The whole banana

Okay, so here are the pictures I promised from today. Jess took these terrific shots. Wow. What a meal! It was a lot of work, but it was fun, and it was delicious.

Here are the "failed" custards I was talking about. I refused to throw them out because they took so long to prepare. So I wound up baking them for another 20 minutes out of the water bath, and they did set up, even if they were slightly soft. But because of all the movement back and forth to and from the water-bath pan, you can see that most of them had dribbled edges. Trust me, I cleaned them up before the meal.


Completing the stuffing of the turkey and securing the front.


The turkey is ready to make its trip to the oven.


Dodger stops in to see if he can help eat anything.


Bernice wants to help, too.


It's cold out. Jess prepares to make a fire in the library.


The fire is lit and it's beautiful!


Jeff and I began setting the table. Steve brought the lovely flowers.


The turkey turned out beautifully, but finished about 45 minutes sooner than I expected! Fortunately, most of the other cooking was completed, but we had to race around to make what remained to be cooked.


Removing the stuffing from the bird. Hey, that's a nice shot of my ring!


Mandy stops in to see if she's missed anything. "What's that great smell? Can I have some? Dogs love turkey, y'know"


Jeff enjoys a respite from the cooking while I tell a story.


Turkey carving begins.


The plate of turkey. This was only about half of the bird.


Mmmm...let's have a close up of that extraordinarily crispy skin!


The rolls are ready! Let's eat!


Steve gives Dodger some welcome attention.


So Dodger whores himself out for more...


Jeff's squash casserole in the foreground, with sweet potatoes and stuffing in the background.


Setting the wine glasses for the final detail.


The finished table!