Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving rocked. First and foremost, I got the meal on the table when I said I would--a feat I rarely accomplish. I achieved that same goal tonight, getting the meal on the table at 7:35 when I guessed it would be ready by 7:30. I'd like to think that my at-home cooking school is changing me.

Next off, the turkey meat was moist and the skin was crisp. I need to take everyone else's word because I do not eat turkey (refer to my screen name). The kids mostly protested the turkey and ate a few bites of side dishes before consuming an entire meal of veggie puffs. But everyone else ate many platefuls--polishing off the stuffing and most of the cranberry sauce. I was pretty proud of my accomplishments considering that it was the first time I had cooked for Thanksgiving (which has more emotions attached to it than your average dinner party) and my first time that I had cooked a turkey.

I took copious notes on the process so I could recreate the bird next year, but basically, I coated the bird in a non-dairy margarine/spice mixture, stuffed its cavity with vegetables, and cooked it without touching it for 2 1/2 hours. When it came time to deal with the bird, I told my husband I wanted to do it myself. I went downstairs, poured myself a glass of vodka (no, not a shot glass of vodka--a 12 ounce soda glass of vodka), decided not to drink it because while it would numb the revulsion, it was probably also enough vodka to send me to certain death. I then had TO PICK UP THE DEAD BIRD WITH MY BARE HANDS TO PLACE IT IN THE ROASTING PAN. Pretty much breathed through my mouth and repeated the mantra: you were premed in school you were premed in school you were premed in school. I spent two months studying ebola in great detail. I could certainly carry a turkey a few inches.

So now that Thanksgiving is over, I can turn my attention back to my cooking classes. In order to practice my knife techniques, I made vegetarian pho tonight. I am not very adventurous with my ordering--most menus only hold a few vegetarian options. Whenever we go to Nam Viet, I order the same vegetarian pho, also known as sup chay. Love it, love it, love it, and it is the food that I always ask for when I am having a terrible day. For years I have tried to figure out how they make the broth. And tonight, I think I have figured out a recipe that closely resembles the pho. All ingredients can be purchased at your average supermarket, making it ten times more appealing than if I had to go to four different stores in order to obtain obscure ingredients. My pho recipe follows...