Last year we did not know what to do for Thanksgiving, having just returned from Italy, we were sort of out of the loop of friends and company. This year we got 3 invitations at once, so today Sunday we will be going out to dinner to our friends who live in the West of the City. Tomorrow Monday being a holiday we will make Thanksgiving lunch and have invited friends. This year I will cook the bird, I am not making any stuffing, just roasting the turkey, will make some gravy, I already have nice stock I can probably use. Will have whole berry cranberry sauce, vegetables, I am planning to roast a squash, a first for me, I have a recipe to do it provided by friend blogger C de V. Keep it simple is my motto for this year.
Years ago in the late 70's we subscribed to Gourmet magazine, they had fantastic photos of great table settings and exquisite meals. The only problem was that the recipes were complicated and required hours of preparation not to mention the ingredients often exotic and hard to find on the open market.
I remember how frustrating it was not to be able to find that spice or that other ingredient or vegetable they recommended. You see back then, the markets in Ottawa were not terribly sophisticated, you had your turkey, potatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, carrots and peas. What else did you want? Chestnuts were hard to come by, if you wanted a bread stuffing there was and still is the dreaded Stove Top stuffing out of a box, or plain white bread, anything else was considerer exotic or was simply not available, Ottawa was too small a market. It was also expected that most people would simply travel during the holiday so stores did not stock up or were closed Sunday and Monday for the holiday. Meaning you had to rush on Friday night or Saturday morning otherwise you were out of luck.
Same for desserts, you could back then buy a cake ready made full of sugar and spongy or you could try to have a festive dessert meaning you made it yourself from scratch but again same problem with ingredients. I remember Mr. W had lots of energy to take the Gourmet magazine and go to it, my responsibility was to do all the shopping for those rare or non existent ingredients. Of course if we were on posting abroad that was another kettle of fish, you had to adapt to local traditions and markets.
We always did manage and it was always fun.
I will go out now and get some freshly fallen leafs from the Maple trees along the canal for decoration on the table. It is a bright sunny day though the wind is a little chilly and brisk around 5 C.
Fall is most beautiful on a cold but bright sunny day. Outdoor pictures taken this Sunday morning October 7 on my walk along the Rideau Canal and on the Campus of my Alma Mater, Ottawa U.
In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving, Horn of Plenty, Corne d'abondance by J.B. Mauzaisse.
Years ago in the late 70's we subscribed to Gourmet magazine, they had fantastic photos of great table settings and exquisite meals. The only problem was that the recipes were complicated and required hours of preparation not to mention the ingredients often exotic and hard to find on the open market.
I remember how frustrating it was not to be able to find that spice or that other ingredient or vegetable they recommended. You see back then, the markets in Ottawa were not terribly sophisticated, you had your turkey, potatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, carrots and peas. What else did you want? Chestnuts were hard to come by, if you wanted a bread stuffing there was and still is the dreaded Stove Top stuffing out of a box, or plain white bread, anything else was considerer exotic or was simply not available, Ottawa was too small a market. It was also expected that most people would simply travel during the holiday so stores did not stock up or were closed Sunday and Monday for the holiday. Meaning you had to rush on Friday night or Saturday morning otherwise you were out of luck.
Same for desserts, you could back then buy a cake ready made full of sugar and spongy or you could try to have a festive dessert meaning you made it yourself from scratch but again same problem with ingredients. I remember Mr. W had lots of energy to take the Gourmet magazine and go to it, my responsibility was to do all the shopping for those rare or non existent ingredients. Of course if we were on posting abroad that was another kettle of fish, you had to adapt to local traditions and markets.
We always did manage and it was always fun.
I will go out now and get some freshly fallen leafs from the Maple trees along the canal for decoration on the table. It is a bright sunny day though the wind is a little chilly and brisk around 5 C.
My neighbor gave me all her Gourmet magazines, for me to look for recipes. I didn't find many, for I discarded any with too many complicated steps and/or had some mysterious- used it once only ingredient. I did much better with Bon Apetit.
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious. I envy you this celebration of which we over here know so little.
ReplyDeleteAgain - thanks so much for the photos of autmun color. They are like a lifeline to us in the desert. Pretty sure that is a badly mixed metaphor but the point is there..somewhere.
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