Thanksgiving #1

The madness is finally over, and *plop, plop, fizz, fizz* we are recovering (with the help of Mr. Antacid) from the first round of culinary indulgence. My mom started with a dry rub on a pork shoulder and let it cook for 10 hours in the oven on 275 degrees. When we woke up at 8 am, we were greeted with an incredible smell and fall-off-the-bone tender meat. It turned into pulled pork sandwiches with bbq sauce and coleslaw.

The other main event was another great alternative to the traditional turkey: fried chicken. Buttermilk, flour (seasoned, of course), grease and voila!

We ended up with chicken breasts the size of Paris Hilton's dogs.

Along with the usual mashed potatoes, asparagus and biscuits, my mom whipped up two other incredible side dishes: shrimp and corn chowder and pumpkin gratin. Here are the recipes for both:

Chowder

Gratin

Substitute shrimp for the lobster in Ina's recipe, if you wish.

We also made lovely profiteroles for dessert. Here is a good recipe: profiteroles.

I think this gives me a good start to the holiday season, and a good reason to consider joining Merritt Athletic Club...again.