Thanksgiving Feast!

I know it's just me, but that doesn't stop me anyways.  A friend upon seeing my spread commented, "If I lived alone, I would probably just eat cereal."  Seriously?  If you don't love yourself a little more than that, how do you plan to love others?  It starts with being good to me...and it helps that I just love to cook!

Well, and it's also NOT just me.  My faithful canine companion, Roméo, is always nearby checking out the lay of the land and picking up cooking tips.  He's so observant that I swear, if he but had opposable thumbs, I wouldn't have to do the cooking any more!

The meal starts the night before with the making of the pie.  This year it was my own take on the classic Buttermilk Pie.  I make mine with pears!

Step one is to quarter a pear, a nice d'Anjou pear, core each quarter and then cut them into five wedges for a total of 20.  Blanch them for about two minutes in boiling water, remove and let cool.   Place your crust in the Pie Dish and then arrange the pear wedges in a fan!

 Add your filling contents:

BUTTERMILK PIE

1 Stick of Butter melted, but not hot
3 Eggs
1 Cup of Buttermilk
1 tsp of Vanilla extract
1 1/2 Cups organic Cane Sugar
3 Tbsp of organic (I prefer King Arthur brand) All Purpose Flour
Ground Nutmeg to sprinkle on top

And Bake @ 350˚ for 50 minutes or until set (the toothpick test!)

Just so you know, you'll be making this wonder often once you've experienced it magic!

Next, first thing in the morning, prepared the appetizer.  I did right after making a breakfast of Bacon, 2 Eggs sunny-side-up and Toast from a bakery purchased French County Loaf (as an aside, there is nothing more essential to life than bread, and I swear to god, I don't buy shitty bread!  You shouldn't either!  Find a bakery and buy the real deal or do without.  You have only got this one life, don't toss it away on industrial produced bread.)  This is important, because I used 3 slices of Bacon in the appetizer.

SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP

8 oz of Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
8 oz Sour Cream
1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise
1 pkg frozen chopped Spinach
1 little jar of marinated Artichoke quarters (chopped up without the liquid)
3 strips of Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Cup of finely grated Parmesan Cheese
Some additional grated fresh Parmesan Cheese on top before baking

Bake @ 325˚ for 30 minutes and then Broil for an addition 90 seconds or so to lightly brown the top. I served it with a couple of varieties of Potato Crackers (Spinach/Garlic and White Cheddar Cheese)

On to the main event!  The Menu for the Day:

1) Roasted Turkey Breast (compliments Snyder's Market in Silver Spring) with Gravy and Three-Leaf-Clover Roles.
2) Old-fashioned Green Bean Casserole with Bacon Ritz Cracker topping.
3) Maple Syrup glazed Carrots with fresh Ginger and Mandarine Oranges
4) Savory Bread Pudding with Kale and Wild Mushrooms (in place of a stuffing)

 The results in their full glory!

 SAVORY KALE & MUSHROOM BREAD PUDDING

1 bunch Kale, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil (to use in place of the Bacon Grease or to supplement it when cooking the Kale--see below)

½ pound Baby Portobello Mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp fresh Thyme leaves

1 Garlic clove, crushed then minced

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

A loaf of French Country Bread, cut into 1" cubes (I used about 80% of the loaf and gauged it off of the size of my baking dish)

1/2 Cup Gruyère cheese, grated 

1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated

4 eggs

2 cups low-fat milk

I set the bread cubes out over night to dry out.  I also used the breakfast's bacon grease to sauté the sliced Mushrooms first, and then separately the chopped Kale along with the Garlic and some Kosher salt.  I combined the eggs, milk and Thyme from my garden in a blender.  Once the other ingredients were in the casserole dish, I poured the egg-milk mixture on it and let it sit for 30 minutes before baking it.  Cook @ 350˚ for 50 minutes.

 MAPLE SYRUP GLAZED CARROTS with GINGER AND MANDARIN ORANGES

3 large Carrots
2 Tbsp Butter
A healthy splash of Vermouth
1 root section of fresh Ginger (about 3 oz), peeled and sliced into little wedges
1 small can of Mandarin Oranges
Vermont Maple Syrup (the REAL DEAL)
Ground Cinnamon to garnish

You will first sauté the sliced carrots in the Butter and Vermouth.  Toss them and then cover them and let them cook for about 10 minutes on a medium heat or until they are shiny but not soft.  Next arrange them in a shallow baking dish with slivers of fresh Ginger and Mandarin Oranges.  Drizzle with generous amounts of Maple Syrup, add the remaining liquid from the sauté pan and some of the juice from the Mandarine Oranges--and then drizzle some more Maple Syrup on top.  Cover with Aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes @ 325˚  How handy it is to have a double oven at times like these!

 My finished plate!

And desert later in the day!

Me And My Shadow!

How thankful I am!

Thanksgiving Dinner 2013

A solo affair, but no less pampered!

The Breakdown!

SOUP: Chicken stock with Butternut Squash, Onion, Granny Smith Apples and Nutmeg.  Pureed, and served with Sour Cream and fresh Chives.

 MEAT/STUFFING: Roasted Cornish Hen stuffed with a Lemon.  Stuffing made with dried bread, spices: sage, thyme, oregano, parsley, marjoram, rosemary; Granny Smith Apple, dried Cranberries, Celery, Vadalia Onions.

VEGETABLE #1: Cauliflower (au gratin): blanched Cauliflower, dehydrated Red Pepper, heavy whipping Creme, condenced Cream of Onion Soup, Caraway Seeds, smoked Paprika, sharp Cheddar Cheese.

 VEGETABLE #2:  Spinach a Al Jaleo: Spinach, Olive oil, Water, Kosher Salt, dried Cranberries, Pine Nuts, Garlic.

 DESSERT: Pumpkin Pie with Cured Walnuts in Maple Syrup.

Thanksgiving Cartoon

Everyone be thankful!

Thanksgiving 2008 Dame Fortuna

tham
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

It's hard to turn on the radio or the TV and not find some one declaring what it is for which they are thankful. After all, it is Thanksgiving!

So here's my 2 ¢ for this year: I'm thankful for Fate.

Last evening I found myself on the #16 Ride On Metro Bus on my way to retrieve my car from the auto shop, when this article flashed before my eyes. Only a month earlier, on another #16, 14-year-old Tai Lam was accidentally shot to death by a member of the Latino gang MS-13.

In the back of the bus I was riding on was a group of young African American males talking up shit with lots of "fucks" and "nigga's" and laughter while two young women giggled and shot them glances of disbelief, flirtation, and faux-shock.

I sat behind the driver and across from me were an elderly black woman and a young Hispanic woman with a baby girl in her arms. Half a dozen assorted brown skinned men and women sat around the middle of the bus holding shopping bags, a valise or two, a cane.

Within moments the bus was well past Quebec Terrace and the crime scene. It lumbered up Piney Branch and near a set of formerly public housing apartments, the two young women in the back of the bus rose to exit. As they did they turned to the young men and said, "Please, be safe."

I'm sure when the teenaged son of Vietnamese immigrants got on this bus, he felt safe. He'd taken the bus a gazillion times before. But that night, it was his fate to be first a witness to an argument between rival gang members and then their latest victim.

Fate is not a collective experience no matter how much we work together to achieve a goal. We each ultimately find our life's path to be filled with it's own fortunes, it's only tragedies. Wednesday's bus ride reminded me how diverse and how capricious fate can be.

And even with the sadnesses that have from time to time found their way into my life, thus far, my fate has been benevolent, unremarkable, and fortunate. And on this “Turkey Day” I am thankful for it.

What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving 2007 a la Baghdad

freedomfromwant
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

Shortly before sunset, a series of rockets or mortars crashed into the Green Zone, sending up plumes of smoke into the sky as the sounds of the detonations reverberated through the center of the city.

The attack, the biggest against the Green Zone in weeks, occurred as many Americans were marking the Thanksgiving holiday. Loudspeakers in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay away from windows.

Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. spokesman, said there were no fatalities but some people were wounded. He refused to give numbers or nationalities.


FOR THE RECORD -- And this is freedom from what?

Thanksgiving Nirvana

buddha'scorner
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

A day in flux. I spent the morning blowing a million mostly yellow maple leaves into a huge pile on the curb. 77 was a new record high for this date in DC. My curious neighbor, C., came over and I invited her into my sunroom to see the finished product. She was taken by my reproduction Buddha statue and roled her eyes when comparing it to the one her husband had purchased from China. He shared it with me one day while taking me on a tour of his backyard gardens, and so I know that it's cost is like it's weight -- A TON.

In the early part of the 20th century, an obscure (at the time) German poet also took a moment from his busy day to contemplate the Buddha. Enjoy!

BUDDHA IN GLORY

Center of all centers, core of cores
almond self-enclosed and growing sweet
all this universe, to the furthest stars
and beyond them, is your flesh, your fruit.

Now you feel how nothing clings to you;
your vast shell reaches into endless space,
and there the rich, thick fluids rise and flow.
Illuminated in your infinite peace,

a billion stars go spinning through the night,
blazing high above your head.
But in you is the presence that
will be, when all the stars are dead.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke
1875 - 1926

Happy Thanksgiving

NYCvr
Originally uploaded by Randuwa

And I am thankful for.....

1) My health: It's good in a world of other possibilities! I have a doctor who's known me since 1994. A man who's become more than a physician; he's also a friend. [And since I just found out that a dear cousin has been told that he only has 3 months to live (when will doctors STOP playing "god"?), health has suddenly taken on a new awareness in my life.]

2) My friends: many and diverse over the years, and in some ways few and precious. Each a gem whatever their longevity and carat!

3) My home: a gift....a sanctuary.

4) My nation: How could I have ever become me any place else?