Thanksgiving 2022

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Dale made the cranberry sauce at around 9:30 a.m. It's the item that makes the most sense to make ahead of dinner since it can just sit in the fridge. 

We follow the Nigella Lawson turkey recipe from her book Feast. It's on page. 

Dale gave the turkey a bath around 11:30. 

We pulled out the giblets and saved them for making the gravy. 

Post bath.

I dried the turkey off.

Between cleaning and food prep I'd check in on the parade once in a while. 

And sip on my Bloody Mary. 

Turkey was in the roaster just a little before 1:00.

Dale buttered it...

...and had it in the oven by 1:06. For the first half hour the oven was set at 4:00.

After the turkey was in the oven Dale had the giblets ready to boil then simmer. 

The turkey got basted with white wine after its first half hour in the oven. The oven temp was turned down to 350 and the turkey's next hour of baking. 

I got started on the sweet potato casserole at 1:50. The recipe I used is the same one I used last time. I drained the yams a little better this go-round. It turned out pretty well overall. Although I halved the recipe I didn't do so with all ingredients. Next time I'd recommend trying to be more precise overall. That said it still turned out pretty well.  

The turkey after an hour and a half in the oven...

...which is when we flipped it over. It went back in for another half hour. Upon removal we tented it with aluminum foil and let it rest for an hour before I cut it. I did the cutting which is my usual duty. I generally do a hack job but it all ends up okay. At some point I should look up the official way to do it. 

When the sweet potatoes were done we put them in the oven warmer until we were ready to serve up Dale's awesome Brussels sprouts. The Stove-Top stuffing was made right at the very end. Getting everything in serving dishes and on the table was quite busy but pain-free. 

Mom and Noel came over around 3 p.m. For hors d'oeuvres we had olives, pickled herring, crackers, and wasabi peas. Dinner was on the table at 4:37 p.m!

Mom brought an apple pie her friend Joanne made for her and Noel brought over a pumpkin pie from Mrs. Kowalski's. 

I had meant to make fruit salad but got distracted the last hour of prep. For next time I think the only things a might add would be corn and maybe dinner rolls. However, that said, what we had was more than enough. 

Saturday Night - Dinner In

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Dinner in. Dale and I made a quiche. Quite delicious and we watched Murder, Most Foul starring Margaret Rutherford. 

Cookies and milk cake from Mrs. Lund tonight. After the movie I checked the headlines to discover Catherine Cortez Masto won in Nevada. The U.S. Senate remains blue!

November's Here - Fall Golden Hour: Dinner

Saturday, November 5, 2022

The pot pie was out of the oven by 7 but the Brussels sprouts needed a little longer. 

We were ready to serve up at about 10 after 7.

We went with Meet Me in St. Louis for our movie tonight. We never seem to tire of this old favorite. 

The introduction by Liza at the beginning of the DVD is always a hoot.

Dinner, like the whole evening, was awesome. 

Mrs. Kowalski's Oh Ho Cake for dessert. 

Sylvester hopped up on my lap when I finished eating. Life's just better with a cat. 

November's Here - Fall Golden Hour: Cocktails

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Took the above photo while walking home from school the day after Halloween. I guess this is a sign we're ready to move on to the next holiday. 

Out with Noel today for lunch. Afterward we of course stopped by the 2nd hand shops and they're starting to set Christmas stuff out. Personally I'd rather stick to one holiday at a time but I suppose  stores gotta make their money. 

Dale and I headed off to Kowalski's after my afternoon adventures with Noel. We picked up all the makings for a chicken pot pie and it's gonna be GOOD. Tonight's golden hour and dinner are to  celebrate going off Daylight Savings Time and going back on Central Standard Time. Not sure why  getting that one extra hour back feels so luxurious, but it does. Cocktail hour started at 5:30. 

The pot pie was assembled and in the oven by 6:30. 

Continued with cocktails and music while dinner was in the oven. 

Creekside Supper Club

About a week and a half ago Dale and I checked out Creekside Supper Club & Lounge. Following is what I wrote about it in my journal. 

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

This afternoon Dale and I decided to try Creekside Supper Club which in the old Pepitos space. As it turns out this was their opening night. 

They started us out with a little baby relish tray. It had celery and also some pickled carrots and beets. The beets were particularly good. We went ahead and ordered the regular relish tray and it was fantastic: pickled asparagus and carrots, wild game sausage, cheese curds, and walleye spread. It was simply fantastic and probably could've passed for a meal by itself. I had a cup of the corn chowder and it was perfect. Dale had a salad. 

For dinner I ordered the sirloin. I got it with a side of hash browns and it came with a huge piece of Texas toast. Dale got the salmon with a side of rice pilaf and he said it was divine. 

Oh, and I didn't mention that I ordered a Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned. It was so well made I had another. 

Now, the decor threw me off because I couldn't be completely sure they weren't going for irony. It was that spot on. 

For dessert I had a Brandy Alexander. It was so good it was like I got an old school malted milk from Bridgeman's only with Brandy. 

By the way, the staff was very friendly. All in all it was a great time and I can't wait to go back.