For the past seven years, Frank Harper George has been bringing joy to people once a year near the end of November. This glorious event is called Franksgiving and it is where without fail Frank undertakes the herculean task of cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for 30+ people. Now, this isn’t just your ordinary roast dinner. Even just reading the menu is making my mouth water at the memory of all that glorious, glorious food.
Frank starts cooking weeks in advance! For the 2012 Franksgiving, he cooked the turkey entirely in a waterbath and then medium fried it until it was perfectly crispy on the outside and ultra tender on the inside. I know that when Frank cooks dinner, I will be eating a meal to remember.
This is Frank’s schedule for the day. :O
Aside from the task of catering for that many people, there is also the challenge of fitting them all into your house! Not to mention plates, glasses, cutlery, and serviettes… I know that at least a few of the chairs were imported in from the houses of other Franksgiving attendees.
Setting the table in preparation. You can’t see the other place settings behind me!
Below is a selection of photos from the night as well as the Franksgiving menu. Have you ever been lucky enough to come to Franksgiving? What are your favourite foods to eat for Thanksgiving? Leave a comment below to let me know! :)
Franksgiving VII
Starters & Canapés:
- Pheasant liver pate on homemade toasted bread
- Pear and goat cheese tartlets
- Cheese log
- Home spinach dip
Preparing the canapes. Homemade bread with pheasant liver pate… I didn’t manage to get a shot of them with the cranberry garnish. O well.
Pear and goat cheese tartlets. So delicious.
Sarah enjoying one of those pear and goat cheese tartlets! Nomnomnom.
Cheese log of destiny.
The most moreish spinach dip I have ever tasted. I could have only eaten this all evening and left a very happy woman.
Main Course:
- Turducken
- Mashed potatoes
- Meringue topped sweet potatoes
- Buttered green beans
- Homemade cornbread stuffing
- Homemade cranberry sauce
- Turducken gravy
- Rocket salad with red rice, pumpkin seeds and ginger-maple dressing
There were TWO turduckens! This is just freshly out of the oven. The smell was almost too much to bear.
A cross section of the turducken, except it wasn’t JUST a turducken. There was homemade pork sausage INSIDE the chicken. I don’t even know what to call that. Turduckenauge??? You decide. My belly decided it was wonderful.
The master of the kitchen tackles the turduckenauge.
The rest of our meal consisted of the best mashed potatoes ever (at least 25% butter), mashed sweet potatoes with or without meringue (because apparently that’s how Americans eat sweet potato!), buttered green beans, homemade cranberry sauce, and stuffing. The stuffing was incredible and had both homemade bread and cornbread mixed in. Stuffing is probably my favourite bit of a roast dinner!
Dessert:
- Pumpkin pie
- Cranberry walnut tart
- Pecan pie
O HAI.
PUMPKIN PIE. There were two of these beauties.
Frank’s signature Cranberry Walnut Tart. Way back in 2011 he and I taught a baking class and this was one of the recipes we used. Still has phenomenal now as it was back then. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to snap a photo of the pecan pie.
Petit Fours:
You know, because we really needed more food at this point…
- Caramel and apple pumpkin seed macarons (nut free)
- Pumpkin spice cake
Pumpkin Spice Cake Petit Fours.
Frank with a side of caramel and apple pumpkin seed macarons. ;)
Other fun times at Franksgiving!
Aw yeah!
The production line. The room was way to full to form a queue so we ended up having a few people load up the plates and pass them out to all the hungry guests.
The card I made for Frank to let him know just how loved he is. ;)