Food Blog: GG Mora

[GG Mora]

It's a pie-for-breakfast day! More precisely, cheesecake for breakfast. There's apple pie left, too, but I have to confess here that I don't care for apple pie. If it's the only dessert offered, I'll have some, but I'd never request it. Wierd thing is, I love tarte Tatin, there's a golden cream apple tart from "Bistro Cooking" that I'm wild for, and I'll often make a simple apple tart for a dessert when I'm entertaining simply. Can't explain it. Maybe it's a simple matter of crust-to-apple ratio.

I got up at around 9 this morning, and the house was perfectly quiet. All four kids still asleep, and hub long gone for work. Ate my cheesecake in silence & shot my coffee, then checked in with linens in the laundry. Not good news, but I'll get to that later.

The T-Day Recap

Let me start by apologizing for taking not a single food picture yesterday. A bowl of just-made stuffing and an uncooked turkey really didn't offer any photo ops, and by the time the bird came out of the oven, I was up to my ass in alligators trying to get through that chaotic final half-hour.

I started the day at @8:30 with a quiet cup of coffee. Hub slept in a bit. My goal was to get the bird in the oven at noon. I figured on anywhere from 3.5 - 4.5 hours for a fully stuffed 21-lb. bird, and planned for sit-down at 5:00. Still had to make stuffing, but wanted to dawdle a while since the house was still empty.

First task was polishing candlesticks. No biggie. Got hub to bring the bird up from the basement so I could let it sit out for an hour or so. Went and dug out table linens (never got around to it Wednesday night). Determined which cloths to use, etc.

Started the stuffing at @10:30. The cornbread I baked on Wednesday afternoon was already crumbled and oven-dried. Started with 2 lbs. of sausage. While that was cooking, I went and helped hub bring an extra table in. Bless his heart, he spent nearly an hour Wednesday night going up and down the stairs measuring every table in (and outside) the house, counting chairs, measuring the room, and working out the best possible configuration for seating 14. If that makes him sound like some anal-compulsive freak, let me assure you that he's simply tidy, organized and conscientious, and a dream of a helpmate because of it.

Back at the stuffing, I toasted a few cups of whole pecans and chopped up some celery, onions and garlic. When the sausage was cooked through, I drained it and used the fat to sauté the aforementioned veg. All of this went into a big bowl (includeing all the sausage fat), and to that I added about a teaspoon each of rubbed sage and marjoram and a small can of chicken broth to moisten it all. Seasoned with S&P.

We have a deep, wide double porcelain sink (badly in need of refiring) that makes an excellent work station for stuffing and trussing a large bird. Stuffing on one side, bird on the other. Whenever I roast a bird of any sort, I tie its wings tightly behind its back, which serves to make it sit up nice and tall to let hot oven air circulate all around. This is my method for an evenly browned bird, and I'm quite convinced of its effectiveness. If you roll the bird over breast down and pull the wings tightly together at the "elbows" and tie them, you'll see what I mean. Or, try touching your own elbows together behind your back. See how it forces your chest out and exposes more surface? Try it on a bird sometime.

Anyway, I stuffed that baby and sewed it up tight, rubbed it down with OO and S&P, and had it in the oven at 12:05.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with ironing, while hub suited up in his chaps and helmet and fired up his chainsaw to drop some trees (pant, pant). What is it about guys doing guyish stuff that's such a turn-on (especially if they're wearing Carhartt's)? Not that this has anything to do with food or Thanksgiving. There are so many damn trees to be taken down around here, it's become his favorite leisure time activity. Now that the place is ours, we can hire someone to come in and log out all the pine and hemlock in the spring, which will really open up some views and bring in more light.

The kids arrived just in time to help set the table. When I checked the bird at 3:00, the breast was already at 150°, so I dropped the temp down to 275° and tented the bird with some foil (after giving it a thorought basting with the pan fat.)

Guests started arriving around 3:30. We had plenty of beer on hand (Long Trail) and several bottles of not important red wine. (I've been virtually unemployed for the last 3 months, so I didn't dare get extravagant; it looks like I may finally get some of the money due me by next week – phew.) We snacked on olives and a couple of Vermont cheeses and some freshly-fried almonds (all of this brought by guests). Guests also brought: turnip/sweet potato purée, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans amandine, a lovely huge basket of freshly baked rolls – plain and dill, an apple pie, chocolate mousse and more red wine.

I pulled the bird at 4:30 and started gravy. Helping hands got busy putting cranberry sauce and relish and butter on the table, reheating sides, assigning serving utensils, opening more wine. I took the bird apart while the gravy finished, served it all up and – une miracle! – we sat down to dinner at 5:00.

We ate like royal pigs. Everything was fabulous. At the end of the meal, the feast was pronounced by various participants "a historical food rampage", "gluttony at its finest" and "the swoop-de-verve of Thanksgiving dinners" (whatever that means).

The highest compliment, though, came from my friend Toby, who has eaten many a swoop-de-verve dinner here. He said "How do you do it? That was amazing...", to which I answered "It's what I do". "No", says Toby, "It's who you are".

The Chocolate Mousse

Which deserves its very own subhead. It was spectacular. It was an outrage. It was da bomb. It arrived pre-portioned in lovely wine glasses and was garnished a la minute with whipped cream. It was delivered to the table as the apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake were about to hit the deck (as yet uncut). It was to be a celebration of excess. And everyone inhaled it. How can anyone stuffed to the gills with turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes and and and...how could they possibly eat nearly an entire cup of chocolate mousse? But we did. We all did. We couldn't stop ourselves. And then we all sat staring in silent horror at the untouched pie and cheesecake. Then the groaning began. And the recriminations. And the hopeful prognosticating that in an hour's time, we'd all be ready to eat again. Ha! It never happened. And that's why I'll be eating pumpkin cheesecake for breakfast for days.

About the Laundry

One of the guests was a 2 1/2 year old named Chloe who charmed us throughout dinner with her lovely behavior and pleasant conversation. We even thought it was adorable when she stuck her whole hand into her chocolate mousse, and then her other hand, and it was hilarious when she started licking her fingers and rubbing the mousse on her face. And then I watched in horror as she wiped both hands on the white damask tablecloth and started rubbing it in like fingerpaint. I was mortified when her mother took her white damask napkin and carefully wiped off Chloe's hands and face. I bit my tongue and lied when I said "Oh, that's okay. I'll just....I'll...".

As soon as everyone had left and the table was completely cleared, I grabbed the Spray&Wash Gel with Bleach and smeared it into the chocolate mess (and dabbed any other stains while I was at it) and hustled the whole pile off to the washing machine. That Spray&Wash stuff is great – takes out red wine, lipstick, tomato sauce, beef juices, motor oil. But apparently not chocolate, as I discovered this morning. I'm going to try some Oxy-Clean this afternoon.

I managed to snap these photos for the curious:

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm trying to scare up a blogger for next week. By my reckoning, you're stuck with me for another day or so.

[Squeat Mungry]

Thanks for the great report, GG. Sounds absolutely delicious and hilarious!

Sorry about your linen, though.

Cheers,

Squeat

BTW, my T-day hosts do the bird in much the same way, and it always comes out perfect!

[maggiethecat]

GG:

Thanks for taking on the Thanksgiving Blog-Week challenge. Great writing, great food.

Chocolate mousse; haven't made it in yonks. I will now!

[sandra]

Great dinner, and great blog...

I'll tell you the OxyClean should do it, I had a similar mess with choc torte and red wine, one on top of the other, and it came right out... let it soak for a few hours and it should come clean...

[GG Mora]

Yesterday added up to a big nothing in the food department. Leftovers, leftovers and more leftovers. Even dinner was an every-man-for-himself affair.

Today calls for some kind of celebration. I finally got paid for the first time since late August. Yippee – break out the champagne!

On Saturdays when all the kids are here and hub isn't working, we have a big feed for breakfast. The kids always request one of the following: biscuits and "cream cheesey" eggs, pancakes, or waffles. I had some buttermilk left from making cornbread, so I made scratch buttermilk biscuits and hub made the eggs. "Cream cheesey" eggs are great way to get kids to eat eggs if they otherwise wouldn't. They're just scrambled eggs with a whole lotta cream cheese mixed in. But they're delicious. Biscuit days call for hauling all the various jams and preserves out of the fridge. Today featured hot pepper jelly, rhubarb jam, mango butter, pumpkin preserves, strawberry conserve, and a pineapple/mango goo I cooked up a few weeks ago when a pineapple and a mango started to turn the corner.

We were supposed to have a visit from the in-laws this weekend, and I'd bought some short ribs to braise for dinner. They cancelled, so the ribs will wait for another occasion. Tonight will probably be a paella night. I'd go deep into the paella tradition in the family, but I'm feeling kind of blogged out. Suffice to say it's a lifestyle. Paella happens at least once a month around here, sometimes in stripped down fashion, as it will happen tonight, sometimes gussied up for company. Any major event or big family gathering is sure to feature paella.

A Mora family paella:

I swore I wasn't going to get suckered into making a gingerbread house this year, but I've been badgered and cajoled and manipulated, so it looks as though we'll be baking sheets of gingerbread this afternoon.

I'm going to take my leave now. It's been great fun blogging for you all. I've tagged jwagnerdsm to blog for next week. His experiment in eating only locally produced foods from Iowa for an entire year should provide great entertainment, and may be a real eye-opener for some of you.

Thanks for playing along,

GG

[Cusina]

Thanks very much for that thanksgiving week blog. Loved seeing a bit of Vermont through your eyes.

Now pardon me while I drool over the paella. It's gorgeous!

[herbacidal]

I'm going to take my leave now. It's been great fun blogging for you all.

hey, you're not supposed to be done til sunday. no fair!