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Sunday, November 28, 2010

thanksgiving bounty bento

Hi bento pals, hope my U.S. bento friends enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving celebration! We had a good and varied feast here--the centerpiece was a beautiful turkey that Jamison glazed with wild plum preserves:
My stuffing changes a bit from year to year, but its essential elements are toasted bread cubes, lots of sauteed onion, ground beef, celery, sauteed fennel, sherry, several types of mushrooms...and this time, whole roasted chestnuts:
Succotash with corn, lima beans, edamame, red pepper and zucchini squash:
Cranberries with port and cinnamon sticks...wonderful flavors, recipe here!
Not pictured but also part of the feast: roasted butternut squash puree with cinnamon and a hint of brown sugar, oven roasted brussels sprouts and baby potatoes (delicious from long cooking next to the turkey!), and a green salad with watercress, baby lettuce, orange glazed fresh figs and goat cheese.

We enjoyed cat-sitting for our neighbors over the long weekend and hanging out with sweet Sophie...
Monday's bento incorporates Thanksgiving's abundant leftovers with an open-faced sandwich layered with stuffing, turkey and cranberry sauce. More cranberry-port sauce is in the little jar; figs, baby greens, watercress, acorn squash and colorful radicchio also for lunch.

 Have a great week ahead!




32 comments:

  1. What a fabulous feast and creative re-invention! The kitty looks very sweet, awww.

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  2. Hi Robin, thanks so much! Yep, Sophie is just about the sweetest kitty ever, we love her!
    Enjoyed reading about your amazing Thanksgiving feast, so rich in flavor...yum.

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  3. Oh wow, the plum preserve glazed turkey sounds delicious! I love how you've taken classic Thanksgiving fare and gave it an awesome interesting twist! Next year, I'm coming along with the kitty and crashing the party at your house!

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  4. Tee hee, Heather--sounds fun, we'd love to have you! Hope you had a super Thanksgiving...thanks for these sweet comments, you are such a lovely bento friend :D

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving!The turkey looks delicious. The bento looks beautiful :)

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  6. always love to see your lovely colored bento!
    happy thanksgiving for you and family

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  7. Hemm... so freash :D. Hi Jenn! Miss you, long time no see hehehe. Happy Thanksgiving for you and family! What a celebration you had with those drooling food. Aww... Sophie is soooooo cute :D

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  8. Like how you layered the open-faced sandwich! Looks like a bunch of cute flowers!

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  9. Great feast! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends! Your bento is always perfectly made. So artful :)

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  10. Hi there Journal Mommy Yenny and thanks for sharing such kind comments!

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  11. Hi Ta! Yes indeed, how are things--wonderful I hope...Sophie and I wish you a great day :D

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  12. Love your description, many thanks Ai Ping!

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  13. Hi Lia, thanks so much for your support...looking forward to your next holiday themed bento, can't wait!

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  14. Happy Thanksgiving, dear. Fabulous and yummy food...I want some too...hehe.

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  15. Your Thanksgiving feast looks yummy! The bento looks warm and filling. :)

    Love the kitty pictures!

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  16. I'm not very familiar with Thanksgiving feast but yours looks so yummy! And I always love how colorful your bentos are :)

    *Ena*

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  17. Happy Thanksgiving and WOW - your turkey looks great!

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  18. Thanks E! We made so much, please come on by!!

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  19. Thanks Kuusou! The squash in particular did give it warm and cozy feel, p.sp. loved your latest kitty-themed bento :D

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  20. Hi Ena! Many thanks...I love how there is so much variation within the Thanksgiving categories of stuffing, squash and fall veggie preprations, desserts, so each year you can try something new while keeping a general tradition going :D!

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  21. Jenn, you gotta love Jamison's wild plum glazed bird! Now that's what I call a centerpiece!

    Everything sounds wonderful and as colorful as your description of it! I didn't cook this year, we went to my aunt's house for dinner, but I did bake a pie!

    Your bento is so beautiful! Leftovers never looked so good! I love the little jar. I have some little jam jars (filled with jam) that I got as a gift, thanks for a great idea. I better get busy eating it up so I can use the jars. :D

    Sounds like you had a great holiday. Sophie is adorable and looks very comfortable with you!

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  22. Hey Lyndsey, great to visit with you! We got these preserves from an Amish vendor on our early fall trip to Lynchburg and I was not really sure how best to use them until Jamison discovered them on Thanksgiving morning and said "aha!!" as he worked his poultry glaze magic! Yummy.

    Cool, you've got some of these little jars too? So fun, I'll look for them in your bentos! Isn't Sophie a doll? When we'd come over to visit she'd run up to us in the sweetest way...

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  23. We didn't do a turkey since it's just me and my hubby, so I am kind of missing the fun of the leftovers. These are lovely and I still can't get over how vibrant your pictures are. Great work, Jen!

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  24. Hi SB, thanks for your lovely comments!

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  25. Oh my! Mushroom stuffing sounds delish!!! I am a big fan of mushroom. Love the pictures as always ...
    We did not have a Turkey Thanksgiving :'( but still have a great time with family.

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  26. Hi Lina, thanks for stopping by :D! Yes, mushrooms are soooo good and really taste like autumn. Happy to hear that you had a great Thanksgiving with your family, dear!

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  27. OK, now my tummy is full from your beautiful feast. I can go to sleep now. ;)

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  28. Happy Thanksgiving! I'm only a couple of days late ;) It looks like you guys had a wonderful feast, and your stuffing sounds awesome. I'm still trying to figure out what I want in stuffing; I will have to try chestnuts next year!

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  29. Hi Carol! Thanks and I loved seeing your Turkeyday pics, so yummy (pumpkin pie)!

    I enjoy using stuffing as an excuse to combine favorite flavors...so in this case, fresh fennel, onions, chestnuts, sherry, various mushrooms. We picked up a couple of boxes of nice Italian chestnuts at TJ's this year, read up on roasting them and added a new, super autumnal food and flavor this meal--they were also an awesome appetizer served just-roasted with smoked oysters and tawny port. Stay cozy this weekend!

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