Life in Iowa

It is a very good thing that the turkey I cooked for Thanksgivng was delicious, because we have eaten it for every meal since the big one...and still have some left!

I thouhgt I'd give a quick run down on the feast that I cooked up for the fam - no one had to lend a hand except Ike, who helped out with the fruit salad.  That's what you get when you visit Iowa, a relaxing mini-vacation where you feast like kings and queens.

And Nancy...I adjust the menu to the guests visiting, I promise! :)

Here's what we feasted on:



And in no particular order:

1 - Roasted Potato and Garlic Soup (The Cafe Brenda Cookbook)
2 - Cranberry Fruit Salad (The Cafe Brenda Cookbook)
3 - Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast Stuffed with Wild Rice (a la Iowa Girl Eats, with many of my own modifications)
4 - Butter, REAL Butter (a la some happy cow)
5 - Pan Roasted Green Beans with Toasted Walnuts (a la my brain)
6 - Pumpkernickel Rye Buns (The Cafe Brenda Cookbook)
Not pictured - Pecan Tart (The Cafe Brenda Cookbook)

By now you've noticed that this menu was mostly taken from The Cafe Brenda Cookbook.  I've had this cookbook sitting on my shelf for at least 2 years now and not once have I cracked it.  You see, my mom got it for me a while back (even had it autographed for me), but at the time I really wasn't "in to" vegetarian cooking.

Well, while I was sitting on the couch Tuesday night finalizing my Thanksgiving dinner shopping list, I decided to crack the book open to see what it had to offer.  Well - clearly my plans changed as I flipped through each section of the cookbook finding some very promising dishes that would be perfect for Turkey Day.  I scrapped my original plan (except for the turkey...I had been planning on devouring that for weeks now!) and re-wrote the menu.

Glad I did.  Everything was receied with "yummmmmmmms" and "oooooh my." (Unless of course they were faking, but I highly suspect they weren't.)

I also departed from the traditional Thanksgiving Buffet and decided to serve everyone as they sat - hey, like I said above, you visit Iowa, you are treated well.

Such a fun meal and I highly enjoyed all the planning, prepping, cooking and of course, eating.