Rejoice, lovers of fine art.
November 28th, 2004As I mentioned here, my family has a lot of traditions. And we enjoy carving. Traditional carving. Bring on the traditional carvings.
Over the years in the my family, a special Thanksgiving tradition has developed. Last Thursday morning marked the time for me to yet again lovingly carve a festive sculpture out of Kraft Old English slices, to adorn the top of the cauliflower au gratin.
Some of my earlier work:
Thanksgiving 2002.
No, that’s not a bird in the upper right corner, that’s the airplane that carried me and my sister home for the holidays, hurtling towards the cheesy sun.
And the baked version
The tiny cheese turkey was so beloved by all that nobody could bear to eat it. It looked so lonely there, bathing in a sea of creamy mushroom goo.
For 2003, I created a cornucopia overflowing with the harvest’s bounty. While I admit it was not my finest work, the awkward angle of the photograph does not do it justice.
I was pleased that the intricate cheese lattice on the basket withstood the heat of the oven.
So along came Thanksgiving 2004. I was at a loss about what to create this year. This year marks the first Thanksgiving for my new nephew Eli, so perhaps a portrait was in order. Or maybe an elaborate “2004″. I didn’t know. I was stumped.
I thought about how Thanksgiving was a celebration of our ancestors, the Pilgrims and Native Americans. I figured I’d work with the ancestor theme, but go a little farther back. And thus, I bring you…
The Thanksgiving Triceratops.
These are great…I do this some times on my tarts and pies with extra dough,or pate sucree.
I’ve never seen pre-sliced cheeses used so creatively. I’ll have to remember that for the future…
My family would definitely find it amusing, if it was pointed out to them. Usually the food doesn’t stay in the casserole for long….that turkey would have been impaled by fork and eaten faster than you can say cornucopia.