Thanksgiving Dinner

I'm late, but oh well.

Thanksgiving was fun. Lots of people, good food, etc.


I ate a lot of vegetables, but actually did not overeat. I only had one plate of food.


(And a bowl.) I made white bean and leek cassoulet with baked-in biscuits. I screwed up the biscuits; me and dough do not get along. I'm not sure what a cassoulet is, except I think it's a type of stew. It was so-so. I probably won't make it again.


As per usual, I didn't eat any dessert, but someone complained last year when I didn't show the options on the blog. This is what I call "the dooky roll." It's yellow sheet cake rolled up with jelly, whipped cream, and chocolate, or something like that. Everyone loves it. I don't think I've ever tried it, although my parents make it a lot. This time there are raspberries on top. I love the way raspberries melt in your mouth like little fuzzy jewels. I think I was 22 before I ever had fresh raspberries. My life has not been the same since.


I think this was apple pie. Didn't try it.


My mom is a great hostess, and has a flair for making everything both beautiful and welcoming.


My parents have gotten in the habit of buying fresh flowers every week. It adds a really nice feeling to the kitchen.

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great. My parents had around sixteen friends and family members over, and made a really, really long table in the living room.


I folded the napkins. It's the only useful thing I learned from working in a restaurant a long time ago. And I may have done it wrong. So interpret that as you will.


There was tons of good food. I made kasha with mushrooms, which is supposed to be burger patties, but I just sauteed it as a crumble. I also made a succotash chowder from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I substituted soy milk for regular milk, and it was really good (I thought).

I took a picture of my plate to make my brothers jealous, since they couldn't be there and I missed them:


Then I remembered that while my oldest brother is mostly vegan, my other brother wouldn't be too impressed with my plate, so I got two carnivores to take photos of their plates before digging in. This one is Rita's:


This one is G-Bill's:


Doesn't it look like we're all eating completely different meals? We basically were--that's how much food there was. But of course the 'rents and I have been eating leftovers for days.

There was...

candied pecans
homemade hummus-olive tapenade with fresh vegetables
brie with cloudberry jam on little toasts
mozzerella and tomatoes with basil and olives
turkey
mashed potatoes
gravy
stuffing
sweet potatoes
broccoli casserole
cranberry sauce
green beans
caesar salad
kasha
succotash

There was also a bunch of dessert, but I didn't really pay any attention to it.

My grandmother's day was made when the vegetarian sitting next to her unknowingly ate three helpings of her sausage-filled stuffing, while she silently watched with barely disguised glee. Luckily that vegetarian was not me.