springdellgirl

Thanksgiving 2010

This Thanksgiving is not our typical Thanksgiving because it is Friday...the day after Thanksgiving...and we haven't celebrated it yet. My brother, Kirk, and his son Kaiden are coming to town on Saturday so we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Sunday. But yesterday we did travel:

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go...

And...traveled on the worst roads ever. Pure ice. Cars and SUV's were off the road all over the place. We were so happy when we pulled into my mom's drive way. We are here until Monday night.

So while all of you are still stuffed from your Thanksgiving Feast and up to your eyeballs in leftovers I am starving and craving mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie...and still have DAYS to go.

So to tide me over until the feast I thought I would post a little Thanksgiving Meme:

1. Which do you like better: hosting Thanksgiving at your home, or going elsewhere?

I like going elsewhere. Preferably to my mom's house. She does Thanksgiving just how I like it. Elegant, delicious, fun and festive. Also-- this vegetarian/flexitarian family would be up a creek because I have no idea how to cook a turkey. I'm sure I could figure it out but I don't really want to...so it would just be a Thanksgiving of sides. Come to think of it...the last turkey I ate was last Thanksgiving...and I have to be honest...the best part it the skin which I love. The rest not so much. ( Mmmm...my mom basts it in white wine and butter.)

2.) Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free-range?

It depends...sometimes it is fresh; sometimes frozen; and sometimes organic. I think it is frozen this year. Not many of us are dark meat eaters so my mom usually roasts a large turkey and then an extra breast.

3. Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind?

We make dressing even though we still call it stuffing...but it isn't stuffed. My mom is well-known for making a delicious sour dough sage stuffing. Over the past several years though she has upped her game and improved on an already fantastic stuffing. A few years ago she added sausage...yum...and last year she added roasted chestnuts and completely out did herself. This is the new must-have stuffing. She still makes her original/vegetarian version too.
4. Sweet Potato Pie or Pumpkin Pie?

I love both. While living in Texas I came to LOVE Sweet Potato Pie but I never make it. I need too. We always make pumpkin pie. That was my favorite pie as a child. My Grandma Ellersick makes the best...my mom is a close second...but I miss my Grandma's pumpkin pie. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie but I especially like it for breakfast the day AFTER Thanksgiving.

5. Are leftovers a blessing or a curse?

A Blessing!! Since we spend Thanksgiving elsewhere we have to divide up all the leftovers among my sisters and their families. They are a hot commodity!!

6. What side dishes are a must-have in your family?

Besides the usual...the one side dish we HAVE to have are homemade noodles eaten on top of our mashed potatoes with gravy. This tradition came from our West Virginian Great-Grandma and our Nana. I love this Southern twist. It is definitely a MUST-HAVE.

7. What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier?

A bigger kitchen and maid service. My mom, sisters, daughter, brother, husband and brother-in-law are all fantastic cooks and gourmet foodies. Everybody wants to whip something up and the kitchen is chaos. Also-- I hate cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes afterward.

8. If/when you go to someone else’s house for the holiday, do you usually bring a dish? If so, what is it?

I always bring homemade pies. I usually bring two pecan pies and two cherry pies. We also usually bring Tyler's Grandma Kofford's Parker House Rolls...made by Tyler. He'll have to make a batch when we get home to eat with our leftovers.

9.) What new recipes will you try this year?

Let's see... Reilly is making individual mini-cheese balls for an appetizer and Stacey is making some new kind of punch for the kids...and Mormons. :)

10.) Who gets to carve the turkey?

No clue. This isn't a really big deal for us. The bird is usually scalped of all it's delicious skin so once that is gone I don't really pay any attention. Maybe Ken will carve the bird?

11.) How many will be at your table this year?

My Mom, Ken, my Grandma, Me and Tyler and our crew, Stacey and her two kids (John won't be there), Kelley and Elle, and Kirk and Kaiden.

12.) Three best pies for Thanksgiving dessert?

That would clearly be my pecan, my cherry and my mom's pumpkin pie. :)

13.) What time do you eat Thanksgiving dinner?

We usually eat our Thanksgiving dinner in the evening by candlelight which is how I prefer it. This year we will be eating dinner around noon because most people will be making the drive home Sunday night and don't want to be on icy roads late at night so it will be a little weird.

14.) Favorite leftover?

Killer mashed potatoes and my mom's liquid gold gravy!!

15.) Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home?

Thanksgiving is a religious holiday to my family. We usually try to celebrate that aspect at our own house the Sunday before Thanksgiving. My extended family aren't religious so it is more of a secular holiday although all are thankful and grateful for all of our blessings.

16.) Share one Thanksgiving tradition.

The usual, going around the table and saying what we are thankful for and expressing our love and gratitude for one another.

17.) Share one Thanksgiving memory.

Most of my favorite Thanksgiving memories take place at the lake. One in particular was the year that Tyler and I first started dating and he came up to the lake for Thanksgiving to meet the whole huge extended family and I was checking him out to see if he passed "The Lake Test." I am the oldest cousin and believe me Tyler was under huge scrutiny as the first boyfriend to ever come to the lake...everyone wanted to make sure he "fit in". If he didn't LOVE LOVE LOVE the lake and love my family...he wasn't the man for me. Since my father was not in the scene my uncles were probably worse than a father would be. They were scrutinizing him and interrogating him. I loved it. The best was when my Uncle Steve demanded that Tyler wrestle him. I thought I was going to die laughing. Tyler at the time was shy and not used to a large rambunctious family. I remember him looking at me like "please say I don't have to do this" I just grinned and told him that "Yep! You have to wrestle my Uncle." I thought Tyler would die of mortification as furniture was cleared away in the living room and about 30 family members looked on and Steve said "Let's go!!" I am happy to say that Tyler, of course, kicked Steve's butt...Steve a notorious cheater...was hooking his legs around furniture and trying with all his might to win. I do believe that was the first and last time Steve made any "future" family members wrestle him. After that Steve tried to beat the crap out of Tyler while playing ice hockey. It was a memorable holiday!! Tyler passed the lake test with flying colors.

So while we wait for our own Thanksgiving Day to arrive we have been doing a lot of this: