So here we go - Thanksgiving cooking begins

[David M. Bueker]

Well the bird was fantastic, and everything else up to the challenge. Great meal.

Dishes are done. Oof.

[David M. Bueker]

Get...ting...slee...py...

Burp!!

Get...ting...slee...py...

I'm never going to eat again.

After several hours straight of packing, we punted and went to a restaurant for dinner. Not bad, either; had some fancified Santa Fe-style chile rellenos and a bottle of Vega Sindoa. The rellenos were excellent, the wine was competent-if-uninspired.

[David M. Bueker]

I should be making stock, but I think I will wait until tomorrow. I cannot face turkey right now.

Carrie's sweet potato souffle is in the oven. Took a big risk: instead of baking it in a 9 x 13 and using two eggs, I used three, beat the yolks with the sweet potato and separately whipped the whites which I folded in at the last minute. Didn't use the orange juice because by the time I whipped everything, couldn't see making it looser, but added orange zest to be true to the flavors prescribed. The batter tasted delicious--I could have sat down with the bowl and a spoon right there. But I resisted, and it's baking in a regulation souffle dish right now. Could be the biggest disaster ever: why do I monkey around with things when I have absolutely no back-up plan?

Good thought! Please report back and let me know how it turned out!

[Jenise]

Carrie's sweet potato souffle is in the oven. Took a big risk: instead of baking it in a 9 x 13 and using two eggs, I used three, beat the yolks with the sweet potato and separately whipped the whites which I folded in at the last minute. Didn't use the orange juice because by the time I whipped everything, couldn't see making it looser, but added orange zest to be true to the flavors prescribed. The batter tasted delicious--I could have sat down with the bowl and a spoon right there. But I resisted, and it's baking in a regulation souffle dish right now. Could be the biggest disaster ever: why do I monkey around with things when I have absolutely no back-up plan?

Good thought! Please report back and let me know how it turned out!

Well, it turned out FANTASTIC. It was the surprise hit of the meal--surprise in that everything else was pretty standard Thanksgiving food where this was unlike any version of sweet potatoes any of us had eaten. One woman had never liked sweet potatoes before, but she ate two helpings. Absolutely delicious, and a definite keeper. THANK YOU!

A note about my variations though--I neglected to mention that I only had four sweet potatoes, 2/3 of what the recipe called for, owing to the fact that I bought four believing I had two in the pantry. That was true, but those two turned out to no longer be viable, shall we say. So I had a reduced quantity and needed to move to a smaller baking dish anyway. During baking, the souffle rose beautifully enough for me to think I'd achieved something, literally doubling in height (to over five inches), but there likely wasn't enough egg there to support the volume of vegetable and it sank back down two inches and looked a bit sad hiding below the rim of the souffle dish, so after it cooled I risked inverting it onto a dinner plate and then reversing it back onto a presentation plate on which it sat proudly like a pork pie hat (it was about 7" diameter). With more nuts scattered around the periphery and a bit of finely chopped parsley, it finally looked as good as it tasted.

[David M. Bueker]

I rest my case about your cooking instincts. You could make a souffle out of a sow's ear.

I rest my case about your cooking instincts. You could make a souffle out of a sow's ear.

Or a terrine out of Spam....?

[Jenise]

I rest my case about your cooking instincts. You could make a souffle out of a sow's ear.

Or a terrine out of Spam....?

You could live to regret giving me such ideas.

David--thank you. That's one of the best compliments I've ever had.

Jenise, you go, girl!
It's the day after Turkey day. I am deboning the rest of the carcas, dicing the meat for freezing. Will make pot pies in a week or so. Will cut up the carcas and put into a stock pot to render any remaining flavor for the liquid base of my sauce for the pies. Any remaining will be used in soup. There are no other leftovers to speak of with 22 hungry guests! It was great, except for that part where my mother assaulted my best friend and tried to kill me just before the police arrived. Other than that, a fun time was had by all.

Jenise, you go, girl!
It's the day after Turkey day. I am deboning the rest of the carcas, dicing the meat for freezing. Will make pot pies in a week or so. Will cut up the carcas and put into a stock pot to render any remaining flavor for the liquid base of my sauce for the pies. Any remaining will be used in soup. There are no other leftovers to speak of with 22 hungry guests! It was great, except for that part where my mother assaulted my best friend and tried to kill me just before the police arrived. Other than that, a fun time was had by all.

Leftovers? Jo Ann, left overs are not left overs if they take on a different persona. Pot pies, stock etc. those are a different dish, therefore not leftovers. A week or or so ago, I had leftover pot roast, and I have grown tired of leftover whatever. So, I diced potatoes, sauteed some onion, and garlic. Dissolved the leftover pot roast gravy, minced the beef, put the ingredients all together, simmered for 320 minutes, made biscuits, and had not leftovers.

Thanksgiving always seems like such a nice celebration to me.
Matilda

I think you misread the quote, Bob. The only leftover to which I spoke was the turkey, which I used to make other dishes.

[Jenise]

I think you misread the quote, Bob. The only leftover to which I spoke was the turkey, which I used to make other dishes.

And I can understand why after 320 minutes what Bob had wasn't leftovers either, can't you?

But I want to hear more about your mom assaulting your best friend. For real?

Well, it's 2 days later and I am still eating turkey sandwiches and LOVING it. It has been so long since I had Thanksgiving leftovers, I forgot how much I missed them!

Thanks everyone for your help. The turkey was truly delicious...the breasts were absolutely perfect, juicy, tasty, great. The dark meat was a tad undercooked, but still very good.

After dinner, I took all the remaining meat of the bones and stuck them in my slower cooker with some water and herbs and put it on the lowest setting overnight. OMG, best stock I have ever had EVER!

My stuffing and gravy definitely didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. The stuffing was too dry and bland. However, the next day, I added several tablespoons of the super stock and recooked it, and it was fabulous, even for it being gluten-free and vegan.

My mini pies turned out ok. The crusts were too crumbly. The fillings were good though, even the pumpkin one. I need to try and figure out a way to get the pie crusts to stay together.

With dinner, we had a 2005 Christian Moreau Chablis that was really nice. Great meal...the kiddos enjoyed it too! Thanks again everyone.

P.S. My turkey sandwiches start with toasted wheat bread...add turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and some mayo...oh yeah! I think it's time for another.

Jenise, I totally agree with David B. I'm so glad you (and everyone) liked the dish. Do you think separating and folding in the egg whites made a significant difference? Just wondering if I should try it next time. Mine poufs up a little when it's done (not five inches!, more like one), but then also goes back down when I take it out...

I think you misread the quote, Bob. The only leftover to which I spoke was the turkey, which I used to make other dishes.

I was agreeing with you Jo Ann, It "ain't" leftovers when it becomes a totally different dish.

[Jenise]

Jenise, I totally agree with David B. I'm so glad you (and everyone) liked the dish. Do you think separating and folding in the egg whites made a significant difference? Just wondering if I should try it next time. Mine poufs up a little when it's done (not five inches!, more like one), but then also goes back down when I take it out...

Carrie, without having the advantage of having your dish to compare mine to, especially with the difference in moisture content and the higher quantity of egg (3 eggs, 4 yams) in mine, it would be hard for me to quantify exactly how much difference it made in what we put in our mouths, but it had to make some difference. Texture wise, my result was almost like pound cake or English Christmas pudding. Moist, sure, but dense, each scoop (the serving spoon was like an extra large tablespoon) sitting on our plates like a large quenelle: very whole, no spread, no leaking. If yours serves like that, then there's little or no difference. Something I really liked and would reccomend you consider next time, btw, was the orange peel. Instead of having a homogenous hint of orange throughout from juice, some bites had a strip and therefore a big hit of orange, and some didn't. Personally, I love it when each bite sets up anticipation like that.

Jenise, I totally agree with David B. I'm so glad you (and everyone) liked the dish. Do you think separating and folding in the egg whites made a significant difference? Just wondering if I should try it next time. Mine poufs up a little when it's done (not five inches!, more like one), but then also goes back down when I take it out...

Carrie, without having the advantage of having your dish to compare mine to, especially with the difference in moisture content and the higher quantity of egg (3 eggs, 4 yams) in mine, it would be hard for me to quantify exactly how much difference it made in what we put in our mouths, but it had to make some difference. Texture wise, my result was almost like pound cake or English Christmas pudding. Moist, sure, but dense, each scoop (the serving spoon was like an extra large tablespoon) sitting on our plates like a large quenelle: very whole, no spread, no leaking. If yours serves like that, then there's little or no difference. Something I really liked and would reccomend you consider next time, btw, was the orange peel. Instead of having a homogenous hint of orange throughout from juice, some bites had a strip and therefore a big hit of orange, and some didn't. Personally, I love it when each bite sets up anticipation like that.

Hmm. If yours was like a pound cake (I'm not sure I've ever eaten an English pudding), it sounds like they came out a little different. Mine is a very silky texture similar to pumpkin pie filling once it's set--maybe a tad more dense--no spread or leaking either, though. The strips of orange zest sound like a good idea, especially for more sophisticated palates. We only have a few of those in our group though. I actually have to make two of these so I can put marshmallows on top of the other one instead of the pecans.
Btw, your presentation sounded very elegant! Nice!

But I want to hear more about your mom assaulting your best friend. For real?

Yep! We'll talk when I come to your place for the next crabbing season.

[Jenise]

But I want to hear more about your mom assaulting your best friend. For real?

Yep! We'll talk when I come to your place for the next crabbing season.

You're on for both. Sorry it didn't work out this year--I got injured about two weeks into the season--fully expected to be back in the saddle quickly but in fact it didn't work out. In fact, I'm still not whole. I trust your visit with your Asian friend went well?

But I want to hear more about your mom assaulting your best friend. For real?

Yep! We'll talk when I come to your place for the next crabbing season.

You're on for both. Sorry it didn't work out this year--I got injured about two weeks into the season--fully expected to be back in the saddle quickly but in fact it didn't work out. In fact, I'm still not whole. I trust your visit with your Asian friend went well?

Not a problem for this year. The visit with Fumiko went splendidly! But, there was no time for excursions beyond our task to get certain dishes made that she could incorporate into her curriculum at Saga University. We cooked every day and she took home 25 of the best and her favorite recipes. I interviewed her for my radio program, The Kitchen Corner, and gave her a copy of the tape, along with an authentic certificate of completion for our 3 week cooking course. The smash hit was our Christmas in September dinner. I just sent off her Christmas package yesterday. BTW, she wrote to me to congratulate America on the election of Barack Obama. She said that all of Japan is ecstatic.