These were a few of my favorite things

When we weren't hunting for sharks teeth in our shell driveway, my family spent the majority of turkey-day weekend glued to the kitchen area.

There were six of us, plus my seven-month-old granddaughter Lila.

Our small feast was an old-fashioned team effort. Everyone brought a little something new and different, which created the opportunity for good eats all weekend.

The morning brew was furnished by my daughter Leslie and her husband, Ben, who recently moved here from Honolulu - a delicious jolt of pineapple coffee made by Hilo Coffee Mill.

It was my paradise in a cup. Sipping slowly to savor the moment, I reached for the laptop to order some online.

Some sisters go to any length to make Thanksgiving Day extraordinary for those they love, especially their kid brother. Mine, who drove over with his wife Polly from Lantana, made a last-minute request for some smoked mullet "to nibble on, while we're waiting for dinner to cook."

After several phone calls with no luck, I called Steve Fagen, owner of The Mullet Shack. Lucky for my bro, Steve was headed off to fish later that day, and he agreed to help me out.

Carrying six smoked mullets for us, Steve made the hand-off to me on Thanksgiving morning in the parking lot of the Ruskin SouthShore Chamber of Commerce. I'll say this: he couldn't have been more accommodating, and the mullet couldn't have been fresher if it had still had been swimming.

This year, we tossed aside cooking a traditional turkey. Ben wanted turducken. For the uninitiated, that's a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. You heard me.

The gourmand in me was intrigued so I ordered the 15-pound creature from Apollo Meats in Apollo Beach.

This bird "combo" was unwieldy and heavy, so much so it took two of us to place it in the roasting pan. When it came out of the oven, it was beautiful, nice and brown like a regular turkey. Inside were layers of glorious meat and stuffing.

You don't carve a turducken. You just slice it, like meatloaf. It was succulent and tender - a holiday entree we won't soon forget.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about my sister-in-law Polly's unusual sauerkraut side dish. This year, Polly decided to ditch her family's recipe for a sauerkraut with gin and caraway seeds. I loved the stuff. It was like a sauerkraut martini.

This week's recipe came from my winter neighbor Chris Louch. Several weeks ago, she sent over a sample of her cranberry salsa for us to try. It was festive, sweet and spicy - perfect for use as a chip dip or side with any kind of pork or bird.

I thought I'd share it with you.

CRANBERRY SALSA

1 bag fresh cranberries, washed

1/2 medium red onion

1/2 medium red pepper

1 Granny Smith apple, cored

3 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

1/3 cup apple juice (optional)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lime juice

Place the first four ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chopped. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Serve with lime-flavored chips.