Last night I made a great pumpkin pie. Marty and I both worked on a cranberry salad that my family has been making since the 1920's. Marty roasted the giblets to be ready to go into the gravy. Marty got up at 6:00 this morning and put the turkey out to come up to room temperature. Back to bed. At 7:00 he got back up to preheat the oven. Then back to bed. I got up at 7:00 and got dressed. At 8:00 Marty put the turkey in the oven. Todays' good smells began.
I made the dressing, hard and soft. I made corn pudding and the mashed potatoes and plated the country ham. I also boiled eggs for the giblet gravy. Later I plated the salad. Marty made the rolls and the gravy. The house smells like heaven.
Our friends, Nancy and Lew, arrived with their appetizer, a deconstructed Cesar salad on endive, and a bottle of J sparkling wine. She also cooked peas and pearl onions, an apple crisp for dessert and brought two other wines. We contributed a Proseco wine. Lots of good eats.
This is my pumpkin pie. I don't really like pumpkin pie, but this was really good. You couldn't taste the pumpkin.
Putting the oranges and the cranberries through the meat grinder for the cranberry salad. There also are pecans in this, all held together by lemon jello.
This is the oranges and cranberries after going through the meat grinder. Pecans and sugar under this. I love, love this salad. My son and his wife don't like it. We have friends who don't like it. We tell them that's OK we love it, serve it, and tell them it does not hurt our feeling if they don't eat it.
Top shelf of the fridge has boiled eggs, hard dressing, soft dressing. Next shelf down giblets, neck meat, turkey broth and cranberry salad that you can barely see. It is the white peeping out in the middle. Third shelf down large measuring cup and beaters chilling for the heavy cream to be whipped. Corning ware holds the corn pudding. On the left side second shelf, turkey broth. Crisper drawer on right holds butter lettuce for salad. Meat drawer on the bottom right holds the country ham.
The table is set. All ready for the food to fill the bowls and platters. Glasses are ready for wine.
This is the perfect bird. It is golden brown, tender, ready to be carved. Marty does good work.
The food is filling up the dishes. Almost ready to sit down. Let the feast begin.
Pumpkin pie and apple crisp for dessert. Really, really, really good. We all but licked the plate clean. We had a lovely Rose ( can't put the accent on the e) with dessert.
Clean up time. Silver cooling after drying, then it can be put in its silver chest. The glasses in the back were Marty's Mother. They are very thin and fragile. There is a matching pitcher. I do not use them very often. I am so afraid they will break. I love them. And when I use them I think of Marty's wonderful Mother. She was the best mother in law ever!
After the meal is over you have a turkey carcass to do something with. Marty makes turkey stock by slowly simmering the carcass with vegetables and seasonings,. This will be used for soup, curry, many different dishes.
We had a great Thanksgiving. I hope your Thanksgiving was great. Happy Holidays!
