Yesterday (Sunday) was our Thanksgiving. We weren't able to have our feast on the official day since I was working Thursday (and Friday and Saturday).
Our preps began last week, when we began the lengthy process of defrosting the bird that's been living in the freezer for the last two years.
The key to a stress-free Thanksgiving, of course, is to do as much in advance as possible. Having surveyed the family about their meal preferences, on Friday night I made some blueberry pies.
Once cooled, I covered the pies and put them in our "outdoor refrigerator" (the top of the chest freezer).
On Saturday, I made two types of stuffing. My personal indulgence is wild rice stuffing, and since no one else likes it, I can add all the onions I want and no one can complain.
Don and Older Daughter prefer bread stuffing, so I made some bread ahead, then sliced it.
Since it was just the three of us for dinner, I only made one pan of bread stuffing, but was a bit flummoxed on how to divide it. That's because Don likes onions in his bread stuffing, and Older Daughter does not. What I finally did was use a bit of foil to divide the pan. I was insufferably proud of myself for this solution.
Oddly, it's times like this I desperately miss Younger Daughter, who used to snitch the uncooked bread stuffing as I would make it, since she loves the flavor. (She's coming home to visit in January, by the way.)
Older Daughter made pan rolls. Ready to bake...
...and hot out of the oven and brushed with butter:
Here's our "outdoor refrigerator" put to use.
We skipped church on Sunday morning because we foolishly believed the apocalyptic weather report that promised dire amounts of snow and wind and hazardous road conditions. Pffft, we could have gone.
The turkey was enormous, 20 lbs., so I got it in the oven early.
Ironically, as I was washing and drying the bird, I looked out the kitchen window and saw a flock of wild turkeys strolling by, in blissful ignorance to what was going on to one of their own behind these walls.
While the bird cooked, I whipped some cream for the pies...
...and Older Daughter made her fabulous green beans in oyster sauce.
The turkey came out golden and beautiful. We put it on the wood cookstove to "rest" while we got everything else ready.
Mr. Darcy, needless to say, was conspicuously underfoot all afternoon. Guess who got the (cooked) giblets for his treat?
Meanwhile the weather finally rolled in. We had sideways-blowing snow for a while, but nothing like the dire predictions the forecast promised. (We're actually getting far more snow today.)
Older Daughter set the table, folding the napkins in a fancy way.
At last the feast was ready: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, wild rice stuffing, green beans, and rolls.
We're grateful beyond belief for all the blessings God has given us.
Growing up on cornbread with our garden veggies, I never acquired the taste for stuffing. However, I do love wild rice so would probably like that.
ReplyDeleteWe are all so very blessed to live in this country.
Seems to me your freezer lives on the porch. That's not just a space saver. It's a utility saver as well. Come summertime I'd love to kick the fridge and the chest freezer Out of the house. They throw off a lot of heat and ac would be a lot less necessary in my small house with them out of it.
In winter they probably wouldn't be on as much.
Have missed hearing about YD and look forward to updates after her visit.
I thought of you & your knife sharpening story this Thanksgiving. Years ago I bought an electric knife at a yars sale (for next to nothing). It comes out twice a year - when I'm cutting corn off the cob to can and again on Thanksgiving. Works great for both!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious. I love that your “serving bowls” are no-non-sense storage bowls. Saves on time, and energy (human and grid). Nothing puts a damper on a nice holiday meal faster than seeing the mountains of dishes and cookware that need cleaning. I never bothered getting much in the way of fancy serving pieces, and ended up giving away any that we did accumulate. Too much “fluff” (junk to me). I do indeed admire a beautiful table (and nice home decorating) in someone else’s home, and the effort it took them. Like you said, Patrice, about your clothing blindness, I’m blind to home decor. Continued blessings to you.
ReplyDeleteROFL. We just had the kids and their kids over for Thanksgiving this year, and it wasn't on Thanksgiving because of everybody's work schedules. Only nine here this year. We're redoing the inside of the house but it is going s-l-o-w-l-y because due to lack of workmen we are doing everything ourselves, and the prices of materials are daunting to say the least. The kids didn't mind the bare concrete floors or the ceilings that I've been removing texture prior to painting. My decorations were limited to an orange bath towel thrown over the top of the buffet to put casserole dishes on, and a Thanksgiving tablecloth.
DeleteHusband and I have gotten so used to the concrete floors that we're thinking that we may just stain them, seal them, and maybe clean out my closets of the clothing sizes that I will *never* wear again (grin, but I remain hopeful!) and make some rag rugs.
Lol. The outdoor freezer wouldn't work very well here in Texas. Too many raccoons. Everything looks good.
ReplyDeleteWhat a feast. I enjoyed this post but my favourite line was your last... how good it is for us to count our many blessings and give thanks. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia like you do but I'm very mindful of the day. I like to find the blessings daily and thank Him - good for the soul. Jenny
ReplyDeletePyrex actually makes a divided baking pan. I saw it for the first time over the weekend browsing their black friday sales. I thought to myself...what on earth would you do with a divided baking pan. Now I know :)
ReplyDeleteYour bread always looks like it slices well. I recently bought a bread machine and have used the recipe that came with it to make white bread. However, mine always comes out very crumbly when I slice it and it is almost impossible to use for sandwiches. Is there a trick to keeping it from crumbling?
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've had an issue slicing the bread cleanly is when it's fresh out of the breadmaker and still warm. Sometimes letting the bread cool completely helps. Just a thought
Delete- Patrice
I would love to know how OD folded the napkins. They look great.
ReplyDelete