I was a bit nervous about doing a whole dinner by myself on our first married Thanksgiving together. Rather than cooking under pressure, Mike and I potlucked with five other families from church.
Even though we weren't cooking the whole dinner, there was a learning curve with the side dishes. The green beans with almonds and the cranberry-orange glazed sweet potatoes turned out fine. Not so the mashed potatoes.
We learned that the KitchenAid is the wrong tool to make fluffy mashed potatoes. We stuck them in the oven, thinking it would cook off the glueyness. Instead, the potatoes grew a skin on top and the gluey, goopy mass below remained.
Mike made a late-night run to HEB for more russets (and something to soothe the frazzled chef). Batch two turned out better, what with using the right implements and adding some roasted garlic.
We made a third batch Thursday morning to make sure there was enough for the potluck. Somehow, the potatoes were slightly undercooked and turned out slightly lumpy--something I didn't discover until I was spooning them into the serving dish alongside batch two. (D'oh!)
When we set up the buffet, I turned the serving dish so batch two faced forward. Even with the fumble, people chowed down and offered compliments.
It was nice to spend time with folks outside of church and get to know each other better. I was sad to find out that the Primary president (the one who looks like Swizzies) is moving to Reston, VA in January. She seemed the most kindred of the church ladies, even though I only see her in passing at church.
I called the 'rents when I got home to ask how their T-day had been. They were going to eat dinner at the rest home with Cousin Shirley, but she wasn't feeling well and begged off. They ended up eating at The Trough instead. ("The Trough?" I asked. "The Golden Corral buffet," mom said.) Brother John made Cornish game hens in lieu of turkey this year.
Mike called the kids and his mom and we finished off the evening with the requisite post-Thanksgiving dinner nap. We ended up sleeping through the 7:00 pm and the 10:00 pm movie. (I know. We're such party animals).
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2 comments:
A little late now, but I always put mashed potatoes through the ricer - makes 'em fluffy. You can also use a food mill. But yeah, the KA is the tool of death in this case. :-)
Sounds like some yummy food tho...
Mike mashed and riced one of the later batches of potatoes. Turned out great. Not like the leaden KA batch I threw out this morning.
I did use the ricer when I made Adriana's sweet potatoes last year. YUM.
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