T-Day

As we enter our thirties, J and I are making gradual progress in finally wresting control of a holiday or two from our mothers. Part of this year's negotiations that vaulted me to several courses of Thanksgiving- a great leap forward from the Mother's Day brunch slot I've tenaciously held on to for three years and running now- is that the feasting would occur at my parents' house with M handling all cookery of beasts, cranberries, stuffing and yams; grandma doing her ravioli and meatballs; and other guests encouraged to bring desserts.

The way I figured it, this still left me:

-antipasti of marinated artichoke hearts, crusty bread, Sicilian olives, tomatoes, and chickpea bruschetta
-winter squash and apple bisque (a sneaky vegan version at that!)
-green bean casserole (from scratch)
-sauteed rapini with garlic
-roasted root vegetables (carrots, turnips, parsnips) with garlic, fresh thyme and pine nuts
-roasted beets with an orange and pomegranate glaze
-J made a Vesuvius of mashed potatoes with whole milk and loads of butter (which started our saying "one stick or two?")
-lemon ricotta cake with fresh fruit

A day and a half of preparation and pre-cooking made this movable feast go off without a hitch. Somehow all of this food was able to be cooked, finished or reheated in the limited oven space and four-burner real estate available in M's kitchen. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of the finished smorgasbord because I was still aproned and managing the last of the fires when guests with plates formed a buffet line and dug in. This pleased me to no end though.. I'm beginning to understand the grandmotherly compulsion to love people with food, and feeding two table's full of in-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins was my way of expressing how much treasure everyone who was there that day.

Things calmed down long enough between dinner and dessert for me to snap this picture of the dessert buffet, though you can discern an eager eater already standing by the apple pie. On display we have: apple pie, pumpkin pie, rum cake, lemon ricotta cake and fruit salad, and in the foreground, one of my favorite indulgences of the day, a gooey pecan pie.