15 minutes to Thanksgiving--

Monday I made homemade mushroom stock. I used shitakes. Not to be daunted by fools that say things like "discard the mushrooms" I promptly sliced 'em up, added some sesame seeds and edamame and served them with soba noodles and a dash of soy sauce. Discard them, indeed!! I gotta say- it was really, really good. But totally not worth NOT buying the stock in the paper boxes, which is cheaper, faster, more convenient, and just as good. But still, it was my first time to make my own stock and I was quite pleased with the results.

Tuesday I made my cranberry sauce and my gravy-- another recipe asking me to discard the mushrooms- three kinds of them this time (porcini, white button, and baby bellas) that had been simmering for an hour in onions, shallots, red wine, rosemary, and tomato paste, so I melded those has-beens with a dash of half-and-half and served them over toast. Hello, gratin! Please, who are these people that can afford to throw perfectly good food in the trash? And even if they could, why would they? OK, so after the sauce and the gravy, I made cornbread and buttermilk biscuits (from scratch), let them cool, and shredded them for my stuffing. I also managed to clog the kitchen sink and set off the smoke alarm in the building. Good times.

Today I made pies and pies. They made my apartment smell just heavenly. I tried to talk my roommie into letting me crack into the pecan pie for dinner but I got shot down.

Tomorrow is the brie, the creamed corn, the green bean casserole (my roommate), the mashed potatoes (my boy), the wild rice dish, and the mulled cider. And then? Then we eat.