Skip to main content

TP-D3: And Now We Drink Verdejo

You know, dear readers, that I love what I'm doing, right?  That I love four afternoons and nights this week of chopping, stirring, baking, mixing, puréeing, boiling, melting, squeezing, zesting, brining, whisking, and combining for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Feast?

IdoIdoIdoIdoIdoIdoIdoIdo.

Tomorrow will begin early, only because of the turkey, but otherwise, I will be quite at my leisure.  My parents are arriving at 10 a.m., with their huge 12-cup capacity coffeemaker.  My in-laws (parents, two brothers, sister, and three small children) will arrive around 11, and the first courses will begin at 12.

And I will be ready.

Again, I've loved every minute of the prep process.  I've looked forward to coming home, getting out my knives, doing my mise en place, and working my mojo. 

Things are winding down.  For example, today's task list consisted of.

1. Wash all plates and serving dishes and utensils. Dust ceiling fans.  Vacuum.  Sweep.  Mop.  We may live like savages around here for 364 days out of a year, but that 365th day will be as clean and presentable as possible, savvy?

2. Brine the turkey.  Nothing says Happy Thanksgiving more than trapping a naked, whole poultry in a plastic, salty, spicy funhouse.  Good thing s/he's dead.  (To those offended, no apologies.)  We brined our turkey last year, and it worked so well, we did it again.

3. Assembling and baking the Lemon-Cranberry Pie Bars.  This was a first-time recipe, so I ran it the day before...in case things weren't as they seemed (because I am constantly amazed at the amount of recipes published that don't work as the author wrote).  Note to Reader But Mostly To Self: Do not move bars until they are totally, completely, and utterly cool. Like, not until the next day.  They will crack in unseemly ways, otherwise.

 
4.  Make and chill the Butternut Squash Bisque.  Remember the squash I'd roasted yesterday?  Today, I sautéed some mirepoix and Granny Smith apples with some chiffonaded sage leaves, which I then tossed with the squash and broth before pureeing it up further in my Ninja.  Tomorrow, it will go in my crockpot to warm, and at that time I will add the cream.  And hey, did you know that it is very likely that squash was a dish at the First Thanksgiving?  That's what NPR Radio told me this morning on my morning commute, anyway.  But, I already had squash on the menu...so I tried not to be too self-congratulatory.

Puréed squash is so so so so pretty.
5.  Make the cornbread.  This is actually the cornbread for the stuffing, and I used the recipe straight from the Pioneer Woman's website (you'll have to go here).  Surprisingly easily this recipe is, but it calls for 1.) buttermilk and 2.) a cast-iron skillet...which may turn several would-be cornbread bakers away.  I do own a cast-iron skillet (Christmas '12) and I purchased buttermilk, knowing Ma Marcella (this is my mom) is coming to my house tomorrow and she loves the stuff. 

As I began tonight's blog post, I realized I forgot to get a photo of the above cornbread.  Silly me, I must have lost my head.

However, I did not forget to get a picture of this:

Verdejo grape - Grown near Segovia, Spain - I've been there

6.  Drink wine in celebration of finished prep list.  Huzzzah!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(She) Blinded Me With...Citrus

Excuse my attempt at tying today's blog entry with an iconic Thomas Dolby song.  What a terrible pun-ishment. Har har har. So, we're on the backside of Winter Vacation/Christmas Break/Holiday Hiatus here.  The kids return to school tomorrow, the freshman and I start back to our respective colleges next Monday. The clock is ticking and suddenly, I am whipped into frenzy to Get Work Done.  I suspect this phenomenon happens to many, many educators who try to avoid that panic-stricken night before they go back to work. And believe me when I say, I had the deepest, most earnest of intentions to write lesson plans, write quizzes, and generally prepare for the restart of my classes next week.  Like, really. And then...I was distracted by...citrus.  This happened. Okay, so....the lemons on the far right are no big deal.  They're available year-round.  But Meyer lemons...MEYER...I only find around here in the winter.  I first read about them i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Girl Friends Are Great!

About a year and a half-ish ago, I stumbled into a parent organization called Choir Boosters.  Just about every learning institution in America has one (or several).  If there's a sport or activity, there are parents who want to be involved because their kid's in it. My daughter, who was a freshman at the time, joined her high school's choir.  Actually, she was asked to join the elite Chamber Choir, and for the first time in my parenting history, I had a child in an organization with a booster club I wanted to join.  My oldest son, who is two years older, participates in minimal activities, and not any with booster clubs, so no chances there.  Until now... A very pleasant side benefit of doing this "stuff for my kids" is that I've grown close with a few of the other women, so much so that when our big fundraiser was done in December, we wanted to keep getting together. Thus, the Mad Moms (our big fundraiser is called a Madrigal Dinner..."Mad...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Which I Suspect I Have Latent Tendencies...Much Like The Hulk, Or Similar

I find in most normally functioning families, the members have a distinguishing role or legacy or skill of some kind. Like, he's the smart one.  Or, he's the religious one.  Or...she's the glue that helps the fam together.  Or, she's the savvy one, so she's the Power of Attorney. In my family, that system went something like this: My dad was The Dad.  Cantankerous, crotchety, and especially tight with daughters' curfew times.  Also, not a fan of driving in Big Cities. My mom was the long-suffering, patient, reserved one. My brother was the baby, the one who got away with murder, the namesake, and also, Frosty Hoarder. Me?  My legacy?  The Ruiner of Remote Controls.  No lie.  Although I've repressed the memories, my parents claim I destroyed at least two remotes in my tenure as Child Under The Roof.  Remote #1: milk spillage; Remote #2: applesauce spillage. So, now you see why my younger brother was the favorite. Anyway, t...
1 comment
Read more