Turkey trimmings

I'm sitting in the Bronx eating my favorite leftovers - turkey, stuffing, mac & cheese, yams, greens...only thing missing is gravy and cranberry sauce.  For the past week I've been swamped!  I think it's the midsemester hustle.  I haven't been cooking much, partly because we were out of my staples - onions and tomatoes.  For one breakfast last week I made grits and canned salmon (I sauteed it with garlic, cream, and capers) and then I made something similar to a brown stewed salmon (using steelhead trout) for dinner. 

It seems that the majority of my time has been spent out of the house, running errands, having meetings, everything but cooking.  The key I think is to have ingredients on hand.  I could've easily started my Mexican quest with a tortilla soup if I had tomatoes.  Upon further reflection, it's not going to be a Mexican quest but moreso a Mesoamerican adventure.  I honestly don't know enough about the area to know if what we consume as "Mexican cuisine" is in fact Mexican.  I do know that in Mesoamerica, there are certain ingredients that dominate food.  When we were at the Grand Canyon in March we had a wonderful meal at the El Tovar restaurant, it seemed regionally appropriate, but I can't pinpoint it to a particular culture.

Towards the end of the week I realized First Sunday was approaching - the family dinner that I wanted to have.  I had been getting texted, Facebooked, emailed, etc about the dinner and had totally dropped the ball.  In addition, somehow I had 3 sections of papers to grade and a Girl Scout trip to plan.  My friend warned me not to cancel the dinner saying that it would never happen if I did.  My other friend warned me about overscheduling.  I sent out an email and a text on Thursday proposing a potluck.  I decided I would make a turkey and have everyone brings sides, dessert, and drinks.  I called Whole Foods and they had just received their first turkeys of the season $2.49/lb so I was in business.  My husband and I bought the turkey on Friday after running a bunch of errands and I brined it Saturday night. 

My mom called me Friday to ask if I was crazy - "we have a full day at Girl Scouts, is your house clean, how are you going to have people come over, you need to change it to next week."  I said it's no biggie, I'm just making turkey and you're making macaroni and cheese.  She tried to convince me that I make better mac & cheese (which I do) but I couldn't commit to that, I think that would've sent me over the edge.  I went to buy her the supplies and she came to get them Saturday night after taking my nephew "trunk or treating."  I spent Saturday night prepping for Girl Scouts and having the kids clean.  My husband really pitched in as well.  Time was literally on our side because clocks "fell back."  Sunday morning I made the stuffing and put the turkey on convection roast and dashed out the door. 

The trip to Tyler Arboretum was a success, the girls were engaged and we completed the badge requirements.  By the time I returned home I was exhausted and there was still tidying to do, but my mom and husband were on the job...the house looks pretty good (I hope it stays that way because we are hosting the book club on November 8th).  At 530pm we only had a beautiful golden brown turkey (my mother-in-law had taken it out around 1pm) and mac & cheese.  It wasn't clear who was coming to dinner.  My cousin arrived with the yams and my dad around 6pm and my aunt finally came with the greens close to 7pm.  We ate as the food trickled in and then ate again.  It was all so delicious.  The tryptophan kicked in and we really had a good time.  "This is my yummy favorite meal, can I have more"

As I was driving along the NJTP this morning, Nigella Lawson was on NPR talking about indulgence foods.  I'm sitting here smiling after finishing my leftover turkey dinner, thinking this idea of sensuous cooking works for me.