Thanksgiving Dinner 2011

It has been a while since I've blogged on this thing (I've been a little busy with another project), but I actually have something well worth sharing: food.

I've been thinking about doing my own Thanksgiving dinner for a while now, and this year I made it happen.  We ended up doing it Saturday so my close family could come and not have to worry about missing the extended family dinner.

The whole thing took about a week or so of testing, and prepping and cooking and cleaning (in particular spending all day Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday).  It all came down to Saturday Afternoon for a six course, 2 1/2 hour dinner.  Instead of blabbering on too much, here are some photos and brief explanations of how it went down

We actually bought a dining room table and chairs for the event because we didn't have any.  A worthwhile investment.  We also got new glasses, silverware, and tablecloth.  Isn't that centerpiece lovely?  Marque made that.

Naomi and Rachel made the rolls, and they were quite tasty.

Here I am plating the first dish, an amuse bouche of pumpkin soup.

Here's the pumpkin soup, which had strong notes of nutmeg and curry, topped with crema, toasted pumpkin seeds and a single chive.

The family about to enjoy their soup.

My dad and Jolie waiting for the next course, with Karlie in the background taking photos of the food for me.  Thanks Karlie!

Second course was a simple salad of baby greens topped with a house made vinagrette, parmesan, toasted pistachios, and cranberries.

Here I am plating the third dish.

The family eagerly awaiting as Karlie photographs.

Behind the scenes, eh?

Third course, another amuse bouche.  Alternating red and golden beets, cooked sous vide, topped with homemade bacon bits and blue cheese.

Mckay taking a quick cat nap while I plated up the next dish.

Getting everything ready for the main course.

My dad was amazingly helpful with the plating and serving.

Here are the sides: herbed mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpernickle stuffing with kale, andouille sausage,  fenel, cranberry sauce, and green beans (generously prepared by my father).  The stuffing was the best part on this plate easily.  Most of my family (myself included) haven't had good homemade stuffing.

The turkey!  Cut up the turkey into it's pieces and cooked it sous vide in butter and herbs, keeping the white meat and dark meat separate.  White meat cooked at 146 F for 2 1/2 hours and the dark meat was at 176 F for 10 hours, then finished up under the broiler.  The dark meat was fall off the bone tender and amazing (as dark meat tends to be), but I was surprised at how tender and moist the breasts ended up.

Mckay helped me to set up the yams with brown sugar and 'mallows.

Everyone wanted to use the blowtorch, so they got to toast their own marshmallows.  Only a few lit on fire.

The yams were kind of a transitionary dish, going from the savory into the sweet.  These were also cooked sous vide in butter and brown sugar, then topped with more brown sugar and marshmallows, then toasted.  I usually don't care for the yam dishes at thanksgiving, but these were awesome.  Perfectly cooked and tender.

Marque was in charge of desert and did an amazing job.  Everyone watched in awe as she delicately cut up that thang.

The grand finale.  Chocolate Cream and Pumpkin Pie, all made from scratch (yes, even the whipped cream).  

After it all, I was exhausted, having been on my feet since about 9 that morning until 7:30 or so that evening, in addition to all the work I'd done previously.  Also I'd eaten a ton of food.

I want to give a really big thanks to my entire family (Karlie included) for helping out with everything:

My mom for helping clean and take photos.  My dad for helping cook and serve.  McKay for coming early to help clean and set up.  Rachel and Naomi for cooking the rolls and prepping the punch.  Avery for helping with the clean up.  Karlie for taking the photos.  Marque for cooking the desserts.  You guys made my life a lot easier.  Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed it.