, with the stuffing placed between the layers of meat.

Our Turducken was made with creole pork, cornbread and Cajun seasonings; a very interesting combination – a poultry feast to say the least of all kinds of tastes and textures combined. Preparing and cooking Turducken takes about twelve hours in the oven and 5-6 hours to prepare.

Here is a good recipe that explains the whole process step by step: www.turduckenrecipes.com/cooking-a-turducken/

On the menu we also had a honey glazed ham, macaroni & cheese, and a number of delightful side dishes and desserts.

Bobo and Kiko, the two Boston Terriers were on standby anxiously waiting for scraps to fall off the counter so they could clean them up.

The highlight of our day was the special guest Bernie the crane that was the last to arrive. When Bernie reached, we sat and enjoyed the spread that we all so carefully prepared and toasted in gratitude as we thought of those absent. It was a feast to remember.