Let Down (or the post about american thanksgiving)

Barbara, light of my life, fire of my loins

The H-2 extended family has had some pretty eventful American thanksgiving dinners. This is interesting considering plenty of us aren't American. Why do we even bother to continue after situations such as a stolen turkey in first year, nightmares (mine), multiple incidents of salty hot tears (mine), ruined gravy (mine), 40 sweaty and hungry guest in 1 apartment (not ALL mine), and sky high towers of dirty dishes? Madeline and I explained to some acquaintances recently it isn't about celebrating the holiday because of (or lack there of) American citizenship. It's about us getting together as friends, cooking gargantuan amounts of food, wearing holiday sweaters and just having fun. Our friends are our second family in Montreal which I'll admit if you twist my arm.

This year Class Mansion (Becky & Madeline) began the thanksgiving preparations early in advance. We knew we needed to cut the list down a lot. A LOT. We hated the fact that we couldn't invite everyone we wanted. We couldn't even invite half! But as we learned in our second year, holiday dinners need to be kept small if we want to keep our sanity. It's also nice if the dinner can have a cosy, intimate feel. We decided to only invite the friends we see on basically a daily basis, and those who were invited to the first thanksgiving dinner.

For the actual meal the turkey was about 7 kg, as you likely already know assuming you are a dedicated reader and massive fan of this blog. Without asking anyone's permission this year I named her Barbara. In my opinion that is a pleasant and classy name, fit for a Queen among turkeys.

Madeline made one sack of potatoes and cleared Provigo out by buying their entire stock of green beans. I'm serious. She bought them all. THEM ALL!

I stuck to my duties by making 3 loaves of bread worth of stuffing (vegetarian and non) as well as gravy.

Our awesome (and incredibly handy/manly) friend Logan Smith cooked the turkey for us. He even conceded to wearing the apron I brought over for him.

This year the venue was the incredibly exclusive, expensive, super chic and trendy hotspot known as Mike and Ian's basement. They had the largest amount of empty-ish space and they were kind enough to let us use it (after we basically demanded permission). The only problem was that we didn't have a table large enough to accommodate everyone. This is how the table team was born.

Every year we generate a list of items that need to be brought to the dinner like side dishes, cranberry sauce, drinks etc. This year we added "large table" to the list. Kate Bass and Spencer Thompson decided they were man enough for the job. I will admit I had very little, if any faith in the two of them. They had huge plans and grand schemes for constructing a giant table out of plywood and milk crates. As I predicted, this project fell through BUT they did not fail. Their dignity was kept by borrowing kitchen tables from various households and pushing them together. It created one giant Frankenstein table which we poetically covered in the leftover green cloth from my Robin Hood Halloween costume. I'm only poking fun, of course. The basement and table looked lovely.

The food was delicious, and the drinks were plentiful. We even had our annual pre-dinner speech by Michael Brown. This year's speech was surprisingly poignant, dare I say even poetic. After we had eaten a disgusting amount, the "apres dinde" entertainment followed. As seen in the attached video we all joined in a karaoke version of the late 1990s musical masterpiece known as "allstar" by the band Smashmouth. Michael and Ian began DJing the music for us all to dance. This year we were treated with a special swing dancing number by Madeline and Ian. Another attached video shows a small portion of this. Nearer the end of the night we used ichat to call our friend Theo up. He is on exchange in London, England so obviously his attendance this year was out of the question. Theo lived with us on H-2 in first year and along with being one of our best friends, is part of the original thanksgiving family. He knew that he had to be present somehow, even if it was just by video chat. When he answerd the call everyone crowded around, jockeying for a better view. We promptly all began to scream things at him simultaneously. Predictably he didn't understand a word anyone said for about 3 minutes. In any case it was the pièce de résistance of the night.

I'd like to point out at this time that we did not have any thanksgiving disasters! Well, except for one small one. Madeline and our friend Laura accidentally dropped the apple crisp inside of the oven. I walk in on them scrambling madly, attempting to stuff it all back in the pan before anyone noticed. I caught them red handed! It still tasted unbelievable though.

In lieu of disasters, I would like to give you some Thanksgiving Stats from the last three years:

Approximate kg of turkey: 17
bags of potatoes: 4
loaves of bread: 8
numbers of pies: 7
tables used: 6
first time thanksgiving celebrations: 1 (Dora Ladowski, 2007)
facebook event invitations: 3
times Becky has cried: 2
holiday sweaters: TOP SECRET
speeches: 3
times Allstar has been sung: 3
times Genevieve Gittins has actually attended: 0
pairs of swimming goggles utilized: 2 (I can't chop onions without them)
Aprons worn: 9

There is currently no recipe to publish with this post. I have just emailed our friend Sarah Leddin and asked her for her recipe for sweet potato pie. She made it for thanksgiving this year and it was incredible. INCREDIBLE. When she gets back to me I will post it here.

UPDATE: This is the recipe Sarah used

Ingredients

* 4 cups sweet potato, cubed
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 4 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 3 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

She also had this to say:
"I used a little less sugar I think and put some maple in (because maple syrup is delicious in everything) and used walnuts instead of pecans, but only because pecans are hella expensive, pecans would probably be yummier."



In the end I think we all agreed that this holiday dinner was our best. There isn't any way possible that the event could have gone better. Cross your fingers for us, and pray that next November we manage to pull off an even better thanksgiving. Heres hoping!

xoxo Class Mansion


PS. Here is a photo of the original American Thanksgiving in 2007

PPS. Here is a photo of us playing monopoly at the original American Thanksgiving

PPSS. Here is a photo of the empty bucket after someone stole our turkey in first year.

This is about thanksgiving...SYKE!*

*Syke Definition: an interjectory word immediately proceeding a statement to denote falsehood of the statement

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover cookies.

This is going to be a short post. It's not about thanksgiving. I'm sorry but I'm not ready to commit a piece of writing of that length.

Today before Madeline got back from Scarborough I decided to make cookies. Since no one was around to take pictures I took some on my MacBook Photobooth application. Predictably they are embarrassing and funny. Those are my favourite types of photos.


I decided to make Russian Tea Cakes. I'm not sure if my mom (HI MOM) has ever made these but if she has I was never lucky enough to taste them. Despite this I am very VERY familiar with these delectable delights. This is because my best friend in elementary school Lindsay DiCosimo used to bring them in to class whenever we had a bake sale. She always saved me the last few because she knew they were my favourite. In hindsight maybe that was a bad idea considered my flirt with morbid obesity as a child...

Recipe

Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended.

3. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time.

In Soviet Russia Tea Cakes make YOU!

PS. Here's a photo of a bunch of carrots

We Need 7kg of Turkey...in Total

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the turkeys that you've had."

Bear with me here but before Madeline and I even begin to think about telling you the story of American Thanksgiving we need to hop in our time machine and discuss the day before.

Friday November 27th
12:30 pm

I rolled out of bed with a terrible tummy ache. What time was it? CRAP. I had overslept by about three hours. I stumbled down the hall wiping the sleep out of my eyes and knocked on Madeline's door. She was watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (or True Blood, or 30 Rock. You can't expect me to remember the details). She had not overslept. She was also not dressed. I felt a bit better about myself.

Today was the day Madeline and I needed to purchase a turkey for our annual American Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner was the next day. T-minus 30 hours and counting so it was time to get down to business. Unfortunately we were a little behind schedule and I felt incredibly sick but we take our job as thanksgiving coordinators very very seriously. DEAD SERIOUS. Because of that, and despite the depressing rain the city was experiencing we walked to the metro.

I would like to point out at this point that neither Mad or I had an umbrella. Or a hood. Or anything to keep our heads from getting wet. The whole situation was displeasing.

Once we got off the metro and headed above ground we realized that neither of us actually knew how to get to the Jean Talon Market. We meandered around for a while until we happened upon a parking lot that lead us to the market.

It was at this point that we also realized neither of us had cash on us and we (stupidly) assumed that the meat store at the market wouldn't take debit. There is, and I kid you not, not a single bank or guichet automatic within 4 blocks of the market, in ANY direction.

We wandered around this area until we eventually found a bank and withdrew money. During our magical adventure to find a bank we accidentally found a butcher. We decided to buy our turkey there since we were already outside of it. We walked in and Madeline whispered to me, "I don't want to ask. I don't know how to buy meat. YOU do it". I sauntered up to the counter with misplaced bravado and stared the butcher straight in the eye.

"Hi," I squeaked

"What can I do for you?" He asked me.

"Well, we need like maybe 7 kg of turkey...in like total...I mean it could be one giant turkey...or like two smaller ones...or something...you know...what I mean...right?"

"Uh, well what if I have a 7 kg turkey?" He said slightly confused.

"YES. Thats fine. Uh perfect. That's just perfect." At this point my face was a bright shade of red and I felt incredibly stupid.

In my defense though, what 20-year-old girl understands the subtle nuances of purchasing poultry?

As we watched the butcher hack the neck off our turkey wincing, we could see the younger male staff in the back laughing obviously at us. A few minutes later, outside the shop, we could also see them cackling at us as we swung the turkey in intentioned circles trying to stick it in a bag, inside another bag. We were probably the most entertaining customers they had had all day. I guess I'm ok with that. It's nice to have an appreciative fan base.



The rest of the day I carried around the 7 kg turkey cradled to my chest like an infant child (that was cold and smelled strange).

Later that day after we had made some impulse purchases of green grapes (with SEEDS!!! urgh!) and almonds, we decided to buy cheese to put on a pesto tart we were making for dinner. Now, let me start by saying my mom and I often buy cheese when she takes me to the market so I know how to buy cheese, by the slice. Typically, this cheese buying adventure would not be that easy. We needed to buy the cheese by the chunk so it could be grated onto the puff pastry.

Madeline and I walked into the cheese shop, exchanged a look, turned around and walked out. We regrouped near a garbage can by the door and exchanged whispers.

"How do you buy cheese? I don't know how to buy cheese! Do you know how to buy cheese?" Madeline whispered to me.
"Oh my God I have no idea! We always buy by the slice. Can we do that?"
"I don't know. Are we supposed to buy by the pound? Is that a thing? What kind of increment do I ask for it in?"
"Can you mime it? Maybe make hand gestures to measure?" I offered unhelpfully.

In the end Mad texted her dad (HI BRAD) hoping he would answer quickly. He did not so we both just took a deep breath and marched right up to the cheese counter and ordered. We now know that they just cut a section of cheese and ask you if you want more or less. Embarassinly it's a very simple process.

Mr. Sinclair eventually did text Madeline back. His response? "Generally speaking 1lb of cheese is A LOT of cheese".

We know that now Mr Sinclair. We know that now.

The day ended with Mad and I taking the metro home and chowing down on a pesto pastry. Here the recipe:

What you need
-puff pastry
-a type of hard cheese
-tomatoes
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-pesto OR make homemade pesto (here's a recipe online: http://www.newitalianrecipes.com/pesto.html)

Madeline made our pesto from scratch

1. Roll the pastry out onto a cooking sheet
2. poke it along with a fork to help it rise
3. cover the pastry with pesto
4. place tomatoes on top of pesto
5. add cheese
6. cover the edges with olive oil
7. season with salt and pepper
9. bake until golden and serve

Well story time is over for today. I'm really tired. It was hard to remember all of that and I'm sure I forgot something hilarious that happened. It was a pretty absurd day. I promise I'll tell you all about thanksgiving dinner very soon. Maybe I'll procrastinate studying for exams or something like that.

xo Class Mansion


PS. Here's a picture of a happy bagel

PIE MAKING BONANZA (parts I & II)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a pie.

Cherry, blueberry, boysenberry, gooseberry, key lime, chocolate, lemon meringue, mince meat, banana cream, blackberry, chicken pot pie, pecan, strawberry, steak and kidney pie...I LIKE THEM ALL. But the best types of pie are clearly apple and pumpkin (because those are the only kinds I know how to make).

On the weekends of Oct 23rd & 30th Madeline and I decided to take on a challenge of epic and dangerous proportions. And by decided I mean to say that I made a whole bunch of promises I couldn't keep without Madeline's help. That is how she became inexplicably linked to my insane plans. Plus she is really the baker in our partnership.

THE CHALLENGE:
-TEN PIES
-TWO WEEKENDS
-ONE OVEN

I promised ten households of friends that we would make them potentially edible pies after my mother taught me how to make homemade crust over Thanksgiving. We were not exactly prepared for how time consuming baking pies would be. It ended up taking two separate weekends and we still aren't done. There are about three more pies to go and then we are briefly retiring from the pie baking business.

The recipe

Crust:
-5 cups flour
-1lb of Crisco
-1 tbs salt
{-1 tbs vinagr
-1 egg} ADD WATER TO MAKE 3/4 CUP LIQUID
Measure flour, baking powder + salt into mixing bowl. Mix. Cut in Crisco til pea sized. Mix egg + vinegar + water. Add to flour. Mix well and roll out.






Filling:

Apple
-5 or 6 spartan apples, peeled and cubed
-sprinkle with sugar
-dash of cinnamon
-3 dabs of butter

Pumpkin
(we mostly followed the recipe on the label)
-can of pureed pumpkin
-cinnamon
-nutmeg
-can of evaporated milk
-egg



Bake for 15 min at 430
reduce to 370 until golden

While I was rolling dough like a mad women Madeline was cursing at a tart. We decided to bake a beautiful nectarine tart from Martha Stewart for a friend's birthday. Unfortunately the beautiful rosette shapes were THE MOST DIFFICULT THING IN THE WORLD TO ARRANGE. In all honestly we never did figure out how the rosettes worked and Mad slaved away for hours. In the end she arranged them like a giant rose which still had a lovely effect. It also tasted lovely.

The family recipe for dough tastes f-ing amazing but took me about three tries to finally get right (sorry to the first few houses to receive pies!). I always thought my dough was too wet so I would add more flour and then it would break up when I rolled it out. FRUSTRATION. It was worth the work though; I believe baking to be a very important homemaking skill. We are so very domestic. We even wore aprons.

In the end the pies turned out decent for all the cursing and Provigo trips. I delivered the pies on my bicycle by a (cardboard wine) box I attached to the back (with silver party ribbon). I think our friends were pleased...


PS. Here is a picture of Madeline and a chicken