Chocolate with coconut burfi. I like the flavor, but this is one of the ones that thawed and refroze (we did get a refund for it).
Coffee cardamom: the other refrozen one.
Shahi Toast: I like it okay, but the saffron flavor is overpowering for my wife. Not bad but probably wouldn’t order again.
Orange Fennel: On the other hand, I love this one. Like a really, really good orange sherbet. The fennel works.
Spicy Peanut Crunch: Possibly my favorite? It’s like a great peanut butter ice cream, strong peanut flavor with nice little crunchy bits. I don’t get a whole lot of spice, but that’s just a naming issue.
Milk and Cookies: Speaking of naming issues, this one really buries the lede! I wouldn’t have ordered it if I hadn’t read the description: Chocolate Chili cookies and Perfect Chocolate Chip cookies are folded into a milk masala ice cream that’s spiked with nutmeg, cardamom and black pepper. Really good, and fits well with the holiday.
So all in all, three great flavors, two damaged pints, one okay flavor. Not too bad.
Our thanksgiving is low key. Our house is in the middle of a major reconstruction job both inside and out, so we are living in the midst of it. No major turkey doings are planned. I have a duck dry brining in the garage fridge. As a nod to Thanksgiving I will probably serve it with mashed potatoes, and maybe even make a stuffing to be served on the side. But alas, the traditional Thanksgiving dinner is not to be had at the wabi house tomorrow.
I’m with you – I usually skip dessert, and barely make it through dinner after our lengthy apps grazing day . But this year I think I will have room for a taste of something if I make it.
I ended up making this stuffing last night for our feast at the bar tomorrow:
I snuck a little taste and it’s very good. I subbed the Italian sausage with Jimmy Dean sausage at SO’s request (it’s the traditional sausage he had growing up).
Fresh cranberry sauce is also ready (I use the back-of-the-bag recipe plus a cinnamon stick for a little extra flavor) and yes, I will have the canned stuff too because somehow it’s not Thanksgiving without it.
We are having a local butcher cater the turkey, ham, and potatoes so those are off my list–I originally intended to make a small spiral ham and mashed potatoes as our contribution.
It’s funny, all her flavor combinations are Indian inspired, and yet almost none appeal to me as Indian inspired. I had not seen the coffee cardamom from Malai, though I’ve made it myself (and it’s a classic and delicious combination).
If you haven’t made it already, PSA to not add any salt – boxed mixes are plenty salty (this includes not using salted butter and not using chicken stock and not using salted sausage and so on).
My favorite upgrade to boxed stuffing is to turn it into stuffing balls, as I have shared in Thanksgivings past – lots more crispy bits.
This year I’m veering off and using a cubed mix for mushroom & leek bread pudding.
You know, I’ve wondered about that, because there isn’t much overlap between the Malai flavors and the ice creams I see at Patel Brothers. But I didn’t know if that was like … comparing Jeni’s to what I see at Market Basket.
I do like that there are so many flavors, though. Noona’s, the Korean-inspired ice cream, got a lot of press around the same time Malai did, but every time I check, they only have three or four flavors available.
The stuffings are all prepped minus adding the bread and stock, which I’ll do tomorrow. Gravy is just about done and then I think I’m done cooking for the day. We’ll get the table all set and then call it a day until tomorrow morning!
I found out the hard way a couple of years ago, why my aunt suggested that chicken stock and sausage would be an upgrade, and she only had salted butter at hand. Salt bomb! Luckily the mashed potatoes were underseasoned that year
Even tho I literally just took my elderly neighbor to her massage appointment (so I was oot & aboot already), I completely blanked on swinging by the supermarket and grabbing frozen berries to make a sauce for the Biscoff ice cream tomorrow — thought a lil tartness might be a good complement for it, and it’s so easy to throw together
Now it is absolutely pouring out, and I ain’t leaving the house until this ish stops
ETA ETA: I will gladly gnaw the tender morsels of turkey meat off the neck after simmering it for broth.
Back in the day, Wegner’s used to have necks and livers and hearts in packages for nickels and dimes (and by back in the day I mean just a few years ago). I would snag those and take them home, as I absolutely LOVE sautéed turkey livers and hearts with soy & balsamic.
A favorite post-Thxgiving lunch for me. But these packages have not been around anymore
I stay far away from all of them. My neighbor, who’d been keeping my turkey in her extra fridge in garage, brought it over and helped me wash it … I’m squeamish … I do it if I have to. I gave her the neck and package of innards … she’ll make jook or something.
Do y’all have bigger refrigerators than mine? I don’t see how I can fit it all in there … make ahead mashed potatoes, dressing. Maybe I can make the gravy starter and blanche green beans tomorrow after turkey goes into the oven.
I am at my in-laws and the refrigerator is small, but I am trying not to think about it. I am imagining Mary Poppins carpet bag, which was referenced in a book I’m reading!
. But this year I think I will have room for a taste of something if I make it.
