Thanksgiving 2011

Dining date: 11/24/11

I’m not sure how long we’ve been doing it, but Thanksgiving has traditionally been spent with a lunch on my mom’s side and a dinner on my dad’s side. That way, no one has to pick-and-choose/rotate where Thanksgiving is spent. With two large meals, I’ve learned pacing becomes key.

Lunch is in Alameda at my aunt & uncle’s. The food has a base in traditional Thanksgiving fare, but essentially everyone cooks what they want to eat. Technically it’s a potluck, though the majority is prepared by the host family. This leads to a pretty wide variety of dishes with a definite Asian slant. Because I fly in the morning of, I don’t actually contribute any food (my family brings a cake).

Dinner, at my grandmother’s in San Francisco, also has a traditional turkey but that’s not really the focus. My grandmother tends to cook what the family likes to eat, and that’s a lot of meat. Red meat.

Lunch is served buffet style.

buffet1

buffet2

Country fried potatoes bacon, cheese

country potatoes

Green beans sliced almonds

green beans

Turkey

turkey

Pork ribs

pork ribs

Sweet potatoes and yams marshmallows

sweet potatoes

Vermicelli barbecued pork, mushrooms, egg

vermicelli

Farfalle pasta

farfalle

Salad

salad

Chow mein

chow mein

Chinese sticky rice

rice

Chicken pot pie

pot pie

Fried wonton chili sauce

wontons

Egg rolls

egg roll

Sauteed shrimp

shrimp

Coconut and pandan waffle

coconut pandan waffle

Shrimp toast

shrimp toast

An assortment of desserts are usually served up around the 2:00 hour.

Homemade pumpkin pie

pumpkin pie

pumpkin pie2

Homemade pumpkin cheesecake

pumpkin cheesecake

pumpkin cheesecake2

Homemade cranberry pumpkin bread

pumpkin bread

Ice cream cake rocky road, pecan, red velvet

ice cream cake

ice cream cake2

Chocolate mousse cake

choc cake

choc cake2

We cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco for dinner. Lots of meat on the menu.

dinner table

New York strip roast

beef

beef2

Turkey

turkey2

turkey3

turkey4

Lobster tails

lobster

lobster2

Mashed potatoes

potatoes

Gravy

gravy

Stuffing

stuffing

Chinese sticky rice

rice2

Mixed Vegetables

veggies

Dream cake

dream cake

dream cake2

Homemade apple pie

apple pie

apple pie2

Just like that, another Thanksgiving is over. As usual, it was a ton of food but I was able to fit in everything I wanted to eat!

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