A Lovely Thanksgiving

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving, a day supposedly for giving thanks, but notorious for gastronomic overindulgence. In the spirit of family and thanksgiving, I put everyone to work in the kitchen this year, to help in the preparation of our Thanksgiving Day feast. The menu would be a blend, as most things at Casa Daisy. My friend Esmeralda Santiago, and her family would be my guests, and we all looked forward to a quiet (by Daisy standards) and cozy holiday. I wanted to put out a nosh table for when my guests arrived. Esmeralda would be accompanied by her husband, Frank Cantor, a noted filmmaker, and her son and daughter, Lucas and Ila, both brilliant guitarists. Caprese salad with some nice crusty bread and Serrano ham, smoked salmon with garlic and herb Boursin cheese, chunks of Parmesan cheese and red seedless grapes, made a pretty spread on the coffee table.

The kids reallly got into the spirit of things, rolled up their sleeves, put on their aprons, and dug in. Dinner would be interesting. I wanted to start out with a Crab and Corn Chowder, followed by a salad of fennel, jicama, celery root, artichoke hearts, Granny Smith apples and arugula.

The base for the chowder.

Marc hones his knife skills.

“This is how you peel a jicama.”

All hands on deck.

The salad would be followed by the main event. The big bird, the pasteles I made with Mami and Papi last week, orange glazed carrrots, truffled shaved Brussels sprouts, stuffing, bakes sweet potatoes, arroz con gandules, and braised escarole.

Daisy puts the finishing touches on the stuffing.

Erik preps the escarole.

Jerry does the honors!

Friends and family take a moment to give thanks.

We finished things off with pumpkin pie and pecan pie, a menu which reflects a blend of cultures and traditions…a clear reflection of this wonderful country we call home: the United States of America.

Happy Thanksgiving, and a blessed holiday season!