Thanksgiving break 2009

It's 11pm, and I'm back in my cozy apartment in University Town.  I feel like I'm just warming up.

I feel like laughing.  I left the southern city of Metro a week ago, and in the past couple of days, they've gotten snow--one of the earliest snows of the season.  Here, in the northeast, it's raining, and 51 degrees, at night.  Since our snow in October, here in University Town, all precipitation has stayed liquid.   Here, we're looking at each other and saying "Can you believe it's December, and we don't need our coats?"

My Thanksgiving holiday was great.

I didn't go to a movie, but I played way too much Assassin's Creed, both 1 and 2.  I enjoyed them both, but I think the second game is superior.  The first game grew a little monotonous.  The second game had more humor, more variety to the missions, and did a far better job of incorporating the various tasks you had to complete into the plotline.  And I liked the puzzles in AC2!  A part of it, too, I think, is that my husband assisted me as I played, helping me to find hidden objects, directing me to different points on the map, solving puzzles with me, and giving approval of my cooler assassination moves.  It was just really nice being able to game together.

We mostly ate in during the week.  I did get a good steak at Saltgrass.  It was a surprise, as I had remembered it to be a middling experience the last time I went.  I would go back.

On the other hand, I had a negative experience when I went to D__'s Mediterranean Buffet.  It was one of a regional chain of restaurants.  One had opened recently near my apartment, and it had gotten high reviews from family members, who had eaten there several times.  My trip there was a wasted effort.  The food was either dry, or overspiced.  I tried to sample as many dishes as I could, to give it a fair shake, filling one plate with a bunch of options, and when those did not work out, going back and getting another plate, sampling a different variety of food.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get more than one bite out of most of what I tried.  I liked two things:  the rice, and the green beans and carrots, but even the rice had dried, and was crunchy--not in a good way.  It was not worth the $11-ish dollar price.  I left hungry, and I asked the husband take me took a grocery store so that I could buy something frozen to take home.  If I was with a group of people considering D__'s, I would actively try to dissuade anyone from going there, and if they decided to go anyway, I would get food elsewhere, and meet up with the group again later.

Despite my concerns with Thanksgiving dinner, everything turned out well, even though it turned out to be more of a Thanksgiving supper--the food wasn't ready until about 4:30pm.  Luckily, I had talked the husband into taking me to IHOP for breakfast--and for me, a full hot breakfast will last until suppertime. There was turkey, turkey Wellington, stuffing, baked beets and squash, green bean casserole, Dijon glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy.  I also had pumpkin pie, homemade, fresh from the oven.  Yum.  The others chose to wait on dessert.

I am thankful for many things.  For friends, especially for family, for the chance to just get together, to have to time to get together.  I am grateful, too, that everyone in my family has employment, that their bills can be met.  I was thankful that Thanksgiving day was nice--I joked that it should have been a bbq--it was warm enough to be comfortably outdoors, and our cooking was causing the A/C to run.  I am thankful that school was gone very well this semester.  And I'm thankful for all the support my friends, family, and my husband has given me as I slog through school.

Thanks everyone.  And I hope that everyone found something to be thankful for this holiday, as well.

Notes: Making Turkey Wellington

The in-laws purchased a frozen turkey breast at Tom Thumb (a local grocery store chain) and then took it to the deli counter to have it de-boned the next day. It came back deboned, and cut in two fillets and a small strip of tenderloin.

Ingredients:

2 turkey fillets
stuffing
1 box puff pastry dough, defrosted
vegetable oil
1 beaten egg
Also, cotton string/twine

1.  Make a stuffing of your choice.  I used an apple cranberry walnut stuffing found here.  I mixed all the ingredients and cooked it on the stovetop.  I thought the recipe lacked a little "oomph", so I added a splash of orange juice to the recipe.  Let the stuffing cool a little.

2. Flatten the fillet to about a 1/4" thickness: Place the fillet between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound it with either a meat mallet, or in this case, a cast iron pan.

3.  Scoop up the stuffing with your hands.  Spread it on top of the turkey fillet.

4.  Pull the ends of the fillet together, so that it forms a circle.  (Close the Pac-Man mouth)

5.  Roll it all up.  Yumm...raw poultry.  (I think the photo looks a little obscene)

6.  We're not done, yet!  Tie the roll in string.

7.  In a large frypan, heat some oil.  Place the rolled turkey in the pan to sear.  Turn it so the outside is cooked all the way around.  It looks like fish!

8.  After the turkey has been seared, remove from the pan and allow to cool.  While waiting for the turkey to cool, roll out one sheet of the puff pastry dough.

9.  Cut the string off the turkey roll, and carefully remove it.  We don't want the roll falling apart.

10.  Put the turkey on top of the the dough.  Bring the edges of the dough up around the turkey, and cut off extra dough if there is too much overlap.  Pinch the edges of the dough together.  Turn the whole thing over, so that the seam of the dough is underneath.  If you want, use a cookie cutter to cut decorative shapes from the extra dough.  Place it on top of the roll to make it look pretty.

11.  Brush the loaf with the beaten egg.

12.  Place in the oven at 350 F.  Bake for 20-30 min, or until internal temperature reads 170 F.

13.  Slice, eat, enjoy.   (Thanks to Mr. Turro for the photo)

It goes well with gravy, and I'm told it does well, and in some ways is better, re-heated.  Just place slices on a pan to warm up.

We didn't eat until 4:30pm...it really was a Thanksgiving dinner.  But!  People were impressed with it.  I had fun making it.  It was a group effort.  The father-in-law beat the turkey into submission, while the mother-in-law tied the turkey rolls.

I've been encouraged to make Beef Wellington for Christmas.

Good thing I know of a place in Metro to buy foie gras.  And perhaps I should go to that queen of gastronomy, Julia Child, for the recipe of  filet de bœuf en croûte ?