If you live in New York City, you probably know how miniature apartment kitchens can be. Mine is a six-foot-square space with a doll-sized oven and exactly one foot of counter space. (To disclose fully, I did purchase a lovely wooden countertop to shove against the wall, which makes for a total of about three feet of counter space.) So when I proposed to cook a full Thanksgiving meal in this tiny kitchen, my mother asked, “Is that possible?”
We bought a 13-pound turkey that wouldn’t fit in the oven, so we cut it into pieces and roasted only half of it. The other half is in the freezer with the stock my mother made from the bones. We made traditional Midwestern dishes, like green bean casserole and buttered rolls. We made Cranberry Sauce and Glazed Sweet Potatoes. We made a gelatin dessert that will appear on this blog at a later date (I’m not telling yet!). After a whole weekend of leftovers and cleaning up the tiny kitchen, I’m still stuffed!
Saturday, we went to go look at the store window displays at Barney’s and Bergdorf’s and Bloomingdale’s, followed by a stroll through Times Square at night. I hadn’t been to Times Square since I visited New York several years ago, and the bright lights were even brighter than I remembered. Times Square is so bright at night that it could be mistaken for a pocket of daytime from an airplane.
After all that food and touristing, I really needed something light to eat. This Ginger-Upper is perfect for the ailing post-Thanksgiving stomach. It is full of healing pears and ginger ale, set in a gentle gelatin. I tried cutting it into autumn leaf shapes, but as you can see they didn’t quite cut perfectly. No matter how you decide to shape them, they will still be wonderfully light and slightly fizzy. Maybe if you find the right mold, they’ll be pretty enough for the window displays at Bergdorf’s!
Ginger-Upper
From Joys of Jell-O
“Even weight-watchers can enjoy this delight–only 93 calories per serving.”
1 package (3 oz.) Jell-O Raspberry or Lemon-Lime Gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup ginger ale
1 cup diced fresh pears
Dissolve Jell-O Gelatin in boiling water. Add lemon juice and ginger ale. Chill until very thick. [Lemon's note: This means to chill until a spoon drawn through the gel leaves a definite impression, about 1 1/2 hours] Add pears. Spoon into molds. Chill until firm. Unmold. Makes 3 cups, or 6 servings.
