T-day menu rundown

Current mood: Full! Pleased! Tired! Dirty! Kinda smelly! Buzzed!

Best turkey yet, according to me and the not-so-wee, filled, bellies around me. Table looked gorgeous, not too many leftovers, and lots of oohs and aahs. What more could a Thanksgiving day chef-general ask for?

On deck:

Turkey, 13-pounder, rubbed with scallions, onions, and steak seasoning, 1.5 sticks of butter under the skin, sprinkled with salt and pepper, 3.5 hours @ 325 degrees, 1st half with foil on. Verdict: Beautifully juicy, nicely browned skin, lots of butter juice. (Chinese people ate white meat! And liked it! Woohoo!)

Sweet potatoes, roasted in foil for ~ 1 hour, with plates to catch the drippy juices (only took three years of "Hey, what's that burning smell?" to remember to do this). Verdict: Good, not too soft or hard, could have probably used a little more time to get v. soft and gushy.

Mashed potatoes, one bag of reds, butter, cream, sour cream, chicken stock, salt and pepper, boiled then mashed. Verdict: Okay, not quite the creamy consistency I like, a little grainy. Gets cold very fast, but better with the "au jus." Maybe use whites or Idahos next year?

Mushrooms, steakhouse style, sauteed in olive oil with onions, garlic, sherry (well, rice wine), and finished with butter, salt, and pepper. Verdict: SO GOOD. Definitely stands up as its own dish and was gobbled up pretty much instantly. Dad made a face at the saltiness, but I noticed he didn't leave any on his plate. Next year make twice as much!

"Au jus," turkey drippings and butter, plus added ~ 2 cups of chicken stock. Still hard to capture, but worth every drop! Verdict: Barely enough to go around for dipping, even with stock addition! How did we do it before??? Highlight of the plate, absolutely essential. Stock did not dilute much; perhaps add a bit more next year to up the volume.

Green beans, sauteed with garlic in olive oil and "au jus," finished with toasted almonds slices. Verdict: Crisp even after 2 times in the pan to keep warm. Looks great on a white plate. Gone fast. Next time wait till last, last minute, so I don't have to reheat them.

Roasted (microwaved) chestnuts, scorched all to h*ll, but luckily with no burning smell. Maybe next time we'll get the timing right! Verdict: Chestnuts? What chestnuts?

Green and yellow squash, roasted, with sauteed onions, with olive oil, cumin, salt, and white pepper. Verdict: Cooked too long, veg got soft and released too much juice, a bit mushy, probably didn't help being reheated twice. Flavor okay. Not really a hit, but people were good about eating their vegetables, so mostly gone.

Antipasti - mushrooms, zucchini, olives, mozzarella, and red peppers. Thanks, Uncle Guiseppe's! Verdict: Big hit with younger crowd, vinegar probably a bit much for more asian (than say, me) folks.

Strawberry shortcake, with whipped cream and cream biscuits. Verdict: Instant classic, everyone likes, v. pretty, not too sweet. Cream biscuits in holiday shapes v. cute.

Apple upside-down cake, with vanilla ice cream, with sauteed apples, toasted almonds, and yellow cake "bottom." Verdict: Good but v. sweet, but great presentation and smelling like cinnamon heaven. Thanksgiving should always have something cinnamon coming out of the oven!

Next: What to do for Xmas?????