Post Thanksgiving

When people ask me how Thanksgiving was this year I immediately think how different, yet oddly the same it was from every other year. I spent thanksgiving at my parent’s country home. We all noticed how my mom seemed to not be doing so well. The chemo drugs and cancer have taken a toll. I think my mother is cut from a different cloth; perhaps it is a generational thing. All I know, is that if I were feeling as ill as she clearly dose I would close myself in a room and rest. Not mom. She sat on a chair placed smack in the center of the kitchen and directed every move that anyone made in the for the Thanksgiving preparations.

After the meal I asked her why she wouldn’t let anyone else carve the turkey since she can barely stand, she replied, “Because no one else can do it right.” I have been using Bobby Flays method of carving the turkey – where you lop off the entire breast then carve a chunk for everyone with a piece of the skin. I think I learned this from Bobby first show Boy Meats Grill. My mom doesn’t like that method, she prefers paper-thin slices.

I have spent the past few days busying myself in the kitchen. I have made Quiche, and Beef Bourguigon and homemade French fries. The Bourguignon turned out fantastic and I was pleasantly surprised by the Quiche (mostly because my kids loved it and ate it like pizza). The French fries were ok, but I was lazy and didn’t use my deep fryer. I think the pan just didn’t get hot enough, next time I will drag out the fryer. We also made blueberry scones.

I have been thinking a lot about appetizers, and Christmas dinners. I hope to post something a bit later in the week. Daylight and sunny skies seem to have given way to darker days and fewer bright hours with less sunlight. Photographing food in the cold is not enjoyable and the pictures are looking rather horrid. For some posts you may need to rely on imagination.