So the preponderance of votes from last week's Grubski challenge went to TNG. One of our competitors, b_b, is off doing NOTHING IMPORTANT so he'll be out. And because there was enthusiasm for the idea of a showcase, rather than a challenge, thenewgreen will have to cry into his beer while he contemplates what sort of awesome challenge he has in mind for next week.
But this week is all about celebration and sharing. There are no winners, there are no losers, there is only delicious, delicious grub.
Sticky this. We'll leave it up until next Sunday at which point it's all TNG's. My turkey won't even start cooking until Friday so don't be ashamed of late entries!
THANKSGIVING ROUND 1 (from Sunday) AKA MY FIRST GRUBSKI ENTRY (Okay, so I forgot to take lots of before pictures and all that and deserve mucho demerits for that but here's what you're all getting. In addition many different people made many different things). STEP 1: START EATING WHILE WE COOK A nice brie and baguette platter, somewhere in the distance is two loaves of homemade cheesy bread (hollowed out loaves of bread filled with cheese, garlic, butter, onion, etc. It's horrible for you but super delicious). STEP 2: ACTUALLY COOKING 1st picture: In which we all find out that there can, in fact, be too many cooks in the kitchen. Maneuvering was difficult, people became estranged to each other, and lots of turkey nuggets were eaten but in the end we made it. Am I in that picture? I might be somewhere in that picture. 2nd picture: In which we learn that making your own gravy completely from scratch is kind of pain in the ass but the payoff is worth it. Also, vegetables. Lame. STEP 3: THE BIRD IN QUESTION We had a lot of questions for this bird. Namely, would you feed about 15 people!? Answer (with everything else going on): YES. Way to go bird, you be you. Other food not pictured anywhere: Cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes (I made these), yams, dinner rolls. STEP 4: EAT SOME MORE, DRINK SOME MORE Because who doesn't like eating by a fire. Not pictured: About ten more people sitting around in various other spots. STEP 5: TOO FULL TO EAT? FUCK YOU, HERE'S SOME PIE Holy crap that was a delicious apple pie. Not pictured: A pumpkin pie with gingersnap crust which was also great, but wow that apple pie was good. STEP 6: BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR FRIENDS YOU IDIOT In which we almost unanimously agreed that that Thanksgiving was one that we enjoyed more than a typical one with our family, and that we more or less all love each other and having the time to hang out and do things like our own Thanksgiving Feast. The food may have been great, but the people are what make it memorable. It was a full day and part of the night affair, and worth every minute.
Revisiting this old post and I have to say, that pie looks pretty dope
Thanksgiving Round 1 is starting in about an hour. Maybe I'll put up some pictures. I'm on team potatoes for this one.
My favorite aspect of thanksgiving is that it's often a meal comprised of many dishes, created by multiple people. I'll attempt to capture the creation of dishes that our companions make that day too. What an awesome holiday!
No thanksgiving on this side of the pond so I went with a Pasta + Tuna dish that we love.
My family (mom, dad, brother) spent a couple days in Emerald Bay, Catalina on the boat. It's probably been 3 or 4 years since it was all four of us...and just the four of us. I think we did pretty well considering the oven is literally about cubic foot. Not super fancy but it tasted wonderful and it was nice to get away. Even if I was coding all night while they slept. WE SAW A BUFFALO! I've never seen them on this side of the island. Because of the drought, they are in all sorts of places they've never been before. 
Dude, you are a lucky person to have such amenities. Give your family my best and have fun on that boat! Buffalo? I would have never guessed. Seems there are about 150 of them on the island. -beautiful stuff! Edit: I'd be shocked if that ready whip still worked.... Just sayin.
I don't think I've ever had ready whip that doesn't come out super flat and drippy until this Thanksgiving. Holy shit - that stuff is FLUFFY! And it sprays everywhere! Who knew?! The Buffalo and Catalina is one of the most interesting stories out there. They brought them over for a movie, didn't use them in the movie, left them there, they started taking over the island and killing everything native, so they birth controlled some, shot some, brought some back to the mainland. The ones they didn't were slowly penned into select areas. As kids, we took hikes over the mountain to see them but it was so weird to see one from the boat. Get this - my brother saw it when we first pulled in and was like "I swear there is a buffalo up on that hill. I look, my mom looks, and it's so perfectly framed with the backlighting that my mom says, "I think it might be a statue...it's too perfect and not moving and there aren't any buffalo over here." We all agree that's a possibility. Some memorial or something. About two seconds later it moves. So naturally, we hightailed it to the beach, ran up the mountain, walked about a mile, and found the beast. My dad reckons that they may have undone the pens to let them fend for themselves because of the drought. It's dryer than I've ever seen it. Here's a picture of the same mountain as kids - I think this may have been El Nino year but still. And today... Whenever you make it to LA, you and the fam-bam have to come on the boat. We still have every size life jacket from when my brother and I were kids, the plastic kiddie guard for the railings / stairs is still in the lazarette, and the boat is so much more fun with little kids around. Plus, if Eve throws a tantrum, you just throw her overboard. That's what my dad did and obviously it totally worked. :P
Have your parents had the same boat all along or have there been different ones? Also, I'm totally taking you up on the boat offer when we come to L.A. We'd love that.The Buffalo and Catalina is one of the most interesting stories out there.
-That is an interesting story, though according to the wikipedia article on the buffalo of Catalina, it's not true. Oh well. Also, it said that 47% of the buffalo are now hybrid, having bread with domestic cattle. -Weird.
Threw all the leftovers in a skillet and busted out the champagne. Got a Christmas tree and we are decorating our digs tonight!
I'll be updating this throughout the day. First! Beautifully Bubbling Brine! Consisting of water, a tiny bit of chicken stock, a lot of salt, a little lemon, molasses, a small handful of whole, mixed color peppercorns, and a heaping of spoonful of sage, rosemary and thyme. Brought just to a boil to extract flavor from the spices, and chilled. Second! Our bird, a 10lb on bone turkey breast, local raised. Immersed in brine and packed with a little ice. Next to it, three bombers of delicious beer. One Salvation from Avery Brewing in Colorado, a Golden Belgian Ale. Two bottles of Imperial Red Ale from Lagunitas in California, a Double Red Pale Ale.
Third! The bird again, snugly nestled in among the veggies, breast down for the first 45 minutes of cooking. A whole stick of herb infused butter inbetween the skin and meat, as well as in the cavity. Fourth! Obligatory dog pic. He's napping now, because all of the begging he's going to do later is hard work. Fifth! This is the space for all of the sides. They're all done, but I didn't have a free hand while making them to take pictures, I'll post them individually when they're in their serving dishes]
Edit. Finally cleaned everything up. Ate a giant plate of bread pudding with cream. Can't move, can barely post. Will post update pics later.
Happy thanksgiving pal. I'll look forward to checking in as I update my thread too. Kinda like a virtual holiday space. Nice.
TNG's Turkey Day Thread Begins with the table: Brining my 18# bird. Brine consists of veggie stock, beer, water, salt, peppercorns, lemon and lime juice, ginger, allspice, brown sugar. I'll remove from brine tomorrow and pack some herb butter under the skin and atop the skin and stuff with carrots, onions and fresh sage and rosemary. That's the plan! The turkey is brined. Now I create space between the skin and the bird so I can rub this: Two sticks of butter, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, nutmeg and a little cumin. Generously apply and stuff bird with apples, lemon wedges, rosemary and (not pictured) stuffing: Aromatics of apple, garlic, onion, butter, water, beer, cinnamon stick, carrots and celery: I am going to use Alton Brown's method of cooking it for 30 minutes at 500° To brown and then a lower temperature for about 2 1/2 hours. I made Whiskey Sours: The Bounty: Only shot of the bird: My first helping: Desserts: chocolate cream pie and pumpkin pie. It's always nice to invite a baker to thanksgiving. She also made the fresh bread shown above. Also pictured, some Mcallan 12 year which we all enjoyed after dessert.
