Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanksgiving Round-up ...

I know I said I'd do a better job with the turkey photography this year. The reality? It wasn't even on my radar screen! In the mad rush to get everything on the table any ideas I'd had about taking the perfect turkey picture flew right out the window. What you see here is *half* of our turkey ... the half we didn't devour. It was a fresh, organic, 18 pounder and it was spectacular! The smell of it roasting turned us all into ravenous animals. So eager to dig in was I, that I didn't even stop to take a picture of my groaning plate. Yikes. Sad too, because it was a thing of beauty. And really sad because I'm running a food blog here. Duh! Oh well, I'm in this blog thing for the long haul, so there's always next year. ~sigh~

You'll have to take my word for it, but our feast was magnificent. The turkey was tender and moist, the pork stuffing was the best its ever been, and my gravy was so good I decided it should be bottled. Really. The rest of the sides were perfect as well and the whole meal came off without a hitch. Mad props go out to Papa Diva for procuring the excellent bird and for all of his help this year, and to bro for the last minute inclusion of brussel sprouts, fresh from the garden. Additional mad props go out to my amazing sister-in-law, Kath, for that magical crock-pot stuffing, the delicious butternut squash, the crisp and savory green beans with bacon and, of course, for her always-in-demand sweet potato pie. Last but not least, further props to the husband for his carvery skills, and especially for dealing with the raw bird - a task I am happy to delegate! I couldn't have done it without you guys.

Naturally, we indulged in a holiday classic on Friday afternoon ... the "Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich." Similar to the turkey slider that was offered at the October Foodbuzz event, this yummy treat is a Diva favorite. I was making this sandwich long before I knew what it was called and its the perfect way to enjoy the meal all over again, albeit in a much smaller dose.

The Day after Thanksgiving Sandwich:
  • some sliced turkey
  • some warm gravy
  • a bit of bread stuffing
  • a bit of meat stuffing
  • a bit of cranberry sauce
The instructions are simple, the choice of bread is complex. Papa Diva prefers white bread - and frankly, he truly prefers a sandwich of sliced turkey on buttered bread - but that's a subject for another post entirely! Personally, I like to use a left-over whole wheat roll for my sandwich - its tasty and the petite size of the roll serves as much needed damage control after a day of indulgence! But, I digress. Simply heat your gravy until hot. Choose your bread and top it with some sliced turkey, the stuffing (or multiple stuffings if you're so blessed), spoon on some gravy and top it all with a dollop of cranberry sauce. Gingerly place the top of the roll on the sandwich and do your best to take a bite without covering yourself in Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

This year Papa opted to go with a left-over Snowflake roll:

... and this picture doesn't do it justice at all. I'll do better next time, and maybe we'll have him write the "Minority Sandwich Report" next year so he can explain that mysterious turkey/butter combination in detail!

Suffice it to say the Diva Family enjoyed a wonderful holiday and we hope that you did too. You may have noticed that no formal props went out to Mama Diva here. This is not an oversight. She's milking this surgery thing for all its worth (I kid, I kid!) and was happy to play Queen for a Day as we hovered around her. And that's as it should be! She gets all the props in the world just because and we were all happy to dote on her as she's doted on us over the years.

So, how did your holiday go? Curious Diva wants to know.

Bon appetite!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everything the Diva says is true...especially the part about milking the knee thing for all it's worth. Our dinner was wonderful thanks to all the help my family gave to me and the meal. The Diva does not exaggerate. And most of the leftovers are still here so meal planning is easy. Needless to say I was very thankful this year for all my family members around the table and those who have gone before. I am a lucky lady.

The Vintage Kitten said...

Hiya Diva, Wow that turkey looks good. I laughed because I read your post as your turkey flew out the window not taking the photo....lol. I have to say the sandwich looks the absolute best ever. I love white bread with butter and turkey and stuffing, Ive never tried it with gravy and cranberry also, I dont think my mouth is big enough (no scrap that...my mouth IS big enough). I am going to make these for me and Mr K on boxing day so thanks so much for sharing your ideas. The snowball question, I would use 7UP as a substitute for british lemonade. We dont use real lemonade for a drink like this, we use a clear lemonade and 7UP is very close in taste to that. The advocaat is an egg based liquer so if you did use real lemonade, the lemon would curdle the advocaat. X

Anonymous said...

Hey Diva good to see you back to the blog and I literally ate up your every word, I've missed you so. The turkey looks amazing, I've never managed the whole bird to be carved at the table thing, mine is always carved up in the kitchen and placed on a platter for the hungry hoard in the dining room. I did have a wonderful time with my dear daughter and daughter in law who tried to stand in for my usual sous chef who is milking this double bypass thing for all it is worth. We'll have to hook him up with Pixiegal so they can compare strategies for staying out of the action LOL.

Have a great week, love those t-day leftovers!

D

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you were livin' large! Excellent!

JAMJARSUPERSTAR said...

What holiday? I've been working flat out for the last week with no break apart from when I eat, which even then is only at about 6pm, and at 6:30pm I will be working again!

But the turkey is making me incredibly incredibly hungry and thankful that xmas is just around the corner! Can't wait for my mom to cook it - although if I'm honest, I consider the Yorkshire pudding to be the best part of the meal!
Ciao

Scarlet x

The Diva on a Diet said...

Hope you're enjoying rounds two and three of the holiday meal, dear Mama Diva! We had some of the left-over on Sunday night. I roasted a chicken to go with. Yum!

Vintage Kitten - I know you make a mean stuffing a gravy from seeing the pics on your blog ... do make the sandwich. I think you'll love it! As for the 7UP, that's what I was thinking too. Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Deb - Good to see you too! I missed you and the blog too. Funny about getting your husband and pixelgal together to compare notes! LOL I hope your patient is doing as well as ours and I'm glad you had a good holiday as well. :)

We were indeed, Dana! Fortunately the feast is only once (ok, twice with Christmas) a year!

Oh dear, Scarlet, you are busy indeed. I don't like the sound of working after 6:30pm ... boo! I hope its all going well though. And, I agree, about the Yorkshire Pudding - yummy stuff, indeed! My mother in law used to make for Christmas Eve dinner every year and it was my favorite part of the meal too.

Take care of yourself while you're working so hard! xoxo