Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving (+ days 25 & 26)

Well I did it.....I made my first Thanksgiving dinner all by myself!!  And it was easy too.  Nothing burned or undercooked.  Nothing ruined.  I was freaking out for nothing.  It was a lot of work, but really fun.  The day was so relaxing too....it was perfect.  We didn't have the girls, so KC and I stayed home and did our own thing.  Here's what I made........
My First Thanksgiving Dinner
  • Turkey.  We went for an organic twelve pound turkey (leftovers!). I made KC pull out the gross stuff inside.  We made a lot of inappropriate jokes about the turkey neck because we didn't know what it was!   The turkey turned out a little dry....I'm not gonna lie.  It still tasted really good though.  After I made the gravy, I poured the rest of the juices back onto it and added a little salt.  Turkey saved.
  • Stuffing.  Stovetop.  It was actually the only thing I messed up on!  (Because I wasn't paying attention to the directions).....instead of boiling the water first I added the breadcrumb mix.  Oh well.  It still turned out good.
  • Roasted vegetables.  We had organic sweet potatoes and yukon gold potatoes, carrots, green beans,  and I sliced up half an onion for flavor because I decided to listen to my mom and grandma after all.  I also threw in some bay leaves, sea salt, and olive oil.
  • Brussels sprouts.  I've been wanting to try them ever since I saw a recipe for them in GQ this summer.  I roasted them in butter, with lime, sea salt, and hot sauce.  They turned out to be KCs favorite out of the whole meal.
  • Fresh sugared cranberries.  I didn't cook them.  But added tons of sugar for a great sweet tart flavor.  Aren't they pretty?
  • Homemade rolls.  Made from scratch.  These tasted really good, but were a little dense because of the odd recipe.  It had you mixing all your dry ingredients, including yeast, first, then mixing in the rest.  So they didn't rise very much.  KC said they would make a great biscuit.
  • Pumpkin pie.  I used a frozen pie crust (homemade would have been better).  I made the Libbys pie...but my grandma said to use half or less of the condensed milk.  I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices, but added more cinnamon.  I kept poking the pie in the center trying to decide if it was done.  It turned out well.  I actually didn't eat a piece until this morning for breakfast because I was so full the night before.  The girls said it was the best pumpkin pie they had ever tasted (they had to have some when they came home!)
  • Gravy.  Made from turkey drippings.  It tasted great, but didn't get as thick as I had hoped for.
  • White wine.  We drink Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling.
It was a really filling meal.  I was proud.  KC said, "babe I think we did pretty good for our first time", and I said, "WE?! did pretty good?"......excuse me?  :)  Afterwords we settled in for Netflix.  We found this movie, and had to watch it!

It was hilarious at first, but after a while it got really stupid (and not stupid funny like it was for the first 15 minutes).  KC turned it off as I fell asleep (turkey coma).

Today I had my favorite day after thanksgiving sandwich meal........
-turkey sandwich made with white wonder bread & miracle whip
-lays classic potato chips with chip n dip
-sweet gherkins
-chips a hoy cookies
-santa coke
.....I actually cried when KC suggested healthier alternatives to my sandwich meal.  Maybe because it's so sentimental.  Maybe because I'm on my period.  But he was right.  I consumed the meal I had been craving for months (more than Thanksgiving dinner), and was disappointed.  I'm not that big on all the processed foods that I once loved so much.  This is good.
Today, Yesterday, and Always I am Thankful for......
  • Lilly
  • Daisy
  • KC
  • Scarlet
  • Pumpkin
  • Tripper
 I love my little family so much!  I also love my extended family and my friends!!  You guys are the best!

Prompt........
....reflect on what you are most thankful for this Thanksgiving.  Make seperate pages for each if you like.  I am a big fan of writing a personal letter to each person who has influenced your life in a positive way.  The people who are closest to you deserve to know you love them.  You can say so much in a letter that you might not say in person.  You don't actually have to send it, but getting it out is good.  Oh, and I know some of the things we are most thankful for aren't family.  Health, safety, creativity, whatever......everything you are thankful for deserves it's own recognition this time of year!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2 comments:

ckscribbles said...

everything looks so delicious! you should have invited me over, haha. Just kidding! looks like you will be having the yummiest of lesft overs!

Elis said...

It looks like you had a lovely meal! It's fun making everything yourself, and I think it makes it all taste better, too. :)