rootofnewt | Nov. 24th, 2006

Boy's first whole turkey was a wonderful success. The drippings are scented with the aromatics used (onion, sage, rosemary, apple, cinnamon). I used fresh herbs and veggies with the neck to make stock, which I reduced and combined with some white wine. I made a roux with the drippings and some sorghum flour and mochiko, then slowly added in stock. The gravy is amazingly complex--sweet, rich, and savory. It's pretty cool. I have stock and drippings left aside, so I'm going to make a small amount of cornstarch gravy tomorrow. I don't make that in larger amounts because it turns to jelly and doesn't reheat well.

I made the Sweet Corn Bread Pudding, too. I subbed in polenta and used EnerG tapioca bread. It's really, really good. I cooked it in my dutch oven (which goes camping), so the house smelled of a campfire.

The millet with pumpkin is very subtle and was probably overwhelmed by all the other flavors. I smothered it with gravy. I think it would be an excellent sweet dessert made with coconut milk. It would be crockpot friendly, too.

We enjoyed a late dinner (around two) and spent the rest of the day lazily cleaning up. Okay, boy spent the day cleaning in fits, though I often helped.

We drove to Fredericksburg to spend time with Jeff & Bernie and assorted houseguests. Jericho and Tia vied for my loving affection and occasionally got into dog-spats. Silly jealous critters. We stayed far too late and came home the longer way, via Culpeper. I'm not comfortable driving 22/231 when I'm tired. VA3 and US29 are relatively straight and have far fewer perilous obstacles lining the roadway.

Today was spent being lazy. I think boy mowed the leaves. I giggled at my adorable dog a lot. Had coffee with