Getting ready for Thanksgiving

Posted on Mon Nov 23rd, 2020 @ 3:38pm by Commodore Mardel Shayron-Connor

890 words; about a 4 minute read

Mardel hummed as she peeled a mountain of russet potatoes. Already in the oven were the candied yams and sweet potatoes, she actually made both but wasn't sure if anyone would really know the difference. She had baby yukon golds, baby red potatoes, and baby purple potatoes on giant baking trays, drizzled with some olive oil and seasoned with rosemary and thyme along with a generous sprinkle of salt, then some pepper, garlic, and onion to round out the flavor. They were waiting to go into the oven to roast when the candied potatoes were done.

With the last of the russets peeled, she cubed them up and set them on to boil. She gathered a giant pot to boil them, it was so big that she could fit in it easily. There was another pot, the same size, with cream cheese, sour cream, and butter in the bottom, along with salt, pepper, and a few roasted garlic cloves, all ready for the hot potatoes to fall on them and be mashed together.

She really was glad for the remodel of her quarters, her kitchen was now huge and could cook for a feast. Daniel had part of the kitchen curtained off as he made his part of the Thanksgiving feast, wanting to surprise everyone. But she could smell the yeast and fresh baked breads. She was really looking forward to the feast they were to have that evening.

With the potatoes on to, Mardel went to check on her stocks. In one giant pot, she had ham bones and pork bones boiling with root vegetables and aromatics, it was almost ready to be made into gravy. In another pot was beef bones with root vegetables and aromatics as well, also almost ready to be made into gravy. In the third pot was poultry bones, she didn't want just turkey or chicken, but also goose and duck and quail and pheasant as well. This one also had the vegetables and aromatics with the bones and water, boiling down to create a very rich and concentrate stock rather than just broth. In the end, she would have pork, beef, and poultry gravies for the feast.

She also had made up some compound butters for those who didn't want gravy but wanted potatoes. So she had one with garlic, rosemary, and sage. Another butter had lemon peel, thyme, parsley. Then there was a third butter that had tarragon, nutmeg, and balsamic vinegar powder. Each tasted wonderful and would go well with the potatoes, either the mashed or the roasted.

The last giant pot she put on the boil was cubed up, unpeeled, red potatoes for smashed potatoes, versus the more traditional mashed potatoes. In the pot the smashed potatoes would be made it, was also cream cheese, sour cream, and butter, with garlic, pepper, and a generous sprinkling of salt. All she had to do now was wait for the potatoes, both red and russet to finish boiling, drain them and mash or smash them as needed. Then to strain the stocks and thicken the stocks for the gravy.

The entire quarters was filled with wonderful smells. She wondered if anyone could smell it beyond their quarters and what they would think. But she wanted this meal to be made from scratch rather than just replicated. She really did enjoy cooking and now she gets to show off some of her skills.

Finally finished, she drained the potatoes and put them in the right pot and started mashing both, one with each arm. Then it came to where she had to only focus on one at a time. So she stirred and finished the smashed potatoes, giving them a taste and adjusting the salt as needed. She put them in the stasis unit to keep them hot. Then she turned her attention to the mashed potatoes. She stirred it and continued to fluff as well as mash the potatoes, to get the perfect texture. She also tasted them and adjusted the salt. When it was perfect, she also put that in the stasis to keep it hot for the meal.

Next she turned her attention to the stock pots. She did pause a moment to pull out the candied potatoes and set them in stasis to keep hot and put in the trays of potatoes to be roasted. Then she finished straining all the stocks separately and then made rues for each and thickened them. She did taste everything, to make sure it was all seasoned correctly and put it all in stasis. She wanted everything to be hot and fresh, like she had just finished making it. Even though there was still a few hours to go.

At last, she was done with her part of the feast and smiled. She took some time to clean up and picked out one of her favorite outfits to wear. A blue leotard body suit with a long, flowing skirt, and a matching scarf to tie up her hair. Then she went to open the door and let the ensigns who were setting up the feast take away her contributions. Once that was gone, another group came for Daniel's contributions. When everything was taken, she decided to spend a little of the free time with Daniel. It wouldn't hurt her to have another shower.

 

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