This year's Thanksgiving kicked my culinary ass. Mama Vamp grabbed the head of my table and my foodie friends delivered the goods -- in the form of dishes aplenty to add to the feast.
First up, the requisite nibbles of bar nuts, cheese, grapes and olives, alongside a round of Applejack Manhattans. Then I served an amuse bouche that was sure to amuse everyone's bouches. Pictured above, I set before my guests the most elegant riff on nachos that this earth has ever seen: artisanal low-salt potato chips, served with a bit of rich creme fraiche and a spoon of brackish caviar, all showered with freshly snipped chives.
Nachos of the gods!
Next up, my pal Emi set the stage for our appetizer of Ecuadorian Shrimp Ceviche, laying out bowls of the traditional toppings of crisp plantain chips, still-warm popcorn, and slices of bright green lime for squirting.
Then bowls of the glorious crustaceans arrived...
Low moans of pleasure were heard as every last bite was downed.
Now, it was time for the main event. The bird...
What a pretty bird she was, dry-brined for 24 hours with two types of salt and slivers of garlic, and fragrant herbs tucked under the skin. But what is a bird without fixins? We had them all: Roasted Carrots and Parsnips, two kinds of Cranberry Sauce, Creamy Celery Root Puree, Kale Salad with Roasted Squash and Mushroom-Onion Gravy. Then came the starch parade, led by a Cajun classic of Shrimp and Eggplant Dressing...
...And my archaeologically-inclined pal Kristin brought a heaping tray of Wild Rice Dressing, just in case the Cajun-style version wasn't to everyone's liking...
Both dressings were a big hit with the crowd. But, putting us all over the starch precipice, was a mammoth platter of homemade Sweet Potato Rolls, fluffy and just itching for a generous pat of butter.
We also laid waste to several bottles of wine, and a couple of pies from Four and Twenty Blackbirds. The slices were piled high with whiskey-scented whipped cream and the room fell silent as we greedily devoured every morsel.
There wasn't much left at the end of the evening...
To think this photo was taken midway through the meal. A few white meat scraps, a lone wing and the carcass was all that was left to me at the evening's end.
Thankfully, that is just enough for me to cook up pot of gobsmacking Turkey Gumbo over the weekend. Who wants to come over for a bowl?
P.S. Special thanks to my foodie friend Max for his gorgeous photos of the feast!