November 24, 2016. Happy Thanksgiving!

LOCATION:  House-sitting in Portland, Oregon WEATHER:  A downpour most of the day. Highs in 40s   The day was focused on food.  I started prepping in the morning.  We planned for a mid-afternoon dinner.  While cooking in the morning I listened to "Turkey Confidential" on Minnesota Public Radio, a throwback from Thanksgivings when we lived there.  It is a radio talk show where people call in with their questions or problems about the Thanksgiving dinner.  Some are quite funny, like the turkey that caught on fire on the BBQ grill, or the still-frozen turkey with guests arriving, or the pumpkin pie that deflated.     I wanted traditional foods, but with a modern twist.  I ended up with this menu....  

• Steamed asparagus with chipotle mayo
• Turkey breast cutlets wrapped in pancetta, grilled
• Charred Brussels sprouts with oyster mushrooms
• Goat-cheese mashed potatoes
• Stuffing
• Home-made cranberry relish with Grand Marnier
• Pumpkin pie

 

We didn't want a lot of leftovers, so we bought the turkey cutlets, rather than a whole turkey.   I used some goat cheese from a shop on Salt Spring Island, BC.  We have been carrying it around for several weeks.  The chipotle mayo was left over from the hamburger restaurant we went to the other day. Wish I knew how they make it.  I jazzed up the Stove-top dressing mix with spicy sausage, fennel, onions and garlic.    The musthooms for the Brussels sprouts were a substitution, as the store didn't have chanterelles.     I cheated, and just bought a pumpkin pie for George.     Everything came together nicely about 2:30.  George popped the dry Proseco....

One thing I do not like about Thanksgiving dinner is when food runs together on one's plate.  I like everything in its separate compartment and refuse to mix sweet and savory.  I was careful not to pile the plates high, and served the cranberry relish separately.

We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade in the late afternoon.  Since we are on the West Coast, it was delayed until after the football game.  Every time I popped into the TV room to watch, it was a commercial or an interview with some pop star I'd never heard of.  A bit disappointing.   This house has a skylight in the kitchen.  We listened to the rain pour down on it all day long.  No one was out taking an afternoon walk.     After cleaning up and storing all the leftovers (yes there are many even though I tried to conserve), we watched PBS.  They were showing a new BBC series, the "Durrells in Corfu" then a remake on "Anne of Green Gables" which really did me in.