Busy Thanksgiving….

This year I tried to sleep late Wednesday morning, but that didn’t work. I got up and started cooking. I started with my cornbread for the dressing, rice for Molly’s Broccoli Rice Casserole. I chopped 2 yellow onions, 1 red onion, celery and green onions for use in the dressing and other dishes, then I made chocolate cupcakes. If I am using a mix for something I like to spice it up a little, so added mini-chocolate chips and topped with Chocolate Almond icing. My only dessert weakness is ice cream and box cake mix!!! I always use stick butter instead of oil, and beat the batter with my Kitchen Aide mixer to get it extra fluffy. Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix is the best!! So, at this point I had to sit and watch TV for a few minutes because my stomach was cramping from all the batter I ate. YUMMY!

My Dad kept asking to help, so I finally set him up to peel all the potatoes and sweet potatoes. It was still about 85 outside, but rumor had it that there was a cold front coming in. I went to my shed and loaded my kitchen table, 4 chairs and the huge box of dishes that I wanted to use. For anyone who doesn’t know, I have a huge fetish for dishes and this set was extra special. During my mom’s move to Fredericksburg I obtained the set that her and my father registered for before their wedding. These were also the dished I remembered using with my mom when I was small. They are off-white with the raised fruit and vegetable around the edges. Perfect for Thanksgiving. It is a full set of 8, so for the second table (to also be set up in the dining room) we would use clear dishes.

I am trying to unload all this stuff from the Ranger, put the table together, rearrange the kitchen, and keep dad occupied with the potatoes when Grandma and Ken arrive. Oh Geez. Its only 2:00 and I am sweating like crazy!

The rolls have started to rise and everything is sautéing up nicely for the dressing when my mom stops by to drop off the pumpkin pie she made. The ham ended up being too tall to have 2 shelves in the oven, so I actually stacked several dishes on top of each other for the final heating!

At precisely 5:00 there were 12 people here to eat (by then the temperature had dropped into the 40s) and a beautifully set table with...
Spiral Sliced Mesquite Smoked Ham
Cornbread Dressing with Pork Sausage and Venison
Cranberry and Walnut Spinach Salad
Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Crumble topping
Fresh Green Beans
Wild Rice and Fresh Broccoli Casserole
Rolls

Everything went beautifully until dad was ready for dessert. At that same point, I was only about half way finished with my meal. I told him that we were going to wait a few minutes (to let me finish eating) before we had dessert. He was pissed, so after we cleaned off the table and loaded the dishwasher I started dishing out chocolate cakes and pumpkin pie. Dad refused to eat any dessert! Oh well, I try.

Thanksgiving morning Jared went hunting and when he returned (thank goodness empty handed) we headed to Mom’s. It was just us 4 and perfect. Another ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans with Almonds, sautéed shallots and YUMMY rolls. After dinner we watched football until we were ready to tackle her homemade pies! Don’t get me wrong, I like pumpkin pie ok, but I am just there for the fresh whipped cream!!

Ok-two meals in two days isn’t too much to handle, but here is the kicker. I am now headed to Blanco to cook another Thanksgiving. I end up taking most of the Wednesday leftovers to Blanco where Jared fried a turkey that I had injected with marinade. I reheated the dressing, broccoli rice, and rolls, then made potatoes au gratin, Brussel sprouts and green bean casserole. Turns out Jared, me and Opa were the only ones eating, so we had PLENTY of food.