Thursday, December 10, 2009

Thankful


It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Which means less time for everything else, such as blogging. But even though it’s a few weeks late, I had to talk about the wonderful Thanksgiving feast I attended this year.

With moving into a new house and my looking for a job, it didn’t seem like we’d get to fly to be with family for Thanksgiving this year. So Trevor and I decided to stay in Portland. Upon hearing this, Paul, another Persephone Farm cashier and fellow foodie, invited us to his place for Thanksgiving.

It was such a great evening. We met new friends and the food was incredible. First off, our thanks goes out to Julie and Cory who not only slaughtered the turkey we ate, but drove it up to Oregon from Colorado packed in dry ice. It was the most flavorful and juicy bird ever.


We also had Roasted Parsnip Bread Pudding that Paul made. It was a Martha Stewart recipe that I will definitely try. It was creamy and satisfying. And there were delicious homemade rolls, stuffing, fancy deviled eggs with smoked trout, and cranberry sauce. Trevor and I brought Sweet Potato Butternut Mash, Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Fennel (a Moosewood recipe) and some homemade vegetable stock. The sweet potato mash infused with sunny orange rind and maple syrup has become a Thanksgiving staple after we received the Celebrate cookbook by Sheila Lukins for our wedding. I love this cookbook and highly recommend it.

And for Trevor, it would not be Thanksgiving with out Ham Roll-Ups. They are basically sliced ham spread with cream cheese, then a dill pickle spear is placed in the middle and rolled up. Then you slice them into bite-size pieces. Oh and I can’t forget the delicious cider gravy Julie and Cory made, with a little assistance from me at the end. Much of the bounty we ate came from Persephone Farm, and for this I am especially thankful.

The dessert spread was expansive, too. Pumpkin pie, rhubarb pie and the sinfully rich Chocolate Espresso Pecan Tart Trevor heard about on Good Food and had to make. I cannot even begin to say how good it was. As one person put “This pie is fulfilling all of my needs right now!”

It’s good to fulfilled and thankful.

Links:
Chocolate Espresso Pecan Tart
Roasted Parsnip Bread Pudding
Celebrate by Sheila Lukins