giving thanks
So we're hosting a (small) Thanksgiving at our place this year. Probably only going to do Canadian Thanksgiving this year as we won't be able to travel to my family this season. So it's time to think menu.
We're only having over my SIL and her boyfriend, and they are bringing wine and a pie.
Menu:
fruit, cheese and crackers for noshing
<5kg whole turkey
gravy
mashed potatoes
stuffing
cranberry sauce
whipped cream (for the pie)
bread
beer (thinking about Unibroue's Don de Dieu)
Some questions remain. The first is vegetables. I love basically all the traditional Thanskgiving veggies sides: green bean casserole, creamed onions, brussels sprouts, glazed carrots, sweet potatoes (although I don't like them candied with the marshmallows, too sweet).
Man, I'm getting hungry just planning this meal. LOL.
Anyway, there will only be four adults, and Gordon is working Thanksgiving morning, and the day before we have Mass in the morning which consumes a ton of time in itself, so I know that I can't go overboard in what I do. I have to prioritize what I make from scratch and how many different dishes I make, especially with our small kitchen.
I know making cranberry sauce is easy but I actually like the canned stuff, so that's easy.
So I would like to try doing the turkey in the crock pot, which will free up my oven. Gordon is skeptical, especially regarding whether the crock pot can crisp up the skin, but we can always throw the bird under the broiler for five minutes just before serving to crisp it. And that will be the best way to get lots of drippings and juice to make gravy. Gravy has to be homemade, the jarred or mix stuff is gross.
Mashed potatoes gotta be homemade too. I don't mind skin in my mashed potatoes so it's actually pretty easy to make.
I would like to try making bread, doing the no-knead bread thing the night before, such that I just have to put it in the oven day-of.
So, I have one crock pot left, and some oven space, and some stovetop space. I think I'll do a mix of sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and apples, with a light glaze and maybe some crushed nuts, in the second crock pot. That will satisfy my "variety!" craving without being too much work. Then it comes down to brussels sprouts vs green bean casserole vs other green vegetable. I think I'll let that one come down to the price/quality of the veggies.
Ok after looking at a bunch of pictures of Thanksgving food I had to take a break to eat some Triscuits and homemade hummus. I'm better now.
---
Well, this year we had the driest July on record in Vancouver (no rain at all), and we've just had the third wettest September on record. I'm ready for a little sun again please. Mostly because it's hard to get the kids out of the house. Vancouver needs more indoor playgrounds. Even just putting a cover over a play area would be nice. Don't know why they don't do that, with as much rain as we get here.
You would think it would also help preserve the equipment. Why don't they put covers over playgrounds, really? Shade on hot days, cover on rainy days. What am I missing?
We're only having over my SIL and her boyfriend, and they are bringing wine and a pie.
Menu:
fruit, cheese and crackers for noshing
<5kg whole turkey
gravy
mashed potatoes
stuffing
cranberry sauce
whipped cream (for the pie)
bread
beer (thinking about Unibroue's Don de Dieu)
Some questions remain. The first is vegetables. I love basically all the traditional Thanskgiving veggies sides: green bean casserole, creamed onions, brussels sprouts, glazed carrots, sweet potatoes (although I don't like them candied with the marshmallows, too sweet).
Man, I'm getting hungry just planning this meal. LOL.
Anyway, there will only be four adults, and Gordon is working Thanksgiving morning, and the day before we have Mass in the morning which consumes a ton of time in itself, so I know that I can't go overboard in what I do. I have to prioritize what I make from scratch and how many different dishes I make, especially with our small kitchen.
I know making cranberry sauce is easy but I actually like the canned stuff, so that's easy.
So I would like to try doing the turkey in the crock pot, which will free up my oven. Gordon is skeptical, especially regarding whether the crock pot can crisp up the skin, but we can always throw the bird under the broiler for five minutes just before serving to crisp it. And that will be the best way to get lots of drippings and juice to make gravy. Gravy has to be homemade, the jarred or mix stuff is gross.
Mashed potatoes gotta be homemade too. I don't mind skin in my mashed potatoes so it's actually pretty easy to make.
I would like to try making bread, doing the no-knead bread thing the night before, such that I just have to put it in the oven day-of.
So, I have one crock pot left, and some oven space, and some stovetop space. I think I'll do a mix of sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, and apples, with a light glaze and maybe some crushed nuts, in the second crock pot. That will satisfy my "variety!" craving without being too much work. Then it comes down to brussels sprouts vs green bean casserole vs other green vegetable. I think I'll let that one come down to the price/quality of the veggies.
Ok after looking at a bunch of pictures of Thanksgving food I had to take a break to eat some Triscuits and homemade hummus. I'm better now.
---
Well, this year we had the driest July on record in Vancouver (no rain at all), and we've just had the third wettest September on record. I'm ready for a little sun again please. Mostly because it's hard to get the kids out of the house. Vancouver needs more indoor playgrounds. Even just putting a cover over a play area would be nice. Don't know why they don't do that, with as much rain as we get here.
You would think it would also help preserve the equipment. Why don't they put covers over playgrounds, really? Shade on hot days, cover on rainy days. What am I missing?