Thanksgiving

This year was not fraught with emotional chaos….for once. We agreed that we would not travel, and we shared the meal with friends and family. Truly family of choice.

Food was basic, nothing fancy, nothing gourmet, just good.

The turkey was stuffed with onion and garlic, celery and carrots, and a bit of salt and pepper, slow roasted

The potatoes were russets, mashed with butter and milk, salt and pepper and just a touch of garlic and onion powder, whipped, but lumpy.

The dressing, Brownberry Ovens sage and onion cubes, with butter, broth, onion and celery, baked.

Gravy made from scratch, stock with the giblets and veggies, and pan drippings.

Corn casserole with corn, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and garlic pepper, baked.

Yeast rolls, frozen, in a bag. Risen in the warm kitchen, and baked just before dinner.

Sweet Potato Gratin (the only new recipe) with parmesan cheese, cream and a few chopped pecans, baked.

Friends brought: 

Brussels Sprouts, blanched and waiting to be heated through.

Apple Pie, deep dish.

Berry Pie, with raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Pumpkin Pie.

Appetizers:

Cheese Empanadas, some with sauteed mushrooms and others with caramelized onions.

Spinach Dip with crostini and tortilla chips

Not an extravagant spread, but it was cooked to perfection, enjoyed with friends, children and grandbabies.

Friday was all about recouping. NONE of us do Freaky Friday (altho dear daughter-in-law would love to go).

Yesterday the other crowd showed up for the traditional leftover casserole….Thanksgiving Shepherds Pie.

The casserole dish is lined with stuffing to make the crust, then filled with chopped turkey, shredded cheddar and gravy, covered with a little more stuffing and topped with mashed potatoes. Bake until hot and eat any left over veggies on the side.  We also celebrated the “little copper dog’s” birthday. I can’t believe we have had him for a year.

Today has been a lazy day, doing the last of clean-up, and preparing for the week to come.

Over the river and through the woods……

Over the river and through the woods,To Grandmother’s house we go,The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods, Oh how the wind does blow, It stings the toes and bites the nose, As over the ground we go,

Over the river and through the woods To have a full day of play, Oh, hear the bells ringing “ting-a-ling ling,” For it’s Thanksgiving Day,

Over the river and through the woods, Trot fast, my dapple gray, Spring o’er the ground just like a hound, Hooray for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the woods, And straight through the barnyard gate, It seems that we go so dreadfully slow, It is so hard to wait,

Over the river and through the woods, Now Grandma’s smile I spy, Hooray for the fun, the pudding’s done, Hooray for the pumpkin pie.
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The Thanksgiving Meal is in process

The dressing is made, the sweet potatoes are blanched and layered in the pan, the pumpkin bread is made, the stock is simmering. I think we have this holiday on target. Tonight the appetizers will be made and the potatoes peeled and chopped. There is a snow advisory for this afternoon and this evening, but I doubt it will still be on the ground tomorrow. Still and all, it makes for a nice mental picture.

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Grown-up Christmas List – 2006

Mostly because the answers are still the same, and I really liked them.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Golden Gurnsey Eggnog is first, Hot Chocolate has a bit too much sugar, Peppermint Coffee is third.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? wraps them of course.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Every so often we go duo tone, but an old-fashioned  mulit-color is my choice.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?  nope

5. When do you put your decorations up? Sometime after Thanksgiving, and before Christmas Eve.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? TURKEY DINNER!  after that it would be appetizers

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:  My Christmas rainbow. Little strips of light, all different colors, some blinking, some not, shining up between my curtain and the window onto the ceiling. Watching that to fall asleep could let me get past all of the stress of the holidays.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Who knows.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? nope

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Multi colored lights, and a conglomeration of favorite ornaments, made for or by the kids, handed down, gifted and purchased over the years. Strands of tinsel and an angel on top.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!  Walking in the softly falling stuff, making soup as it blizzards, waking up to the sight of the blanket of snow that covers all the imperfections.

12. Can you ice skate? Used to, but I haven’t been on skates in lifetimes.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? The cassette recorder I got at 12. It gave me music on my terms.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Giving, music, entertainiment.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Cookies…I have so many favorites we have to pick the top ones each year. If I made them all, we would have waaaaaaay too many cookies

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Bundling into the car to look at lights.  Christmas music, mandatory.  Sitting back on Christmas day evening after everything is cleaned up and looking at the house lights in the quiet.

Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving was one of those holidays that my parents were allowed to have at home. Every other holiday we traveled to the grandparents or the great aunt & uncles. I have faint memories of a few of them, but nothing extraordinary. My mother liked to entertain, but was not thrilled with cooking. I remember the first turkey I cooked for Thanksgiving. I made a 20 lb bird in an apartment sized oven. I roasted the hair off of my arms and face trying to light the ancient gas oven while I was pregnant. 7.5 months pregnant. I was serving 8 of us, in a tiny upper flat, with seating going out into the back stair landing. The best part…I put the bird in upside down. It was not the prettiest, but it was the most moist turkey breast I have ever had. Then came the years after divorce. I was so broke, I let the kids go to their dad’s for the holiday (to save up for Christmas). It was my “day off”, and most of the time, I spent it alone, in the tub, in tears. One year, a friend and I made turkey tv dinners and roasted acorn squash. Then there was the year I came out. Kids were still with dad, and new girlfriend and I made our own Thanksgiving. Made a small bird, and mushroom pate (that is all I really remember other than the removal of a sprout on the garlic clove that must have looked particularly phallic. We took great pleasure in whacking it off with the chef’s knife). Since those days, I have taken back Thanksgiving occasionally, as the kids got older and wanted to stay home. And then gave it up again as my in-laws have that as their “big family holiday”. I have taken it back now because my M-I-L is no longer capable of preparing the meal (we have made it here, packed it up and served it there for a couple of years). This year was supposed to be mine to do here for the family, but plans change. So. I will make the meal here anyway. We will have a couple of friends and the eldest child and his family. The basic turkey dinner is my favorite. The turkey is already in the fridge thawing. There will be mashed potatoes and gravy, there will be dressing (basic sage and onion with celery). I will make a corn casserole, scalloped sweet potatoes, rolls, and pumpkin bread maybe cranberry bread. One friend is bringing the brussles sprouts, an apple pie, and a berry pie, the other friend is bringing a pumpkin pie. Those who wish it can watch football, football and more football. The rest of us can just relax.

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Thanksgiving Memories

I haven’t decided whether I want to include this topic in this blog. Thanksgiving is much the precurser to Christmas, so I think it might be appropriate. Must do a bit more thinking on the subject.

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Christmas Music

I love Christmas music. I love the choral versions, the new age versions, the pop versions, the classical versions, the diva versions (male and female)…..I LOVE Christmas music. I usually give myself a little taste of it sometime near the end of October, just as a pick-me-up.

The weather has been weird enough that the October pick-me-up never happened. BUT….my favorite radio station has come to the rescue and has begun playing all Christmas music, all day, every day, until Christmas. I should love this, but I DON’T!

Until this latest attempt to shove the commercial christmas down our throats, there was a pattern to the Holiday music that was played on the radio. The day after Thanksgiving and through the first week of December, one Christmas song was played per hour, the second week it was one Christmas song per half hour, the third week we got one Christmas song every 15 minutes, and between then and Christmas Eve it was a free for all with the promise of non-stop Christmas music beginning at noon on Christmas Eve and ending at 6 on Christmas Day. It worked for me…..gave me a gentle lead up to the holidays, a blow out on the days themselves, and an end, clear and simple.

This 24×7 thing before Thanksgiving is just too much. It’s pressure. It says that the holidays are here…and I know I am no where near ready. It also takes away some of the specialness of the music (for me anyway), part of that comes from the fact that you only listen to it for a short time each year. I do not like the fact that commerce is dictating (again…I HATE that money determines everything) the only holiday I really enjoy, and trying to push it on me sooner than it should be.

My solution: I wrote the radio station, and voiced my opinion. Their excuse was that everyone else is doing it. The stores have had christmas up since October 31, and had the christmas tunes piped in beginning then. ARGH! They don’t get it.

So I will not be listening to them. I have an iPod, and all the music I love on it. When I am ready to listen to Christmas music, I have that on my iPod too.

Felt good to take that back!

On holiday spirit

I am a bit short on holiday spirit these days. Too long unemployed has left me feeling unable to participate.Too many family health issues have left me with little emotional energy.This is my challenge to myself:  find a way to pump up the spirit and enjoy the holidays.  First step…I am very visual, and I love this template. It makes me smile. Maybe I should start blogging here for a bit? 

This is gorgeous

On the eve of the solstice, they have come out with a most beautiful theme for the holidays.

Thanks WordPress!