Nantucket Cranberry Relish

As promised, here's my favorite recipe for Thanksgiving cranberry-ness .

• there's no cooking involved
• you can make it several days (even weeks) ahead of time--the longer it sits the better
• since there's no cooking, all the natural enzymes of the fruit are intact and help you digest all that turkey
• it's way tasty

HP 1, 2, 3.

In case you were wondering what we did today, there was a lot of sleeping in. a lot of sitting. a fair amount of eating leftovers. much movie watching--the first three Harry Potter movies, actually. popcorn eating. and chatting and laughing.

All in all, the perfect follow-up to an intense food-fest that went off successfully.

In fact, we pretty much looked like this all day:

I even mended a couple sweaters that had been sitting in my "need time to sit down to hand-sew to mend" pile for over a month.  So not a bad day, if you ask me :)

Thanksgiving Dinner for Fifteen

success.

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving was always Momma's favorite holiday.  She told me it was her favorite because all she had to worry about was food. And--let's be honest here (in case you haven't figured this out yet)--my family was really into food.

Especially Momma.  

And boy did she "worry" about the food.  Not that she stressed out about it, but she planned and planned for it. I think she really looked forward to the holidays all year long, planning for months ahead of time: stocking up recipes and thinking about what she'd make and how she'd serve it. She loved parties.

She had stacks of magazines with recipes she wanted to try.  Countless cookbooks were piled on her bookshelves. Her recipe box was stuffed with 3 x 5 cards.  Every year she'd try at least one new dish.  Usually, there would be several--sweet, savory, and cookie-y.

Pause that Refreshes

A couple weeks back, pausing during Mass and looking ahead to a particularly busy week, I found myself distracted from the liturgy, thinking instead about the many and varied little things I had to accomplish before I would sit in that pew again.  It was going to be a very full week.

I thought, "If I can just make it through this week, next week will be easier. I'll just muddle through and then I can relax a bit."

I did muddle through the week, and I got (nearly) everything done I was supposed to finish.  But y'know what? The next week was almost as busy as the last one and I didn't get a chance to relax "unhindered" like I thought I would.  I felt a bit cheated. And quite exhausted. I had been so looking forward to a  rest later on that I missed opportunities to rest when I had them.  Does this happen to other people?  I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who (unrealistically optimistically) thinks busy-ness will subside occasionally and give me a break.  Perhaps I am.

Torn

Ok, fellow eaters of the world. Here it is, less than two weeks from Thanksgiving, and I have yet to nail down which recipes I definitely want to do.  I have quite an arsenal at the ready, but I don't know what to do.

The turkey, for a brief moment, was hovering between a maple-butter turkey which Momma made for Viv's birthday dinner one year (which was. delicious.) and a boned turkey a la Julia Child.  I still really want to try a boned turkey, but with 10 people coming to dinner chez Black, I think I'll stick with something I know this time 'round.  I was settled on the maple turkey, herbs and all (and more patience and planning this time).  And then... (oh, that infamous little word), I found this turkey from Joanne Chang.

Now, it may not look like much to the un-initiated eye, but really, this woman is the ultimate in amazingly tasty foods.  You've heard me talk about Myers + Chang before, and you've heard me rave about Flour Bakery + Cafe.  And I'm only now discovering she does Thanksgiving?!  I think I would eat anything this woman cooks.

But then I love this stuffing and these sweet potatoes and I'd love to do a soup like this (especially for Vivers), and there will be mashed potatoes and gravy and the Nantucket cranberry relish I made last year (though this one from Joanne looks amazing, too).  I'm even thinking of adding other-than-starch vegetables this year :-o  Like this salad, and then I saw her carrots and her pickles.  I don't know what to do!

Thoughts? Suggestions?  Do you think a soy-sauce turkey will conflict too much with other, more traditional flavors on the table?  If I did Joanne's turkey, what other of her recipes do you think I should definitely make? What ones of my more traditional ones?  Dare I ask what your favorite recipes for Thanksgiving are?

I realize I'm only be acerbating the problem with more recipes, but I'm a recipe junkie. What can I say? :)

A Waif-Away-From-Home Thanksgiving

Because T and I were in town for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to invite to dinner any of our friends who were unable to go home for the holidays.  A collection of waifs (first definition).

Now, that's not to say that we (or our guest) don't have any friends in Boston. Obviously not since we had 11 people for dinner last night.  But it's hard not to feel like a waif when you can't go home for Thanksgiving.  It was good to be surrounded by friends :)

We woke up early to get a good start on our day.  The best start, actually--we went to Mass.  What better place to begin the a eucharistic feast (as in: eucharistein--to give thanks) than by celebrating the Eucharist?  What a blessing it is to have our Lord in our midst, so clearly and so readily.

Refreshed from the Feast, we headed home and I started prepping the turkey.  We got a 21 pound turkey from the same farm where we get the rest of our (naturally raised, grass-fed, wholly organic and sustainable) meat.  It was a beautifully huge bird. And it was running around, happy as a... turkey.. just one week ago!  I used the maple-butter recipe that Momma used for Viv's Golden Birthday dinner last year.  Truth be told, I think I overcooked the turkey.  But the gravy was pretty tasty, and even overcooked turkey makes great leftovers.  Better overcooked than underdone, right? Finally, this is only the second turkey I've made. I'm not ashamed to admit I can keep improving :)

We also had apple sausage stuffing. I made a double recipe (well, we need leftover stuffing for our leftover turkey, right?).  I used a sour dough bread and did half ground beef/half sausage for the meat.  This was the highlight of my Thanksgiving.  I've never had better stuffing (sorry, Momma).  It was delicious!  We finished one (13x9") pan last night and T and I finished half of the second (13x9") pan for lunch today... so try it :) It's pretty tasty.

I also made (coconut milk) scalloped sweet potatoes, which were also very scrumptious.

Next on the menu: cheese (mmmm)

(no further description necessary, right?)

So are you wondering how we fit 11 people at our table?  We got two additional folding tables (raised with corks stuck in their legs (and still a little too short)) and put them next to our bitty table.  It was a squeeze, but we managed (and hey, we're all friends, right?).   The magic of squeezing is Friendship!

Again, a big thank you to our parents who have so graciously completed our china service for 14. The crystal was a wedding present, too.  We are indeed very blessed :)  Someday, probably when we have our farm, I'll have a big dining room with one table that can seat all our guests and you can all come over for a meal.  We will use the china and the crystal and have a good ol' traditional sit-down dinner and stay up chatting late into the night.

Which is what we did last night.  Our last guest didn't leave until after 1, and I (for some silly reason?!) decided I needed to start the turkey stock.  I picked all the meat off while our guests were still chatting and got the bones in the pot soon after they left.  What took so long was bringing the pot to a boil before reducing it to a simmer.  At 2 o'clock in the morning (this morning!) I turned off the lights and headed to bed.

All in all, I'd say it was a tremendous success.  For dessert we had a chocolate pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, a blueberry tart, a traditional pecan pie, a chocolate pecan pie, an ice cream cake, and ice cream.  Frankly, with a spread like that, who cares if dinner was a success? :)

If we are in town next year for Thanksgiving, I hope we can host another gathering.

And next year, I'll make a better turkey.

Happy Feast, everyone!  (and to all a good night)

Happy Thanksgiving

It's two o'clock in the morning.

Dinner was a success.

We served 11 people a sit-down dinner.

Dessert was a success.

We went through 20 bottles of drinks.

I've even picked off all the meat from the turkey and put it in the fridge.

The bones are in a stockpot, merrily simmering away.

All the dishes are done except for the handwash (which is soaking).

I'm going to bed.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

The Quiet

...before the storm that is Thanksgiving.

We have invited ten people to dine with us.  I know, those of you who have seen our house and our table are thinking: "How can she possibly feed 12 people a sit-down dinner?!"  Magic (and a few card tables). That's how ;)  After all, we do have a 21 pound bird. That should be enough for a dozen hungry students, right?  And a BIG thank you to our parents, who have so lovingly gifted us china (and serving pieces!) for 14... so we have room for two more, if you're in town :)

I have made the cranberry relish, and it's happily "mellowing" in our (new, roomier, and quite luxurious) fridge.

I have done the apple cider/maple butter for the turkey. It's heavenly :)

I frosted the sugar cookies.  They turned out rather psychedelic, and not terribly autumnal, but they are also tasty, which means they'll pass.

I made the filling for a chocolate pumpkin pie last night, but the crust was a flop. Tonight I tried a buckwheat crust, which didn't make it as a roll-out crust, but it seemed to manage well enough as a press-in crust. It's pretty enough, anyway :)

I made a blueberry tart, too, at Taylor's request.

Tomorrow:

TURKEY! :D
stuffing
sweet potatoes
and, of course, all those pesky little things like cleaning the house and setting the table.

I'm excited :) It should be lots of fun!

Pilgrim's Feast (hehe)

Christmas.

I know it's "too early" to be talking about Christmas (ha! not for Byzantines!), but I was very strongly reminded of it today.  We're having some friends over for Thanksgiving this year and I decided it would be fun to make sugar cookies to have for dessert.

I made the dough yesterday (being careful not to sample any--darn food allergies!) and stuck it in the fridge until this afternoon.  I wasn't expecting to be brought back to my childhood holidays. But there I was, remembering all the many times we'd made sugar cookies at Momma's house.

We'd make dozens and dozens of cookies, all shapes, all sizes, and for all the holidays. We'd have turkeys and pilgrims and leaves and pumpkins. There would be stockings and santas and Nativity figures and Christmas trees and presents and reindeer and sleighs.  There would be snowflakes and snowmen and bells and stars and gingerbread men (and women).  Then we would spend countless hours decorating them (with all different colors using only spoons and toothpicks!) for all the different holidays.  There were always sugar cookies around from November through January in our house. It was beautiful :)

So go ahead, siblings, try it. Make some sugar cookie dough, close your eyes, and smell it.  Then take a small taste, and you're in Momma's kitchen, elbows propped up on her butcher block table, kneeling on the bench, waiting to pick away (and devour) more scraps of sugar'd cookie dough.  Next thing you know, you'll be wondering where the sprinkles are so you can shake the sparkle-colored sugar over the lovely cookies before Momma puts them in the oven.  I can already taste the powdered sugar frosting she used to decorate them.

Momma's sugar cookie recipe
Cream in mixer:
--3/4 c crisco (or other solid shortening; using butter makes the cookies come out pretty soft, and more prone to breaking when you decorate them)
--1 c sugar

Add:
--2 eggs
--1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together and add to liquid ingredients:
--2 1/2 c flour
--1 tsp baking powder
--1 tsp salt

Refrigerate dough for at least 4 hours (I did it overnight--it keeps a few days).  Roll out on to floured surface and cut cookies out.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 6-8 minutes at 400 degrees.

Bodies Are Funny Things

I slept in this morning (ooh, so nice!) and had breakfast with Taylor (also very nice).  We had some delicious coffee together and said our morning prayers.  Then he headed off to a tutoring session and I started my day...

I put the breakfast dishes in the sink and cleared off the table.  Then I cued up my exercise video (which, cheesy as it sometimes is, seems to be working well for me--highly recommended, as long as your TV has a mute feature (once you learn the exercises)) :) and did my exercises.

Feeling pretty accomplished, I decided today would be a good day to clean up the house. The whole house.  I cleared the floor in our bedroom and closet and swept thoroughly; made the bed; tidied my sewing area; re-organized our closet so we have more room in the entry closet for Viv when she comes [ = super exciting!]; dusted; and put all our clean clothes away.

I put new sticky-pads on the legs of our kitchen chairs; I vacuumed all our rugs and put some rug-stabilizers under them; I dusted the living room; swept everywhere (including T's study nook (under his bookshelf) and under the TV bookshelf); I organized my knitting and the magazines; and put away all our coats and scarves.

I even did my hair.

I dusted in the bathroom; cleaned the mirror; scrubbed the tub; swept the floor; and wiped down the toilet.

I moved to the kitchen and washed all the dirty dishes, dried them, and put them all away.  I wiped all the counters and the table and swept and mopped the floor.

Then I made dinner (broccoli soup and rye bread), just in time for T to get home from studying and a hair cut, and we sat down to eat in peace and cleanliness.  Didn't last long, though--I started sneezing and my nose was running and my head got really congested.  All in the space of 20 minutes. What gives?

It's strange to me that I felt so well all day and then, all of a sudden, descended to icky-ness. I guess my body figured: "Whew, T's home to take care of me now. I can relax--especially since the house is all clean, too."

And he is taking care of me :)  He's cleaning up the dinner dishes and getting our vitamins. He's so good to me, all the ways he loves me!

The soup was very good, though--with just enough cayenne pepper for a kick to my poor sinuses.  I've taken some medicine and am heading to bed, after I do the "cold, wet sock treatment" (curious? I'll explain tomorrow if people are interested) since I don't have a fever right now.  Hopefully I can nip this thing in the bud.  Who wants to be sick for Thanksgiving?!

Here's hoping!

Turkey-Lurkey

Dad and Taylor dressed the turkeys (which means they pulled the gizzards out and plopped the turkey into a bag in the roaster). They did a good job! But they didn't make it dance this year :)

When all the food was ready, it was laid out in a FANTASTIC display (from right to left): cream cheese corn, stuffing, gravy,  (wine and martinelli's), green beans, turkey, mashed potatoes, more turkey, baked spinach puff, scalloped sweet potatoes, and two kinds of salads. Mmm!A proper Hobbit feast, if I do say so myself!  Recipes coming soon. 

All in all, we had 23 people for dinner--the Black family, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Mark (and family and mother-in-law), Mum's parents, and Mr & Mrs Corrigan.  

Pie for dessert, of course :) (6 pumpkin, 2 apple (well, we are in WA!), 2 pecan tarts ("just the top part" of a pecan pie) :D and 2 key lime pies) along with Mum's hot wassail--apple cider, orange juice, lemon or lime aid, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves. Simmer until tasty :)

Also, Mike and Kayleen came over after dinner to spend some time with us. They are expecting a little girl (Louisa) in a few months. It was good to catch up with them--and rub the belly, naturally! 

------

As a treat for everyone, we played paper charades (a game the Black's got from one of Dad's cousins) after dessert. It was lots of fun! 

What you need:

I'd say at least 6 people (at least two teams)

2-4 strips of paper per player (the more strips, the longer the rounds)

2 bowls/containers to hold the papers

Here are the rules:

1) Every player write a person, place, or thing on their strips of paper (adjectives and adverbs ought, generally, to be avoided (aHEM, Garrett and Taylor)). 

2) Fold the strips of paper and place them all in one bowl.

3) Timing is variable--you can do 30 second turns or 1-minute turns where the actor can do as many slips of paper as he can.

---

First round:

1) A player from one team selects a piece of paper from the bowl and tries to get his team to guess what's on the paper without saying ANY of the words on the paper. Once the team guesses the answer, the actor places the paper in the second bowl (each guessed word counts as one point).

2) Alternating teams, continue with the above procedure until all the slips of paper in the first bowl are gone.

Second round:

1) Using the SAME strips of paper, for this round the actor can only use ONE WORD to get his team to guess the answer (Just so you know, "blue" for "whale" is probably not a good choice). By this round, everyone (if they have been LISTENING) should be familiar with all the words on the strips of paper. Dad says, "Spend the time in your turn thinking of the word, because you can't take it back or change it!"

When the team guesses the word, place the strip of paper in the now-empty first bowl.

2) Repeat until all the strips of paper in the second bowl are back in the first bowl.

Third round:

1) Traditional Charades--actions only; no words or sound effects (or lip-reading, T!)--using the SAME strips of paper. This is a particularly funny round because the words are familiar, but the actions vary quite a bit depending on the actor's interpretation :) Like the first round, when the team guesses the word, place the strip of paper in the second bowl.

2) Repeat until all the strips of paper are gone.

Total the points for the rounds to see who's won :) This is also a great game for moments of insight--T should write a paper on this game and how the actor must lead the guessers to the further pertinent questions ;)

Here's a link to my other pictures of Turkey Day: 

Thanksgiving Day 08

If You Decide To Have Thanksgiving At Your House

...you have to have pumpkin pie. 

To make pumpkin pie, you have to go to the store. 

If you go to the store, the kids will want to come with you. 

(What would big families do without Costco?)

When you get home, they'll want to help you make the pies. They will want you to make lots of them because they love pumpkin pie. In fact, they would probably be happy to have pumpkin pie all-day-everyday the whole week of Thanksgiving. 

(6 Pumpkin pies and my Little Helper :) I didn't get a picture of my other little helper because she wouldn't stay still long enough when I had the camera!)

When you're done making pies, they'll want you to make cookies. If you make cookies you need cookie cutters, which probably means you have to go to the store again :) 

And, if you make one batch, you might as well make four (yeah, four!).  

They will want to help you decorate them, so you have to have an easy method. 

(I call it: "dip and drip." Thanks for the idea, Heather!)

Once you're done with the cookies, you'll have to hide them if you want to have ANY left for Thanksgiving. The same with the pies (which can be tricky when the pies don't stack!). 

In order to hide them, you have to distract the helpers, so you put on a CD they can dance to. 

While dancing, they'll probably want you to take pictures. 

When you take the pictures, they'll want to see them right away (hooray for digital cameras). Seeing the pictures will remind one of them she wants a digital camera. 

To get a digital camera, you have to go to the store :) So she can take pictures of the Thanksgiving you decided to have at your house.

And chances are, if you have Thanksgiving at your house, you're going to have a lot of fun with all those little kids! 

Here is a link to my Picasa album of the baking fun!

Bake Time