I do apologize for the lack of posting this past weekend. Here I thought it would be easy to write and post over the break while I was at home. However, circumstances prevented me from even writing down the recap of Thanksgiving dinner. So with the sincerest apologies for the lack of posts, I shall continue.
Up until now, I realize that most of my posts have dealt with my thoughts on different subjects, either just because I felt the urge to write of them, or due to events that are happening in my life at the time. But with this post, I plan on giving you an update on actual details of my life - Ok, so it might not be a big deal, but it is actually different from what I have been posting before... especially with the pictures ^_^
First things first, let me explain to you how my family does Thanksgiving. As Hindus, there are few American holidays that really apply to us. So we are instead left with the task of redefining holidays in ways that mean something for us. For example, during the winter season, there is Christmas break, and people of course give gifts for Christmas. We, on the other hand, choose to celebrate that break simply for New Years. We buy and give gifts for the dawn of a new year - similar to the way we celebrate the Indian new year, Ugadi. But when it comes to Thanksgiving, there is no religious aspect deeply ingrained in the holiday. It's really about being thankful for what you have and having people you care about with you to remind you of that. And when you take out the turkey (and all other meats for us vegetarians), we don't have to worry about following the traditional American meal either. So we end up with a multi-cultural meal with a few hints of fall and the original Thanksgiving meal.
Now let us address the food coma and the dishes that initiated the mechanism I call the "super" digestion: a process where the body insists on maximizing the nutrients digested in the GI track by directing increased volumes of blood to the villa of the small intestine.
So let us acknowledge the main players in the creation of the extravagant meal, my mother and me. The major brains behind the courses selected for the meal Thursday night was of course my mother. She had done the shopping, and she had the skills. What was my duty? Well, I was the genius behind the presentation - not to mention my skills as my mother's sous chef. So before we get to the actual meal, I present you the table for the night:
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| A single place setting |
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| The food has been served |
Here is a better look at the entire table after the food has been placed. The wine I chose for the evening was a Chardonnay (personally my favorite wine). The reasoning behind the wine was solely for the fact that white wine is a subtle taste. It also is light in flavor, shining more focus on the food and suiting the multicultural meal.
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| Butternut squash soup |
The first course of the meal is a butternut squash soup, garnished with a clump of goat cheese and sprinkled with pine nuts. It was surprisingly filling for such a small cup of soup!
And of course, to follow soup, is always salad: inspired by my mother, and created by me.
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| en Salat |
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| Ole! |
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| piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie |
Now were I to say that the meal ended there, I would be lying. We have to consider brunch the next day! Well, calling both the 3am Black Friday shopping spree and the rest of the day spent recovering the lost sleep negligible, Saturday morning brunch was definitely the next day's meal ^_^.
The meal was quite simple but jam-packed with flavors. We had the three Fs: frittata, fruit, and french toast!
The frittata contains three cheeses: Parmesan, Cheddar, and fresh Mozarella. Along with the bell peppers and carrots, there were sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil. Ultimately it was the best sort of dish you could wake up in the morning to eat.
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| F #1 |
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| F #2 |
As we awaited with bated breath for the french toast, we kept ourselves busy with the Brazilian honeydew and pomegranate that my dad and I both prepped for eating.
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| F #3 |
And the grand finale: french toast with raisin and walnut bread, topped off with a spiced apple and cranberry goo - Ok, so it wasn't actually called goo, but man, the word for it has just slipped out of my mind. So all in all, I'd have to say it was a wonderfully fed Thanksgiving break (yes, I just fed Thanksgiving break ^_^). After all, the food made the induced coma all the more satisfying to sleep through.
To the food that mends rifts and brings us together at the dinner table:
it really was ^_^
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