Mother's Day '13

This year is flying by, and Mother's Day has come and gone.  As with our tradition, we had Baby Dedications at church.   How special to have a verse picked out by the Pastor for each child dedicated, based on his/her name.

After church, cooking and preparation for my family dinner was a whirlwind of busy-ness:

• Turkey - My mom had a turkey she wanted me to cook, so it took several hours (including the marinating the night before).   I roasted it in the bag breast-side down; and then flipped it over for the last part of it.  Most of it was juicy; though some parts of the breast still came out dry
• "Fish and Chips" - I did a modified version, using fish sticks and sweet potato fries instead.   Instead of baking in separate sheet before transferring to the dish; I thought it would be easier to bake on the oven-safe dish I was serving it in.   The fries were not easy to flip; and the fish sticks were soggy on the part that were touching the fries.   May have worked okay, if they were all on single layers by themselves.
• Fish Hot Pot - This dish probably turned out the best.   I used a broth made from the turkey innards the night before; and then added napa cabbage, various fish cakes, sauteed mushroom, pan-fried fish (the Alaskan rock cod fillet worked quite well), and added tofu at the end.   Also, made udon noodles available to be served with it
• Brussel Sprouts - My pan was barely big enough to cook the brussel sprouts, but, it was okay.  However, by putting it into a baking dish and placing it into the oven to keep warm, it ended up cooking quite a bit more and the color faded
• Vegetable Vermicelli - pan fried snap peas, carrots, and mushrooms; added broth and seasoning, and then the vermicelli.   Dish was alright
• Bread - Served chestnut bread and garlic bread.  Both were pretty good
• Juice - Had cherry cider, pomegranate, and papaya.   Papaya probably tasted the best, pomegranate the healthiest; and cherry cider was "different"
• Dessert - The strawberry cream puffs were excellent (really light and fluffy) and the sweet potato cake was beautiful (the filling seemed like it would be more fitting for a pastry bun, though)

All-in-all, it turned out fine and my mom enjoyed it.   Everyone also had a chance to take home leftovers as well.