Thanks-noming feast-tacular extravaganza
First off let me say that my sister and I basically owned this holiday; grabbed it by the balls; had sex with its mom, etc. In this, quite long, blog about thanksgiving I will break it down into a few pieces. First the menu and recipes:
Appetizers
Crustini with caramelized onion and blue cheese
Absolut Brooklyn-tini’s
Soup
Butternut Squash Soup with Apple and Bacon
Main Course
Turkey (I know….get out of town)
Rustic bread, oyster mushroom, hazelnut and cranberry stuffing
Sweet potato casserole with sage
Sautéed mushrooms
Dessert
(hmmmm) Apple pie
POD’s famous crack is whack Pumpkin Pie: as in this pie has never had a crack in it....EVER. kids a damn baking ninja
Maple, pear Cheesecake
Now here are some important notes on my recipes:
- the butternut squash soup: do yourself a favor and tell people what kind of soup this is. It is delicious but when I gave some to Chris to try when I made it he was thoroughly caught off guard as most people don't associate squash with the taste of bacon. Procedural note.
- The Appetizer is very simple: toast some French bread slices, brushed with Olive Oil, and top with a slice of blue cheese and a little bit of caramelized onion, but I should note that this was simply an afterthought, and I had the onions and blue cheese lying around because I made them (along with homemade BBQ sauce for burgers at Chris's house which we ended up never making)so this will be the first and last time I mention them. So if you want to follow this group of recipes with game plan be forewarned.
- The stuffing did not actually get the Oyster Mushrooms that it called for because I could not find them at Guido's, just an FYI
-Also, I have no comments on the mushroom recipe which may or may not be the one that we made (I know it had no cream) because P-nut made it not me (oh and it was f-ing fabulous)
Next the game plan
So, myself + my sister + tiny kitchen x thanksgiving dinner = OMFG!!!!
Knowing this basic math meant that organization was key as was a healthy amount of prep. Obviously the pies were made ahead of time (and by P-Nut with the exception of the cheese cake) but also, the soup was made, the turkey stock (and this was interesting as I needed the neck, which was wrapped up with the turkey, which I then had to cut out and then wrap up the turkey again…so imagine with me our 16lb bird with packing tape all over it…I know….classy). The hazelnuts were toasted ahead of time (though that was all I had to do with the stuffing which P-nut took over and made nom-tastic) and finally, cheesecake was made.
This helped a lot along with being a bit anal retentive about keeping the kitchen clean (though I can’t cook in a mess and am basically claustrophobic in a messy kitchen) and maximizing space. We basically benefitted from acting like sisters, insist on having your own prep station, burners and “discard bowl” so that we were not tripping on each other. Also, we did about two loads of dishes before dinner so that as soon as something was no longer in use it was stowed for cleaning and out of our hair. Though aside, every P-nut and I have to do the dishes because we didn’t cook but this year that right was passed to my mother and aunt while she and I chilled with the vodka. But OMG bellyaching. *mental note to make sure the two of them are drunker before putting them to work again*
So on that note, here are some more things I learned from this hotmess:
- It’s just a holiday! There was some whining, complaining and gnashing of teeth from all parties (including myself) about our “taking over” the holiday but as we all got closer to the day I think we collectively realized that it’s a holiday about sitting down for an epic family dinner to give thanks for all you have including family: NOT about having a delicious gourmet dinner, and with that in mind I think we all enjoyed the holiday more. So let our obsession with good eats be a lesson to you. Thanksgiving may be an excuse to make a delicious diner but if it sucks, the turkey is dry as the dessert, the pie tastes like ass and all the sides are burned, the only harm is you go hungry, not without a great story
- Cook times are LIES!!!! I gave my guests a hour before dinner to come over just in case the turkey was done early…and it still wasn’t enough! So expect your turkey to come out early!
- My mother is a genius. Thanksgiving brunch was a great idea on her part because it gave everyone a relaxing way to spend the morning and my sister and I were alone to think up alibis for terminal kitchen disasters and allowed us to take cute-ifying breaks free of judgment (which we did…and we were cute, curled hair, sweater sets, heals and pearls bitches!)
- Also interesting note about the casserole. My family NEVER has casserole for thanksgiving. EVER! Which may be why I wanted to make one for this thanksgiving…you know…mix things up a bit. And let me tell you the response was hilarious. It made the rounds of the table, everyone had about a tablespoon of it on there plates and ten seconds later it made yet another round and was almost gone. I imagine years of green beans with Campbell’s soup and fried onions is to blame for my family’s weariness ot casserole but it is telling of how holiday cooking works: as a kid there are things you like and things you really don’t like, and when it’s your turn at the stove you tend to shun those things, but it is in this habit that your cooking becomes truly your own. My parents hated it so they never made it. I never got it so I wanted to make it. My kids will probably hate it and never make it….see where I’m going with this. It’s neither here nor there…just interesting.
- I have neglected to talk about the bird...I will! I promise.
oh and just a funny via a friend on Facebook:
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