Friday, November 27, 2009

Preparing a Thanksgiving Feast

Like millions of other mothers across the country, I spent Wednesday and Thursday cooking up a storm. My big reward is to go on a cooking strike for the next few days on the excuse that there are hordes of leftovers in the fridge, so help yourself.

Here's what we had for our meal.

To the left is my bread machine (that faithful machine is 12 yrs old and still going strong), making bread for the bread stuffing. On the stove is a pot of wild rice stuffing, and two pans of baked graham cracker crust for the peanut butter pies (dessert, obviously).


Making cheesecake. The peanut butter pies are done (left), and I've whipped the eggs whites and cream for the cheesecake, and now I'm mixing the rest of the ingredients.


Desserts. I haven't yet baked the cheesecake (on the left). None of us like pumpkin pie, so when I surveyed the family's wishes for desserts, this is what they wanted.


Cheesecake, baked.


Baked bread, ready to make into bread stuffing.


Just had to throw in this photo. Several years ago while preparing Thanksgiving dinner, I lamented that I didn't have a wooden turkey platter like my mother's. Don inquired as to what the turkey platter was like. I sketched out an idea, he disappeared into the shop and emerged two hours later with a solid maple platter. What a blessing it is to have a woodworking husband!


Making Parker House style dinner rolls.




Letting the rolls rise. Just as an (ahem) amusing sidenote, I ruined the first batch of roll dough by forgetting to put in the eggs, so I had to re-do the entire batch. Oops.


Making bread stuffing.



Sharpened knives (for the turkey - which, by the way, is baking in the oven) and a pot of potatoes ready to boil for mashed potatoes.


Setting the table. We don't have anything particularly festive in terms of china or crystal glasses or whatever, so we put on the tablecloth to give the table a holiday air.



Simmering the giblets for gravy.


Making gravy. I'm lousy at gravy so this task fell onto my husband, who makes superb gravy.


The turkey, out of the oven.


One of our dinner guests, caught in the photo.


Tired kids and happy Lydia.


Oh...and the danger over, guess who showed up in our driveway this morning?

8 comments:

  1. I'm thinking your roasted bird is much more tasty than those wild ones!

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  2. what a grand feast, love the wood tray too, I wish my husband would take up woodworking!

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  3. Reminds me of an earlier time, long gone, my wife doesn't cook anymore and I don't love her any less for it. Still, the pictures take me back, but you know what they say...you can never go home again.

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  4. Great looking feast-sorry I was not there to enjoy it with you. Oh that's right I was not invited.Perhaps next year?

    I was going to shoot my turkey this year, but the guy in the meat department of Publics said no.

    See Ya

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  5. Hahaha...! Loved that last photo, Patrice!
    I'm glad your Thanksgiving was filled with loved ones and a feast made from love. It looked wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
    Blessings,
    Julia

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  6. Looks like what we did here!! I love how you show photos of your home. Nothing fancy, but whatever works. It is very encouraging to me as we are living in a small home with 4 children at home plus me and hubby.

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  7. Wow, I'm impressed. By the food, of course, but mostly at how clean your kitchen is. I usually make pumpking dessert since we don't like pumpkin pie either, and sure like the idea you have of cheesecake and peanut butter pie ... yummy!

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  8. Don't think I didn't notice the gun on the wall in the picture announcing the table cloth. How dare you leave a gun within the reach of children! The humanity!! *wink wink*

    Dinner at your house reminds reminds me of so many of my own in the Ohio countryside. Happy Thanksgiving!

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