So this was a night of giving thanks. A night of friends gathering in the absence of family to create an experience that feels warm and familiar. A time to appreciate what you have while others have not and to put away petty differences. And most importantly eat until any feeling you do have is muted by the fact that you can't move!
To start off this non traditional Thanksgiving meal I made a non-traditional dish at first...Hummus. Hummus is great for parties and since I have Syrian landlords who feed me delicious hummus I decided to learn how to make some and it turns out to be pretty simple and very tasty. You start out by making your own Tahini, which is simply slightly toasted sesame seeds (2-3 tablespoons) processed with a tablespoon of vegetable oil until it is created into a paste (pictured left). From there you mash up 2 cloves of garlic as well as two cans of chick peas with some olive oil and then eventually the tahini and a dollop of yogurt. 
Once it is all incorporated spread it out on a plate like so, creating a small volcano of sorts so you can do the next step which is essential for proper dipping.
Next you are going to want to drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and some paprika and optionally some parsley as well. Then set it in the fridge and you've got yourself some hummus!
Next dish on the docket was my gourmet mac and cheese. It started out with great Italian pasta...
Next I cooked the pasta to a little before 'al dente', so pretty much half cooked and set it in the tray. I actually did this the day before to save time in prep.
Next I assembled the triumvirate of cheeses that I hand picked to go into the dish. They included Gruyere, Gouda and Cheddar. I put them in my food processor to get them to equal parts.
This was the test batch the night before
This is the rue, equal parts butter and flour
Then I added 2 cups of whole milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream for the bechamel.
Next, I added half of all the cheese I had chopped up and stirred it into the bechamel to get a creamy, cheesey deliciousness consistency.
And then it was time for the layers. Oh I almost forgot...to start off I buttered the pan and had it coated with breadcrumbs. I then added the pasta then layers of sprinkled cheese and coatings of bechamel.
In total it came out to two layers of pasta/cheeziness goodness. Don't forget to sprinkle some more breadcrumbs at the top for good measure and extra crunch!
Hop it in the oven at 350 for 35-40 minutes and at 450 for the last 5 to get that extra crisp.
And then here was the lineup of all the other fixings, which included green bean casserole stuffing, another cornbread, my cornbread muffins, and 2 different types of mashed potatoes and yams to name a few (not to mention two 22 lb turkeys we had and carved up). It was glorious!
And the rest is eating history
As part of my family tradition I mandated that the Turkey be given one slap before it went into the oven...those are the rules...
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