Martha would be proud.

This thanksgiving while Spencer drove up to spend the holiday with his family on Whidbey Island, Celia & I celebrated the holiday penguin style (at the penguin house, that is!). It was epic, to say the least. All of us holiday orphans banded together to execute the kind of feast that becomes the stuff of legends. Days went into planning. Wine was made, potatoes were mashed, yams were carmelized. Oh, sweet Jesus, it was good.
I somehow managed to forget to take pictures of the feast itself, but here are some photos of the extensive preparation:
Wednesday night, Celia made some fabulous Arroz con Leche (adapted from her dad's recipe), & two delicious fritattas from the Moosewood Cookbook's New Classics. Both were delicious, and very popular at the feast.
We also made rolls using the oatmeal bread recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book, which (apart from James Beard & The Coyote Cafe Cookbook) is pretty much the most amazing bread book I've ever used. To keep the dough in roll-form, we experimented with baking them in a greased muffin tin, along with making some free-form on a baking sheet.
The finished product - aren't they lovely?
Can't get much more wholesome than that!
Altogether, there was so much food that the evening ended lying comatose on the sofa watching movies. Some brave souls went for a walk to hasten digestion, but for the most part, exercise of any kind was postponed until the next morning, when we were feeling more active.

The Great Thanksgiving Feast menu:
cranberry sauce
garlic mashed potatoes & gravy
green bean casserole
creamed spinach
macaroni & cheese
candied yams
vegetable fritatta
chestnut-celery stuffing
20 lb. Turkey
pineapple baked ham
buttermilk biscuits
oatmeal rolls
pear sauce
arroz con leche
two pumpkin pies