Wednesday, November 24, 2010

gratuitous food photos

A good majority of today was spent making an early Thanksgiving dinner for myself and a gentleman friend, along with a couple others once I realized just how much food there was going to be (a lot).

1

I've been looking forward to this for a while. I love the challenge of cooking a big meal alone. There's a lot of math, logic, and problem solving involved. There is way too much strategerie going on in my head when I'm in the kitchen.

2

There is also the uncontrollable, unconscious need for me to show off how domestic I am around a new boy. Do you get like that too? It's not our fault we've been programed like this for centuries, right? Look how good I am at holding a baby! Let's see how many side dishes I can fit in the oven at once! Did you see how well I mopped that floor?

3

Crescent rolls: Pillsbury

Apple galette: lovely miss Sarah

[served with homemade whipped cream: 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1.5 tbs sugar, drop of vanilla; beat until...whipped-cream-y]

4

Green bean casserole: 1 pkg frozen cut green beans (boiled quickly & drained to defrost), 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, 1 small can French's fried onions, pepper

Mashed potatoes: 3 medium size Russet potatoes (peeled, cut into apx. 1.5" cubes, boiled until soft), 1/4-1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 1-2 tbs butter, salt, pepper

5

Turkey: 3lb boneless turkey breast (defrosted in cold water in the plastic, changed out & rotated every 30 mins, for apx. 2 hours before roasting), melted butter, salt, pepper, roasted @ 350F until internal temp was correct (apx. 2-2.5 hrs)

Stuffing: Stovetop

Gravy: (the small turkey breast doesn't yield a lot of drippings, so in the roasting pan..) boil all pan drippings & 1/2 cup dry white wine, cook down about half the way, add 1 small can turkey or chicken stock, whisk in cornstarch solution (apx. 1 tbs cornstarch + 2 tbs cold water) slowly until desired consistency

6

The rest of the photos were taken just before the sun went down, so this plate photo is artificial light and not too appetizing. You'll just have to take my word for it that it was really, really good.

Going home to see my momma tomorrow, where we'll do it all over again!
Whew, who else is starting a diet Friday?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, good job, Courtney! It all looks yummy. I'm so excited for Thursday. I love spending time with my mom, but I think Thanksgiving is my most favorite day with her. She is seriously...THE best cook. Ever.
Anyway, yes. Diet on Friday, haha! Have fun with your family! Happy Thanksgiving. :)

Frau S said...

Wow! So impressive! All I'm doing is bringing over a pie. That I'm buying. From a restaurant. Happy Thanksgiving!

sarah nicole said...

Yum! If this didn't impress that new boy of yours, I don't know what will. It all looks delicious! And I'm drooling over all that cute Pyrex as well : )

Happy Thanksgiving, Courtney!

Brianna! said...

GREENBEAN CASSEROLE
Heartwarming.

LOVE

xoxo
bB