With just two of us I would think the preparations would be less time consuming. And they are, but not as much as I expected. One of our traditions as an empty nest, is to not have too many traditions. Each year develops as the holiday approaches.
Past experiences have included long walks with turkey sandwiches in tow (and a finally successful search for an open coffee shop). Most have included a meal.
This year includes just 3 dishes. Food servings that is. There are lots of dishes.
1. Turkey breast. There are a gazillion ways to prepare a turkey breast. I know, I googled it. As it happens, last week there was a PCC coupon for a free bottle of pure maple syrup. So along with our puff pastry purchase we picked up a bottle of maple syrup. And, while browsing recipes I spotted on for Maple Roasted Turkey Breast. Serendipity! Maple syrup is not something we normally have around, so this was the year. And it was quite good.
2. Salad. Actually, Roasted Pumpkin and Chestnut Salad with Orange-Cranberry Vinaigrette. This is a WW recipe, 6-7 points … if we only ate one serving. The roasted pumpkin and chestnuts made this a filling accompaniment to the turkey.
3. Apple Puff Pastry tart/galette/pie. This was a mash-up of the Betty Crocker apple pie recipe, with a puff pastry instead of a traditional pie crust. And a bit smaller than the pie.
One other thing about Thanksgiving dinner that changes every year is the time we actually dine. Nine out of ten times we eat later than planned. This was apparently the tenth year, and we ate early. Mid-afternoon. It actually surprised Carl. He was in the midst of a cleaning, flinging, reorganizing project. I had to ask him at least 3 times to help with the final preparations. He would do as requested and then grab another load of something to move about.
The rest of this evening will be spent hanging out until dessert. We’re watching a movie or two. The current movie is from 1944, Between Two Worlds.
And as for the rest of the weekend….
Raincharm's Weblog 
November 25, 2021 at 6:02 pm |
That looks yummy and I’m intrigued (in a good way) by the salad. What are you drinking?
November 26, 2021 at 11:08 am |
We bought some maple syrup at a rest stop on the NY turnpike post-wedding. Maybe I’ll try the maple turkey for Xmas. Looks like a sheet of parchment paper on that pan would have helped with clean-up!
November 26, 2021 at 11:13 am |
I didn’t do the cleanup myself, but it was sugar based so I think it came off okay. It was tasty.