A wonderful day of eating and enjoying family. Hubs smoked a 22lb bird, I made my usual butternut squash and sausage stuffing as well as cranberry sauce while my mom made her delicious homemade biscuits and roasted Brussels, my MIL prepared heavenly mashed potatoes and two deserts, a pumpkin one and a pecan cheesecake. We drank a Pinot blanc and a Valdigue from J Lohr. 14 of us in all and even the picky eaters amongst the group and the normally quiet teenagers found something to eat or converse about. I went to bed with a full belly and soul.
I didn't go out, I didn't have anyone over and I didn't have anything special to eat, however I had one of the most gratifying Thanksgivings ever...a "vintage" Friend, who I hadn't seen or heard from in 47 years found me right before Thanksgiving...
Wayne Christianson and I lost track of each other after college, circa mid-70's...Wayne made the effort by doing some investigative research and found me living in Minneapolis...
On this Thanksgiving I'm really thankful to have gained a "lost" friend as well as becoming the latest subscriber to Vintage Morels...Haydn
We had all of our local family members (daughter, granddaughter, and their spouses) over for a 2pm dinner. Since none of us are turkey fans, we instead did a boneless pork shoulder roast. Last year I did a Puerto Rican version of this roast called pernil. This year I tried an 8 pound porchetta, an Italian version. You sort of butterfly the roast as best you can and then slather on a thick paste of smashed garlic, olive oil, chopped sage and rosemary leaves and fennel fronds. Then you roll it up, cross-hatch the fat cap and apply more of the paste. I cooked it at 450 for a half hour, and then turned it down to 325 and let it go for as long as it took the interior of the roast to get to 180 (about three hours). We also had slow-cooker corn pudding, a Greek potato salad, and roasted yams and carrots, apple pie and ice cream. We had to take a walk before we were ready for dessert. The conversation was lively, so I was able to sneak unnoticed into the TV room once in a while to check on football scores.
Oh, what a coolio meal! I've eaten, but never made, porchetta. I like it and corn pudding. Never heard of it at turkey time. I dig yams, too. I'm guessing you weren't unnoticed at all. Have you checked on who was checking on you and not just checking on the scores, by chance?
My son and new daughter-in-law did the cooking and it was a nice break to not be in charge. They went with a non-traditional menu and that was also fine with me. We went to see the light show at the Bronx Botanical Gardens last night. How about you?
Delightful time with new neighbor, her sister, that sister's daughter and boyfriend, plus a niece of the two sisters. And two dogs. Lots of the food was purchased and quite good. Hostess made her traditional sweet potatoes with honey, maple syrup, and butter sauce; cranberry sauce; and creamed spinach. The homemade goodies were oh-so nice, too. All in all, the whole meal was tasty as I've had in years. Conversation ranged from sad passing of family members to raucous, much of which was about the efficacy of cricket protein as a substitute in any number of foods, led by a self confessed foodie turned "cricket savant."
It was a wonderful day - the first time we've had the whole family together for Thanksgiving since 2019. Great company, delicious food and wine, one new baby, one dog in a holiday sweater, and lots of joy and gratitude! Hope yours was special, too!
Yes! It was low-key, a small gathering of close family. Made a brined turkey that was a mashup of a Sam Sifton Bon Appetit recipe and an Alison Roman one. Everyone brought a side dish. No family conflict, just joy in watching the young children run around and make friends with our cats.
![[VINTAGE MORELS] adventures with a home cook](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_80,h_80,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa5d998f-e036-4ca5-8421-d2d7bc6558e2_335x335.png)
![[VINTAGE MORELS] adventures with a home cook](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffa5d998f-e036-4ca5-8421-d2d7bc6558e2_335x335.png)
A wonderful day of eating and enjoying family. Hubs smoked a 22lb bird, I made my usual butternut squash and sausage stuffing as well as cranberry sauce while my mom made her delicious homemade biscuits and roasted Brussels, my MIL prepared heavenly mashed potatoes and two deserts, a pumpkin one and a pecan cheesecake. We drank a Pinot blanc and a Valdigue from J Lohr. 14 of us in all and even the picky eaters amongst the group and the normally quiet teenagers found something to eat or converse about. I went to bed with a full belly and soul.
A full soul! Luv that. Have you ever tried honeynut squash? https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/Fz3192NdQlB1UbOBxm7UbWvPIz2CrEli/
I didn't go out, I didn't have anyone over and I didn't have anything special to eat, however I had one of the most gratifying Thanksgivings ever...a "vintage" Friend, who I hadn't seen or heard from in 47 years found me right before Thanksgiving...
Wayne Christianson and I lost track of each other after college, circa mid-70's...Wayne made the effort by doing some investigative research and found me living in Minneapolis...
On this Thanksgiving I'm really thankful to have gained a "lost" friend as well as becoming the latest subscriber to Vintage Morels...Haydn
You are very kind to say that. I'm so grateful we're both alive and kickin' and still lovin' food and wine!
We had all of our local family members (daughter, granddaughter, and their spouses) over for a 2pm dinner. Since none of us are turkey fans, we instead did a boneless pork shoulder roast. Last year I did a Puerto Rican version of this roast called pernil. This year I tried an 8 pound porchetta, an Italian version. You sort of butterfly the roast as best you can and then slather on a thick paste of smashed garlic, olive oil, chopped sage and rosemary leaves and fennel fronds. Then you roll it up, cross-hatch the fat cap and apply more of the paste. I cooked it at 450 for a half hour, and then turned it down to 325 and let it go for as long as it took the interior of the roast to get to 180 (about three hours). We also had slow-cooker corn pudding, a Greek potato salad, and roasted yams and carrots, apple pie and ice cream. We had to take a walk before we were ready for dessert. The conversation was lively, so I was able to sneak unnoticed into the TV room once in a while to check on football scores.
Oh, what a coolio meal! I've eaten, but never made, porchetta. I like it and corn pudding. Never heard of it at turkey time. I dig yams, too. I'm guessing you weren't unnoticed at all. Have you checked on who was checking on you and not just checking on the scores, by chance?
My son and new daughter-in-law did the cooking and it was a nice break to not be in charge. They went with a non-traditional menu and that was also fine with me. We went to see the light show at the Bronx Botanical Gardens last night. How about you?
Delightful time with new neighbor, her sister, that sister's daughter and boyfriend, plus a niece of the two sisters. And two dogs. Lots of the food was purchased and quite good. Hostess made her traditional sweet potatoes with honey, maple syrup, and butter sauce; cranberry sauce; and creamed spinach. The homemade goodies were oh-so nice, too. All in all, the whole meal was tasty as I've had in years. Conversation ranged from sad passing of family members to raucous, much of which was about the efficacy of cricket protein as a substitute in any number of foods, led by a self confessed foodie turned "cricket savant."
We've been getting crickets in our basement so I may need to look up some recipes!
It was a wonderful day - the first time we've had the whole family together for Thanksgiving since 2019. Great company, delicious food and wine, one new baby, one dog in a holiday sweater, and lots of joy and gratitude! Hope yours was special, too!
Yes! It was low-key, a small gathering of close family. Made a brined turkey that was a mashup of a Sam Sifton Bon Appetit recipe and an Alison Roman one. Everyone brought a side dish. No family conflict, just joy in watching the young children run around and make friends with our cats.