Son Adam and Wife Carly invited us over for a Thanksgiving mini-feast with their friends Eric and Laura.
I never was any good at studio photography. I particularly avoided taking food pictures as much as possible. I didn’t have the patience to arrange everything just so.
So, these photos didn’t have any fancy lighting or placement. What I saw is what I shot.
Steam poured out of turkey
The electric knife was a Christmas present to Lila from her father nearly 40 years ago. It’s a little balky, but it’ll still slice turkey.
The bird was soaked in brine overnight, then put on the grill until the internal temperature reached 170 degrees (based on a wireless probe Adam kept monitoring).
It was unbelievably moist, based on some pieces I snatched up before they fell on the floor.
Green beans
The meal was both tasty AND colorful. Lila tells me this green bean dish by Carly contained shallots, bacon, almonds and balsamic vinegar.
When Adam saw this picture, he was distressed by the odd green bean at the bottom of the frame. It offended his sense of order.
Sweet potatoes and marshmallows
Lila does not eat this, but makes it because it’s a Steinhoff family tradition. I whined last year when she “forgot” to make it. She calls it candy, not food. It contains sweet potatoes, crushed pineapple, brown sugar and a topping of melted, toasted miniature marshmallows.
Yeast rolls and cranberry relish
Lila provided the yeast rolls and cranberry relish. The relish is made of raw cranberries, oranges, cinnamon and sugar.
NY-style cheesecake
This was Carly’s first attempt at New York-style cheesecake. It was served naked (the cheesecake, not the server) with a topping of homemade whipped cream on the side.
If this is really her first cheesecake, she should retire now. I don’t think it’s possible to make one any better.
Recipes are available
If you’re interested in how to make any of this stuff, let me know and I’ll pass your request on to the cooks.
You can be assured that the information won’t come directly from me. My recipe book is the stack of carry-out menus under the kitchen telephone.
Dad, thanks for making my Thankgiving perfect. It was nice to have you and mom there. And, it’s not often a little event like this gets full press coverage. You’d think we were special or something.
Lay out a spread like that and we’ll come running any night.
It couldn’t have been any better.
HappyThanksgiving, by the way did you have to share that turkey with the rest of the family or was that just yours?
We were guests, so the remainder was left behind. To be on the safe side, Lila bought a smoked turkey for us to make sandwiches from.
Well, it everything does look arranged “just so” to me! Congratulations on having been invited to such a feast.
Yummy looking food. Can we all be invited next year?????
Beautiful feast and the steam coming from the turkey was true genius. How did you get that picture? We had our first brined turkey this year and found it fantastic. I think Jerry will be doing this again and again. Maybe Lila would like the sweet potatoes better with mandarin oranges in it (Jerry’s favorite) instead of pineapple. I must have the green bean recipe. I’ve never met a green bean I didn’t like. I even got Jerry to pickle some for me.
The turkey shot was easy. I stood next to the carver to make sure I caught any morsels that might have been headed to the floor.
I noticed the neat shaft of light coming in the window that was highlighting the steam from the first cuts and pushed the button. It took a few frames to nail the exposure, but anybody standing where I was could have shot the same photo.
I’ll make sure Adam and Carly get your recipe requests.
Okay, Jerry wants to know your brining recipe. He used apple juice as a base.
My wife calls me a chef but I was just the “ships” cook on a WW2 submarine and I couldn’t have done any better on that fine looking cuisine. I did fix a turkey [can you believe only 59cents a pound at Publix] and all the trimmings yesterday.
Joe
I agree with Margi. Green recipe, please.
Disappointing recipe news: you’re not going to get some super-secret Carly concoction.
Good news: she got them from web sites that are easily reached:
Brined and barbecued turkey
Green Beans with Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette (I like my photo better)
Shameless plug for Carly and Laura, who do event planning. If you need help planning a birthday party, wedding or other event; or would like unique party favors, maps, invitations and the like, these are the gals to contact.
I recognize that electric knife! It’s the same we carved our turkey with this year. My mother gave it to me as a hand-me-down about 20 years ago. Mine still works, too.
Got the electric knife for a wedding gift 44 years ago. Use it once a year on the turkey. Great photos and some yummy loooking food! Do they even sell electic knives anymore? Guess they do but don’t need one….
I would love the cranberry relish recipe and if the rolls are homemade I would love that recipe too.
I no longer make my own rolls… a lot of work and way more time than I want to spend. These began as store-bought frozen dough.
I divided the dough into equal pieces and made little balls. I melted 1/4 cup unsalted butter in a 9×13 baking dish and rolled the balls in the melted butter. I placed the balls in the baking dish that was coated with the melted butter, covered them, put them in a warm place and let them rise. Once risen, I baked them as the directions on the bag recommended. They weren’t homemade, but they were a close second.
The cranberry relish is something I’ve made for more than 40 years, but I’ve never had a recipe. What follows is a guesstimate of the measurements.
Wash and sort a bag of cranberries, and pour the raw cranberries into a blender. Add about a 1/3 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate that has melted and the fruit and juice from one navel orange. Be sure to remove all the white skin and seeds from the orange. Pulse/blend until the mixture is very fine. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Blend again. (You can adjust the sugar and cinnamon to your own taste.)
The mixture will be pink to light red. Pour the relish into a glass container and refrigerate. The dark red cranberry color develops after the relish sits in the fridge for 24 to 36 hours. The longer it sits, the better it tastes.
I hope you enjoy the relish. If you have any questions, let me know.