Yesterday I paid my library fine like a good girl, and then they let me take all the reserves that had accumulated on the shelf with my name (and my husbands, cause I cheat so that I can reserve twice as many). $34.25 fine....yikes, that's what happens when you loose track of things and thanksgiving family arrive, all that cleaning, rejigging of beds, and futons and did I mention cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Not to mention digging out all those big roasters, mixing bowls, pots, and serving platers that one never uses. But thanksgiving was a good time. 20 adults and 8 kids. Since I REFUSE to make turkey anymore, I roped my mother into making the turkey and stuffing, since she was staying with me, and since she always moooops around if she doesn't get to do something, not to mention all the "why are you doing it that way's" and "why are you adding THAT's". I figured I would boss her around instead for a change. It worked our rather well.
My step daughter decided to make this interesting thing with stuffed beet leaves. Hmmm I thought I had enough on my garden still, She kept asking me" are you sure I don't have to bring any?" Cause she works at a market garden and has them available ...but no, I insisted I had plenty.
That was on a tuesday, by wednesday we had a frost....and half of the beet greens were toast. Hmmm, what to do. So on Friday I happened by the farmers market and low and behold....beet greens. But very pricey $5.95 a bunch. The leaves were huge, but there were only 4 beets in the bunch. And she said she needed lots.
As it happened my mother was coming into town friday night, and she had beet greens packed up and ready for the 7 hr trip. I figured - I've got lots between my mothers and mine, there's got to be enough.
Well....not so much - This dish needs alot of greens. So Sunday morning I was running around chasing beet greens at every store in my neighborhood. I finally found 3 bunches for $1.95 each. Much better price.
The stuffed beet greens were very good, I even had some stuffing left over that didn't make it into the dish, I added a couple eggs, mixed it all up and made patties for a snack on monday. Damn good.
My house we cooked the turkey, stuffing, beet greens thing, roasted the beets, sliced and buttered them, peeled the potatoes prepping them for steaming, drank wine, had to make lunch in the middle of all this for 7 adults. Pesto spaghetti and broad breans, Then my mother man handled the turkey apart into chunks - out came all the stuffing, lined the bottom of the roaster with celery stalks and onion rings, placed the boneless turkey parts on top of the mess then poured a container of vegetable stock over the whole thing, then foil wrapped it all up, after draining all the drippings first of coarse. Oh yeah my g'son was celebrating his 2nd birthday as well so there was also a cupcake birthday cake with a Thomas Train theme (ordered and paid for) to transport to my daughters.
It's a good thing I have a van, cause it was full
Turkey---check
Stuffing--check
freshing made cranberry sauce--check
prepped potatoes--check
beetgreens thing--check
roasted beets-check
brussel sprouts--check (wow were they ever good, bacon, whole hazelnuts & maple syrup)
drippings--check
cake--check
booze--double check
platters--check
5 adults--check
cell phones, charges, cameras --check, check and check
The only thing that I didn't have to transport were the apps, the salmon destined for the barbeque, yams and desert. No wonder we were all exhausted at my house, we did most of the cooking. How did that happen? Thank goodness for the really super big bbq to keep everything warm just before the salmon went on it.
Everything was very good. Specially the brussel sprouts that nobody likes, but cleaned up this year. And the Beet top thing, was weird looking but was the first thing to be polished off. There was hardly any leftovers. A little bit of turkey, handful of beets, and a little hunk of salmon, enough gravy for a meal of hot turkey sandwichs for dinner tuesday. It was the stuffing that was really good though. Yum, and only after I insisted my mother (who never eats the stuff) added a few things that she generally never does. Even she ate it even though i almost had to arm wrestle her to add the garlic from the press.
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