Food Porn Friday - Thanksgiving Dinner

Hello, all!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to my readers in the U.S.! I would have sent out well wishes yesterday but hosting Thanksgiving dinner even for just the six of us took a lot out of me.

Just to let you know, Fred, our turkey, came out great. I didn't brine. I was freaked a little about even cooking the turkey (could you tell?), and there was just no way that I could even find space to brine Fred. Small NYC apartment kitchens just don't really have the size of refrigerator that allows for a turkey in a bucket. Do you want to see what my refrigerator looked like very late Wednesday night?

No bucket full of turkey and brine is fitting in there!

I was looking forward to the holiday for using our fancy dishes. My very cool mother-in-law passed down to us some of Husband J's grandmother's china. We didn't register for china, and I am glad that we didn't because we got the most fabulous Mid-century Modern pieces the following Christmas. My mother-in-law also gifted us with flatware she found from antique shop in her town last Christmas too.

Our table setting. I guess gold flatware may look a little blingy, but I like it.

Let's talk dinner! Here's the spread we had for Thanksgiving:

Turkey & Tofurky with stuffing (regular old instant stuffing was cooked in the bird)

I still have yet to taste the Tofurky (my Mom said it was good.) I prefer dark meat, and I thought it came out quite well. The stuffing on the right is one of the two I offered. I'll get to to the other one.

Fresh cranberry sauce. I've never had this before, but I enjoyed the taste and it's extremely easy to make. Plus, I finally got to use the sauce boat we got for a wedding present!

Shitake Mushroom Stuffing

My Mom's Mac + Cheese, a personal favorite.

My mother-in-law's quiche-like dish with spinach, ricotta, peppers, olives, etc.

I forgot to take pictures of the sweet potato casserole with marshmallows! :( That went pretty quickly. It wasn't like my godmother's, but I have to admit I think I might like mine better. :)

I didn't forget veggies.

Braised Greens (in this case collards) with Tomatoes. A lot of people seemed to like this.

Roasted vegetables with herbs.

By dessert I was pretty tired, and I didn't get to take pictures of everything. We had a pumpkin pie that I made, which I still have not eaten; my Mom's great sweet potato pie, and her newest creation, pumpkin cheesecake with pecan topping. AMAZING! This might be my new favorite dessert my Mom makes.

So that was our Thanksgiving dinner. I have to say after making my first one I feel this major sense of accomplishment. My Mom really enjoyed it, and I feel like "I arrived" in her eyes when it comes to cooking. She looked kinda proud. Mission accomplished! :)

Welcome to the holiday season, everyone and Happy Weekend!