December 2, 2008

• Thank Goodness, Thanksgiving-Part 1

  Back from my food coma at last, and with all the pictures off the camera and on to the computer, I can finally tell you all the story of Thanksgiving. Well, the one I attended anyway. In an effort not to utterly destroy slow-loading times, I will endeavor to break this into multiple parts

  This year marked a fairly special thanksgiving, as it is the final year of med school, and come july, the friends I have spent the last 5 years with will be dispersed to the four corners of the states, and some may even go to Canada, America’s hat. So we wanted to step up our game and a few of us decided to throw a gourmet meal, complete with endangered species centerpiece. But more on that later…first, lets introduce the cast of characters.
  
  This is table. Table helped out throughout the day by storing supplies, acting as a prep surface, and eventually holding the finished product of everyone present. Thanks table!

  Now on to introduce the real people who made the meal what it was in every sense of the word

  
  Wendy, a fellow capoeirista from college turned tooth fairy dental student, mixmaster of potatoes
     
  Ritika, chief decorator and baker of pie
  
  Tony, Thai Knife-wielding fry cook and first assist on turkey preparation. Also the host for this years shindig.
  
  Yours truly, the designated photographer for the majority of the shots, along with stuffing imagineer, and dolma creator, bringing the ethnic touch to this American holiday.

  Before I continue, I should mention we had all arrived at Tony’s the night before, and spent the entire day cooking at his place. This means breakfast too
  
  That’s right, homemade egg mcmuffins with both real and fakin bacon
  
  Cheers! On the right, the mysterious member of the party is Jayan, mastermind of the menu and tsar of turkey.
  Onward to preparation!
  
  The first rule of this Thanksgiving was that everything had to be made from scratch…no half assing. As sultan of stuffing, I opted for a ciabatta and foccacia loaf. Here is the ciabatta freshly cut to prove there was no cheating
  Note to those at home. Cutting bread into one inch cubes is more difficult than the cooking shows make it look, even with a bread knife.
  
  French Freedom Fries are a classic americana dish, and Tony set to work on carving them with a vengeance
  
  Of course, while we were prepping the food, Table was getting all made up for later
  
  Table with Chief Decorator Ritika
  
  This is an artsy shot. You will notice more of these as the participants begin to imbibe more alcohol over the course of the day
  
  Table’s kid brother wanted in on the act
  
  
  Seasonings to be stuffed in the turkey (more on that in a moment)
  
  
  In keeping with our gourmet Thanksgiving, this year’s bird was a heirloom turkey. Heirloom or heritage turkeys are a variety of domestic turkey which retains characteristics no longer present in the mass produced poultry raised for consumption today

  With the advent of factory farming turkeys were selectively bred for increasingly larger size, focusing especially on the production of breast meat. Beginning in the 1920s broad-breasted fowl began to replace all other types of turkey in commercial production.

  The goal in turkey farming became the production of the maximum amount of breast meat at the lowest possible cost. As a result of this selective breeding, 70% of the weight of mass market turkeys is in their breast. Consequently, the birds are so heavy that they are completely incapable of reproducing without artifical insemination and they reach such extreme weights so quickly their overall development fails to keep pace with their rapidly accruing muscle mass, resulting in severe immune system, cardiac, respiratory and leg problems

  Unlike turkeys bred for industrial agriculture, heritage turkeys can do the wild thing without human intervention, have a relatively long lifespan and a much slower growth rate. Chefs, farmers and food critics contend that heritage turkey meat tastes better. Despite increasing interest in heritage turkeys, they are still in the minority, and most heritage breeds are endangered in some respect. So we ate an endangered species. GO US

  And now that I have taken a moment to educate you, I shall remind you of our immaturity
  
  Yes, we gave each other turkey flavored booster shots.
  
  And with the bird trussed up like a BDSM fetishist, we began injecting it with the true essence of flavor!
  
  Meanwhile, table was just about done.
  
  More to come next post, loyal viewers!

  • 12:30 pm
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