Thanksgiving Continued 2009

I just finished watching the Thanksgiving episode from the first season of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond.’ Debra cooks her first Thanksgiving for both her parents and Ray’s parents (including Robert, of course), and a few other relatives. At the end of the episode Ray tells her that if she needs any more proof that her Thanksgiving was perfect, she need only look to the living room. The shot spans every seat in the room – each seat has a male guest asleep in it, most with their pants open. The only one missing is Ray, who is instead helping and comforting Debra. I think therein lies the joy of making your own Thanksgiving feast – or, really, probably any feast where you gather people you love and/or people you have a dysfunctional relationship with ;) – bringing loved ones together and making people happy through your cooking and effort, which often translates into love for those you’re cooking for.

When I called everyone into the kitchen last night to make their way through the spread buffet-style I stood behind them all and a smile spread across my face. It made me happy to see everyone gathered excitedly around the food filling their plates, chatting amongst themselves – and, thankfully, they all kept their pants on – as beautiful as they all may be. ;) Looking at the scene I thought to myself that this was the whole point of having people over, cooking copious amounts of food, dirtying an unimaginable amount of dishes, stressing out for days beforehand, and working on your feet for what seems like never-ending hours. It’s what makes Thanksgiving worth it – having everyone crowded in the kitchen; happy and excited.

On that note – another favorite moment was when it came time to carve the turkey. I’m not a master carver, so I’m not going to lie – I did kind of want some help. One of my friends turned out to be quite the master carver herself. I commented while her and I were whacking away at the bird, at different times of course, that how funny is it that when it’s turkey carving time everyone found their way into the kitchen. It was like so primal, we had community, a connection. It brought us all together. To be fair, throughout much of the cooking process the kitchen was full with everyone circling the food. Many a hand had to be shooed away – including mine.

Cooking your first Thanksgiving is a very special thing. I was very excited to be a main player for the first time two years ago, and the first time I hosted Thanksgiving Continued for friends, which was last year, was also very special.

All buttered up.

Gettin' all tanned up.

Caramelized onion and sage cornbread dressing; scrumptious. Cranberry sauce cooking.

Birds!

Gorgeous. Or at least so I thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All carved up.

Think it's the whole spread. Cranberry sauce, my grandma's stuffing, sweet potatoes, gravy, cornbread dressing, "the" green beans, and the roasted potatoes.

Full plate.

Pecan pie. Although the recipe was also Emeril's, my dad's was better. :)

This is what the morning after Thanksgiving should look like…

The morning after Thanksgiving 2008 definitely delivered. However, this is what the morning after Thanksgiving 2009 looked like…

I guess I can’t go too wrong with Dad’s pecan pie or apple pie. :) And I guess I should also probably be happy that there was none to be had the next morning, as that only means it was all eaten on Thanksgiving. Ah, how I love Thanksgiving traditions. :)

Thanksgiving 2009

Well, this year I don’t have too many exciting Thanksgiving prep stories – at least not yet. Maybe come Sunday I will. So, for now, I will give a pseudo-play-by-play of the big day. Because I know you all are just dying to know. So, without further adieu…Thanksgiving 2009.

We came home from Thanksgiving festivities, I gave my dad his birthday present, and then called my aunt in Arkansas. I got my phone, walked over to my bed, adjusted pillows and the like, and curled up on my right side waiting for her to pick up. “Happy Thanksgiving!!” came her voice. I smiled and replied, “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!!!!!” “Get enough to eat?” she asked. On the car ride home I was seriously worried that I might ralph if I moved too much. I also had a rather unsavory headache, which persisted.

Three hours post-last bite and three ibuprofen and a few sips of water later my eyes felt less strained (they’re completely better now, thanks for asking), my head wasn’t pounding, and any kind of movement didn’t make me feel like ralphing any longer. To be fair, I think my exclusive beverage list of coffee and wine today were the main culprits for the head ailments. The waddling and feeling like I wanted to explode contributed to the fear of ralphing, I’m sure.

The story of Thanksgiving 2009 started yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, at my grandma’s house. For the third year in a row I helped my grandma make the stuffing. For the second year in a row my cousin/s and I helped my grandma make the stuffing. It’s always more fun when they’re there. :)

The stuffing started out with about ¾ of a stick of butter. For storytelling’s sake, let’s say it was a whole stick. So, like I was saying, the stuffing started out with a whole, huge stick of butter. Then all the ingredients were in the pan and mixed together, so, clearly, it was time to taste. And, y’know, to make sure you get a really good, true sense of the stuffing, you must taste more than once, obviously. So more than one tastes multiplied by three before and after making adjustments = …well, good thing her recipe makes an overabundance of stuffing. :)

Rather late last night, say around 10:30ish, I began making “the” green beans. It went pretty much like it always does, looked pretty much like it always does, and tasted like it always does. I’ll say this – you know you’ve had a good day when your hands still smell like garlic at the end of it. I had a good day. :)

This morning my body just woke itself up early. Too early I thought for Thanksgiving. Although I guess it knew what it was doing because I was then able to help my dad make apple pie and witness the making of the glory that is pecan pie. My dad baking pecan and apple pies; Thanksgiving had officially begun.

This morning also marks the first time I’ve ever made apple pie. Well, kind of. The peeling wasn’t too bad, but I’m not going to lie – that apple corer/slicer required all of my upper body strength. Using it on a high counter probably didn’t help, but it had me getting up on my tip-toes and pushing the corer down through the apples as hard as I could. I don’t know if that means I’m just totally pathetic or the corer is ineffective. I’m kind of partial to the second explanation myself… (Day After Thanksgiving update – my upper arms are slightly sore… :\)

Soon enough the house was filled with the creamy scent of pecan pie, the warmth of apple pie, and the smoky, bacony deliciousness that are “the” green beans. Then off to Grandma’s house Dad and I went. I felt like I was doing exactly what I should have been doing at that time as I walked briskly out of her house to my dad’s open trunk (pies and green beans already occupied the free seat inside the car) in a plaid flannel shirt, oven mitts on, balancing the hot-out-of-the-oven stuffing in a somewhat flimsy foil container on my left hand, my right hand cradling the side of the stuffing. I spent the majority of the car ride exchanging the requisite well-wishing texts with friends and family (it really wouldn’t be a holiday without them – the texts or the people) and tuned into the conversation in the front seat when it turned to food – specifically, the fact that my grandma and I could smell the stuffing inside the car. Happiness.

The three of us pulled up to my aunt’s and uncle’s house at 2 o’clock on the dot. Upon reaching the kitchen we were greeted with exclamations that I, yes, me, was on time. It was wondered out loud many times and with great enthusiasm how in the world they had managed to get me there on time. I offered that 20+ years of nagging probably helped. ;)

The traditional cheese molds and crackers and shrimp cocktail preceded the big feast. The kids, or should I say “kids,” as most of us were over 18, still got to go first. This warmed my heart, but I also found it ironic – we’re not the ones who worked the hardest to put the spread out, but we still get to reap the benefits first. And, sometimes, with Thanksgiving first = best.

Now, the spread. Ah, my old friends. The turkey, of course (not always my favorite item, but shh! don’t tell!), roast potatoes (oooh!), stuffing – which was just fantastic if I do say so myself ;), candied yams with nuts and brown sugar (it’s really not Thanksgiving without them), “the” green beans, mostaccioli – a staple at just about any family event of ours : ), asparagus, salad, butter gravy, cranberry sauce, sausage and peppers, and a totally new item this year – stuffed acorn squash. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, roast potatoes, mostaccioli, green beans, and yams are my favorites. I was very excited to try this acorn squash though. I just like the name. It’s just so “fall” – acorns, nuts, squash, stuffed. Very tasty. I liked just the squash itself – and the stuffing – wild rice, cranberries, and, I think, pecans. Yum. Now I will include some pictures of the spread and my plate – and my cousin’s plate – it had gravy on cranberry sauce – this was new to me.

My first plate.

My cousin's second plate - gravy on cranberry sauce.

Went back for seconds of stuffing, yams, green beans, and mostaccioli; sadly, there were no more potatoes. Very sad indeed.

Then it was dessert time. I was sooo not ready for dessert. My stomach was already extended to its limit. Or so I thought. And I still had wine. Coffee goes with dessert, not wine. Dessert spread: one large birthday cake for my cousin’s 21^st, one pumpkin pie, one pecan pie, pumpkin bread (another staple courtesy of my cousin), and five, yes, count ‘em, five apple pies. Two were from my aunt’s sister made with apples from her own backyard; awesome. Two more were from my aunt; sadly I wasn’t able to taste any. One was from my dad and me. Well, you can’t have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, although that’s never been my favorite. And we all already know how I feel about pecan and apple pies. And the pumpkin bread has been around so long – it’s turned into such a tradition that I’ve been making it myself for the past few years. So that settled it – three slices of pie and one small slice of pumpkin bread. And coffee. My stomach wasn’t as sure about all of this as my heart was. Well, probably not my physical heart; that was probably like, “Oyyyy, lady, really!?” I’ll say this – I finished at least half to three-quarters of my dessert plate and all of my coffee. I had to make room to try some zinfandel; another Thanksgiving staple for me for the past few years.

Being surrounded by familiar faces of people I love made me smile – and laugh – more than once. What? My family’s funny. And, again, looking down the long table that’s always brought out for holidays at my aunt’s and uncle’s, I was reminded how special and important family is. I mean, without them there would be much less teasing and criticizing and we just couldn’t have that now could we? ;)

So that’s the story of my nausea and headache (and heartwarming happiness) A.K.A. Thanksgiving 2009. It was awesome and totally worth it, not totally unexpected, and relatively normal, which is good – at least the heartwarming happiness part.

Around 10:30p.m. I put in a ‘Friends’ Thanksgiving episode and finally had something to eat for “dinner.” Then a ‘Roseanne’ Thanksgiving mini-marathon. Now probably ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ Thanksgiving episodes and bed. And probably chocolate milk.

Next – to start planning the next Thanksgiving celebration…which is probably going to be this weekend with friends. Looks like that is turning into a tradition as well :). I had a truly happy Thanksgiving, and for that I am thankful.

And one last thing –

Dear Universe,

It is now – and only now – appropriate to begin playing Christmas music, running Christmas commercials, and engaging in activities that concern Christmas and other December holidays generally. Thank you.

Love and kisses,

Me

Thanksgivings Past

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday I thought I would put up some old, related posts…to make one really long post haha. Thanksgiving 2007, the first year I ever cooked a Thanksgiving feast – not all by myself, mind you, although I might like to tell people that ;) – and Thanksgiving 2008.

Thanksgiving Prep 2007: Day 1 and Day 2 (The Day of the Liquid Disease)

Well, as I’m sure all you loyal readers – oh, wait… Okay, as I’m sure you, my dear lone reader, Internet, can see I have now updated the color palette of my blog. Fall colors and before you start kvetching, yes, I know I’m a bit late on the change. I’ve been busy, dear Internet.

I think I’m actually too tired and out of it to chronicle my Thanksgiving activities thus far. Yesterday I made the pasta sauce. Don’t look at me like that. It’s perfectly normal and traditional for us. Crazy Mediterraneans we are. I had wanted to make cranberry sauce today but that didn’t quite happen. I did buy cranberries though, I think that ought to count. There, it counts, I just deemed it such! Huzzah! My pasta sauce was so spot on though. Someone should pat me on the back.

Today I bought an organic turkey. It was so disgusting. Tons of fresh turkeys were in a seafood bin (no, there was no seafood in it; it was just being used since it was large and easy for people to access). Their blood and raw poultry drippings could be seen pooling at the bottom. Liquid pink. Liquid disease is what it was. Ugh. And the man that was being rather helpful just touched them all and would then put them in a plastic bag for you – without sanitizing his hands first. Ugh. I (think) managed to get the carcass safely into my fridge sans spreading of liquid disease. It’s sitting on foil in my fridge. Solid disease holding liquid disease. I should re-title this as “Liquid Disease.” What a fitting name.

Then I went to another store to obtain a particular wine. It better be good. It was rather pricey. I mean, sure, I forgot my wallet so the person I was with had to shuck out the cash, but, still, it was pricey. Mmmm, red wine.

I think I must head to sleep now. No, right, watch ‘The Office’ now. Yes, good plan. Quite.

I, now, bid a good night.

November 20, 2007

It’s officially Thanksgiving! Sort of…

It’s officially Thanksgiving 2007!!

I walked just a few steps into my house and was seduced by the sweet, creamy scent of my dad’s homemade pecan pie. The crust even looks more beautiful this year. My dad cooking almost always signals the beginning of a holiday – Thanksgiving, Christmas, the Super Bowl.

Not even two hours have passed but I have now completed peeling, chopping (with help), and boiling my “sweet potatoes” a.k.a. yams. I’ve made lists of everything else that needs to be done for tomorrow. My dad and I have discussed how best to cook our turkey. And now I’m preparing to add all the other ingredients to my yams. My sweet, sweet yams.

Oh, yeah, these are so fantastic! And, trust me, I’m not just saying that because I made them – I’m the first to admit when my creations are crap. Frankly, I rather hate my cranberry sauce – but I’m going to taste it after I let it set a bit. I know orange and cranberry are supposed to go well together but I think it might just not be for me. These are actually good. My only complaint is that they are a bit stringy but, as far as I know, that is because they are mashed yams. Not processed or milled or blended. Just mashed the old-fashioned way. Although, I’m sure there is something out there for me to learn that can help.

I just decided that you gotta have pumpkin at Thanksgiving so now I’m trying to decide between a pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. Both are staples at Thanksgiving for me. I don’t want to get too ambitious here, but… I do have a frozen pie crust that I could use for the pie… The bread isn’t too hard… If I do it, it needs to get done tonight so as not to interfere with the turkey.

Alright, it’s 7:33p.m. and I have had a pumpkin pie in the oven for 15 minutes. At most, it’s been 45 minutes since I last wrote. I’m like Rachel Ray on speed – oh, wait, how silly of me – that’s rather redundant (of course, I don’t believe she’s actually on speed).

Alright, 7:55p.m. and all the dishes are done. Okay, except for that one mug and that brush, but I might need melted butter later… I have no idea why I have so much energy right now but I do. I guess that’s good. However, I don’t think I’m going to be able to tackle pumpkin bread tonight. Maybe someone will want to help with that tomorrow.

My deepest apologies for this not being the most entertaining of blogs but you must understand how I’m ever so busy cooking and cleaning now. All alone, too. Oddly enough, I don’t even mind that much. I think tonight is the first time EVER that I keep forgetting to have dinner. I ought to order something. But with the yams, the pie, and all the tasting I’ll be full and orange soon enough.

8:18 p.m. as I opened the oven door I was flooded with sweet and comforting smells. I don’t know how good the pumpkin pie tastes but it sure smells fantastic. I’ve even got the majority of my aromatics prepped so I just have to stick them up the bird’s butt tomorrow. Stick it to him! Haha, okay bad joke… And it’s not really his butt. Or hers.

8:33 p.m. Alright, the pie looks pretty good. I wasn’t expecting it to puff up so much. Anyway, a knife inserted near the center comes out pseudo-clean. I just don’t want to overcook it so I’m letting it sit out, as directed, for two hours. However, I am tenting it in foil for at least awhile. Alright, I best be off now. We’ll see about pumpkin bread and green beans.

My Pumpkin Pie – For Lack of a Better Title – It’s Late, People…

Okay, so I can’t get that first piece out with any dignity whatsoever but – the flavor is good. And my pie crust even turned out better than anticipated. Actually much better than anticipated.

Cranberry sauce – still bleh, imho. Just the smell of it. People are saying they like it and voluntarily eating more than one bite. Okay, fine, I guess I did too, but that was more about research. I need to try it with more sugar and NO orange. Possibly just sugar and cinnamon.

The crust on my pie tastes a little off, but I think that might be due to all the butter and edges getting pretty crispy – but not burned, mind you!

I found sage. Okay, someone else found sage. But the sage has been found safe and in tact. Just gonna rinse it and add it to my aromatics baggy and then probably hit the bed – once I make it that is. Still pretty excited for tomorrow, yay! I think I’m just excited that I get to cook so much. This week has really made me realize how much I love cooking and how happily I look forward to it. I really have enjoyed having at least one cooking or cooking related project per day. And there’s no rush on it. We’re not eating it RIGHT NOW, so that’s nice.

I, now (hopefully), bid a good night.

Thanksgiving T – 7 minutes.

November 21, 2007

Turkey Day A.K.A. Clorox Day

Well, it’s Turkey Day. My bird’s in the oven and smelling fantastic. However, in related news, my bird is also making a lot of fun noises. Is this normal? It sounds like it’s crackling. It doesn’t smell burned…yet. It is at 500 to crisp and brown it up some… That’s what Alton did. He told me to do it! It’s him, not me!

Okay, okay, coming back down from my mini-crisis… I’m only keeping it that high for 15 minutes. It totally smells like comfort and the holidays (please, how full of cheese), but it really does… And this turkey is starting to smell better and better. Like turkey legs at Disneyland. Oh, do those know how to lure me in! 9:41 in the a.m. We had the turkey in and everything a few minutes before 9:30. Now it’s…. CLOROX TIME, YAY (and the crowds go wild!!)!!

(Insertion at 11:03 in the p.m. I’m such a germ-o-phobe. It was driving me nuts as my dad and I were preparing the turkey for tasty deliciousness. I wanted to just run around with Clorox wipes. Unfortunately I had to wait until we had put the bird in the oven. It was hard. Very hard. But I got it done to satisfy myself.)

10:46 p.m. Well, I would say Thanksgiving 2007 is over but, no, it’s really not. Thanksgiving isn’t over until, at least, Sunday evening, but actual Turkey Day festivities have now ceased.

I must say, I am now confident that I can put not only a decent, but a traditional, warm, moanfully delicious Thanksgiving spread on the table – or table and T.V. tray as it were at my grandparents’ house. Sure, I wasn’t completely satisfied with my turkey – well, the white meat anyway – the dark meat was rather tasty, but I haven’t found a turkey that was moist enough until this evening’s turkey at my second celebration and Thanksgiving meal. Some of the roasted potatoes were a little under-done and, as expected, I suspected the turkey to be under-done. I’ll let you know in a few days… It was also suspected that the second turkey may have been a little under-done too. But the flavor on the potatoes was perfectly classic and perfectly delicious. My grandma’s stuffing was susprisingly exceptional – as always. My yams were just ooooh so good and the green beans were some of the best I’ve had. I’ve decided pumpkin pie may not be my fave, but it was good. My dad’s pecan pie was great and my grandma’s apple pie was just perfect in every way.

My second Thanksgiving meal was good itself, but in different ways. In a way it almost felt more like Thanksgiving, which was very nice. It’s so amazing that many of the same base ingredients were used but the finished products differed in taste – in good and educational ways. (Yes, I can be nerdy).

(I should also add that at my second Thanksgiving we watched ‘The Office’ between dinner and dessert. Then we watched it after dessert. I must say – one of the best ways to celebrate. I now deem it as a new Thanksgiving tradition. Okay, my plan was to watch Thanksgiving episodes of ‘Friends.’ That would still be acceptable.)

During my first Thanksgiving my grandfather came home (something to be truly thankful for) and I spent quality time with my aunt doing dishes. And exchanged wisecracks with my uncles and aunt. Although without the wisecracks would it have really been a holiday?

I truly enjoyed making all that I did and would love to do it again. But maybe not for awhile… say a year?

November 22, 2007

Giving Thanks in 2008

Today was a great example of why I absolutely *love* my family, extended family included. Thanksgiving was at my aunt’s and uncle’s house again. Last year I really enjoyed the holiday and it was very special as my dad and I pretty much put out the whole spread, and my grandfather came home. This year the holiday was great because more of us were together and it was traditional – or at least what has been traditional for the past few years. Getting hassled by my family for not wearing overalls, only to have them harass me when I do wear them. Having our requisite roasted potatoes and my grandmother’s stuffing. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without those foods. All being together, laughing, talking, sharing stories in through the chaos and loud volume. It’s my family and it’s what I love. I get the same feeling when with friends, who, really, are just part of my extended family. Talking on the phone with people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to be in contact with; it’s a way to celebrate together. There is just something so special about family. It’s such a unique thing. A feeling of comfort that, in some cases, comes just from being surrounded by the same people for many years or from the fact that you share DNA. It seems like such an odd connection to have. Really, neither of those mean you’ll be friends or enjoy spending time with each other. But it’s supposed to mean that – and I’m lucky that in my family, more or less, it does. We all can just have a good time together. That’s what it comes down to.

Last night Thanksgiving was already in the air with the scents of freshly baked apple and peacan pies courtesy of my dad. That’s another tradition. I made green beans with bacon and garlic. Now that seems to another tradition.

I am sad that this year I didn’t get to do as much prep for the holiday, but I think for better reason I didn’t get to this year than I was able to last year. Now I have Thanksgiving Continued to look forward to on Sunday. I hope that becomes a tradition as well.

November 27, 2008