Thanksgiving Eve

If I am not in a tryptophan-and-gluttony-induced coma at this time tomorrow, something will have gone terribly wrong. Which seems unlikely at this point since we are on track to eat a massive Thanksgiving feast around 4:00 pm tomorrow.

I got home from work around 3:30 this afternoon and got to work. First order of business: baking 8 yams in a hot oven for about 90 minutes, skin on. I wanted sweet potatoes, but they didn't have any at Fairway last night. Oh well - I doubt I will notice a difference, if one in fact exists, between sweet potatoes and yams. Once the yams were cool enough to touch, I peeled their skins off with my fingers and mixed the yam flesh with marmalade, fresh ginger, fresh orange juice, butter, brown sugar, and a salt. The resulting delicious orange mush is in a baking dish in my refrigerator now.

Next I peeled, thinly sliced, and caramelized about twenty shallots for my mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots. It took nearly 40 minutes to get them a golden brown color. They are also in a plastic container in my refrigerator, ready to be added to mashed yukon gold potatoes with creme fraiche much closer to dinner time.

Finally, I made the oatmeal crumble topping for the orangey yam mixture. Since I couldn't find the Archway oatmeal cookies, I am substituting the oatmeal crumble topping from the Barefoot Contessa's Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp on page 226 of "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" - I think should work out just fine since it has all the same ingredients that you'd find in oatmeal cookies (i.e., butter, oatmeal, brown sugar, sugar, and flour). Fingers crossed.

Wedged between those containers of light cream (for creamed spinach) is the large black container of oatmeal crumble topping, and the small white container of caramelized shallots. I'll spread the crumble on top of the yam mixture before baking it tomorrow afternoon.

And now my infected ear and I are getting in bed. Yes, readers, I have come down with yet another ailment in less than two months: an ear infection. But I am on antibiotics and am hoping for a speedy recovery.

Happy Thanksgiving!