palmsgiving: thanksgiving 2007 in palm springs
December 11, 2007
My favorite aspect of Thanksgiving is that it is a holiday based around plentiful and luxurious foods. I love how people who aren’t normally inspired to cook, want to get involved and experiment. I also enjoy sharing and exposing favorite foods to people. I was deemed the kitchen sergeant. Everyone wants to help so i had to delegate. Thankfully, i never felt separated from the group since the house is so open and airy and the kitchen really felt like the central, congregating area. There’s nothing worse than feeling like a kitchen slave. For those who can’t cook or have no interest, i have no shame in putting them on cleanup duty.
Thanksgiving 2007 was yet another memorable Thanksgiving event. For the past few years, I have opted to spend Thanksgiving among friends. Traveling faraway that weekend is on my least favorite things to-do list. I usually spend Christmas with my family and feel like I get more relaxed, quality time with them. This year the same core group that I have been having turkey day with decided to rent a friend’s mid-century modern Alexander home in Palm Springs for a few nights. Lucky for us their rental became available. I had been searching online with various rental companies and after reading small print and asking some questions a quick, affordable weekend getaway was looking more like a down payment on a Prius.
It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there early Thanksgiving morning. Rule one, don’t leave town on Wednesday night. Everyone in Los Angeles is doing the same. We also took this to heart when we planned out return to LA. Leave very early, before 10am, on Sunday or you will most likely spend double the time in your car. We didn’t get to have our brioche french toast and slab cut bacon that I had planned for, but we saved about 2 hours in the car.
I enjoy spearheading these group trips. This was not the first time I have done one of these. The trick behind everything is planning, lists, and mindful delegating. I make endless lists and get the satisfaction of crossing things off. the first list i make is what is on the menu. Every year without fail, i try to convince everyone to do something different instead of a turkey. A standing rib roast perhaps, a rack of lamb, a stuffed pork loin. there’s always one person that wants turkey and we all cave in. i will admit, turkey dinner is not exactly one of my favorite food spreads. Not only does it leave me lethargic, but i don’t find it is that flavorful or interesting. So that one person, Stephen, was appointed to be in charge of the turkey. More to come on that. Like any of these group trips, you always leave with plenty of stories, directly related to how much alcohol was consumed. There were a lot of stories.
Back to the menu. I planned about one meal a day thinking there would be plenty of leftovers and people also need time to themselves and can eat elsewhere. The last thing I wanted was to be regarded as the “lunch lady” on my holiday retreat. I also called ahead to the markets to make sure they were all open. Even so, we had a car or two full of items for these two reasons: a) specialty items we wouldn’t be able to find in Palm Springs and b) cheaper items like Trader Joe’s Lambrusco and Proseco.
MENU:
thursday, day 01:
thanksgiving dinner
bacon dates
cauliflower saffron puree soup with lump crabmeat sauteed in butter and italian parsley
cornbread muffins
herb roasted turkey- brined in sugar and salt for 48 hours.
whipped potatoes
sage carrots
green and yellow string beans with shallot butter
roasted brussel sprouts
cornbread sausage and fennel stuffing
sweet potato pie with fresh whip cream
truffles and assorted chocolates
friday, day 02:
lunch:
impromptu lunch of leftover turkey with slab bacon club sandwich on la brea bakery baguette.
dinner:
arugula and burrata salad with serrano ham
white bean bruschetta with truffle oil
turkey liver crostini with sage and guanciale
cheese and smoked meats, salumi, spanish chorizo, duck rillette
olives, cornichons and dijon
cheeses from silverlake cheese
dark chocolate tarte with almond crust and fresh cream
saturday, day 03:
brunch:
cowboy breakfast casserole
dinner:
cassoulet
salad
sunday:
brioche french toast with fresh fruit
nueskes slab cut bacon
The thinking behind this menu was based on a full day of kitchen work on Thursday. I wanted to have the second day be about relaxing and simple things that could be thrown together like bruschettas and canapes, cheeses and salad. Some of these things can be made a couple days ahead of time as well. I managed to make the liver mixture and the cornbread and stuffing on Wednesday. As for the soup, I made that a couple weeks ago and froze it. it worked nicely in chilling other food items on the drive down. for the return trip, I was able to bring home leftovers in the same containers. The third day, I wanted to make something that I wouldn’t normally make that could feed a larger group. It’s a winter food and definitely not common, but in hindsight, i think making something simpler would have been just as nice. it’s rare that i can fit a whole day of kitchen fun into my current schedule, so I wanted to take advantage of the time and also be able to cook something I wouldn’t normally cook at home for 2 people.
A few days earlier, I had sent my friend, Stephen, to the Silverlake Cheese Store with a very specific list of items, how many people it was for and the amounts we needed. I also gave him some freedom in picking one additional stinky cheese and some recommendations from the shop. A hundred bucks later, we were set for our wine and cheese night. This is not something he would usually do. He is someone who eats the same thing everyday, once a day and downs it with a lo-carb Monster energy drink. I was very proud of him and he had fun doing it. The best part of this story is that after all his efforts (and mine for letting go and being able to delegate), I got a panicked call from him on Thursday morning as we were both driving out to PS. He told me he had forgotten the entire bag of cheese and smoked meats. It was no secret that this was the only meal I truly cared about; an entire evening dedicated to indulging in all the European charcuteries and cheeses. I even froze baguettes from Gelson’s as I was worried the market in PS may not have fresh baguettes on Thanksgiving. There was a slight pause, then I recalled the time he spun some unbelievable story about an amazing deal at the YSL store in Florence, Italy that I happened to miss out on because I went to the south of France instead. Unfortunately, this time he wasn’t joking. Fortunately, we were able to catch a friend still in LA and gave her detailed directions and building managers to talk to and animals to be aware of. Mission successful. We had our glorious cheese night. That was the first emotional roller coaster I went on. The second was soon to come.
Let’s talk gravy. Lately, it has been a kitchen trend to roast the turkey bones before making a stock so you get a dark, rich, brown gravy. I had planned for this and thought i was being specific when I asked my appointed turkey helper for extra turkey parts. I didn’t get my extra turkey parts (note to self, “extra” means more than what comes inside the cavity of the bird. remember to emphasize this next year) and I knew I should have made it the day before at home, but since it’s largely unattended, I thought it would be fine to make in PS, between trips to the jacuzzi. deep breath. I sent my friend, wan, to get turkey drumsticks. This magic broth was to be used not only for the gravy but to add to the stuffing too. Why use boxed broth when you don’t have to. No turkey drumsticks or other parts were left at the store. hmm. ok well let’s just try it with chicken drumsticks. It will make for a good story.
Here’s what I learned. Chicken would work, but won’t produce a nice, dark brown like turkey, but will definitely be more flavorful than store bought broth. I set forth with the roasted chicken drumsticks with a mission that I was going to make a great gravy with what I had. Everything was going well. All the sides were done and covered and waiting to be warmed up again. We had been snacking on the bacon dates we made on the grill since the oven was full of turkey. My boyfriend, Jason, is always offering to help out. I usually give him what I consider, small tasks, like prepping the table or whipping the potatoes. He had been busy taking photos of Guinness and around the house and helping set the table.
We were expecting 8 total guests. Here comes emotional roller coaster number two. I had sauteed the onions and shallots and made a roux. I was ready to start adding the skimmed broth. after Jason’s kitchen success with air whipping the light and fluffy mashed potatoes, I asked him to help me strain the stock pot for the broth. I directed him to use the colander and the large bowl in the sink to do so. Apparently, i wasn’t clear enough. He asked me what he should do next and as I looked over all I saw was a colander full of chicken parts, carrots and celery. Where the F was the precious liquid I had been brewing for the last 3 hours? And all I could muster to say was ” you didn’t just do what i think you did?” the answer i got was “yeah, i strained the broth”. It was all down the drain, literally. Needless to say, this was easily a moment that could have ruined the day. I tend to consider myself someone who can roll with the punches. This punch went through my stomach and back around a couple times. Okay, I admit I’m being dramatic. The gravy was doomed to begin with. Even so, having people come into the kitchen and ask what that pale, yellow clumpy stuff you are tending to is, doesn’t feel great. I might as well have thinned it with my tears. I managed to calm down and we saved the gravy with pan drippings. As for the dark brown color, all the soy sauce in the world wasn’t gonna turn that gravy dark brown, but I used a few dribbles to make it darker. As for the clumps- I strained it the way I meant for the broth to be strained and we were happily eating mashed potatoes and gravy and not mashed potatoes and flour lumps.
Telling an un-kitchen savvy person what to do in a kitchen might be the true test of being a good communicator. Time is always of the essence, and there is no command z.
My favorite aspect of Thanksgiving is that it is a holiday based around plentiful and luxurious foods. I love how people who aren’t normally inspired to cook, want to get involved and experiment. I also enjoy sharing and exposing favorite foods to people. I was deemed the kitchen sergeant. Everyone wants to help so i had to delegate. Thankfully, i never felt separated from the group since the house is so open and airy and the kitchen really felt like the central, congregating area. There’s nothing worse than feeling like a kitchen slave. For those who can’t cook or have no interest, i have no shame in putting them on cleanup duty.
Thanksgiving 2007 was yet another memorable Thanksgiving event. For the past few years, I have opted to spend Thanksgiving among friends. Traveling faraway that weekend is on my least favorite things to-do list. I usually spend Christmas with my family and feel like I get more relaxed, quality time with them. This year the same core group that I have been having turkey day with decided to rent a friend’s mid-century modern Alexander home in Palm Springs for a few nights. Lucky for us their rental became available. I had been searching online with various rental companies and after reading small print and asking some questions a quick, affordable weekend getaway was looking more like a down payment on a Prius.
It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there early Thanksgiving morning. Rule one, don’t leave town on Wednesday night. Everyone in Los Angeles is doing the same. We also took this to heart when we planned out return to LA. Leave very early, before 10am, on Sunday or you will most likely spend double the time in your car. We didn’t get to have our brioche french toast and slab cut bacon that I had planned for, but we saved about 2 hours in the car.
I enjoy spearheading these group trips. This was not the first time I have done one of these. The trick behind everything is planning, lists, and mindful delegating. I make endless lists and get the satisfaction of crossing things off. the first list i make is what is on the menu. Every year without fail, i try to convince everyone to do something different instead of a turkey. A standing rib roast perhaps, a rack of lamb, a stuffed pork loin. there’s always one person that wants turkey and we all cave in. i will admit, turkey dinner is not exactly one of my favorite food spreads. Not only does it leave me lethargic, but i don’t find it is that flavorful or interesting. So that one person, Stephen, was appointed to be in charge of the turkey. More to come on that. Like any of these group trips, you always leave with plenty of stories, directly related to how much alcohol was consumed. There were a lot of stories.
Back to the menu. I planned about one meal a day thinking there would be plenty of leftovers and people also need time to themselves and can eat elsewhere. The last thing I wanted was to be regarded as the “lunch lady” on my holiday retreat. I also called ahead to the markets to make sure they were all open. Even so, we had a car or two full of items for these two reasons: a) specialty items we wouldn’t be able to find in Palm Springs and b) cheaper items like Trader Joe’s Lambrusco and Proseco.
MENU:
thursday, day 01:
thanksgiving dinner
bacon dates
cauliflower saffron puree soup with lump crabmeat sauteed in butter and italian parsley
cornbread muffins
herb roasted turkey- brined in sugar and salt for 48 hours.
whipped potatoes
sage carrots
green and yellow string beans with shallot butter
roasted brussel sprouts
cornbread sausage and fennel stuffing
sweet potato pie with fresh whip cream
truffles and assorted chocolates
friday, day 02:
lunch:
impromptu lunch of leftover turkey with slab bacon club sandwich on la brea bakery baguette.
dinner:
arugula and burrata salad with serrano ham
white bean bruschetta with truffle oil
turkey liver crostini with sage and guanciale
cheese and smoked meats, salumi, spanish chorizo, duck rillette
olives, cornichons and dijon
cheeses from silverlake cheese
dark chocolate tarte with almond crust and fresh cream
saturday, day 03:
brunch:
cowboy breakfast casserole
dinner:
cassoulet
salad
sunday:
brioche french toast with fresh fruit
nueskes slab cut bacon
The thinking behind this menu was based on a full day of kitchen work on Thursday. I wanted to have the second day be about relaxing and simple things that could be thrown together like bruschettas and canapes, cheeses and salad. Some of these things can be made a couple days ahead of time as well. I managed to make the liver mixture and the cornbread and stuffing on Wednesday. As for the soup, I made that a couple weeks ago and froze it. it worked nicely in chilling other food items on the drive down. for the return trip, I was able to bring home leftovers in the same containers. The third day, I wanted to make something that I wouldn’t normally make that could feed a larger group. It’s a winter food and definitely not common, but in hindsight, i think making something simpler would have been just as nice. it’s rare that i can fit a whole day of kitchen fun into my current schedule, so I wanted to take advantage of the time and also be able to cook something I wouldn’t normally cook at home for 2 people.
A few days earlier, I had sent my friend, Stephen, to the Silverlake Cheese Store with a very specific list of items, how many people it was for and the amounts we needed. I also gave him some freedom in picking one additional stinky cheese and some recommendations from the shop. A hundred bucks later, we were set for our wine and cheese night. This is not something he would usually do. He is someone who eats the same thing everyday, once a day and downs it with a lo-carb Monster energy drink. I was very proud of him and he had fun doing it. The best part of this story is that after all his efforts (and mine for letting go and being able to delegate), I got a panicked call from him on Thursday morning as we were both driving out to PS. He told me he had forgotten the entire bag of cheese and smoked meats. It was no secret that this was the only meal I truly cared about; an entire evening dedicated to indulging in all the European charcuteries and cheeses. I even froze baguettes from Gelson’s as I was worried the market in PS may not have fresh baguettes on Thanksgiving. There was a slight pause, then I recalled the time he spun some unbelievable story about an amazing deal at the YSL store in Florence, Italy that I happened to miss out on because I went to the south of France instead. Unfortunately, this time he wasn’t joking. Fortunately, we were able to catch a friend still in LA and gave her detailed directions and building managers to talk to and animals to be aware of. Mission successful. We had our glorious cheese night. That was the first emotional roller coaster I went on. The second was soon to come.
Let’s talk gravy. Lately, it has been a kitchen trend to roast the turkey bones before making a stock so you get a dark, rich, brown gravy. I had planned for this and thought i was being specific when I asked my appointed turkey helper for extra turkey parts. I didn’t get my extra turkey parts (note to self, “extra” means more than what comes inside the cavity of the bird. remember to emphasize this next year) and I knew I should have made it the day before at home, but since it’s largely unattended, I thought it would be fine to make in PS, between trips to the jacuzzi. deep breath. I sent my friend, wan, to get turkey drumsticks. This magic broth was to be used not only for the gravy but to add to the stuffing too. Why use boxed broth when you don’t have to. No turkey drumsticks or other parts were left at the store. hmm. ok well let’s just try it with chicken drumsticks. It will make for a good story.
Here’s what I learned. Chicken would work, but won’t produce a nice, dark brown like turkey, but will definitely be more flavorful than store bought broth. I set forth with the roasted chicken drumsticks with a mission that I was going to make a great gravy with what I had. Everything was going well. All the sides were done and covered and waiting to be warmed up again. We had been snacking on the bacon dates we made on the grill since the oven was full of turkey. My boyfriend, Jason, is always offering to help out. I usually give him what I consider, small tasks, like prepping the table or whipping the potatoes. He had been busy taking photos of Guinness and around the house and helping set the table.
We were expecting 8 total guests. Here comes emotional roller coaster number two. I had sauteed the onions and shallots and made a roux. I was ready to start adding the skimmed broth. after Jason’s kitchen success with air whipping the light and fluffy mashed potatoes, I asked him to help me strain the stock pot for the broth. I directed him to use the colander and the large bowl in the sink to do so. Apparently, i wasn’t clear enough. He asked me what he should do next and as I looked over all I saw was a colander full of chicken parts, carrots and celery. Where the F was the precious liquid I had been brewing for the last 3 hours? And all I could muster to say was ” you didn’t just do what i think you did?” the answer i got was “yeah, i strained the broth”. It was all down the drain, literally. Needless to say, this was easily a moment that could have ruined the day. I tend to consider myself someone who can roll with the punches. This punch went through my stomach and back around a couple times. Okay, I admit I’m being dramatic. The gravy was doomed to begin with. Even so, having people come into the kitchen and ask what that pale, yellow clumpy stuff you are tending to is, doesn’t feel great. I might as well have thinned it with my tears. I managed to calm down and we saved the gravy with pan drippings. As for the dark brown color, all the soy sauce in the world wasn’t gonna turn that gravy dark brown, but I used a few dribbles to make it darker. As for the clumps- I strained it the way I meant for the broth to be strained and we were happily eating mashed potatoes and gravy and not mashed potatoes and flour lumps.
Telling an un-kitchen savvy person what to do in a kitchen might be the true test of being a good communicator. Time is always of the essence, and there is no command z.
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