Here’s recipes for my Thanksgiving Dinner, some of them anyway. Keep in mind that here in Guatemala, packaged and pre-mixed ingredients are extremely difficult to find. They’re either made to suit local tastes or are in short supply and sold out very quickly.

Pie shells and puff pastry sheets are two of the things that are never available, so they have to be made from scratch. Last year they had pumpkin puree at all the supermarkets, until the end of October – then you couldn’t find it anywhere. This year Julie brought some back from Washington, where she was working on an article for the Washington Post. 

Wouldn’t you know it, there was an overabundance of it this year!

After the turkeys are thawed out, it’s time to start cooking. I begin by preparing the turkey. They are washed and patted dry, I reserve the giblets and necks for later. Once I’ve run my hands under the skin to loosen it up they are placed in a fifty gallon pot, neck down and covered with the brine. They’ll brine for 24 to 30 hours because I’m going to smoke them and it keeps them from drying out.

Once the turkeys are brined and stored in the refrigerator, I begin baking the cornbread for the dressing, roasting the garlic, and making the gingersnaps for the mini-cheese cakes (they don’t sell gingersnap cookies here). I’ll make the dough for the pie crusts later this afternoon and let the dough get cold before baking. 

Mini-Pumpkin Cake

Prepared Gingersnap cookie roll – about 3 to 4 inches diameter.

8 oz Cream Cheese

½ cup Dark Brown Sugar

¼ cup Light Brown Sugar

1 cup canned Pumpkin Puree, NOT pie mix

2 Tbsp Sour Cream

¼ tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

¾ tsp ground Cinnamon

¼ tsp freshly grated Nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Combine with pumpkin, sour cream, and salt – scraping bowl frequently until well mixed. Add the remaining ingredients and continue beating until well mixed.

3. Pour into a prepared 12 cup muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until set. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before refrigerating overnight.

4. To serve: Puddle chocolate or caramel sauce in bottom of dessert plates. Then place a ¼” slice of the gingersnap roll covered by pumpkin pie. Top with fresh whipped cream and pecans.

Turkey Brine

1 gallon water

3 cups Apple Cider

3 cups Kosher Salt

3 cups Sugar

Mix until salt and sugar is dissolved and pour over turkeys. Then add enough water to completely cover the turkeys.

Turkey Marinade

2 whole head of roasted Garlic

2 whole head of raw garlic

4 cups Vegetable oil

2 cup fresh Orange Juice

1/2 cup Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup Sea Salt

6 Tbsp Lime Juice

6 Tbsp dried oregano

6 Chipotles in Adobo Sauce

4 Tbsp Annatto Paste

2 Tbsp ground Cumin

2 tsp ground Allspice

Zest of 2 Oranges

1. In a blender combine all ingredients until smooth. Do it in batches if blender won’t hold the whole recipe.

2. Slather over entire turkey and under the skin. Let marinade for at least 24 hours.

Smoked Turkey

4 Oranges, quartered

6 Tangerines, quartered

4 Lemons, halved

1. Allow turkeys to come to room temperature before putting in smoker. Divide the citrus equally between the two birds and stuff the cavities.

2. Start the smoker and let it reach 240°F before adding the wood. Once its smoking real good, it’s ready to go. Place the turkeys in the smoke chamber and let them smoke for 3 or 4 hours before covering with foil.

3. Continue smoking until the internal temperature reaches 145°F, then it can be moved from the smoker to the oven and finished cooking at 325°F.