Deliciousness

Last night my friend Ellen had her annual pre-Thanksgiving potluck, accurately described as all of the food and fun, without the familial angst. The spread was photo-stitched together above (think of the blurry arms and hands as action shots) and most of the menu is listed below.

There was homemade guacamole which I avoided only because one bite would have led to eating half the bowl. Unfortunately, I did not follow this wise tactic with Lawrence's dangerous and diabolically delicious duck fat mac and cheese, which is adapted from a 2006 NY Times recipe, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese. Lawrence is a neurologist, not a cardiologist, so I guess keeping our arteries clear is OUR problem, and not his, although he did helpfully prepare a vegetarian version for our non-flesh-eating friends.

And Ellen cooked a beauteous bird indeed, helpfully prepped by Fairway -- it was a Murray's organic turkey -- arriving complete with cooking instructions and a roasting pan which nearly set her new stove on fire. (As EG put it, the new appliance is now officially baptised.)

My spicy sweet potatoes were paired with a consolidated version of a cranberry sweet potato bake, which combined and altered 2 different yet overlapping versions, eliminating extra sugar, OJ, granola, and replacing dried cranberries with raw. (I brought not one but TWO sweet potato dishes... Am I turning into my mother?! But I was determined to bring something besides the "classic" overly sweet mush buried in 'mallows.) Let me know if you want me to e-mail you the recipe.

Laura L's super munchable (and aptly named) best brussels sprouts ever came from Molly O'Neill's A Well Seasoned Appetite. It was originally published on the NY Times website in 1995 (!) but without Laura's helpful warning that prepping the sprouts is VERY time consuming.

Mel's dangerously addictive spicy pecans and light and fluffy whipped carrots and parsnips both came from a 1996 cookbok, Stop and Smell the Rosemary: Recipes and Traditions to Remember. I'm not sure if her pumpkin pie came from the same cookbook.

Laura S. made collard greens with dried cherries. Yum. (I will post an update/link if I get the recipe.)

EG's huge and yummy apple crisp used Mary Ann White's Apple Crisp recipe, substituting with Courtland apples instead of Crispins.

Jackie's pear olive oil cake was FANTASTIC... and I'm still drooling over it and today, I savored the slice I took home with me. (Gone, all gone, of course.) She's sent me her recipe so let me know if you want it. It deserves its own star turn.

Ellen also sent us home with "party favors" of individually wrapped yogurt mini-cakes (the size of mega-muffins on steroids). I forgot to take a photo of mine before I attacked it this evening, and I sent my sweetie off with his early this morning, when he went off to work, so it will remain a mysterious object of gustatory desire for those who weren't there...

And now, time for bed, since Fresh Direct is showing up bright and early during the 6:30 - 8:00 am slot in the morning!