Thanksgiving

pumpkin vases for the Thanksgiving table

These are a couple of pumpkins from my garden. I don't think they're good eating pumpkins, so I used then for vases on my Thanksgiving table. It was a wild Day as we had 16 of us for dinner - 14 staying overnight with us. We had such fun cooking, visiting and eating.

Anyway, the pumpkin vases worked well. I cut off the tops them stuck the flower stems into the seeds and fiber, then added water. The seeds and fibers did a good job of holding the stems in place.

thanksgiving

What a great day! We had a lot of fun. My parents and brother and his family and dog Bannor visited with us. Our menu was very traditional this year: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. With some special highlights. My husband grilled a fantastic turkey that had I brined in bourbon and orange slices. The recipe was from "Grill It", a Schlesinger cookbook. The stuffing, a Chez Henri recipe with fennel and dried apricots (recipe link) was excellent. I was able to pick even more fresh lettuce from my cold frame than I had hoped. And my mom made the most fantastic candied sweet potatoes from my home grown potatoes! We ate and talked all afternoon. Skippy and Bannor enjoyed themselves too. What a very nice day.




I thought I would need to pick all the baby lettuce in my cold frame to fill our salad bowl, but it was over filled with maybe one fifth of the lettuce. I left most of it still growing. I hope it will stay warm for a while and we will work on eating the rest of the lettuce soon. Since its my first fall with a cold frame, I don't yet know how long the lettuce will last. Our temperatures have been getting down to 30*F outside, 34*F inside the frame so far this fall. I have lettuce, escarole, spinach, kale, and broccoli still growing in the frame. I picked all of the dill, as I think its less hardy.

The other homegrown Thanksgiving item was the sweet potatoes. My mom has made candied sweets every year for maybe the past 30 years. As long as I can remember. They're always delicious, but this year they were exceptional. Maybe because I grew them. It was my first year growing sweet potatoes and I have a mix of yellow and orange varieties. Or maybe it was because we added "a bit" of rum to the recipe. My mom stirred the sauce and said the aroma was great.




Candied Sweet Potatoes

(I will try to find Mom's recipe and add it here soon.)

Thanksgiving menu

The big feast is just around the corner now! I am starting to figure out what I have to serve to the 6 guests (and one dog) who will join us for dinner. I will get a turkey tomorrow morning (should I hunt a wild turkey in the fields or go to Star Market?). I will also be making breads all day tomorrow.

I heard a great stuffing recipe on the TV the other day that I will try. Chez Henri's Turkey Stuffing. It sounds fantastic with fennel, celery, onion, chorizo sausage and fruits.

Turkey - Orange and bourbon-brined BBQ turkey from "Grill It!" by Schlesinger, Willoughby
Stuffing - Chez Henri recipe
Gravy
Mashed potatoes (home grown)
Home baked breads (corn bread, basic white and pumpernickel from Beard on Bread)
Sweet potatoes (my potatoes, Mom's recipe)
Creamed onions (Mom's recipe)
Cranberry sauce
BBQ baby back ribs (thought we'd add something non-traditional)
Broccoli (maybe I will have some in my cold frame - maybe not)
Green salad

I will go out and check the salad greens in my cold frame tomorrow. Maybe there will be enough. Maybe there will be broccoli too. I haven't checked in a couple weeks. I'll check before I go to te grocery store, just in case.

Thanksgiving plans

Its that time of year again! Time for a feast! I will be serving a crowd. Looks like 10 guests so far.

We have a new smoker this year and will smoke the turkey outside in it. Maybe some fish too.

But the very exciting thing is that I may be able to provide ALL the vegetables from my garden this year! With the mild weather, I have a nice crop of lettuce, spinach, parsnips, Chinese greens and herbs parsley and sage still in the garden. Also lots of already harvested stuff: celeriac, potatoes, squash and pumpkin, onions, garlic, winter radish, cabbage, carrots and beets. And frozen stuff: red sauce and pesto.

I'm starting to work on a menu. (Suggestions welcome!)

The menu so far (still changing):
Pumpkin soup (Jarrahdale, served in the shell, I have a great recipe)
Smoked turkey with celeriac, onion and sage stuffing and classic gravy
Mashed potatoes
Butternut squash (roast pureed or baked/candied?)
Grilled carrots
Grilled bok choy
A big casserole of some type
Fall greens salad (with cranberries, pecans and goat cheese)
Mixed breads (corn bread, black bread etc)

My mom and brother always bring the pies.... I hope they will again this year.

Thanksgiving

thanksgiving day

Thanksgiving Day was beautifully warm. In the 60's, with yellow leaves falling on the outdoor table. Our tradition is to grill a turkey. The food prep is a family event, accompanied by conversation and wine. The kids run and play. Dinner is traditional fare: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, homemade breads and cranberry sauce. Then pies for dessert.

This year I didn't do much with produce from my own garden. I used lots of fresh garden sage, thyme, parsley and rosemary. But I didn't have time to prepare dishes from vegetables that are growing now: kale, chard and beets. I picked lots of arugula, but it was incredibly strong. Too peppery and bitter to eat. It made a nice garnish.

thanksgiving harvest

Today I harvested my Swiss chard and beets. Also, many carrots - maybe half of my remaining crop. It's the day before Thanksgiving. We've been cooking all day. I'll serve these garden vegetables tomorrow.

Daucus carota beets (Beta vulgaris)

thanksgiving menu

I have been planning my Thanksgiving menu. I will have 10 people to serve: my parents, my brother and his family, my mother-in-law and us. I am hoping to serve fresh vegetables from my garden: Sauteed Swiss Chard, Glazed Carrots and a dish of roasted winter vegetables that will include beets. I have lots of carrots, so that one should work out. I'm hoping to have enough chard and beets. One week of growing time left. Temperatures were up close to 70 degrees F today, so things are growing.

beets (Beta vulgaris)