Thanksgiving Day Photo Op

Alright, I know most of us have already moved on to Christmas shopping/decorating/light hanging, etc.  And, I totally meant to post this on Friday, but I was still nursing a serious pie-hangover.  But, I made the family wait to eat until each dish had been photographed and if I don’t use the pictures they will be more than a little irked.  So I now give you: The Great Thanksgiving Photo Shoot of 2010.

When Madison saw the table she exclaimed, “(Gasp) it’s like a real Thanksgiving dinner, with a turkey in the middle of the table and everything!”  The turkey stayed on the table for the photo shoot only – have you ever tried carving a 22 lb bird on the table?  That thing will slip and slide and juice all over you if you aren’t careful.  So, the bird made it’s way back to the counter for carving.

Here is the view Joel had from the head of the table.  I’m not sure if I will ever roast a turkey again without brining it first.  It was so moist and tender.  It was a little salty though, so I’m glad I didn’t salt too many of the side dishes.

My brother proudly proclaimed the day before, “I know how to carve a turkey because last night I watched a whole documentary about Butterball Turkeys.”  My mom and I were like, “Umm, yeah.  We’ve been carving turkeys for the last 35 and 20 years respectively.  So I said, “Awesome, you can carve it this year.”  I’m so proud of him – 34 years old and he’s finally carved his first turkey!

I Love Stuffing. When I was a kid I would sneak into the fridge after the leftovers had been packed up and dip into the stuffing container. I could eat stuffing at every meal, (but surprisingly, I don’t.) My mom however is another story. She is NOT a stuffing fan and this year when we were discussing the menu she said, (and I quote), “Oh, don’t make too much stuffing. There’s always a bunch left over.” Umm, in who’s kitchen? Certainly not mine. Anyway, the cornbread stuffing was a hit. And my mom even asked for seconds.

The make ahead potatoes are made with 8 oz of cream cheese, a stick of butter and 8 oz of sour cream – which by default makes for some pretty creamy potatoes.  Yummy!

We still have almost an entire pan in the fridge – so clearly this dish is not as loved as everyone claims.  I’m thinking it’s more of a sentimental favorite?

The combination of fresh chopped lettuce, pomegranate seeds, crumbled feta chopped macadamia nuts and a balsamic vinaigrette were a nice contrast to all the buttery, rich dishes.

The “dressing” used on the warm carrot salad is great the first day – a little too garlicky the next.  It’s a combination of crushed mint, chopped garlic, olive oil and lemon juice which really brings out the carrot flavor but makes for some pretty bad breath the next day.

I think it’s now safe to say that I like sweet potatoes – as long as they’re in a biscuit.  I don’t have a biscuit cutter so I rolled and flattened the drop versions and they turned out nice and light and fluffy, just the way a biscuit should be.

I had some extra sweet potatoes left, so I used a mini (read: single serving chicken pot pie dish) to make a very small side of sweet potato-brown sugar-marshmallow dish.  The marshmallows could have used a bit more browning, but there were still very little leftovers so I’m guessing they tasted okay.

My mom made this year’s cranberry sauce – with a ½ cup of pomegranate juice instead of cranberry juice by accident.  I buy this really yummy organic juice at the farmers market and by mistake my mom used the entire container ($8 worth!) in the sauce.  It tasted pretty good though and the sauce had a little kick.  (and I forgot to take a picture!)

What you see is what you get.  Although there were no cream-cheese-licking or black-olive-vomiting incidents to report thank goodness.

I still love the persimmon pudding even if everyone else is afraid to try it, (except my mom.)  The puree was super creamy I was so excited that the persimmons were perfectly ripe that the pudding turned out perfectly – even if it didn’t stay molded.  (Which was kinda my fault because I used the wrong size mold.)  Anyway, I am now on a mission to educate everyone about the joys of persimmons.  (Not really, but it sound good doesn’t it?)

The pie took FOREVER to cook.  Maybe I need a new oven?  I did like the Paula Deen recipe though.  The pumpkin filling was really fluffy and SOOO much better the next morning for breakfast.

This picture of the mulled cranberry juice doesn’t do it justice.  Here it just looks like cold, black coffee – ick!  But the hot juice was a little sweet and was a tasty contrast to the salty turkey.

So there you have it – my photo chronicle of our Thanksgiving Day food.  I hope yours was just as yummy!