What's your Thanksgiving timetable?

Maybe I should hop on the Empire Builder and crash the Jaq Family Thanksgiving.

I love me some canned cranberry sauce, the totally smooth kind that plops out of the can with the ringmarks.

We may be in Portland for a night or two around Christmas/New Years, in transit to Seattle, btw.

But of course I do want to see you guys when you come by Portland.

So, we are having duck.

Tomorrow: start the dough for the presbyterian rolls. Buy a green vegetable (brussel sprouts?).

I roasted some lightly coated with olive oil, mixed with some walnut halves and shaved parmesan, last year and they were amazing.

We've been having lots of green beans of late - sauted in a hot skillet in a bit of oil until a bit charred but still bright green, tossed with a touch of toasted sesame oil and a drop of chili oil. Sprinkle on some crushed red pepper flakes at the end. Very spicy good.

Breads are starting. A biga is slowly rising. Slowly.

It is rather a pain to skin pumpkin mind you (I just slice big chunks of skin off). Most of my punkin cooking is roast chunks of it, punkin soup (savoury and curried, not really that sweet), and veg curries.

I might be able to do it from memory though...

From memory, the standard pie recipe has 1 big can of pumpkin (28 oz maybe?), 4 well-beaten (foamy) large eggs, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp mace, 1/2 tsp allspice. Mix together well, then stir in 1/2 cup flour, sifted.

A few years ago, Cooks Illustrated did some research on pumpkin pie, in which they dewatered the pumpkin on a thick layer of white paper towels spread on a baking sheet. Pumpkin has this great property of not sticking to the paper. I put down 5 or 6 layers of towels and spoon/smear the canned pumpkin over them. Lay a couple more thicknesses of towel on top and press. Change the top layer of towels several times. It doesn't have to be bone dry, but you want to take out a good quantity of moisture. When you're done sopping up the top layer, carefully lift one end of the bottom layer of toweling and flip that half of the pumpkin over on top of the other half, to make it easier to get into the bowl. When I make it this year, we'll do a photo session of the process :)

After nearly setting the cabinets on fire three years ago because my giant stainless bowl/bundt pan combo didn't actually fit in the oven, I switched to making the same amount of pudding divided into 2 4 cup ceramic ramekins and using my big oval roasting pan for the bain marie. The water needs to come all the way to the top of the mix in the mold, and I add more at the 1/2 way point of baking. I also start the baking/steaming with hot water in the bain marie, to speed things up a little bit. The 2 ramekins cook in 3 - 4 hours at 315 - 325 deg F. I don't bother greasing/flouring because I don't unmold it, just scoop it out instead.

Over the years I've tried straight baking vs. steaming - the results were not good. Higher heat/shorter time is also bad. Eating it hot is bad - the texture is all wrong until it has cooled. Warm is good, cold is better. It's not terribly sweet and it's delicious for breakfast.

I am looking forward to this! This technique sounds very interesting.

Oh, wait, now I remember last year! Holy crap, that was weird. I haven't seen any of the people I ate Thanksgiving with again.

Anyway I will be making breads and pies. My apple cranberry pie will make its turn. And maybe I'll try out Jaq's pumpkin madness. (Unless you want to come down for our Sunday-before-Tgiving orphan's Tgiving party/house show?)

if you google for nut roast recipes, you'll probably turn up a bunch of stuff. they have a reputation (in the uk, anyway) for being the ultimate humorless (and tasteless) vegetarian dish, but that rep is pretty outdated and i'm quite fond of them.

The pumpkin challah is just challah with pumpkin. Let's see...

One envelope instant yeast, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp ginger, 2/3 c (90g) bread flour, 2/3 c (140g) hot water. 20 minutes until bubbling. Then add 1/3 c (70g) sugar, 1/4 c (55g) oil, 1 1/2 tsp (8g) salt, an egg, 1/2 c (115g) pumpkin. Then the remaining 3c+2tbsp (410g) bread flour. Knead, let rise, shape, let rise again. Makes two 1 lb loaves or 1 1.5 lb loaf and 3 rolls. Glaze with egg wash and add sesame seeds. Cook (rolls 25, 1 lb for 40, 1.5 lb for 45 minute) at 350/180C/mark 4.

(sorry to piss on anyone's chips here, but when I was veggie I stopped eating it)

(yes yes, I once was veggie)

(yes, yes, I was a veggie as well)

Quorn's uptake in the vegetarian market was hampered by the use of battery eggs in its production process, a practice opposed on ethical grounds by many vegetarians. For this reason, the Vegetarian Society initially did not approve these products. Working with the Vegetarian Society, Marlow began phasing out battery eggs in 2000, and by 2004 all Quorn products sold in the UK were produced without battery eggs, earning the seal of approval of the UK branch of the Vegetarian Society.

Note all the UK qualifiers.

It's time to REVIVE!

My current T'day schedule: hope and pray I get to go home on Tuesday 11/20.

research paper due monday 11/19. everything thanksgiving to occur after that.

Yeah, I'm thinking t'day might get pushed back a bit later in the month this year.

tonight:

assemble strata for breakfast
mash potatoes
make pumpkin pie

losses so far:
dropped (1) egg on the ground
spilled custard out of the side of the strata on its way into the fridge

i feel a milk shortage coming on, hope the convenience store is open tomorrow

zucchini casserole assemblage this afternoon, pumpkin pie tomorrow morn

zuch recipe calls for two (2) onions
I only have 2 left for the week
1 onion it is

rip egg (xpost)

pumpkin pie in the oven :D

every year, my plea is the same: my kingdom for a bigger kitchen. or one that doesn't ramp up to 'temperature of the sun' whenever I turn on the oven. :(

all that's left is sweet potato/apple gratin

I think this is the most relaxed I've been before thanksgiving yet! Changing up my pumpkin pie recipe to a simpler one really made a big difference in my timetable.

strata - in the oven (bacon, gruyere, some super stale bread)

still left:
butter rolls (i make these 1x a year only on thanksgiving but they are soooooooo good)
garlic herb butter (this is easy obvs)
oh and lunch and turkey + sauteed green beans with almonds and orange zest (green bean casserole is not edible imo)

lunch = crackers + cheese (4 kinds) + baby lettuce salad with pears, bacon, gorgonzola, and some kind of spiced nuts that i'm not sure i even have) + fancy beer

i guess i must enjoy spending all day cooking because i do this every year. i hope i can find the cheesecloth.

i haven't even started thinking about the turkey yet
breakfast and lunch are cooked, eaten, and cleaned up after

i think i hate the idea of eating everything at once, so i just spread it out as much as possible so it's a FULL DAY OF COOKINGEATINGDRINKING.

sweet potato/apple gratin in the oven which means my work here is done.

next: feasting :D

fridge full of leftover pie

best
thing
ever

PUMPKIN PIE FOR BREAKFAST

^

i made a bourbon maple whipped cream for the pumpkin pie. mr veg said it was strong enough that you could get drunk off a whole pie worth :D

bourbon goooooood

Thanksgiving leftovers will conclude today with a turkey/cranberry sauce/deshi chutney naanwich.

One of the weirder things I made with leftovers were these little potato pancakes with
mashed potatoes
1 egg
dal palak that i bought on the monday before thanksgiving to last me through the days leading up to Thurs

in other words, mashed potatoes + old leftovers, and it was really really good. not very appetizing to look at, unfortunately, but rather tasty considering the circumstances.

apparently i like to talk about leftovers.

it's that time again!

i refuse to make a boring turkey because that is not what i want to eat so i am making gumbo instead and it will be spicy and delicious. also making trad butter rolls, pumpkin pie, something with pears, and something with lavender because that's what i do every year. i have not shopped and have no timetable.

i have decided to make 3 pies and leave the sides and meat to my inlaws.

pumpkin pie
cheescake
peanut butter pie

my timetable is to see if Katz's Deli is open

We will be on the road in Texas for T'day and will likely seek out brisket in lieu of turkey.

Saw a recipe this morning for fried dressing balls with cranberry dipping sauce.

whaaaaat omg

i am going to my friend's house to watch football and smoke weed and eat a ham. no turkey.

Took the pork roast out of the freezer.

Good morning!

Yams roasted yesterday. Chicken this year as the main protein. Sides of brussel sprouts, cranberries, yams, dinner rolls. Cheesecake for dessert.

Made cherry pie yesterday, today it’s gumbo* butter rolls w herb butter, lightly sautéed green beans then pie w ice cream for dessert. Cooking for 4.

* I’ve done this for about 15 years bc it’s easy to procure ingreds, I’d never make a dark roux on a normal day, and it’s the only thing my dad ever cooked and he passed away in May. It’ll maybe taste different today.

<3 sounds delicious

cheesecake made last night
mr veg smoking turkey breast on bbq
i’ll make sides later: braised brussel sprouts w cream; roasted cauliflower w smoked paprika; and green beans w lemon & parsley
they’re all pretty easy-do

we got a super fancy takeout meal, gonna start heating things up around 3 pm

Spiced Nuts
Marinated Olives
Onion Dip, Smoked Trout Roe & Housemade Chips
Brie & Quince Turnovers

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast & Confit Leg
turkey gravy & cranberry orange chutney

Mashed Potatoes

Wild Mushroom & Leek Stuffing
chanterelles & thyme

Green Beans
onion soubise & crispy shallots

Roasted Fall Vegetables
spicy maple & rosemary

Chicory Salad
beets, apple, hazelnut vinaigrette

Pumpkin Pie
chantilly cream

just the two of us, for the first time I can remember

wow that sounds amazing

yours sounds great too! mmm smoked turkey

my faaaaaavorite

The turkey went in the oven at 1pm; should be ready and resting at 4:30. At that point I start the potatoes (peeled and in water on the stove top) and put the fish (for my sister) in the oven. The asparagus is also ready for a quick steaming.

My guests are scheduled to arrive around 4pm; my mother's stuffing goes into the oven to warm up.

Officially everything is planned for 5pm, but my guests have not been fussy in the past. And a good thing; while I've done this before, so much of this has to be done at the last minute.