MM Food

With a little help from the good people at Epicurious, I attempted my first Thanksgiving yesterday. If a cook is to be judged on the reaction of his guests and total food consumption, I think the meal was a success. Dinka and I ate a lot last night and finished up the leftovers at lunch and dinner today. However Veronika wouldn't touch any of it, even though turkey is one of her favorite foods. I'm not going to lie, that really hurt, but I think the food speaks for itself. I was only able to prepare about half of the courses (I'm only human after all), so the meal consisted of the following:

• Turkey Breast Roulade with Crimini, Porcini, and Pancetta: Fantastic. A two- to three-pound turkey breast is perfect for a small Thanksgiving and is very resistant to drying out. I am not much of a stuffing person but this mushroom-pancetta mix was delicious. The accompanying gravy was tasty but with the amount of fat and butter in there, it's not so surprising.
• Orange-Glazed Carrot Ribbons: Not bad but my least favorite part of the meal. With the citrus zest, I think it was meant to take the place of a traditional cranberry sauce and it was decent at that. The problem is that Dinka made a tangy triple cranberry sauce with apples and apricots that beat the pants off of orange carrots.
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Fresh Sage: Maybe the best potatoes I've ever had. The goat cheese and butter whipped in don't make the potatoes taste all cheesy and buttery (not that it would be a problem if they did), they just make them taste like some kind of superpotatoes, perfectly creamy and scrumptious. The sage is a simple yet valuable addition.
• Smoking Loon Pinot Noir: A delightful surprise at $10 a bottle. Light enough to accompany the heavier meal yet fruity and nutty enough to complement the stuffing. I would recommend it.

At six hours of total preparation time, I don't think I did too badly. And after a well-deserved glass of plum brandy, I wasn't even that stressed out. If that's not what Thanksgiving's all about, then I don't know what is.