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Some daylight photos of the Thanksgiving table:
The hors d'oeuvres included egg salad and pimento cheese, both homemade, as were the whole-wheat wafers; also cheddar and swiss cheeses, pepperoni slices, and sliced beef roll-ups.
The appetizer was fluffy, savory quichettes hot from the oven, with egg, ham, broccoli, and cheddar wrapped in a flaky homemade crust.
M.P. set a beautiful Thanksgiving table with a gold damask cloth and a handmade cornucopia, partly filled with found items from the yard and garden.
The turkey took a long time to cook, M.P. basting it in a slow oven for about ten hours, but when it was finally done, it was worth the wait:
A couple of side dishes are pictured below: maque choux (a Cajun corn mixture) and the classic green bean casserole, which I made from the original Campbell's Soup recipe - it's getting to be one of my specialties. Since we didn't have a can of French fried onion rings, M.P. sliced an onion very thinly and fried the rings himself. He also julienned by hand a whole can of regular green beans, which he says was not so daunting as you might think.
I also made a sweet potato souffle topped with mini marshmallows (not pictured, alas), which I've been doing for the last forty years or so, a very simple thing but always a crowd pleaser. M.P. made his marvelous featherbed rolls, so called because they are so soft and light - wonderful with a big pat of butter:
We also had a few other things I should have gotten pictures of - the homemade sausage M.P. used in the dressing, flavored with fresh herbs from the garden, also his lovely homemade pecan pie, and my store-bought pumpkin pie, but at this point hunger overcame photography, so I will close with a picture of my full plate, moments before it mysteriously vanished:
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| From 12 to 2 o'clock: sweet potato souffle; 3 to 6 o'clock: turkey and dressing; 7 to 10 o'clock: maque choux; squeezed in from 10 to 12: green bean casserole. Not pictured: real mashed potatoes, which I had no room for, and the giblet gravy and cranberry sauce, which were waiting just offstage to be added. |
And of course we will have plenty of good leftovers to feast and refeast upon for a good long while, as is only to be expected. So despite a rather tight budget this year, we ate very well and were most grateful for all our blessings, culinary and otherwise.
How did it go with you fellas?
6 comments:
I found it odd that you spread out your courses over 12 hours. (to aid digestion?) until I realized you were talking about the geography of the plate...duh. I've been losing too much sleep lately. Happy Thanksgiving.
LOL Frank. Those forced marches at high altitude are getting to you.
Frank - You must remember the classic film Twelve O’clock High staring Gregory Peck? Nazi Messerschmitts before after starters and before dessert. LoL
As ever Russ, yours and M.P.s preparations and cuisine look fantastic. It’s nice to dress up the dinning table now and again! These homely celebrations are the things that bind us. The bedrock of simple honest values and civilised behaviour that will serve you well in the days that are to come. Keep it up old boy!
As a Aussie follower from Down Under even though we do not do Thanksgiving that is a very good layout & Meal i would have enjoyed it all even the the ones i have not tried before
Great effort guys hope you had a Great Thanksgiving
Tim - As you can see, we are doing our bit here for the cause and shall go on holding high the lamp of Civilization amid th'encircling gloom as long as we can. Do you likewise there in Spain.
Jeff Mac - Nice to hear from you, and thanks for the compliments. Thanksgiving dinner here is somewhat like a dress rehearsal for Christmas, with a rather definite menu of traditional dishes, and we had great fun cooking it all - and eating it.
Wow - I've had three turkey dinners in the past four days but this one I could do all over again!
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