Thanksgiving ’08

jeremiah after his early cup of coffee

making the prep list

a very busy day

We are a family that spends its thanksgiving day working. Working hard. Coming in early, and staying late, so our guests can enjoy a traditional meal with their familes… I just wanted to thank them for doing it without me this year. Cheers!

prep for thursday-

-250 pimento cheese crostini, 250 country ham biscuits, 12 G seafood chowder, 8 G sweet potato soup, 1/2 G black bean-corn salsa, 1/2 G scallion crema, 24# sea scallops, 2 G risotto, 1 G sauteed wild mushrooms, 5# grated parmigiano-reggiano, 1 G roasted chicken jus, 1/2 G leek cream, 40 # bourbon-molasses braised pork shank, 2 G grits, 8 oz chopped black truffle, 5 # roasted root vegetables, 270 pcs pumpkin ravioli, 4 # beurre monter, 3 # spiced pecans, 2 # crispy parsnips, 1 G creamy basil vinaigrette, 5 # shaved sonoma jack cheese, 75 heads of lettuce, 240 # turkey, 65 # yukon gold potatoes, 3 G gravy, 15# green beans, 10# brussels sprouts, 15# kale, 10 # carrots, 20# butternut squash, 5# shallots, 15# bread scraps, 5 # onions, 5# celery, 5# wild rice, 10# surry sausage, 5# fresh cranberries, 5# dried cranberries, 12 pasta roulades, 1 G mushroom bolognese, 1/2 G basil pesto, 20 8″ pumpkin spice cakes, 1 G cream cheese icing, 250 mini creme brulee, 250 dried cherry-pistachio biscotti, 80# apple cobbler, 2 G wild turkey-maple semifreddo, 1/2 G pomegranate seeds, 1 G chopped candied walnuts, 1 G creme anglais, 1 G caramel sauce.

 

whew- im tired just thinking about it… great job everybody!

Scallops & Soy Sauce

 

Pan-Seared Sea Scallop, soy-ginger “pearls”, baby bok choy, nasturtium petals, crispy rice, lemongrass “foam”. Textural ‘fireworks’ in your mouth. yummy.

Pork, Bourbon, Apples

 

Double H Farms brings us pork shanks that we marinate in bourbon, white wine and herbs for a couple of days, then slowly braise until the succulent meat is falling off of the bone. The braising liquid is reduced and poured back over the picked, shredded meat. Jeremiah serves this with roasted pumpkin pieces, savory “pumpkin pie puree”, local jonathan apples, sweet potato chips and brown butter “powder” for a unique starter course.

Virginia Saffron?!

Deirdre’s Crocus Flowers

Once again Deirdre and Phil show us something unusual and unexpected. Ive never seen  locally grown crocus flowers, and the saffron threads themselves are more intense than what we are accustomed to using. Surely a result of their freshness compared to the imported saffron readily available to us.