THE RAGING SPORK

Well well, I’m in the middle of helping my mom with our own family Thanksgiving dinner, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to showcase some of our house’s creations. We had a few folks over (thanks to everybody for helping with/bringing food and cleaning up also!) and although it was a hectic Sunday, it was a success. A very tasty one. Mark down one food party victory for our house. On to the entrees!

Starting with our little salad, Nate prepared a little persimmon and pomegranate jewel salad. The fruits were sitting on a bed of arugula, drizzled with lemon-mustard vinaigrette, and topped with toasted pine nuts. We were thinking about splashing it with some tangerines and grapefruit to make it a bit more citrus-y, but we ran out of time. It was tasty, though. Haha, we still have a lot of dressing left.

Next up, the butternut squash risotto. Time for today’s dirty little cooking secret. Due to the fact that our oven is small and can only hold that blasted turkey, I didn’t actually get to roast the squash. I actually started out microwaving it. Sick, ew, I know, but surprisingly, the nuking didn’t kill it. I ended up roasting it for a bit after the turkey was done, but I was still amazed that the squash still retained its trademark sweetness. The arborio was splashed with some white wine and mixed with stock and Parmesan cheese. Nothing fancy, but the a very simple, savory rich side. I love butternut squash.

Nate and I were tossing around ideas for sides and of course, the truffled mashed potatoes came into play. Luckily we didn’t stop there, and instead, we decided to make a Shepherd’s Pie topped with the earthy delight. Ground lamb, basil chicken sausage, and a myriad of herbs made up the meaty base. It was quite an earthy delight and easily the best Shepherd’s Pie I’ve sunk my chompers into. Ohh and those deviled eggs in the background were quite yummy also. Didn’t have very many leftovers of that dish at all, haha.

Stuffing is always a must, so we went with a very basic focaccia and sage chicken sausage one. Nothing out of the ordinary, just mirepoix, fresh sage and rosemary, sausage, diced Fuji apples, and soaked in chicken stock. It wasn’t bad at all, but I was hoping for more flavor. I think it could have used a bit more aromatics, and possibly some pancetta or something. Yeah, oh well, we survived this one. Next year will be better, friends.

The main course was an 18-pound success, hands down. Our tiny little oven was completely stuffed with that fat bird, but surprisingly enough, we were able to make it all work. I brined the sucker overnight with vegetable stock, peppercorns, brown sugar, and allspice. We then stuffed him with stewed apples and cinnamon, along with mirepoix and pancetta cubes. We rubbed some vegetable oil and maple syrup on its skin to give a darker appearance and impart a little sweetness to the meat. Roasted it at 500F for 30 minutes and then gave it a slow roast at 300F for about 3 hours. Came out wonderfully, though. The skin was tasty, the meat was moist, and mmmm, that dark meat was tasty. Haha, success!

I saved my favorite dish for the end, though. Even though the turkey was good, this starter was the standout, hands down. Nate went buckwild with this one and it definitely showed. The carrots were boiled and then mixed with chicken stock, heavy cream, and honey. DAMN, it was heaven in a cup. We served it with a little crostini (sorry Nate, I know it was too thick and a little over-toasted, haha), and topped it off with crème fraîche. SO GOOD, seriously. The flavor of the carrot was evident and the cream definitely made it sinfully rich. Mark this one down as a new Nate special, haha.

Well, that’s our house’s mini-feast. Thanks to our friends for sharing it with us and have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!