Turkey Eve

Although, technically, it is now officially Thanksgiving. A few minutes past midnight, to be precise. Which means I did preparations for tomorrow for a grand total of six hours. And, you know, I really enjoyed myself. (Except for the aching that developed in my shoulders, which has come to be expected since it's been happening for at least ten years whenever I bend over something, like a counter or a keyboard.)

Since I'll be having lunch at my mom's — an hour's drive away — I wanted to get as much done as possible today, so that for dinner with the Anthropologist, all that needs to be done is assemble the pie, put everything in the oven, and pour the sauce over the cake. I chopped and sauteed a mountain of mushrooms, rolled potato wedges in panko crumbs, whipped up a cheesecake and put it in the oven, blended up a soup for a last-minute addition to the menu, and rolled out pie dough, all with the company of Law and Order: CI and SVU reruns.

Suffice to say, I'm pooped.

Thanks to my erractic oven, which could never quite settle on 350 degrees (preferring either 300 or 400), the cheesecake developed an ugly brown skin on top, which I decided to partially peel off, just in case it tasted burned. Since it'll have a sauce on top, it doesn't really matter what the cake looks like. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

And, even though brussels sprouts are supposedly grown in this area, there were none to be found at the market today. So instead I decided to do a medly of roasted root vegetables, including carrots, rutabega, and celeriac.

I wish you all a delicious Thanksgiving. I'm off to bed!