"Please sir - I want some more"

Ahhh yes the classic, Oliver Twist - it was Oliver Twist who said that right? Anyway, Orphan Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Aside from a turkey brine spill at 8am Wednesday morning all over the basement floor - the whole cooking adventure was relatively uneventful. There was a turkey, which was brined for approximately 18 hours (I will get in trouble if I say exactly how many hours because I was specifically told "Definitely no more then 18 hours for a bird that size!"). Well you lose track of time right - but it came out perfectly none the less. I digress as usual. So turkey, we had the dried cherry with goat cheese and hazelnut stuffing listed previously, the cranberry-pear-pomegranate sauce, also listed previously, mashed potatoes, maple cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted asparagus and apples with mint. My friends were kind enough to bring dessert which consisted of the staple yum-yum apple pie and also pecan pies (notice the plural haha), my brother's favorite!


We started the night off with wine and cheese (a staple for me!), some hummos and crackers and veggies, and also a brie baked with rose petal jam. G$$ did a great time fending off the housewives at the Wellesley cheese shop to taste test probably everything they had and bring back a cave-aged gruyere, maria's goat and an English stilton. He was brave to walk in there the day before a holiday feast but he brought home the goodies which went perfectly with homemade, freshly baked honey oat bread and Challah! Shipyard Pumpkin ale is always a favorite this time of year and 2010 was no different! Lucky for us the RI pecan pie team brought lots of pumpkin ale which actually pairs fabulously with turkey AND pie :)

Jenga tournament finished out the night. The thing about Jenga is that you never win - you only lose, which gives cause for making complete fun of the poor person who knocks that tower of blocks over!


What's better then all the food fresh out of the oven? The left over sandwiches the next day. G$$ put a couple of them together, which then had to be taken apart to be eaten! That is the beauty of a great sandwich - you can't put your mouth around it!