Scenes From Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving was a potluck affair of family and friends over at my sister and brother in law’s this year. To give you an idea of the scope, the stats were this: 25 people big and small, 3 turkeys, 8 pies, 1 espresso machine, 1 gnome.

So. The turkey … Or rather, the turkeys. 3 of them as I said. To clarify, 2 were originally birds, one was originally tofu. Yup, there was tofu turkey! I’ve long heard tales of these mythical creatures but had never seen one with my own eyes and was quite curious to glimpse one up close. I had imagined it’d be tofu in the shape of a turkey. But … no. It looked like a roll of meatloaf, and it came with gravy. Apparently some tofu turkeys also come with a mock wishbone (called a wishstix) made out of tofu jerky. Doesn’t that sound … amazing? This one didn’t – and I’m undecided if that was good or bad. May I say that tofu turkey is not the most enticing or tantalizing looking offering?

However, one person at the party absolutely loved the tofu turkey. He kept boisterously and (truth be told) somewhat aggressively pointing to it and asking for: “mo”, “mo”, “MO!” That someone was my 2 year old nephew. He couldn’t get enough of it! So funny.

The other turkeys had an interesting fate. They were not roasted in the oven as is the wont of most turkeys during the holidays. They were instead deep fried! This was another thing I’ve long heard tales of (including on an episode of King of the Hill) but had never witnessed with mine very own eyes. The idea and its contraption-construction and execution were my brother-in-law’s — who is prone to making things adventurous and theatrical and who has the grace-under-pressure aplomb to pull it off. There were some technical glitches and for a little while we thought it might be a turkeyless thanksgiving after all. But we never doubted and glitches were resolved after all and turkeys were had. Thus, it was not just delicious but a fun spectacle and memorable.

Trussing the turkey was a jazzy affair!

Needless to say, aside from the turkeys, there were food galore. Befitting a feast. There was: cranberry sauce, 3 different types of stuffing, 2 dishes of roasted Brussel sprouts mixed with other goodies, biscuits, haricots vert, stuffed grape leaves (if I make it again will post its recipe), sunflower seed hummus (yum and I’ve been promised its recipe and will share!), a fab wild rice dish, and sweet potato fries. A Persian mixed-rice and tadig peacefully mingled with the American food. May the respective nations do the same.

And you didn’t forget about the pies, did you? There were 8 of them! And of course by pies, I mean desserts, if you are going to be a stickler and insist on accountability and accuracy. So, 8 desserts, give or take, including: a pecan pie, 2 fruit cobblers, an apple cranberry crisp, a chocolate marquis, a traditional pumpkin pie, and 2 pumpkin creme brulees. Ah ha & oh la la! Blow-torching to make the delicious glassy brulee crust is one of those things that’s just fun to watch. Tristan, who made the phenom creme brulee pumpkin pies, did the blow torching honors. Dave is pointing approvingly – prior to commencing his own thriving made-to-order espresso-drink stint with his espresso machine. (The best cappuccinos!) Ben & Stella gamely supplied the accompanying awe + shock vibe of comraderie that is a pivotal part of a any successful blow-torching session.

Thus concludes a post looking back at a day chock-full of big and little blessings.

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