Operation Thanksgiving 2012: Wednesday

Day two of Thanksgiving prep was pretty pleasant. Both Devin and I had the day off, so I cooked a lot, we went on a movie date night, and afterwards at around midnight saw the folded-up Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade floats being ushered down Broadway by cop cars. It was a creepy, surreal scene...the disembodied head of a giant fake owl wearing a pilgrim hat here, a massive headless swan body there. Seeing the floats the day before the parade, unassembled and in the dark, makes you wonder what becomes of them during the rest of the year. 

But on to happier topics--Dish 4, apple crumble! Generally speaking, my family is a pie family. It's one of the only indigenous dishes of my forefathers, who were/are Kansans, and before that some sort of Scotch/Irish. In California I'm sure there are at least three different kinds of pie at my parent's house waiting for tomorrow. But I decided to make a crumble, since I'm a little pressed for time and energy. Above, three kinds of apples that went into it: Empire (red), mutsu (green), and pink lady (pink).

Pink lady peelings. The filling of the crumble was: 4 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a little sea salt.

The crumble crust: 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/2 cup pecan halves, 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, pinch sea salt, smattering of cinnamon. I mixed it with my fingers.

After assembling, I baked it at 400 degrees for 35 minutes until bubbly and browned.

Dish five: Sage and onion stuffing! I love this stuff. A lot. No other stuffing can compete with its place in my heart. It's simple, herby, and in no way healthy. 

It involves cubing half a loaf of whole wheat bread...

...then dicing 1 cup of celery and 1cup of onion, sautéing the veggies in 1 stick of butter until softened, and mixing them with the bread, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon dried sage.

Then you bake it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Not the most beauteous of dishes, but so warm, good, and sage-y.

Dish six: Roasted sweet potatoes with sea salt and cinnamon. I'm pretty enamored of this one little stand at my local farmer's market that always has tiny perfect bunches of greens like Tuscan kale and bok choy, and also some of the most delicious sweet potatoes I've ever had. They're bright orange, and their innards, once roasted, are velvety, creamy, and oh so sweet. I popped these in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Take into account my oven is small, so cooking times will vary from kitchen to kitchen.

Here they are sliced and cinnamoned. 

Tomorrow: Potatoes, gravy, and a bird!