Skip to main content

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up!

It was a rather low-key Thanksgiving Day here at the Chez Nelson...and no wonder.  The menu was pretty understated (for me, that is):

Appetizers:
Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
Blue Cheese and Pear Crostini

The Dinner:
Turkey
Roasted Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans & Corn Medley
Stuffing
Gravy
Cranberry Relish
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Dutch Apple Pie
Dutch Apple Pie with Blue Cheese

And then you remember that I did my Thanksgiving Dinner like this:


Layer #1 & 2: My mom's stuffing, which had, hours ago, filled the main orifice of Mr. Turkey.  Then, the stuffing layer was covered with a nice, generous layer of shredded turkey, cooked the day before.


Layer #3: A straight-up, no-frills corn and green bean medley.  Green bean casserole would be good.  So would scalloped corn.  So would diced roasted sweet potatoes or squash.  You just gotta have some vegetable in there.


Layer #4: Mashed potatoes.  I roasted some Yukon Golds in the oven first then mashed them up in my mixer.  Salt, pepper, garlic powder, butter, and milk.  OhEmGee.


Bake at 400 degrees until temp is 165.  We discovered that 350 was not hot enough to get this massive casserole heated through in 45 minutes...that's why we cranked it up.  Twenty minutes later at the higher temp, we were good to go.

So, essentially, this casserole is like a Thanksgiving Dinner all in one shot.  Some friends of ours asked us, Didn't you miss all the dishes on your Thanksgiving table?  Honestly, a little.  I mean, yeah, the table was pretty sparse-looking with just one blue Pyrex dish, one bread plate, and one gravy bowl.  But, did I like having the one-stop-shopness of this casserole?  You betcha!  Did it taste just like Thanksgiving dinner anyway?  Heck yes.

Would I do it again?  Maybe.  After all, this casserole best lends itself to traditional items...turkey, veg, potatoes, stuffing.  I did feel a little stifled, like I couldn't really go outside the box on the menu items, because I had to take into consideration how well it would go into the casserole.

But, it was fun and delicious.  Now, onto the Christmas meal planning...


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Garden Party, Pt. 2

6:30 is too early for a Sunday, ne c'est pas?  Alas, that is the time I arose this morning, and while my body wanted to fall back asleep, my mind was already off and running.  So, up I got. Something tells me I'm going to regret this later...like when I'm trying to watch the new Avengers movie tonight. Last Sunday was my last day off, and that was only at my request.  There are no more days off in the foreseeable future, between the part-time bar job and the near-40 hour demands of the restaurant.  It's a hard-knock life, I reckon, but that's how it goes when you're in search of The Dream.  So we savor the tranquil moments while we can.  Like yesterday, for example.  By some stroke of excellent luck, it was just me and the youngest son in the house for a few hours.  I took him out for lunch, and then I made him do yardwork with me.  I showed him how to mow the yard, and he discovered it's not terribly fun nor easy.  Ah, yes. Tranq...
Post a Comment
Read more

Go Placidly

My food truck business started back up this past weekend, and from here until November, the weeks will be packed.  Sandwich-slinging Thursday-Saturday and bartending work Monday-Wednesday.  And Sunday, I guess, is the day to sleep in and hide in my house. Hiding out is the one thing I feel like doing a lot of these days.  My food truck's ReOpening wasn't the only thing happening in my hometown this weekend past.  A 13-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed on Saturday and then yesterday, the police department busted one of the biggest meth labs in a long time. Both are tragic...one is a sad loss, one that will devastate a loving family for the rest of their lives.  One is tragic only because of the profound stupidity/ignorance/addiction of a few people who happen to be living in a town mostly filled with good-hearted, hard-working people. And if it's not drama at the local level, then there's the constant bombardment of news that seems to be vividly...
5 comments
Read more

Education Makes The Man(icotti)

First, a thing about our No-Restaurants experiment. This past weekend, we traveled with good friends to Kansas City to the Renaissance Fair. We made a pit stop at Gino's Italian Cuisine in Kearney, and I'm not exaggerating (much) when I say Brent and I both copiously salivated for days before the trip. It would be our first outing since the inception of NR. And really, the food was good...but I wouldn't say it was the most amazing meal of my life. And yes, both Brent and I spent some time on the toilet the next morning because of it. (Better on it than in it, I say) So, end point, the experiment continues (although, it seems less of an experiment now and more of a lifestyle choice). The kids agreeably are on board with continuing, so now maybe the challenge is to see how long we can go before we cave into the pressure/desire to visit a local eatery. Second, my obsession with purchasing food-related texts is nearly at a climax. I have not even finished with Marion Nest...
Post a Comment
Read more