Well, Thanksgiving, the ultimate foodie holiday, is over. We didn’t host the family at our house–rather, we took some dishes over to Larry’s brother’s house, where our sister-in-law had prepared the rest of the feast. This was great for me, because Thanksgiving was just a distraction for me from the real event, the tasting lunch for my friends that is taking place this week. I’ve been waiting and planning for this for a while now, and I am excited that it is about to come to pass.
For our contribution to the Thanksgiving feast, we took this
Cornbread, apple, and sausage stuffing
and this
Green bean casserole with sour cream and Swiss cheese
We also made the mashed potatoes and a couple of appetizers. Our sister-in-law made the rest–turkey, sweet potatoes, a wonderful cranberry-lime relish, a green salad, her fabulous yeast rolls, and desserts. I ate till I was miserable, which is what Thanksgiving is all about, after all.
I have my coming week’s plan in place. With the number of dishes I’m making for this tasting event, organization and early preparation is paramount. I have already made the following dishes or parts thereof, and they are waiting in the freezer: homemade cheese crackers; potato nests; beet mousseline; corn blini; preserved lemon; thyme and lemon shortbread; chicken and prosciutto agnolotti; boeuf bourguignon; Duchesse potatoes; cranberry orange tassies; mini-pumpkin cheesecakes; tartlet shells; Oreo mint balls; white chocolate lemon truffles. Wow–I’m tired just looking at it, but really it was not that difficult because I spaced the preparations out over the last month.
Here’s my plan for the next week. It looks really do-able. Here’s hoping!
SUNDAY
Final shopping
MONDAY
Puree persimmon
Make lime sour cream
Make soup
Make orange creamMake paprika dressing
Make three layer mousse
TUESDAY
Make leek topping
Make balsamic reduction
Cook quinoa
Make caramelized onions and spinach
Cook puff pastry squares
Pre-cook haricot verts
Smoke tomatoes
Make nutmeg whipped cream
Make brandy cream
Dip chocolates
Make almond crunch topping
Set table
WEDNESDAY MORNING
Sear shrimp
Make crab salad
Make bacon topping
Heat fig and bacon
Make marsala sauce
Make butter sauce
Roast salmon
