Travel was sometimes a feast! For my camera, at least…I never had room after the main course. Well…almost never. I did eat a chocolate cupcake in Hong Kong, but I didn’t take a picture!
Hopefully this will inspire you to make dessert. Today I am going to make two apple pies from the amazing harvest that awaited us upon our return from worldwide travel.
I wasn’t going to do this because after all, everyone in the U.S. who cooks the traditional fare, cooks basically the same thing on Thanksgiving. But I didn’t see too many other Thanksgiving feast food photos in my reader, so here they are.
Here is the table. After we discovered I had turned off the oven where my husband was baking the stuffing, and it had been off for half an hour, I decided to drink some of the sherry I used for my squash recipe. The wine glass is a gift from my friend and critique partner, so it’s a nice reminder of one of the people in my life for whom I am very thankful.
All the way back in 2005, Sunset Magazine did a contest for Thanksgiving and put all the recipe winners in their September (I think) issue. I use that magazine every year to make this because my husband and mother in law love it. It’s not super sweet, which they prefer, and it’s quite fluffy and light (though not low-cal).
That magazine also has a recipe for stuffed kabocha squash. I noticed these squash at the store this year so I decided to go for it. I’m so glad I did. It was fantastic, tho’ the photo’s a tad blurry.
The turkey was my husband’s masterpiece. It finished a couple hours sooner than we expected, necessitating a bit of an acceleration in the kitchen as I had been using the long afternoon to write a new scene in my work in progress novel. The turkey stayed on the barbie for another hour, on low, gently smoking to a crispy-skinned exterior while retaining a succulent interior (due to being stuffed with quartered oranges):
He also made the best cranberry-orange relish I’ve ever tasted, with the mushy part being pleasantly sweet from sugar and the best orange crop ever from one of our trees, and contrasting with lots of whole and nearly whole cranberries which burst upon the tongue with freshness and a tangy tartness.
I am thankful for my health, for my family, for my friends, for having enough to eat, for all the variety of life, and for being a writer. I am also thankful for a new habit I have of thinking about things I like and appreciate for a minute and a half, first thing upon waking every day. This new habit is better than coffee for setting up a joyful day. I recommend it.
I signed a pledge not to shop on Thanksgiving. I am also not going to shop today! So there! I’m going to do my favorite thing: write.
Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the day.
Here are a few people who blogged about Thanksgiving:
http://cookiedoughkatzen.com/2013/11/29/the-holiday-season/
Twas two days before Thanksgiving and the blogger was thinking about FOOD. Shopping and planning for the feast while reminiscing about food in Australia.
We ate lunch at one of the many restaurants by the river in Sydney:
Near Bondi Beach we enjoyed lunch at a sidewalk cafe:
After lunch, you could get a tattoo next door. My friend considered it. I did not. (I didn’t even get pierced ears until I was 30. (About a year ago. 😉 ))
Looks like I had seafood again.
In Melbourne, Leanne Cole and I split a basket of blueberry scones here:
And of course, I had a flat white.
Leanne then took us through more arcades and streets. At the end we saw DeGraves Street, which is closed to cars, lined by restaurants and filled with tables and heating lamps. We went back that night and had dinner at a tapas bar. We sat at a bench table inside as it was raining a bit, and just people watched. Since we accidentally ordered way too much food (tapas are supposed to be small plates!) we spent a few hours drinking champagne and lingering over the amazing food.
The next day was epic! Leanne took us along The Great Ocean Road. We stopped for lunch in Lorne:
where we all ordered the most amazing barramundi:
I can’t leave out dessert! So here is a picture of a gelateria where we stopped to fortify ourselves with a couple scoops in Watson’s Bay, near Sydney.
Watson’s Bay is stunning. On one side of this peninsula is the Pacific ocean:
and on the other side is Sydney harbor:
Come back in a couple days for pictures of our Thanksgiving feast. In the meantime, enjoy life and bon appetit!
Welcome to new followers of this blog! Here is a re-post of a popular topic. Loyal readers, thanks for your indulgence as I work up an interesting new series called: “Inside the author’s mind.” And don’t worry, it’s not my mind we will be exploring. My interviewees for this creative-process exploration are a lot more interesting.
Trip dates: 9/15 – 10/13/12
Pushkin Brasserie (near Museum of Modern Art),
Add to Pushkin Brasserie ambiance this and a spiked cappuccino and you’ll recover from exhausting museum going:
Share these from Crumbs Bake Shop:
(upper west side, 97th/Columbus.)
“Wine-dark in a shallow lemon sea, pelted with capers, the curl of octopus ($16) looked messy and primeval, as if just plucked from the deep. It is the dish that a Greek restaurant lives or dies by, simple yet exacting. Tenderness should be victory enough. But the octopus at Boukiés had gone a step beyond, the flesh undoing itself, achieving a texture, at its core, close to nectar.” Ligaya Mishan, New York Times 9/21/12
Looked scary, tasted heavenly:
For less money and a different though not lesser pleasure, a hot pretzel in Central Park: 
Do you love cheese? There’s a name for that.
A choice of Schmears (upper west side, Broadway):
Oyster bar in Grand Central Station:
Spinach and kasha knishes from Yonah Shimmel’s Knishery on East Houston Street (lower east side):
Pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at Katz’s Deli (near Yonah’s, lower east side):
Tiny cupcake:
Cappuccino in Tribeca:
Comfort food at The Eatery after a show (The Phantom of the Opera).
Elevation of a bagel:
Peruvian cuisine on the upper west side at Flor De Mayo (Broadway around 98th):
Simple repast at The Boathouse (Central Park):
Rue Cler, Paris, May 2013:
A street market somewhere in Amsterdam Centrum (stumbled upon):
Where you can buy wonderful bread: http://www.stoepje.nl/, and this bread in particular: Nuts Raisins Parade bread.
From the Dutch markets: Nut dark chocolate bark, craisin white chocolate bark, salty licorice (zoute drop), and Nuts Raisins Parade bread:
An Indonesian and Tibetan restaurant in Amsterdam, Tashi Deleg, Reviews, Location:
Grey Goose is the house vodka!
Maison Robert, near L’Avenue des Champs Elysees:
A waffle from a stand in Keukenhoff Gardens (delicious!)
A simple meal on the deck of 38 L’Avenue de la Bourdenais:
All that and a bottle of wine… less than $10. Hint: when in France, buy bread, butter, cheese and wine. They all must be subsidized or something! Then dine at your hotel or apartment.
Trip dates: 9/15 – 10/13/12
Pushkin Brasserie (near Museum of Modern Art),
Add to Pushkin Brasserie ambiance this and a spiked cappuccino and you’ll recover from exhausting museum going:
Share these from Crumbs Bake Shop:
(upper west side, 97th/Columbus.)
“Wine-dark in a shallow lemon sea, pelted with capers, the curl of octopus ($16) looked messy and primeval, as if just plucked from the deep. It is the dish that a Greek restaurant lives or dies by, simple yet exacting. Tenderness should be victory enough. But the octopus at Boukiés had gone a step beyond, the flesh undoing itself, achieving a texture, at its core, close to nectar.” Ligaya Mishan, New York Times 9/21/12
Looked scary, tasted heavenly:
For less money and a different though not lesser pleasure, a hot pretzel in Central Park:
Do you love cheese? There’s a name for that.
A choice of Schmears (upper west side, Broadway):
Oyster bar in Grand Central Station:
Spinach and kasha knishes from Yonah Shimmel’s Knishery on East Houston Street (lower east side):
Pastrami and corned beef sandwiches at Katz’s Deli (near Yonah’s, lower east side):
Tiny cupcake:
Cappuccino in Tribeca:
Comfort food at The Eatery after a show (The Phantom of the Opera).
Elevation of a bagel:
Peruvian cuisine on the upper west side at Flor De Mayo (Broadway around 98th):
Simple repast at The Boathouse (Central Park):
Arrive at 11 AM, park in furthest lot from the lifts:
Temps cold enough to allow snow to act as sign board:
First run, trees on Red Dog. Pep talk to self: It’s okay to be afraid as long as you keep your hands forward.
Second run, Siberia. Must pause for photos.
Too cold! Head to Solitude. Ahhh…
Time for lunch! Greek salad plus tasty brown ale at Fireside Pizza:
Back to Solitude for final runs.
Take transport lift over terrain park. Observe fun being had.
Mountain Run, what the crowded parking lot looks like on the slopes:
Achilles’ weak point was his heal. For me, it’s my toe after too many days pounding bumps:
But, no complaints. Don’t want to flunk retirement.
This morning, bright and early (9:45), we fought our way through morning rush hour
to get on the Funitel at Squaw Valley
and finally to work.
Of course, we have to have a lunch break. All employees are entitled to that. Excellent fish and chips, stew, and beer at The Auld Dubliner in Squaw Valley:
Nicci Carrera 