A Day of Thanks 2009

By the power of Grayskull...

It is imperative that one must draw upon one's inner Princess of Power in order to properly pull off a Thanksgiving dinner.

In short, it was probably the best Thanksgiving I've hosted to date.

We started off the day volunteering to deliver meals to the homeless population in Pomona, which really turned out to be a fun and incredibly eye-opening experience. Really makes me wish I'd been able to do the Portland Plunge Homeless Immersion for my volunteer work at Jesuit. On one of our delivery runs, we ended up with 2 extra meals and on our way back to the church for another delivery assignment, we spotted a guy walking his trash bag laden bike by the Pomona courthouse. We stopped and asked him if he wanted anything to eat. He said, "Yeah, yeah I do. But...do you think I could get one for my buddy over there?" Sure enough, his pal was walking his laden bike a little further down the sidewalk. And yes, as a matter of fact, we DO know where you could score two meals.

By early afternoon, we were en route back to the house, filled with that warm fuzzy feeling normally associated with copious liquor. But no. That was just good karma, served neat.

Unlike previous years, I delegated food assignments to the guests, and I am so happy I did. It would've been a pure nightmare if I'd had to pull off all the pies, breads, birds and sides all by my onesies on top of recent academic requirements.

A taste of some of the evening's choreographed entertainment.

Menu


Appetizers

Gorgonzola Cheesecake w/ Crostini & Grapes
(recipe courtesy of the Paragon Restaurant in NW Portland)
Gluhwein

Main Course
19.2 lb. Fresh, Free-Range Turkey
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Cranberry-Tangerine Relish
Green Bean Casserole
Brussel Sprouts Braised with Fingerling Potatoes and Pancetta
Baking Powder Biscuits
Fouch Family Turkey Stuffing
Luna Vinyards Pinot Grigio
L'Authentiqe Red Table Wine

Desserts
Apple/Blackberry/Ginger Pie with Fresh Blackberries and Whipped Cream
Peanut Butter Creme Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Whipped Cream
Peet's French Roast

This was the first year that I suffered my first Thanksgiving Crisis. When we were peeling potatoes, we started running some of the peels down the disposal and the water started coming...up (for the record, the Shoreline house disposal could handle a few measly tater skins). Not to worry, though, Kif saved the day. Shortly thereafter, Kif suffered a Gravy Crisis, but the grief is still too potent, so I won't discuss the details here out of respect for his feelings.

Kif tackles a potato blocked disposal under Jillian's supervision while I negotiate butter.

Because of the morning's activities, we got a late start, not eating dinner until about 7pm. By the time all was cleaned up and put away, it was pushing 1am, not leaving much (any) time for a rousing game of gin rummy, or even a showing of Love Actually to kick off the Yuletide.

Pretty Bird.

Ever since Thursday, we've been wallowing in a real Pie-Heaven. Lord help me, I better take up marathoning.