A week ago I never thought whittling down the longlist was possible. But all week in jury duty without Web access and nine menus later, I've landed the following three menu options (in no particular order):
menu one
the drink: Champagne mojitos
the starters: Warm crab dip w/ fresh herbs; Hazelnut profiteroles w/ blue cheese + grapes; and Spinach + tofu dumplings
the soup: Spicy parsnip
the whole turkey: Alsatian-brined turkey w/ riesling gravy
the stuffing: Shiitake mushroom seeduction stuffing
the two breasts: Jalapeno + paprika-rubbed; Tangerine-glazed
the sides:
Heavenly potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes w/ apple butter
Prosciutto parmesan risotto
Lemony quinoa salad w/ pine nuts + olives
Maple-ginger-roasted vegetables w/ pecans
Roasted broccoli w/ acho butter
Swiss chard gratin w/ toasted bread crumbs
Corn cakes w/ spiced cranberries
Curried peaches + butternut squash w/ ricotta + almonds
intermission: Cafe cubano; Chilled strawberry shooters w/ mint cream + vanilla crisps; and Sweet chestnut + rosemary ice cream
the sweet endings:
Chocolate macadmia tart
Dulche de leche bread pudding w/ juicy baked plums
Fig, blackberry + pear crisp
menu two
the drink: Rose Sangria w/ cranberries + apples
the starters: Porcini tapioca; Baked peaches w/ almond paste; Shrimp + chorizo flatbread; and Curried sweet potato shooters
the soup: Mom's chicken dumpling
the whole turkey: Roasted turkey w/ figs + muscat gravy
the stuffing: Prosciutto-bread stuffing
the two breasts: Maple-glazed turkey breast w/ bourbon-pecan gravy; Hickory-smoked turkey breast w/ apple slaw
the sides:
Mashed potato w/ horseradish cream
Vanilla-bean whipped sweet potatoes
Polenta gratin w/ spinach + wild mushrooms
Butternut squash risotto w/ chestnuts
Grill-roasted vegetables w/ pine nut pesto
Braised kale w/ cranberry brown butter
Champagne-roasted cauliflower w/ gruyere
Cranberry-grapefruit conserve
intermission: Trader Joe's Wintry Blend; Mexican hot chocolate; Blackberry napoleon
the sweet endings:
Rustic pear + hazelnut crostada
Strawberry basil bread pudding
Harvest mousse w/ spiced almond tuiles
menu three
the drink: Blood orange margaritas
the starters: Rosemary flatbread w/ blue cheese, grapes + honey; Coconut-lemongrass chicken spring roll; and Texas smoked salmon tartare
the soup: Chestnut soup w/ grappa cream
the whole turkey: Roasted turkey w/ lemon + chives
the stuffing: Wild mushroom whole wheat stuffing w/ tarragon
the two breasts: Indian-spiced turkey breast w/ cilantro-yogurt sauce; Chile-roasted turkey breast
the sides:
Herbed potato gratin w/ roasted garlic + manchego
Mashed sweet potatoes w/ apple cider
Toasted coconut basmati rice
Pea, mint + feta risotto
Spiced veggies w/ pomegranate seeds
Crisp salmon w/ avocado salad
Creamed spinach + parsnips
Caramelized broccoli w/ garlic
Gingered cranberry sauce w/ spicy pumpkin seeds
intermission: Espresso; Tangy mint + pomegranate refresher; Peach ginger ice cream blondies
the sweet endings:
Fig + raspberry tart w/ chestnut honey
Banana bread + butter pudding
Indian pudding
You'll notice that I didn't decorate any of the menus with fancy dish photos or anything that might campaign for taste buds in an unfair manner. I'll be finalizing the menu choice and its modifications by Saturday morning! Please let me know your thoughts or last-minute recommendations.
Our guest list looks to be settling at 17, so it's time for table measurements and tableware procurement. I'm only a little bummed that Neil's family won't get to see our living room in its natural glory (the table-for-17 will displace some of the current setup), but a huge Thanksgiving is totally worth it.
And when I'm done with eating Thanksgiving, I might be displacing some of it too.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
countdown begins: 14 days to go...
I cannot tell a lie: I’ve been excited about Thanksgiving 2.0 since about March.And by March, I mean the day after Thanksgiving last year. Maybe even during last year’s dessert.
In case you didn’t think it was possible, it’s even bigger this year: at least 16 on the guest list! It might also be time to start thinking about chairs.
First: the food.
Over the past several months, I’ve collected all the tasty dishes—from starting flatbreads, warming soups and sparkling drinks to turkey types, veggie greens and sweet finishes—in the running for this year’s final menu. (Check out last year’s menu.)
Because I’ve managed to unfold the unabridged list on a full stomach, I can’t promise this list won’t grow. It’s hard to naturally taste what goes with what when your stomach’s just not growling and telling you what’s right.
It really looks like a crazy number of dishes, but there’s plenty of time to carve the perfect menu… and get feedback. So, please feel free to leave feedback in the comments. (Note: I will include some traditional dishes that aren't listed here. Worry not. Neil.)
Here’s the full rundown of ROUND ONE Thanksgiving 2009 possibilities (including about 60 new items I've added since initial post):
first to get the party started...
amuse-bouche
When you're arranging dinner for a larger number of people, you can't expect everyone to arrive at the same time (or even on time). We also want to encourage Neil's fam to hang out a little longer, so having starters ready when they walk in (alongside a card table and football on TV) will be key. Some ideas:
- Bella mushroom tartlets
- Pear bruschetta w/hazelnut cream
- Baby artichokes stuffed w/ crab salad
- Shrimp + chorizo flatbreads
- Fresh goat cheese + crispy shallot dip
- Hazelnut profiteroles w/blue cheese + grapes
- Andouille-and-sweet-potato pie w/ tangle apple salad
- Palestinian spinach pie
- Warm crab dip w/fresh herbs
- Texas smoked salmon tartare on blue corn chips
- Bakes peaches w/almond paste
- Rosemary flatbread w/blue cheese, grapes + honey
- Spinach and shrimp salad w/chile dressing
- Plum clafouti*
- Porcini tapioca*
- Leek, baby broccoli, smoked salmon + goat cheese tart*
- Fresh fig mini pies w/honey mascarpone cream*
- Midgetized BLT w/roasted tomato confit + ginger aioli*
- Bacon + onion tartlets*
- Curried sweet potato shooters*
- Spinach + tofu dumplings*
Sure, I may not drink myself, but some people on T-day might benefit from a little loosening. In all areas, drinks included, we'll have some standards, in addition to all this dreamy stuff, such as:- Rose Sangria w/cranberries + apples
- Blood orange margaritas
- Sparkling pomegranate punch
- Cranberry caipirinha
- Champagne mojitos
- Sticky toffee pudding eggnog
- Plum green tea martini*
- Ginger shiso sour*
soup
Last year I worked long and hard on a delicious mushroom soup. But when some people just pushed it aside and dug into the main courses, I felt a little defeated while realizing I'd have to question my soup strategy. If I don't start everyone with a bowl will they bother? We'll see which soup will garner the best tasting attention:
- My mama's magic chicken dumpling soup
- Pumpkin soup w/ creole lobster
- Mushroom soup w/toasted bread
- Chestnut soup w/grappa cream
- Spicy parsnip soup*
- Colombian chicken soup*
- Avgolemono chicken soup w/rice*
Let's face it: big turkeys are a big waste. Neil's brother requested more turkey this year—despite the glut of leftovers we had last year—but I know a bigger bird is not the answer. It's bigger breasts (isn't it always?).
For the sake of appearances, I'm getting one whole, decent-sized turkey this year and two big turkey breasts. The whole turkey will be roasted in some "traditional" flavor for the pilgrims, while the breasts will be wild with flavah!
The regular turkey options are:
- Alsatian-brined turkey w/riesling gravy
- Roasted turkey w/figs + muscat gravy
- Roasted turkey w/lemon and chives
- Maple-glazed bird w/bourbon-pecan gravy
- Indian-spiced turkey with cilantro-yogurt sauce
- Slow-smoked turkey breast w/cane syrup-coffee glaze
- Tangerine-glazed bird
- Pickled jalapeno-paprika-rubbed and roasted breast
- Grilled, butterflied turkey w/caraway-acho gravy
- Chile-roasted turkey w/sherry mushroom gravy*
- Hickory smoked turkey breast w/apple+cabbage slaw*
I heart stuffing. In fact, I would pitch the whole dinner for a pan of stuffing. Whether it's fancy, made-from-fresh-but-expertly-staled-bread dressing with chestnuts and fine wine or even Stovetop (that's right), I'm a fan. It's warmth, it's fall, it's comfort, it's Thanksgiving, it's good. One of these will be good too:
- Wild mushroom whole wheat stuffing w/tarragon
- Proscuitto-bread stuff w/sausage
- Shiitake mushroom and fresh herb stuffing
- Garlic + olive oil-tossed seeduction bread stuffing
- Chorizo corn bread stuffing
- Chestnut stuffing w/fennel*
So many sides, so little time. We're talking , salads, potatoes, greens, grains and beyond. How to choose? Well, once the turkey and stuffing are selected, it might be easier to know what will go. Until then...Potatoes (not including sweet):
- Herbed potato gratin w/roasted garlic + manchego
- Mashed potatoes w/horseradish cream
- Good, old-fashioned mashed and lumpy with turkey-related gravy
- Heavenly potatoes*
- Mashed potatoes w/butternut squash*
- Lemony salt-roasted fingerling potatoes*
- Chantilly potatoes w/parmesan crust*
- Baked potatoes w/wild mushroom ragu*
- Herbed potatoe souffle*
- Sausage-stuffed potato galette*
Sweet potatoes:
- Vanilla bean-whipped sweet potatoes
- Sweet potato gratin w/chile-spiced pecans
- Sweet potatoes w/apple butter
- Cranberry-glazed sweet potatoes
- Sweet potato spoon bread
- Mashed sweet potatoes w/apple cider*
Comfort, grain and rice:- Toasted coconut basmati rice
- Butternut squash risotto w/chestnuts
- Proscuitto risotto w/parmesan + cannelini beans
- Polenta gratin w/spinach + wild mushrooms
- Mashed winter squash w/Indian spices
- Pea, mint + feta risotto*
- Crispy ham + cheese polenta*
- Lemony quinoa salad w/pine nuts + olives*
- Farro + green bean salad*
Straight up veggies:
- Root vegetables pan roasted w/chestnuts + apples
- Maple-ginger-roasted venetables w/pecans
- Grill-roasted vegetables w/pine nut pesto
- Spiced veggies w/pomegranate seeds
- Spicy heirloom radish salad*
- Carrots, avocado + orange w/cumin*
Green:
- Roasted brussel sprouts w/cranberry brown butter
- Kale + water chestnut in curried cream
- Spinach simmered in yogurt
- Ensalada verde w/idiazabal cheese
- Green salad w/tangy mustard vinaigrette
- Braised kale
- Spinach salad w/warm bacon vinaigrette
- Creamed spinach + parsnips
- Basil, plum + spinach salad
- Roasted broccoli w/acho butter
- Swiss chard gratin w/toasted bread crumbs
- Sauteed beet greens w/sun-dried tomatoes + pancetta*
- Brussel sprouts w/cranberries*
- Kale w/currants, lemon + olives*
Sides that refuse to declare a party:
- Cranberry sauce w/spiced pumpkin seeds (must have!)
- Champagne-roasted cauliflower w/gruyere
- Avocado relish w/caramelized onions
- Crunchy baked fennel
- Fragrant cauliflower in tomato sauce
- Curried eggplant w/chickpeas + spinach
- Fall harvest salad
- Hot, buttered cauliflower
- Baked, curried peaches w/ricotta + almonds*
- Cranberry, clementine + pumpkin seed conserve*
- Corn cakes w/spiced cranberries*
- Cranberry-grapefruit conserve*
- Cranberry-licorice compote*
- Crisp salmon w/avocado salad*
- Barley salad w/parsley + walnuts*
- Beet, fennel and jicama salad w/macadamia nut dressing*
time to explode, recover or sleep...
down-time
Another crazy lesson I learned last year: these people don't eat until they drop. I was really surprised when, following dinner... and a while after it, that no one was gung-ho about dessert. Personally, I'd been counting down to it! This year, I'm planning for the down-time. The in-between. It might also make another slot for getting Neil's family to hang a bit longer. And to help them digest, refresh, chill and stay awake:
- Trader Joe's Wintry Blend coffee
- Ginger tea
- Strawberry-mint frappe
- Chai silk or latte
- Espresso
- Cafe cubano
- Chilled strawberry soup shooters w/mint cream + vanilla crisps
- Blackberry napoleon*
- Peach ginger ice cream blondies*
- Sweet chestnut + rosemary ice cream*
- Chocolate mint cookies*
- Mexican hot chocolate*
- Tangy mint + pomegranate refresher*
sweets
I would make (and eat) every single one of these if I could. Perhaps, with a little training, I could some day. By this time next year, I will be an Iron[wo]man. Until then, some desserty ideas:
Pies, crostadas, tarts (oh my!):
- Rustic pear + hazelnut crostada
- Chocolate macadamia nut tart
- Deep-dish apple pie w/cheddar crust
- Poached pear and brown butter tart
- Honeyed fig crostada
- Granny Smith apple + brown butter custard tart
- Fig+raspberry tart w/chestnut honey
- Pumpkin cheesecake tart w/cranberry gelee
- Sweet potato tart w/red wine caramel
- Chilled grapefruit-caramel meringue pie
Bread pudding:
- Pumpkin bread pudding w/caramel rum raisin sauce
- Caramel bread pudding
- Dulche de leche breading pudding w/juicy baked plums
- Krispy Kreme bread pudding w/espresso whipped cream
- Banana bread-and-butter pudding
- Kemptville blueberry bread pudding
- Bread pudding w/dried cranberries, vanilla + mint
- Strawberry basil bread pudding*
Cakes and other fancy stuff:
- Caramelized pumpkin trifle
- Chestnut-chocolate mousse
- Candied winter squash parfaits w/chocolate
- Apple cake w/toffee crust
- Pumpkin pudding w/mile-high meringue
- Harvest mousse w/spiced almond tuiles
- Indian pudding
- Minty lime baked Alaska
- Om Ali*
- Arabian pancakes with orange-flower syrup*
- Meringue + raspberry ice cream cake*
- Apricot tea cakes*
- Soft-centered chocolate puddings*
- Caramel-pecan bars*
- Goat cheese cheesecake w/honeyed cranberries*
Mostly fruit:- Confit of peaches w/mint
- Minted melon w/vanilla granita + citrus yogurt
- Fresh fruit wrapped in vanilla crepes
- Plum-marsala sorbet*
- Blueberries, bananas + nutella crepes*
- Fig, blackberry + pear crisp*
- Rhubarb + strawberry compote w/balsamic + ricotta*
*New additions since 11/12
Saturday, November 7, 2009
what's that faux?
Inactivity on my blog(s) belies the amount of activity in our house (and on the roads outside it) over the past year. And it’s almost Thanksgiving again!
Alongside the marathon and Ironman training, I’ve been trying to focus on my master’s thesis, but have spent plenty of time working on aspects of the house, like finding furniture, browsing for chandeliers and figuring out how to marry two divergent styles without an unstylish spat.
Good luck with that.
One thing we did agree on, however, was that the long wall of our dining and living rooms needed some intrigue. We talked about tall mirrors and wall art, but nothing maximized the space and took boring to new heights.
And then we found what we were looking faux…
Moulding! First, I priced out real, wooden crown moulding for the walls and ceiling, for which I had budgeted doing the labor myself. That turned out to be a little scary. But as I googled for instructions about installing moulding, I stumbled on a better idea: faux moulding.
The French call it trompe l’oeil, or trick the eye. I call it a neat idea. Not only did it provide us with a doable solution for the long, boring wall, it’s a semi-permanent solution that wouldn’t be devastating if we changed our minds.
Plus, I already knew how to do it.
Starting with a small wall (across from the big one), I measured and marked with chalk a large rectangle, whose sides were each six inches from the edges. Then I used my cell phone to mark the lines a couple inches thick all the way around, and then a soup bowl from the kitchen to round the edges. I taped off the chalked frame, painted with a contrasty off-white and came out with this:
Total time: 40 minutes.
You can imagine how pleased I was with the amount of effort and the great results. Immediately I launched into the big wall. It did not take 40 minutes.
While similar in principle to the small wall, the process for the bigger wall was a bit more complicated. Not only was there much greater surface area, but I had decided to paint double-decker moulding frames… and there were six of them!
Here’s how I did it:
1. Using a tape measure and a 6-inch-wide book, I drew a large rectangle whose sides were six inches from each of the edges.
2. Then I measured its width in inches and spent at least a day dividing by six, adding for space in between, chalking out the sub-rectangles, finding some error in my calculations and starting over again. I think the error lay mostly in my physical measurements and chalking than the math, and I could have… should have used a level.
3. Taking into account the height of my furniture, I picked a height for the upper and lower frames. I used a yardstick to dot each frame’s edges and then connected the dots to break the large rectangle and sub-rectangles into 12 frames—six tall frames on top, six 1/3-size frames on the bottom.
4. I used my cell phone, again, to mark off the thickness of the frames’ sides, dragging the phone down the drawn rectangles, dotted its edges and then using a yardstick to connect the dots.
5. Making use of my soup bowl again, I rounded the edges, marked thickness with my cell phone again, and used the bowl to draw the outer edges. This step wasn’t difficult, but after having to do it at least 48 times (four corners for each frame!). And I still sometimes have dreams about it at night.
6. I started out taping the entire frames, corners included, just like I did on the small wall, but found that my unsteady hand painted better-looking curved corners, on average, than the taped curves.
7. Paint, paint, paint.
8. Let it dry.
9. Removed the tape and touched up.
10. Enjoyment to the maximus.
While I still have some chalk-cleaning and touch up to do, I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed the results. The faux moulding isn’t perfect, but adds plenty of intrigue to a long, boring wall with whimsical lines and just enough contrast.
Check out more photos from the process, including how crazed I looked about half way though the chalk job:
And our colors? Martha Stewart’s Birdhouse in satin Valspar paint walls with Martha Stewart’s Hominy in satin Valspar paint moulding.
In the process, I came up with a number of paint-tape tricks I could have used to make the process much easier. Now I’m eager to paint some patterns and shapes throughout the house. And when I nail down these better processes, I’ll be sure to share.
Check out some BEFORE images on my previous blog post.
Alongside the marathon and Ironman training, I’ve been trying to focus on my master’s thesis, but have spent plenty of time working on aspects of the house, like finding furniture, browsing for chandeliers and figuring out how to marry two divergent styles without an unstylish spat.
Good luck with that.
One thing we did agree on, however, was that the long wall of our dining and living rooms needed some intrigue. We talked about tall mirrors and wall art, but nothing maximized the space and took boring to new heights.
And then we found what we were looking faux…
Moulding! First, I priced out real, wooden crown moulding for the walls and ceiling, for which I had budgeted doing the labor myself. That turned out to be a little scary. But as I googled for instructions about installing moulding, I stumbled on a better idea: faux moulding.
The French call it trompe l’oeil, or trick the eye. I call it a neat idea. Not only did it provide us with a doable solution for the long, boring wall, it’s a semi-permanent solution that wouldn’t be devastating if we changed our minds.
Plus, I already knew how to do it.
Starting with a small wall (across from the big one), I measured and marked with chalk a large rectangle, whose sides were each six inches from the edges. Then I used my cell phone to mark the lines a couple inches thick all the way around, and then a soup bowl from the kitchen to round the edges. I taped off the chalked frame, painted with a contrasty off-white and came out with this:
Total time: 40 minutes.You can imagine how pleased I was with the amount of effort and the great results. Immediately I launched into the big wall. It did not take 40 minutes.
While similar in principle to the small wall, the process for the bigger wall was a bit more complicated. Not only was there much greater surface area, but I had decided to paint double-decker moulding frames… and there were six of them!
Here’s how I did it:
1. Using a tape measure and a 6-inch-wide book, I drew a large rectangle whose sides were six inches from each of the edges.
2. Then I measured its width in inches and spent at least a day dividing by six, adding for space in between, chalking out the sub-rectangles, finding some error in my calculations and starting over again. I think the error lay mostly in my physical measurements and chalking than the math, and I could have… should have used a level.3. Taking into account the height of my furniture, I picked a height for the upper and lower frames. I used a yardstick to dot each frame’s edges and then connected the dots to break the large rectangle and sub-rectangles into 12 frames—six tall frames on top, six 1/3-size frames on the bottom.
4. I used my cell phone, again, to mark off the thickness of the frames’ sides, dragging the phone down the drawn rectangles, dotted its edges and then using a yardstick to connect the dots.
5. Making use of my soup bowl again, I rounded the edges, marked thickness with my cell phone again, and used the bowl to draw the outer edges. This step wasn’t difficult, but after having to do it at least 48 times (four corners for each frame!). And I still sometimes have dreams about it at night.
6. I started out taping the entire frames, corners included, just like I did on the small wall, but found that my unsteady hand painted better-looking curved corners, on average, than the taped curves.
7. Paint, paint, paint.
8. Let it dry.
9. Removed the tape and touched up.
10. Enjoyment to the maximus.
While I still have some chalk-cleaning and touch up to do, I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed the results. The faux moulding isn’t perfect, but adds plenty of intrigue to a long, boring wall with whimsical lines and just enough contrast.
Check out more photos from the process, including how crazed I looked about half way though the chalk job:
And our colors? Martha Stewart’s Birdhouse in satin Valspar paint walls with Martha Stewart’s Hominy in satin Valspar paint moulding.In the process, I came up with a number of paint-tape tricks I could have used to make the process much easier. Now I’m eager to paint some patterns and shapes throughout the house. And when I nail down these better processes, I’ll be sure to share.
Check out some BEFORE images on my previous blog post.
Friday, November 28, 2008
How to Host Your First Thanksgiving: Part V
You could have guessed that preparing your first Thanksgiving (or any Thanksgiving, really) requires plenty of planning. And I’m the queen of planning when a project tickles my fancy.
Once the menu was settled, I plotted out my week (hour by hour by Wednesday night) to ensure I picked up ingredients and managed prep time with style and grace.
Oh, and that I’d squeeze in enough time to sleep and run the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning!
Granted, I didn’t get much sleep, but cutting out of the kitchen for a couple hours to drive downtown to race the 5-miler only kicked energy into the day. My back and legs were pretty sore from Wednesday’s endless standing in place (while my upper body was cooking, whipping, whirling, salting, rolling and kneading away), so the race was a welcomed change.
And I even hit noon (my secondary start time after the race) well ahead of schedule. Until water took revenge on me. Even atop full blast, my pots of water just wouldn’t boil. For an hour. They teetered on the brink of boiling, but took an eternity to get there. So, the potatoes and sweet potatoes, which diced early that morning before the trot, put me behind almost immediately out of the gate.
Not to be deterred, I stuck to my schedule and tried to speed up the things for which I allowed plenty of extra time. Like the flatbread baking and cheese chopping. But what I didn’t account for were my little oopsies, like forgetting to thaw the chorizo or pit the dates.
Sigh.
Nevertheless, I was only five minutes behind hors d’oeuvres when the first wave of Neil’s punctual family arrived (while I fully expected them to be on time, there’s the part of me that’s used to a family who’s a little more fashionably late). Lucky for me, most hadn’t seen our house yet. So while Neil conducted tours, I got busy!
It’s the difficult balance of hosting, though: you want to entertain, but you have the million things to do in the kitchen, as well as in the eating area.
My mom was fantastic enough to really fill in the vital holes in my first-time planning—like seating for 12 and centerpieces, nice dishes and fine silverware—and to execute it without batting a lash. Not surprisingly, too, she came over with the turkey we roasted in her oven all done up well and beautiful while I was still running around in fuzzy yoga pants and an old Georgetown T-shirt.
The plan had anticipated guests at 1 p.m. and dinner at 3 p.m. I thought it would make great bonding time for Neil and his family, but I forgot one important details: they’re card players.
It’s a fundamental difference in our families, too. They play cards; we eat, drink and talk too much. In fact, we talk for hours. We eat some more. And then we just keep talking.
You can imagine the ruffle in my feathers when they started looking at the set table extension (we added our kitchen table to the end of our dining table) for a game. I almost cried. At that point in the afternoon, I had “set table” checked off the list and the thought of putting it back on might have broken this camel’s back.
I’m sure it miffed a few guests, but Neil was able to find a drafting table in the basement that suited their euchre-playing needs. And as we cleaned up the house after dinner, I made a note with Neil that we should find a card table before our next gathering to avert future disasters.
To my delight, we were barreling toward 3 p.m. and I was merely balancing the warmth of food waiting for two turkeys’ temperature gauges to pop. It’s a delicate balance, though, that I imagine will take years to master. Unless, of course, I take the lessons I learned from this year into the purchase of my next generation of cooking appliances.
While my Mr. Fix-it spruced up the oven just in time for the big day, its absence gave me plenty of time to think about buying a new oven and what types of oven-related appliances I might need. And if I continue to host Thanksgiving, I think a double oven (big enough for turkeys, obviously) and a warming drawer would be perfection.
Perhaps then we wouldn’t have to serve so much food lukewarm.
By 4 p.m. the turkeys had popped and my mom and step-father got carving. They were totally in turkey-carving zone, so I felt a little disruptive when I offered to take over or help.
Not that I didn’t have plenty to do. I was using the legions of serving dishes my mom let us borrow for Thanksgiving, and was grateful with each bowl of stuffing and each dish of potatoes and eat boat of gravy that I had such a valuable resource.
Finally, by 4:15 p.m. we were seated (there was a brief moment of scurrying as my mom and dad rushed to block the sunset beaming into one side of the table’s eyes) and ready to begin. None of us had been in this situation before—Thanksgiving at this new generation’s home—and were a little confused about who would lead what. Neil’s sweet, sweet grandmother nudged me and said, “It’s your Thanksgiving, Gina. You get us started.” And I did.
I didn’t really know what to say. Well, I knew what I wanted to say; I didn’t know how to say it without excessive use of such Thanksgivingy words like grateful and appreciative and thankful. But it was all I could say.
We have a great life. Neil and I are really lucky to have great families. It may not have been the perfect piping hot meal I imagined as I planned for weeks and weeks, but I had all the people I love around me, hungry, and waiting to eat.
So, I did tell them we were just grateful for them being there and thankful for all they had done to get us where we are today. And without any closing remarks prepared, I stumbled over my mom’s favorite Thanksgiving prayer: “Good food, good meat. Good lord, let’s eat!”
Happy Thanksgiving.
Once the menu was settled, I plotted out my week (hour by hour by Wednesday night) to ensure I picked up ingredients and managed prep time with style and grace.
Oh, and that I’d squeeze in enough time to sleep and run the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning!
Granted, I didn’t get much sleep, but cutting out of the kitchen for a couple hours to drive downtown to race the 5-miler only kicked energy into the day. My back and legs were pretty sore from Wednesday’s endless standing in place (while my upper body was cooking, whipping, whirling, salting, rolling and kneading away), so the race was a welcomed change.
And I even hit noon (my secondary start time after the race) well ahead of schedule. Until water took revenge on me. Even atop full blast, my pots of water just wouldn’t boil. For an hour. They teetered on the brink of boiling, but took an eternity to get there. So, the potatoes and sweet potatoes, which diced early that morning before the trot, put me behind almost immediately out of the gate.
Not to be deterred, I stuck to my schedule and tried to speed up the things for which I allowed plenty of extra time. Like the flatbread baking and cheese chopping. But what I didn’t account for were my little oopsies, like forgetting to thaw the chorizo or pit the dates.
Sigh.
Nevertheless, I was only five minutes behind hors d’oeuvres when the first wave of Neil’s punctual family arrived (while I fully expected them to be on time, there’s the part of me that’s used to a family who’s a little more fashionably late). Lucky for me, most hadn’t seen our house yet. So while Neil conducted tours, I got busy!
It’s the difficult balance of hosting, though: you want to entertain, but you have the million things to do in the kitchen, as well as in the eating area.
My mom was fantastic enough to really fill in the vital holes in my first-time planning—like seating for 12 and centerpieces, nice dishes and fine silverware—and to execute it without batting a lash. Not surprisingly, too, she came over with the turkey we roasted in her oven all done up well and beautiful while I was still running around in fuzzy yoga pants and an old Georgetown T-shirt.
The plan had anticipated guests at 1 p.m. and dinner at 3 p.m. I thought it would make great bonding time for Neil and his family, but I forgot one important details: they’re card players.
It’s a fundamental difference in our families, too. They play cards; we eat, drink and talk too much. In fact, we talk for hours. We eat some more. And then we just keep talking.
You can imagine the ruffle in my feathers when they started looking at the set table extension (we added our kitchen table to the end of our dining table) for a game. I almost cried. At that point in the afternoon, I had “set table” checked off the list and the thought of putting it back on might have broken this camel’s back.
I’m sure it miffed a few guests, but Neil was able to find a drafting table in the basement that suited their euchre-playing needs. And as we cleaned up the house after dinner, I made a note with Neil that we should find a card table before our next gathering to avert future disasters.
To my delight, we were barreling toward 3 p.m. and I was merely balancing the warmth of food waiting for two turkeys’ temperature gauges to pop. It’s a delicate balance, though, that I imagine will take years to master. Unless, of course, I take the lessons I learned from this year into the purchase of my next generation of cooking appliances.
While my Mr. Fix-it spruced up the oven just in time for the big day, its absence gave me plenty of time to think about buying a new oven and what types of oven-related appliances I might need. And if I continue to host Thanksgiving, I think a double oven (big enough for turkeys, obviously) and a warming drawer would be perfection.
Perhaps then we wouldn’t have to serve so much food lukewarm.
By 4 p.m. the turkeys had popped and my mom and step-father got carving. They were totally in turkey-carving zone, so I felt a little disruptive when I offered to take over or help.
Not that I didn’t have plenty to do. I was using the legions of serving dishes my mom let us borrow for Thanksgiving, and was grateful with each bowl of stuffing and each dish of potatoes and eat boat of gravy that I had such a valuable resource.
Finally, by 4:15 p.m. we were seated (there was a brief moment of scurrying as my mom and dad rushed to block the sunset beaming into one side of the table’s eyes) and ready to begin. None of us had been in this situation before—Thanksgiving at this new generation’s home—and were a little confused about who would lead what. Neil’s sweet, sweet grandmother nudged me and said, “It’s your Thanksgiving, Gina. You get us started.” And I did.
I didn’t really know what to say. Well, I knew what I wanted to say; I didn’t know how to say it without excessive use of such Thanksgivingy words like grateful and appreciative and thankful. But it was all I could say.
We have a great life. Neil and I are really lucky to have great families. It may not have been the perfect piping hot meal I imagined as I planned for weeks and weeks, but I had all the people I love around me, hungry, and waiting to eat.
So, I did tell them we were just grateful for them being there and thankful for all they had done to get us where we are today. And without any closing remarks prepared, I stumbled over my mom’s favorite Thanksgiving prayer: “Good food, good meat. Good lord, let’s eat!”
Happy Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
How to Host Your First Thanksgiving: Part IV
Neil is Mr. Fix-it.
I think that he may have doubted his abilities to repair things and figure out the homeowner day-to-day when we first moved into this house. But just like anyone else in a situation, he’s really finding his way. And I couldn’t be more grateful.
First there was the leaky faucet in the downstairs bathroom. It was at the top of our to-do, but we just didn’t know enough about plumbing to get that thing fixed. So, in the meantime, we collected the drippings in a cup and used it to water plants all summer. No harm, no foul, right?
Well, summer ended, but the dripping did not.
Nino came over to help, and, between the two of them, they managed to take the thing apart and figure out which part was broken. Neil located the name and number of the part, which wasn’t available in any of our local hardware stores (large or small), and buy it online. A few twists, turns and shakes later: no more drips.
Then there was the oven. Some time over the summer, our stove decided that it hated us. It would wake up in the middle of the night and start screaming. The thing would beep-beep-beep so loud with an F1 error message that we didn’t understand. We weren’t sure how to get it to stop or what to do about it. Finally we unplugged the oven and only plugged it back in when we needed the burners.
Which meant no baking, at all, for quite some time.
That big no-no really put a kink in my cooking style. And as Thanksgiving approached, we were getting a little nervous about our inaction. The big deal: the repair of the temperature gauge that was causing the problem was a $150-$300 fix, which weren’t sure we wanted to make. So, we tossed around whether to buy a new stove for a few months until I decided I’d hold out for my Cornu Fe or Viking in a couple years.
One call to the Maytag man later, we had a guy come out to look at the thing to tell us what F1 meant (we already knew, thanks to Google) and what needed to be fixed. It would have cost more than $300 to fix if Neil hadn’t cajoled the repairman to just point out the piece that needed to be replaced and where to buy the part.
Neil headed to V&V in Euclid on a day off to buy a temperature gauge, replaced the part and put our stove back together. It has worked beautifully ever since and extended the time I have to save up for my dream stove.
Who knew I had shacked up with Mr. Fix-it? What’s more is that he did a magical job on our white tiled floors… and he cleans up after I cook. Here’s to Thanksgiving!
I think that he may have doubted his abilities to repair things and figure out the homeowner day-to-day when we first moved into this house. But just like anyone else in a situation, he’s really finding his way. And I couldn’t be more grateful.
First there was the leaky faucet in the downstairs bathroom. It was at the top of our to-do, but we just didn’t know enough about plumbing to get that thing fixed. So, in the meantime, we collected the drippings in a cup and used it to water plants all summer. No harm, no foul, right?
Well, summer ended, but the dripping did not.
Nino came over to help, and, between the two of them, they managed to take the thing apart and figure out which part was broken. Neil located the name and number of the part, which wasn’t available in any of our local hardware stores (large or small), and buy it online. A few twists, turns and shakes later: no more drips.
Then there was the oven. Some time over the summer, our stove decided that it hated us. It would wake up in the middle of the night and start screaming. The thing would beep-beep-beep so loud with an F1 error message that we didn’t understand. We weren’t sure how to get it to stop or what to do about it. Finally we unplugged the oven and only plugged it back in when we needed the burners.
Which meant no baking, at all, for quite some time.
That big no-no really put a kink in my cooking style. And as Thanksgiving approached, we were getting a little nervous about our inaction. The big deal: the repair of the temperature gauge that was causing the problem was a $150-$300 fix, which weren’t sure we wanted to make. So, we tossed around whether to buy a new stove for a few months until I decided I’d hold out for my Cornu Fe or Viking in a couple years.
One call to the Maytag man later, we had a guy come out to look at the thing to tell us what F1 meant (we already knew, thanks to Google) and what needed to be fixed. It would have cost more than $300 to fix if Neil hadn’t cajoled the repairman to just point out the piece that needed to be replaced and where to buy the part.
Neil headed to V&V in Euclid on a day off to buy a temperature gauge, replaced the part and put our stove back together. It has worked beautifully ever since and extended the time I have to save up for my dream stove.
Who knew I had shacked up with Mr. Fix-it? What’s more is that he did a magical job on our white tiled floors… and he cleans up after I cook. Here’s to Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
How to Host Your First Thanksgiving: Part III
But before all the decorating decisions were made, I had much bigger things to consider.
The menu.
Last year I made an Indian- and North Africa-inspired meal that combined spices and flavors that to me suggested more celebration than tradition. Thanksgiving, to me, is a celebration all the great things we experience day to day, but I suspected that many of our 12 guests might be looking for more tradition.
The solution, of course, was a compromise. As has been the spirit of my house life with Neil. First it’s the house choice and then the walls paint, furniture design and rug colors. We’re getting pretty darn good at it too! In fact, I think we’ve moved beyond compromise into hybrid ideas. And we all know hybrid technology is all the rage.
I compiled a list of recipes for hors d’oeuvres, sides, turkeys, stuffing and desserts to pass around my cabinet of culinary advisors, chopped and trimmed to arrive at this menu:
Hors d’oeuvres:
Fresh-baked baguette with brie
Fig and proscuitto flatbread
Margherite pizza
Sesame crackers with three cheeses*
First course:
Spicy mushroom bisque
Turkey:
Brined turkey (11 lb)
Paprika-glazed turkey breast (6 lb)
Sides:
Pumpkin seed bread salad
Chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon
Mashed potatoes with horseradish cream
Apple cider mashed sweet potatoes
Butternut squash and chestnut risotto
Rosemary-butter biscuits
Smoky sherry-doused gravy
Desserts:
Gianduja mousse
Pumpkin-gingersnap tiramisu
We supplemented the meal with a regular mesclun salad, corn and green beans, while our mom’s gave the meal’s end extra sparkle with delicious pumpkin and apple pies from Neil’s mom and a an incredible bread pudding (with croissant base) from my mom’s kitchen.
I think Neil was a little nervous his more traditional family wouldn’t dig the non-traditional menu (it wasn’t too far off), but they really dived into the dishes and didn’t utter an un-mmmed word.
* While I cut up some Colby and swiss, I was really enamored of a light Wisconsin cheddar and cranberry I picked up at Whole Foods. For once, I wasn’t too upset about people not wanting to try new things. More for me!
The menu.
Last year I made an Indian- and North Africa-inspired meal that combined spices and flavors that to me suggested more celebration than tradition. Thanksgiving, to me, is a celebration all the great things we experience day to day, but I suspected that many of our 12 guests might be looking for more tradition.
The solution, of course, was a compromise. As has been the spirit of my house life with Neil. First it’s the house choice and then the walls paint, furniture design and rug colors. We’re getting pretty darn good at it too! In fact, I think we’ve moved beyond compromise into hybrid ideas. And we all know hybrid technology is all the rage.
I compiled a list of recipes for hors d’oeuvres, sides, turkeys, stuffing and desserts to pass around my cabinet of culinary advisors, chopped and trimmed to arrive at this menu:
Hors d’oeuvres:
Fresh-baked baguette with brie
Fig and proscuitto flatbread
Margherite pizza
Sesame crackers with three cheeses*
First course:
Spicy mushroom bisque
Turkey:
Brined turkey (11 lb)
Paprika-glazed turkey breast (6 lb)
Sides:
Pumpkin seed bread salad
Chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon
Mashed potatoes with horseradish cream
Apple cider mashed sweet potatoes
Butternut squash and chestnut risotto
Rosemary-butter biscuits
Smoky sherry-doused gravy
Desserts:
Gianduja mousse
Pumpkin-gingersnap tiramisu
We supplemented the meal with a regular mesclun salad, corn and green beans, while our mom’s gave the meal’s end extra sparkle with delicious pumpkin and apple pies from Neil’s mom and a an incredible bread pudding (with croissant base) from my mom’s kitchen.
I think Neil was a little nervous his more traditional family wouldn’t dig the non-traditional menu (it wasn’t too far off), but they really dived into the dishes and didn’t utter an un-mmmed word.
* While I cut up some Colby and swiss, I was really enamored of a light Wisconsin cheddar and cranberry I picked up at Whole Foods. For once, I wasn’t too upset about people not wanting to try new things. More for me!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
How to Host Your First Thanksgiving: Part II
Mockups in hand, we picked up some wall décor, but only one thing made it to our house and on the walls in time for Thursday’s feast. While we bought a round mirror for the living room and a few other pieces to hang, things just weren’t quite right. So, we held off.
Except for one thing: my favorite print.
Have I admitted to my Etsy addiction? Diana pointed me to Etsy a few years ago as an awesome spot for handmade goods. (And when I say ‘awesome’ it’s because I can’t think of more awesome terms for awesome.) It’s been a torrid love affair ever since. In fact, I’ve probably spent several days of my life trolling Etsy and finding about a zillion perfect handmade things for every part of my life.
The latest find was this print by dazeychic, who’s one of my favorite Etsy artists. I check her page often and am always tickled by her work. But when I saw this print, I instantly bought it. And how perfect:
While it didn’t necessarily match the plum accents I wanted to draw into the living room or the warm colors I had tried to pull into the kitchen, I knew my French fry print would find its place in my home. Even if it did take a while.
In fact, I first hung the print in the kitchen, but it just wasn’t quite right. Cute, but not quite right. So, I leaned it against the new bench I bought for the living room (the wall had been scouted for a bookcase, but we went with additional seating for the holidays) and waited for inspiration.
The inspiration popped up on Wednesday night. I was looking at our bare walls as I prepped for Thursday’s big event. It didn’t bother me that my home wouldn’t be perfect for first visits, but I felt like something on the wall would make a big difference. And there was my French fry staring my down.
I grabbed a picture hanger and pounded it in an eyeballed center of the side wall. I hung up my French fry and looked pretty darn cute:
So, I kept it there (the frame on the bench shouldn't actually be there). I’m not sure that it’s the final hanging place for such a happy print, but it garnered much attention. I think I get plenty of odd looks for most of my decorating decisions. But how could you think to look askance at a bird and a French fry? I can’t even begin to guess how one could.
Except for one thing: my favorite print.
Have I admitted to my Etsy addiction? Diana pointed me to Etsy a few years ago as an awesome spot for handmade goods. (And when I say ‘awesome’ it’s because I can’t think of more awesome terms for awesome.) It’s been a torrid love affair ever since. In fact, I’ve probably spent several days of my life trolling Etsy and finding about a zillion perfect handmade things for every part of my life.
The latest find was this print by dazeychic, who’s one of my favorite Etsy artists. I check her page often and am always tickled by her work. But when I saw this print, I instantly bought it. And how perfect:
While it didn’t necessarily match the plum accents I wanted to draw into the living room or the warm colors I had tried to pull into the kitchen, I knew my French fry print would find its place in my home. Even if it did take a while.In fact, I first hung the print in the kitchen, but it just wasn’t quite right. Cute, but not quite right. So, I leaned it against the new bench I bought for the living room (the wall had been scouted for a bookcase, but we went with additional seating for the holidays) and waited for inspiration.
The inspiration popped up on Wednesday night. I was looking at our bare walls as I prepped for Thursday’s big event. It didn’t bother me that my home wouldn’t be perfect for first visits, but I felt like something on the wall would make a big difference. And there was my French fry staring my down.
I grabbed a picture hanger and pounded it in an eyeballed center of the side wall. I hung up my French fry and looked pretty darn cute:
So, I kept it there (the frame on the bench shouldn't actually be there). I’m not sure that it’s the final hanging place for such a happy print, but it garnered much attention. I think I get plenty of odd looks for most of my decorating decisions. But how could you think to look askance at a bird and a French fry? I can’t even begin to guess how one could.
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