Thanksgiving 2007

Another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, filled with floats, football, and, of course, food. This year, as in every other one, I spent mine with the family enjoying an unstressful, relaxed day watching the dog show on TV. This is a recently added "tradition" for Turkey Day, watching the dog show after the parade ends. We each choose our favorite pooch and pray that the poodle does not win. It is adorable, furry, and is a great way to talk yourself into getting a dog. I think I may have only a slight crush on my pick this year - the Norfolk Terrier.

Now, the food - with pictures!

First things first, the turkey. After years of roasting her own bird, my mom decided that Popeye's can do it better. I present to you, the Cajun-fried turkey.

Why fried turkey? Gone are the stringy, dry pieces of turkey you spend half of your Thanksgiving dinner gnawing on. And, it means you the cook do not have to baste or season or stuff the gobbler.

And now, the sides:

Dressing, of course. We here in the South are all about cornbread dressing. None of this white bread or (shudder) oyster dressing. We do not need walnuts or fruit in our dressing. It is thick, it is a perfect textured compliment to the turkey residing on your fork. Paired with giblet gravy, it does not get much better than that. (Yes, that's right. Giblet gravy. You got a problem with that?)


Cranberry Relish. I do not know what is in this, but it is mighty fine. The tart fresh cranberries and a hint of citrus (orange I believe) makes for a nice refreshing burst in your mouth after the dressing and corn and bread.


Candied yams. I have only had sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top once in my life that I can recall. And it was nasty. This, this is what yams were made to be. Creamy on the inside with a nice sugared crunch on the outside. I do not know how my mom creates these, I know there is Karo syrup involved, but I fear should I ever get the recipe, I will make them as often as possible.

Marinated vegetables is a year-round side dish for my family. Equally welcome at tables both turkeyed and barbecued. It, like the relish, is a nice cool refreshment between the creamier and warmer bites. Consisting of cucumbers, carrots, celery, red onion, vinegar, celery seeds and some other stuff, it is delightful and one of my all-time favorites.


My contribution to the dinner table - Herb Stuffed Tomatoes. Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Hollowed out tomatoes stuffed with parsley, provolone, bread crumbs and tomato guts, then cooked until cheese is melted and tops are crisp.


Sides not featured:
Giblet gravy - creamy, little chunky, good
Creamed corn - I did not try this. I think I got spoiled on the picked on a farm, shucked, made-from-scratch kind.
Dinner rolls -They came pre-fab. You probably had them at your table too.


Dessert. Oh dessert. This year's dessert options featured two lovely pies. First up is the seasonal favorite pumpkin pie. My family seemed to like it, so I guess it was good. I am not personally a pumpkin pie fan, but to each his own. Mom wanted me to make sure I noted that this pie (minus the crust) was made from scratch.


And now, the piece de resistance. Lemon Meringue Pie. My mouth waters just thinking of it. This is, by far, the best pie ever created by mankind. I have tried many lemon meringue pies in my life and all have fallen short. Why? Some crusts were soggy, fillings jello-y, meringues fake. But all, all have fallen short in the most key area. Tartness. Lemon meringue pie should smell like lemons and make you pucker just a little when you take a forkful. I need to taste the lemon. Get that? The Le-mon. Not the lemon pudding or jello or that juice from a lemon-shaped squirter, actual lemons. This, this is what pie is meant to be.


I leave you now with before and after photos of one of the Thanksgiving plates. I hope your Thanksgiving was as filling and tasty as mine!

Blueberries ala mode

What do you do when you have a bunch of fresh (frozen) blueberries, a pie crust too shallow to make a decent quiche recipe and no eggs? Blueberry pie! Blueberry crumb pie, to be more exact. I have been in quite a baking mood of late, which probably means there is some issue or thought process I am deeply devoted to avoiding. But it sure does make my place smell tasty!

I found myself Saturday looking for something to occupy my time for a few minutes, and the reminder that I had blueberries in my freezer begging to be used sent me on a recipe hunting expedition. A few immediate problems: I had no eggs, no lemons (used often to enhance the flavor), and no raw pie dough. I finally came across a recipe that I could amend to meet my needs, Blueberry Crumb Pie.

I did not have enough blueberries, even with my bagged frozen ones, which ended up making the filling a little too heavy on the sugar and light on the tart, but recipes are made to be tweaked with and I tweaked not so well. And then there is the issue of my oven which has been running hot lately, which I forgot when I baked the pie. This led to blackened edges, but was great for the crumb topping which melted into a decent crust. Not bad for a spur of the moment dessert, if I do say so myself. One of my friends asked me who I was going to share my pie with. Um, do you not think I will eat it all myself? I am a generous person when it comes to food, but some things are for my comfort alone, and my pie is one of them.

Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to remember next week is Thanksgiving and I will be eating the best pie ever - Lemon Meringue Pie. I puck a little just thinking about it. Feeling the light meringue slowly melt in my mouth, ushering in the custardy lemon filling and flaky crust. Maybe some day when I have to put on my own Thanksgiving feast, it will be nothing but carbed-up sides and pies. But, until that day, Blueberry Crumb Pie will work well enough.

And, no, I have not been eating it from the tin. It may be my personal pie, but it still needs some amount of respect and care.

History and 'staches

One of the most difficult things for me in college was a task that, on paper, looked rather innocuous. It would say something along the lines of "Write a #-page paper on a topic related to Xth-century history." A whole century to choose whatever topic I liked! And then came the avalanche of options. Do I write about a person? An event? A battle? A war? An election? A crisis? Do I try to find a topic that is not commonly written about in Xth-century history?

One of the most popular history courses in college was one I honestly feared to take - History of the Holocaust. I feared it because it is a hard subject to read about, not be biased toward. And, I wondered, if after a whole semester of reading about the horror and atrocity, would I be a little more immune from it? It was not something I wanted to be immune to. I did not want to think of it in so-called academic perspective, rolling off the statistics and quotas and percentages. So, I did not take that class. Or any class related to World War 2.

However, if I had been in a World War 2 class and been asked to write an essay, and I had as much time and creativity I could muster, this would be the essay I would want to have written. There are a few things that come up quickly that would not have worked for my situation. I am not Jewish and I am not a man. But to study the history of the toothbrush "Adolf" mustache, see where it began and how it changed the world, that would have been an excellent paper.

Rich Cohen, the author of the article, alludes to something, but does not say it outright. He writes about some of the US presidents and their facial hair of choice. After World War 2, no president has sported facial hair of any kind. It is like to have facial hair at all risks reminding people of that last famous political facial adornment. And, as Cohen mentions, the so-called "evil" political leaders after the war to today are the ones with facial hair. Castro, Guevara, Pinochet, Abdullah, Hussein.

This is not to say all people with facial hair are evil. I know men sporting the face hair and they are wonderful, kind people. But it is an interesting facet of history to look at.