Happy Thanksgiving! Last year I went home and spent the week with family. This year, due to Covid, I along with many stay wherever we are. I saw a friend’s text comparing last year she had a Thanksgiving dinner with friends in NYC then flew to Asia for class reunion trip, this year, she’ll have a few “local” friends “picnic” on the front yard as MA requires visitors to be tested so her good friends living in NH won’t be able to make it. It has been a different year for all of us yet there are always people and things to be thankful and be happy about, e.g. having loving family and friends, being able to work from home, and trying new things/ foods.
I had a call with mom this morning. She told me about her dry eyes (due to age yet the condition becomes popular for younger people due to extensive usage of computer/ cell phone) and suggested me to get “electrical heated pads for eyes” as prevention. Perfect timing – Thanksgiving Black Friday sales, I bought one online and saved $5. Last weekend mom told me about Lutein, vitamin which supports eye health. I bought three bottles, one for me, one for my roommate and his girlfriend.
Tonight I prepared a special Thanksgiving meal – Turkey stuffed en croute and Mixed berry persimmon cheese cake (see images). Turkey stuffed en croute is a 3-layered-roll of bread – stuffing – turkey. It’s marinated, frozen, and packed with gravy and cranberry sauce packets, a creative twist of the tradition and convenient for the single and small family. After baking, it’s crispy outside and soft inside, gravy keeps it moist while cranberry sauce adds sweetness. I also roasted vegetable along making it a colorful and balanced meal. The cheese cake took more prep works: rolling the dough to make the crust and baking (drying) it, meanwhile, softening the cream cheese, and mixing it with milk and egg to make the batter. Instead of putting the fruits on top of cheese cake, I decided to mix them in. I placed persimmon and berries on the crust, then poured the cream cheese batter over. It’s incredible how fast the cake transformed, 375F for 20 minutes, the liquid solidified and turned light yellow and caramelizing while berried emerged. I’m proud of my creations 🙂 and happily shared them with my roommate.
I’m thankful for what I have and even better, being able to give!