12/04/2006, Home.
Serving Mama
Mom came over for dinner after a meeting in LA so we tossed a few things together and came out with an Indian feast - palak paneer, lentils in gravy, and spiced rice accompanied by yogurt, a medley of veggies and some (slightly out of place) fake chicken nuggets! On the side we had hot naan and a beautiful salad. Yes, we were hungry!
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11/13/2006, The Gaytonia.
Packing Up
As the evening winds down, we gather for the traditional packaging festivities. Ingrid, Hannah and Julia do their best to unload as much food on as many guests as possible, so we don't have to take it home (and eat it) ourselves!
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11/21/2006, The Gaytonia.
A Growing Concern
Thanksgiving dinner is starting to shape up in this pano. Julia is watching my mother toss a salad as my dad chats with Graham. On the table we've got a big tray of roasted yams (mom), two different tofurkys (me), grandma's own cranberries, grandma'ss roasted potatoes (always reminds me of grandpa), several kinds of stuffing (mom and Boyd-o), roasted veggies (mom), brussel sprouts (mom), turkey (mom), and kale (me). Keep in mind, we were feeding 20+ people here, so this is just the tip of the iceberg.
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11/21/2006, The Gaytonia.
Julia and An Empty Table
It's not often my mother has over 20 people for dinner, so we spread the seating out. Mom scored at a garage sale on a big table for the living room, and we had more seating outside on the deck, which was perfect for the beautiful, clear weather we had.
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11/21/2006, The Gaytonia.
The Supplies are Assembling
Here we have Julia and my mother working in her kitchen to get ready for the onslaught of guests - over twenty in all. Of course I wasn't without my contributions, even beyond the photography. On the table in front of the camera we have two trays of mashed potatos I made with gingered onions and roasted apples, formed with pastry bags by Julia. When it's time to serve these go into a very hot oven for a quick browning that creates a perfect light crust! Next up is a huge turkey, courtesy of mom, just waiting for someone to eat it. There's a large bowl of a kale dish I made, with lots of carmelized onion, garlic and carrots - I think I slightly overcooked the kale, but tough shit. The large roasting pan next to the bowl is hiding two fully cooked Tofurky roasts - one had a jalapeno/pineapple braise, and the other a bit more savory with soy sauce, olive oil, and seasonings, both smothered and roasted with lots of veggies - onions and shallots, mini summer squash, carrot and more.
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10/21/2006, Home
As Good As It Gets
Happy Birthday to Julia, Happy Birthday to you,
You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!
So last night we were exhausted and really not all that hungry, so we skipped the pretense and cut straight to dessert. Trader Joe's has given us truly a bounty of fine, frozen goodies, from my new favorite - frozen roasted chestnuts (seriously, they are incredible!) - to the frozen naan we use at least twice a week with dinner. In celebration of Julia's latest milestone I heated up some little apple blossoms - basically fancy looking single-serving apple pies - and served them with another of natures great miracles, Cool Whip Lite! Frozen, rich creamy NASA food and warm, spicy apple pie with a perfect flakey, buttery crust. Damn fine meal. Damn fine.
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