Thanksgiving Redux

Thanksgiving Journal 1972

The pumpkin soup was served from 

this copper bain-marie pan.

My 1972 dining table was set with a red cloth and red napkins .

For the centerpiece, I displayed a still life of pumpkins, dried corn cobs and husks, gourds, and wheat sprays. In two mini porcelain vases, a simple bunch of yellow and orange gherba daisies. 4 candle sticks. Nuts and raisins in mini crystal bowls at each place setting.

Crystal wine goblets.

On a serving cart, I used frequently at my side of the table, I served the first course of cream of pumpkin soup from my copper bain marie tureen.

We had biscuits and rolls along side.

My stuffed roast turkey and giblet gravy was taken from a combo of James Beard's cookbook and Time Life America cookbook.

In addition to the turkey, I had a McCarthy’s Smoked Ham, since my father-in-law didn’t eat turkey.

Accompanying the main bird were the following: see recipe sources above noted in my journal.

Mashed potatoes

Green beans in melted butter

Creamed onions and peas

Tangerine sweet potatoes

Corn and cheese pudding

Cranberry filled lemon baskets

Apple cider with apple slices

Taylor Country Lake Red

For dessert I made:

Honey glazed early Macontosh applejack cream

Pumpkin Pie

Ginger Bread with whipped cream

Madeleines

Coffee tea

Here are two hors d'oeuvres that I serve at Thanksgiving, from my recipe files:

Hot Crab Dip

Makes 4 cups

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups milk

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons dried mustard

4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

10 ounces lump crabmeat

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cups breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Crackers for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring  until soft, about 4 minutes. Whisk in flour. Continue to cook, whisking another 4 minutes. Continue whisking and pour in milk in a slow and steady stream. Simmer over medium heat, whisking until thick and smooth about 4 minutes. Stir in cayenne and mustard. Gradually whisk in cheese, until melted.

Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice, and Worcestershire. Stir in crabmeat and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a 1-quart ovenproof dish.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the crab dip. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter cut up into small pieces and bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes.

Serve with crackers

Stuffed Mushrooms

Makes 25-30

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 cup Pecorino Romano cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

3- 14- ounce packages of mushrooms, brushed cleaned and stemmed.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the first five ingredients with ¼ cup of the olive oil. Spoon into mushrooms. Drizzle with remaining oil. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until browned and tender.

I love everything about this photo of a 

Thanksgiving table, at Blue Hill Farm.

Tips for Turkey Day

Post navigation

Ok, it’s almost Thanksgiving and if panic has  set in…. Time to lose the anxiety. But how?

In my next few posts, I will break up my Thanksgiving menu by courses, starting with hors d’oeuvres and will continue in each post to give a few recipes for each course.

 See below for the article written for darienpatch.com

 by  kristenharnisch.com 

The “Entertaining Addict” Dishes Out Tips for Turkey Day

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Kristen Harnisch

Sheila McCaffery, the Entertaining Addict
photo by Mark Lohman http://www.marklohmanphoto.com/

I enjoy having people over for dinner, but the thought of Thanksgiving entertaining in the wake of a hurricane, a nor’easter and a week of no school, starts my heart racing and my palms sweating. 

No worries!  I’ve enlisted Sheila McCaffery, the “Entertaining Addict,” to share her forty years of entertaining and cooking wisdom with all of us.  A former 27-year resident of Greenwich, Sheila has been featured on AOL and in Bon Appetit and Greenwich Magazines.  Sherecently spoke at the Darien Community Association and now she shares her passion for food with us.

What are your tips to alleviate ‘entertaining anxiety’?  Organize, make lists, and plan ahead.  Pick a time when you can sit down with a cup of tea or a glass of wine and think about your dinner party.  Have a notepad and pen handy and start imagining what kind of dinner party you would like to have. Then research it and chart out a plan.

A theme helps you get organized and becomes your personal “style board” for planning and producing a successful experience.  From the invitation to the menu, from the table setting to the décor, a theme is almost like a special assistant who makes your lists and focuses your decisions, so you can enjoy your party and your guests—which is really the point!

For big or small parties, I always follow the same checklist: the theme, the date, the menu, the guests, the tableware, the candles, the decorations and seating arrangements for each room.  I sketch it all out and make annotations like a storyboard or a script for a commercial.  My experience as a creative director in the advertising business, where I had to organize photo shoots and manage the disparate elements of an ad campaign, has helped me to see the entire picture.

Always try to set the table the day before… that gives you a chance to live with it, add to it, or see what you’ve forgotten. And best of all, it’s out of the way.  With regards to the meal, I like to chop and prep the food for each recipe I’ll be preparing the day before (if possible).  Then I place each set of recipe ingredients on its own cookie sheet and store it in the refrigerator until I need it.

In the wake of destruction caused by Sandy and the nor’easter, what are your best ideas for a simple, yet elegant Thanksgiving menu?  I’m a traditionalist and I like to make turkey, however, “simple” is probably not getting up at 5 a.m. to baste the turkey every 20 minutes!  So plan on a buffet and step away from the Turkey for a moment.

One idea for Thanksgiving Dinner is:  baked lobster pie, buttermilk cornbread, twice-baked potatoes with cheddar cheese and bacon, green beans and brown butter.  For dessert, apple brown betty, hard sauce and ice Cream.

Another idea is: roasted cornish hens on a bed of caramelized chestnuts and baby onions (cipollini),  or fruit-stuffed cornish hens with cranberry compote, roasted brussel sprouts with white balsamic vinegar, garlicky green beans with pine nuts, roasted sweet potato wedges and chocolate pecan pie with whipped cream for dessert.

Simple idea for a centerpiece?  Place a runner down the center of the table, either alone or on top of a tablecloth.  Burlap is very harvest-y.  Buy it at your local nursery or Home Depot, cut it to drape over the whole table or to use as a runner.  Sprinkle mini pumpkins or squash, lady apples and pears down the center of the table. Add candlesticks or votives. Candle colors can be either orange, rust, cranberry white or cream. Branches with berries or leaves, found outside, can be interspersed with the fruit and squash.

Have you ever had something go wrong while entertaining?  When I cooked lobster for the first time, I boiled already-cooked lobsters for one hour.  When we cracked open the claws, there was no lobster meat—it had cooked away!  We laughed, made pasta and drank a lot of wine.

Another time, one hour before the guests were to arrive, the power went out and I hadn’t finished cooking.  I panicked and almost cancelled the dinner, except the phones were out and I couldn’t call anyone.  So, the guests arrived and I finished cooking the dinner in the fireplace, with the room lit by candlelight.  It was a memorable evening, made even more so because it was so much more fun.

What do you usually have guests bring?  When guests ask what they can bring, the answer is usually thank you, but nothing.  I really do like to cook and entertain. Occasionally someone will bring dessert.  I like to make everything, from hors d’oeuvres to dessert.

Any suggestions for quick meals for unexpected guests?  I whip up pasta and salad, or a risotto and salad.  I always have pasta and a variety of ingredients in the pantry to make either one.  A charcuterie platter is also easy to put together at the last minute.

Sophia Loren serving Sheila spaghetti alla carbonara at a photo shoot

How did you develop your passion for food and entertaining?  I love to entertain. I love every detail about giving a dinner party.  I wasn’t born with the entertaining gene, but it became my passion.

My introduction to the world of food was not at my grandmother’s side or my mother’s side. The interest in food came from my taste buds.  I wanted to learn how to cook the foods I experienced in many fantastic restaurants like Lutece, The Four Seasons, San Marino, Romeo Salta, Nanni’s, etc.  It was like traveling, except you stayed at home and invited friends over to share in your acquired passion. All they had to do was bring an appetite and a love of food and wine.

It helped that my husband is a wine connoisseur.  That left me more time to concentrate on the food.

I decided that entertaining was going to be a big part of my life and I relished the memories, so I started to keep journals. These journals became more elaborate over time.  I draw the table, the flowers, and the serving pieces that I used.  I list the guests who were invited, and write down the menu and recipes.  I started my journals in 1970, the year I was married, and have been adding to them ever since.

I will post these recipes and more on my next Thanksgiving Post

Individual Lobster Pie
Fruit-stuffed Cornish Game Hens
Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Gravlax with Mustard Dill Sauce
Salmon Tartare

Sheila is currently working on her entertaining book, and will soon have her entertaining planning templates and consulting services available through her website,www.entertainingaddict.blogspot.com. To contact Sheila, email her at entertainingaddict.blogspot.com