Drag yourself off that couch.  It's time to cook some real food.  No canned fillings, no prepackaged gravy, no tin-shaped cranberry sauce, no lowfat.  Lots of flavor, lots of goodness.  We're cooking the no-fake-stuff way (okay, I'll let you off the hook for Pepperidge farm stuffing mix because I use it, too).

Sunday, I made a double recipe of galette dough.  If you've never had a galette, it is basically a rustic pie that can be made savory or sweet.  It is a soft dough easily made in the food processor or by hand (I use my Kitchen Aid processor; I may be all about real but I have no objection to saving a little manual labor here and there).  

I found the recipe in "Baking with Julia", Julia Child's masterpiece tome about all things baking.  It's a valuable book in my collection that I highly recommend for yours.  The Galette Dough is on page 371, the Berry Galette on 377.

The Dough:

3 Tbsp Sour cream

1/3 cup ice water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (this gives it bite)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

7 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 or 8 pieces

Stir the sour cream and the water together in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a mixing or food processor bowl.  Either cut in the butter with a pastry blender or pulse it in with the food processor.  Drizzle the water/sour cream mixture and mix until the dough forms soft, moist curds.  Chill for at least two hours.

For the galette, divide the dough in half and roll into an 11" circle about 1/8" thick.  You'll need a lot of flour as the dough is very soft.  Transfer to a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Pile approximately 1 1/2 cups of mixed berries (I used Squirrel's dreaded Costco frozen blueberry, raspberry, and boysenberry mix) leaving a 2 to 3" border.  Sprinkle the berries with 1 Tbsp of sugar and drizzle on a little honey of you have some.  Cut 1 Tbsp of butter into slivers and dot the top of the berries.  Fold the uncovered border of dough over the berry mixture, allowing the dough to pleat as you work your way around the circle.  Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes before transferring the galette to a cooling rack (or your mouth).

As soon as David gets back from Costco, I plan on making one more berry galette and winging two apple/cranberry ones (winging as I have no recipe but I think I'll manage).

If this thrills anyone, I will continue to update this post with the plethora of unprocessed food that will combine to make our Thanksgiving Dinner.

 Remember, no canned or boxed gravy.  I'll teach you how to make it if you don't know.  Make sure you have heavy cream on hand.  (I said it wasn't low calorie, now didn't I?) 

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David is back from Costco.  It's time for more pies.

As I said, I have no set apple galette recipe but junior chef Anthony offered his assistance.  

 We cranked up "the maker" and sliced Granny Smith Apples.

 We added the juice and zest of one lemon, a few cranberries, ample sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg.  The younger David does not like cinnamon so if you want it, Odette, you have to add your own.

 Marshall Dillon, my bloodhound apprentice pie maker.

 I tried to tell him it takes years of practice.

 As I drizzled honey on the raw pies, he was even more determined to help.

 Very, very determined.

 Ready for the oven.

 Out of the oven.  Where is the scratch and sniff when you need it?  Divine, to use Gary's word.

Cranberry sauce is coming up soon.  Then we're on the green bean casserole.  Walk away from the cream of mushroom soup. 

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 Easier than pie and no tell-tale can rings, cranberry sauce is a must.  Good beside turkey, great on sandwiches, excellent spooned from the container during those late night cravings.  Yum, yum, yum!

To a sauce pan, I added 1 1/2 packages of fresh cranberries, the leftover apple galette filling, the grated zest of one orange, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 1/2 cups sugar.

 Stirred up, it's pretty like Christmas.  At medium heat, keep at a low boil until most of the cranberries have popped and released their pectin.  It is the easiest thing you will do all Thanksgiving.  I don't know why people buy it in cans.  Seriously.  I could rant here.  Though maybe they just like funky can rings jiggling on a fancy plate.

 Le piece de resistance.  Easy peasy.  I even used the orange I skinned for garnish.  Reduce, reuse, recycle.

I was going to make green bean casserole now but I think I'll drink beer instead.  I'm a wee bit tired plus David bought two cases of Gordon Biersch at Costco.  Take that, Squirrel.  No good beer, my fat ass.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving.

More to come tomorrow!