Time spent with family on Thanksgiving day was wonderful. My niece and nephew are amazing human beings. Both of them so talented and creative. My mother is still going strong at 77 and my sister and her husband are the best parents ever. It was a fun day.
My day started very early. Here, my kitchen counter loaded with everything I would be taking. Well, maybe not everything, but a good many of the the things I was taking on the trip to my sister's house.
I bought two baguettes for the day. These would be sliced and served with the artichoke dip, which was slightly warmed in the oven before setting out for everyone to enjoy. The paper sleeves that are traditionally used to hold the baguette in the store are not appropriate for storing them once you get home. They will go stale and hard very quickly. So I cut each baguette into three sections and placed them in large ziploc bags. I placed the sleeve they came in inside the bag, folded, so we would know which was which. I don't suppose it mattered because they were both delicious, but it certainly did not hurt to do this.
A beautiful arrangement of flowers is always nice to take to your host or hostess. This arrangement was especially beautiful with all the colors of fall.
We took scenic route 301 through Maryland and then over the Harry W. Nice bridge which spans the Potomac River.
It was still early morning when we crossed the river from Maryland into the Old Dominion. Beautiful blue waters and truly "sky blue" skies. There wasn't much traffic on the bridge at this hour and that it just how we like it.
I brought this wonderful homemade pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream topping. I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without a pumpkin cheesecake. It would be like having the day without turkey. It looked beautiful on the table in this high domed glass pedestal cake plate.
I believe my sister made the broccoli casserole this year. This is an old favorite of ours. My mother has been making this for many, many years now. But I think my sister has taken over this masterpiece. It was extraordinary as always.
We took this board of genoa salame and a mild blue cheese. Crackers were a standard buffet/cocktail assortment.
The turkey was quite delicious. Here is a large plate beautifully sliced and ready for the table. In all the chatter that was going on my mother informed me that it was a "natural" turkey. I assume a free-range, antibiotic free bird or something along those lines. All I can say is it was very delicious. I enjoyed it that day and have enjoyed several sandwiches of it on toasted English Muffins with a little mayonnaise and cranberry salad. That is an extraordinary taste sensation.
We spent the day with my brother-in-law's mother and sister also. They showed up with this beautiful pan of golden dinner rolls. Heated to perfection and with a slather of room temperature real butter. Over the top delicious.
They also brought this lovely pecan pie which, for reasons unknown to me, I did not try. It looked magnificent.
Here, my homemade pumpkin cheesecake with the cover removed and ready to slice. If I do say so myself, this was perfect. It was not overcooked. If you overcook cheesecake, the top splits and it is dry and tasteless. Not the case here. It was the perfect consistency. I cooked it NOT in a water bath, but rather on the middle rack of the oven with a water bath in a separate glass baking dish on a lower rack. Many recipes suggest placing the springform pan into the water bath. I do not do that. The steam from the water keeps the filling moist and also prevents the top from cracking.
Another goody prepared by yours truly was this divine chocolate chip cheese ball. My nephew requested this specifically and I could not let him down. It is the simplest of recipes to make and quite beautiful on the buffet table rolled in diced walnuts. I served it with honey graham crackers, Social Tea biscuits and freshly made palmiers. (Freshly made, ... but by the folks at Wegman's! Not me.)
We talked briefly last week about taking the kitchen torch because my sister had requested that I do so. I told you in that post that I did not ask any questions when she asked for the torch. My only duty was to bring it and see what happened. Well, what happened was she presented these most beautiful pumpkin brulees that she made herself. We were all so dizzy from the various foods we had sampled that we did not take the kitchen torch to these. We all just grabbed spoons and started eating them. Extraordinary. I donot think using the torch would or could have added a thing to them. She needs to save this recipe and we will try it again next year using the torch.
Last, but certainly not least, was the prime rib with au jus. This was quite wonderful. Steven did a very good job preparing this this year. I had several pieces at lunch and have enjoyed sandwiches a few times since.
The road trip, the time spent with family, ... everything was just perfect. I certainly hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving time with family and friends also.
My day started very early. Here, my kitchen counter loaded with everything I would be taking. Well, maybe not everything, but a good many of the the things I was taking on the trip to my sister's house.
I bought two baguettes for the day. These would be sliced and served with the artichoke dip, which was slightly warmed in the oven before setting out for everyone to enjoy. The paper sleeves that are traditionally used to hold the baguette in the store are not appropriate for storing them once you get home. They will go stale and hard very quickly. So I cut each baguette into three sections and placed them in large ziploc bags. I placed the sleeve they came in inside the bag, folded, so we would know which was which. I don't suppose it mattered because they were both delicious, but it certainly did not hurt to do this.
A beautiful arrangement of flowers is always nice to take to your host or hostess. This arrangement was especially beautiful with all the colors of fall.
We took scenic route 301 through Maryland and then over the Harry W. Nice bridge which spans the Potomac River.
It was still early morning when we crossed the river from Maryland into the Old Dominion. Beautiful blue waters and truly "sky blue" skies. There wasn't much traffic on the bridge at this hour and that it just how we like it.
I brought this wonderful homemade pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream topping. I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without a pumpkin cheesecake. It would be like having the day without turkey. It looked beautiful on the table in this high domed glass pedestal cake plate.
I believe my sister made the broccoli casserole this year. This is an old favorite of ours. My mother has been making this for many, many years now. But I think my sister has taken over this masterpiece. It was extraordinary as always.
We took this board of genoa salame and a mild blue cheese. Crackers were a standard buffet/cocktail assortment.
The turkey was quite delicious. Here is a large plate beautifully sliced and ready for the table. In all the chatter that was going on my mother informed me that it was a "natural" turkey. I assume a free-range, antibiotic free bird or something along those lines. All I can say is it was very delicious. I enjoyed it that day and have enjoyed several sandwiches of it on toasted English Muffins with a little mayonnaise and cranberry salad. That is an extraordinary taste sensation.
We spent the day with my brother-in-law's mother and sister also. They showed up with this beautiful pan of golden dinner rolls. Heated to perfection and with a slather of room temperature real butter. Over the top delicious.
They also brought this lovely pecan pie which, for reasons unknown to me, I did not try. It looked magnificent.
Here, my homemade pumpkin cheesecake with the cover removed and ready to slice. If I do say so myself, this was perfect. It was not overcooked. If you overcook cheesecake, the top splits and it is dry and tasteless. Not the case here. It was the perfect consistency. I cooked it NOT in a water bath, but rather on the middle rack of the oven with a water bath in a separate glass baking dish on a lower rack. Many recipes suggest placing the springform pan into the water bath. I do not do that. The steam from the water keeps the filling moist and also prevents the top from cracking.
Another goody prepared by yours truly was this divine chocolate chip cheese ball. My nephew requested this specifically and I could not let him down. It is the simplest of recipes to make and quite beautiful on the buffet table rolled in diced walnuts. I served it with honey graham crackers, Social Tea biscuits and freshly made palmiers. (Freshly made, ... but by the folks at Wegman's! Not me.)
We talked briefly last week about taking the kitchen torch because my sister had requested that I do so. I told you in that post that I did not ask any questions when she asked for the torch. My only duty was to bring it and see what happened. Well, what happened was she presented these most beautiful pumpkin brulees that she made herself. We were all so dizzy from the various foods we had sampled that we did not take the kitchen torch to these. We all just grabbed spoons and started eating them. Extraordinary. I donot think using the torch would or could have added a thing to them. She needs to save this recipe and we will try it again next year using the torch.
Last, but certainly not least, was the prime rib with au jus. This was quite wonderful. Steven did a very good job preparing this this year. I had several pieces at lunch and have enjoyed sandwiches a few times since.
The road trip, the time spent with family, ... everything was just perfect. I certainly hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving time with family and friends also.
