Taking the Scenic Route

A very nice Thanksgiving today.  This year it was just my parents and us, so some of the usual menu was cut since there weren’t as many people (5, including Zane), but we still had enough food to have fed at least 8 – 12 people.  lol.  My Maternal Grandma was planning on attending but hurt her knee and wasn’t able to make it.  Steve and Joy went to her folk’s place since that is the only holiday they celebrate. Mom & Dad came up about and hour before we were planning on eating to entertain Zane during that last hour rush.   They took him out to the playground and played with a ball for a while.  It was nice not to have to worry about little hands getting burned.

We started the morning putting a Turkey into the oven, putting the giblets and neck to boil for the gravy, then finishing up the dishes and clearing off the counter so I could make the pies.  The shortening wasn’t as cold as I would have liked (accidently put it in the fridge instead of the freezer), so I had to be really careful with the pie crusts not to overmix them so they would be flaky.  I didn’t actually complete the pies since the oven was in use, but got them to the point that all would have to do is roll out the crusts and throw in the filling.  Last night I prepped the beans, peeled the potatoes and yams, so this morning all I had to do was start water boiling at the appropriate time to get everything done on time.  It was quite the juggle with such a small kitchen and a small selection of pans.  Most of the morning all 4 of the burners were busy, with one of us preparing something while the other quickly does dishes and works to keep the counters clean.  It was nice to have that rhythm going…we really do work well together as a team.  It was relaxed and fun…although it does get a little hairy right at the end when everything is ready at once and you are both working really fast so the entire meal ends up on the table hot and fresh and don’t forget anything.  Then you sit down with all the adreniline rushing and try to remember to breathe and slow down to enjoy. lol.

Our menu:

• Turkey, of course, roasted in the Reynolds Turkey bag
• Mashed Potatoes with butter and cream, about triple the amount ‘normally’ needed since everybody loves potatoes in our family
• Green beans with bacon and a touch of flour to make a sort of sauce.  (the way my Paternal Grandma made them)
• Sweet Potato casserole. mashed sweet potatoes with eggs, ginger, cloves, cinamon, brown sugar and topped with marshmallows.  Could probably be a dessert, but that is what the pies are for. lol.
• Hot rolls, sometimes made from scratch, sometimes not…this year not.  There were not enough guests or time to make it worth the effort.
• Gravy made from the giblet broth and the broth from the Turkey
• Various plates of cheese, crackers, fresh veggies and/or fruit with dips, pickles, jams & jellies, and other assorted snacks for people to nibble on throughout the day.  (This year, Zane ate so much cheese that he wasn’t that hungry for the meal…at least the meal on his plate..the meal on Grandma’s plate was good.  hee hee)
• And, of course, the pies.  Always homemade, this year a pumpkin and apricot.  (Dad’s mom used to make him apricot and it is a hard pie to find, so I try to make it at least once a year for him.  I love apricots too, so it isn’t a problem)  We have good vanilla ice cream and whipped cream for topping.

This year we pulled the stuffing, the cranberries and stuffed mushrooms from the menu and reduced the amount of potatoes because it was obvious we had too much food as it was.  I have walked over to the fridge several times just to look at all the food.  I can’t believe the amount of food I have in my house.  I am actually going to have to freeze a lot of stuff and am thinking of making Potato Knepp since I have so many potatoes and some actual bacon, something we almost never have in our house.  All I would have to make is the noodles.  So many days we have wondered what we were going to eat and now I have the opposite ‘problem’.  It feels good. 

Just so everybody knows.  Yes, I promise, we will make our 6 cheese Crabmeat Manicotti for Christmas.  lol.  I will just forget about trying to make Verenike for Christmas right now.

We had a nice time today.  Full bellies and good conversation.  Zane had a great time going to the playground with his Grandparents and was crying when they left when the vehicle got out of sight.  Tonight we gathered around and watched Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving.  He really enjoyed it.  We happened to rent the Charlie Brown Christmas last night, so he had a double feature.  I really like Charlie Brown Christmas…after all these years I still get the goosebumps when Linus stands in the middle of the stage telling the Christmas Story.  We were thinking about putting up the Christmas tree tonight, but decided to leave that for another day.  This day was happy and full already.  We will save that memory for another day.