For those of you desperate to see my Thanksgiving plate, here she is in all her glory. We were at a fancy buffet in Boca Raton and most parties agreed that as fancy as a Thanksgiving buffet might be, it’s still not quite as good as a home-cooked meal–it just doesn’t taste like Thanksgiving.
That said: I enjoyed the Brussels sprouts and the cornbread stuffing and sweet potatoes mashed with lots of butter and served in a tiny pumpkin. The turkey was a bit dry but that was saved by copious amounts of cranberry sauce, my favorite Thanksgiving condiment (I’m not a huge fan of gravy.)
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Thoughts turned to Regina Schrambling’s funny Slate column about Thanksgiving when it became clear that all the Thanksgiving classics on the buffet–the butternut squash soup, the stuffing, the turkey, the mashed sweet potatoes–were the only dishes people wanted; the less conventional stuff (a wild mushroom casserole with Parmesan, for example) went untouched. It’s a good Thanksgiving lesson: give the people what they want.
And thus ends all Thanksgiving coverage on the blog for 2008. Hope yours was a happy day stuffed with stuffing and not too much indigestion. I bet those of you who read lots of food blogs are glad that Thanksgiving’s over–what a relief to stop talking turkey. Onward and upward, as they say: comforting cold weather food awaits.
Umm… where are the mashed potatoes?
And here I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, your Mom had cooked.I am with you on the gravy, I smother dry turkey with the cranberry sauce and save the gravy for the dog.
As a ‘fellow’ South Floridian, I’m curious was that delicious buffet Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant? or a private home? Looks delicious! Your advice to give the people what they want is sound, but it’s so hard for us foodies to stick to script!
As a ‘fellow’ South Floridian, I’m curious was that delicious buffet Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant? or a private home? Looks delicious! Your advice to give the people what they want is sound, but it’s so hard for us foodies to stick to script!
Adam you know I love you.THAT is NOT a proper thanksgiving plate!!! I am shocked! Is that all you ate??? my plate had 10x more food than that and I am a skinny lil thing!! your plate should be so full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, broccoli cheese and rice casserole, sweet potatoes/yams, cheesy potatoes, rolls, cornbread casserole, you should not be able to see any of your plate!!! you are an amateur!!!!!!
Looks good, I had the “give the people what they want” dilema when planning my menu, but think I found a good middle ground.