EM's Thanksgiving post

Hi! I am delighted to add "guest blogger" to my resume!
I brought two contributions to the Scratch Thanksgiving feast - Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots and spiced cranberries.
The Brussels sprouts I've made before to great acclaim. They were not as delightful this year, unfortunately. I didn't want to double the recipe, but I thought it wouldn't quite be enough for 10 people as written, so I tried to just add a bit more of everything. It's too bad I wasn't more successful as I was hoping to convert some skeptics into Brussels sprouts lovers - they are so good! The only note I'd give about the linked recipe is that it is quite labor intensive unless you have a food processor. I don't, but I kind of like how cleaning and chopping can be meditative. On Thanksgiving morning I "meditated" for the better part of an hour!
The cranberries turned out better taste-wise, but were MUCH too liquidy. I didn't follow the linked recipe very closely, it was more of a jumping off point. I added freshly squeezed orange juice in the place of some of the wine and put in lots more of the rind than called for. I was thinking that either the rind or the berries themselves would provide some natural pectin to firm up the sauce, but no such luck. I did use the suggested amount of sugar and found that it was a bit too sweet for me. It tasted like cranberries in mulled wine. Which was good, but not what I was aiming for. I will look for a different recipe next time. One thing that struck me as I planned for this, my first foray into cranberry-sauce-making: it is super easy. Cranberries, some sugar, some spices, some liquid to cook it all in and you're done! And even though it wasn't even close to perfect it was really, really tasty and nicely complimented the other dishes.
All in all a wonderful holiday replete with great food, stimulating conversation, plenty of booze, and some toasts that made me tear up (thanks DR!). The Blatty's are amazing hosts and I am thankful every day of the year that they are in my life!