Retread: Thanksgiving 2008

The following is an expository bit I wrote following Thanksgiving dinner in 2008.  Holla if you’re interested in any of the recipes used herein.  My apologies for posting a retread, I’ll make it up to you next week.  *mwah*

It’s been a few years since we stayed put for Thanksgiving, so this year I decided to appease and please Man Unit by not only not trotting him out anywhere for the day, but also to turn out a veritable feast that he didn’t have to share with a soul.  You see, he complains that I never really cook like a madwoman unless we’re having company so he ends up having to share the bounty from which there are rarely leftovers and that breaks his crusty heart.

So I really turned it up this year.  Went to Whole Paycheck last weekend for the main event and came home with a 5lb pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt), locally raised and politely sacrificed.  Now, I’ve never wrangled this cut of meat, just kind of  picked it up on the suggestion of a foodie article I’d read somewhere (probably the Times) that suggested the cut as an easy and cheap yet flavorful alternative to laboring over a turkey.  I believe the comment from the food and wine guy from Queer Eye went something like this: “It’s easy and good, but ugly as sin. You’ll want to carve it up in the kitchen where no one can see”.  Once I unwrapped it from the brown paper, I had to agree.  And since I didn’t start researching until after the purchase, I didn’t have them trim it.  Damn. So out came my butcher knife and I got to sawing away at the tough skin with the aim of trimming it down to about a quarter inch of fat.  Success!  Wrapped it back up and dropped it into the freezer to await its doom on Wednesday night, whereupon it would be massaged with a delightful rub I got from my last boss for Christmas last year, dotted with brown sugar, bathed in Worcestershire sauce and dropped into the slow cooker.

I hit the ground running after I got back home from Thanksgiving mass at the cathedral.  Had forgotten the potatoes, so I had to swing by the store which was overrun by people like me who had forgotten something and by others who had apparently not shopped at all yet.  Kroger was raking in the dough, hand over fist, I tell you. So it’s nearly noon and the roast is done, so I switch it off with plans to kick it back on about an hour before everything else is done. Hmm, where shall we begin?  Let’s start with what will keep the longest.  Homemade applesauce; a really simple recipe: brown and white sugar, cinnamon, lemon (juice and peel) and about 5lbs of Golden Delicious apples peeled, cored and sliced.  Man Unit was in charge of the peeling, bless him.  Threw it all in a pot to simmer for 20 minutes, mashed them with the potato masher and voila.  Smelled amazing.  Threw that into the fridge and started on the dessert, a four layer pumpkin cake which by now I’m realizing that I could have done both of these things yesterday. Ah, well, it’s not like I’m cooking on a deadline.  Started the loaf bread while the cake was in the oven since it needed to rise twice.  Peeled the potatoes and tossed them in a pot of water to do later.  Cakes are done, while they cool I prepped the broccoli gratin with Swiss (didn’t use Swiss as we’re not big fans).  Set it aside.  Dough is risen, punch it down, put it in the loaf pans to rise again.  Nuke the sausage for the stuffing. Throw some corn in a pot with butter, salt and pepper.  Prep the pot for the stuffing.  Oh, yes, I can see the home stretch now.  Turn on the potatoes.  Finish the cake (bless my heart I even successfully free-handed the horizontal slicing which is a big deal for me because I normally SUCK at stuff like this, can’t even draw a straight line), shove it in a corner.  Bread goes in the oven. And now, a moment or two of rest.  Okay, bread’s done, in goes the broccoli.  Drain and mash the taters.  15 minutes in I finish the stuffing and the corn.

It is now 4 PM.  I bless the table and we dig in.  Food orgasms ensue.  Man Unit is apoplectic in a good way because he’s been smelling this insanity (with occasional tasting) for the last five hours.  Now he’s finally able to dig in without getting his hand slapped.  Cooked like a madwoman basically all day and it was totally worth it.  By 5-ish, the food coma had set in and we rolled upstairs for a nap.  We just got to the cake. I just heard from Man Unit’s office: that was like a religious experience.  You have truly outdone yourself.

Lo, and there was great joy in the Miss Terioso household.

*behp*

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