Thanksgiving Travels

We're leaving in the morning (theoretically*) to go to Bend/Sun River for Thanksgiving, to celebrate with friends (theoretically**) and family and enjoy the snow (theoretically***) without me having to do the bulk of the cooking.

Unfortunately, the weather God are not shining down on us, unless "shining down" includes dumping snow, snow, snow and more snow, albeit not on us directly, but on the route that we need to travel to make it to our destination.

My husband, born and raised in Chicago, land of ice and snow, assures me he is fully capable of driving us over a mountain and through a blizzard. Myself, born and raised in New Orleans, land of sun and humidity and the occasional hurricane, is planning to drink to excess tonight so that I can sleep through the drive tomorrow.

And just to keep it exciting, Carlie drove out with her uncle today, so deciding to cancel our trip due to inclement weather is not a particularly good option, what, with her being the overly sensitive little flower that she is.

So when you're putting your turkey in the oven, think of me braving the elements on the road (i.e. sleeping in the passenger seat). And when you're mashing your potatoes, send good vibes as I (Tim) am chaining up on the side of the road on a treacherous mountain pass.

Happy Holidays. Are we having fun yet?

*if the world has not ended in snowpocalypse 2010

**the friends have already bailed on the trip, but the family? diehards

***I hate snow

Busy Busy Busy

I've finally got some pictures off of the camera and ready to post of all of our crazy Thanksgiving fun.

This is the first year that I haven't hosted dinner in quite a while. As a result, I found myself oddly relaxed on Thanksgiving Eve, as opposed to my usual maniacal prep frenzy. So Carlie and I hosted a little Craftapalooza gathering. The goal was to make gifts for friends, and our three crafts were to be polymer clay charms, Scrabble tile necklaces and glass magnets.

The polymer clay charms were a HUGE success, and no one was interested a bit in my Scrabble tiles or glass magnets. Here's a small sampling of the charms that Carlie made. And sadly, I don't think I got any pictures of the charms made by the other kiddoes.

We've got a peeled banana, lollipop, two slices of watermelon and a cupcake on a zipper pull.

Slices of pumpkin pie, a couple of cupcakes and a few of Carlie's "freestyle" creations that I could not possibly name if I tried. I think I see a couple of bananas in there, too.
When Erinna came home and saw how cute the charms were, she wanted to make some too. But she put hers on key chains. Here we've got an ice cream cone, cupcake and cinnamon roll.
We made a fall necklace for our Thanksgiving hostess with a slice of pumpkin pie and a fall leaves Scrabble tile on a rust-colored silk cord.
A cupcake necklace made by friend Katie.

On Thanksgiving Day, I made a butternut squash chipotle bisque and cupcakes. Easy peasy! I also brought to the dinner rosemary potato rolls from a new bakery that opened up two days before Thanksgiving three blocks from my house. So delicious.

We made 48 mini cupcakes and the girls decorated them with various fallish stuff. Some of these are supposed to be turkeys. Good luck figuring out which ones they are.
In the girls' defense, they didn't have much to work with, because when they asked Tim to pick up Candy Corn at the store (for tail feathers), he brought home Mike & Ike candies instead. ???

The bisque was delicious and is a pretty easy recipe. I highly recommend it. I'm pasting it in at the bottom of the post. Unfortunately, because I don't really *think* things through, I didn't realize that I needed a stick blender. And I don't have one. So after making this giant vat of soup, I then had to dirty up every bowl in my house moving the bisque out of the stock pot, and blending it in the pitcher blender, pitcher, by pitcher. I wouldn't recommend that.

With so few Thanksgiving dinner duties, and with a late supper planned, I had time to put together a little brunch for me, Tim and the girls. It was tasty. Deviled eggs are kind of a Thanksgiving tradition around here. I make them as an appetizer for the big dinner, but my kids eat them before people arrive. I freak out and eventually someone cries. Fun! I am a barrel of laughs during the holidays. Seriously.

We all shared what we were thankful for this year:

Me: Being Healthy.

Erinna: Technology.

Carlie: Salami.

Tim: Lady GaGa.

As you can see, I am surrounded by weirdos.

A few days after Thanksgiving, we had Tim's birthday to celebrate. I ordered a cake with frosting on the side from the bakery, and the girls decorated it. Semi-homemade. Yay!

I can promise you, the bakery did not give us this Tiffany blue icing. That is a Carlie creation. And do you like the tealight in the cake? Ghetto who?


It was a busy week. And I haven't even gotten to the photos or videos of Carlie at her dance graduation ball, which was tonight. She came home from school Friday not feeling well. She's been lethargic all weekend and I am pretty sure she has a sinus infection. But we paid $150 for three tickets to the ball and she had a new dress, so off to the ball we went. She dozed in the car and whined the entire way there (30 minute drive), then danced her two dances flawlessly, then sat in my lap, crying, begging to go home. Stage mother who? Details to come.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHIPOTLE BISQUE

Recipe from Marcela Valladolid, "Fresh Mexico"

Prep time: 50 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Serves 6 to 8

Notes: The prep time does not include the cool time for the squash after it's roasted. The cook time for the onion and carrot overlaps the cook time for the squash. The cook time for the bisque overlaps the cook time for the seeds.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium butternut squash

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

4-6 cups chicken broth

3 teaspoons minced, canned chipotle in adobo, divided use

1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream

Salt, fresh ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds, discarding the stringy pulp. Put the seeds in a sieve and rinse. Set aside.

Grease a glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil, then place the squash in the dish, cut side down. Pierce all over with a fork and roast 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool.

Heat remaining oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onion, celery and carrot for 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes more.

Scoop the flesh of the squash into the pot and stir. Add 4 cups broth and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender.

Meanwhile, toast the reserved squash seeds in a small pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until crunchy, about 30 minutes. Season heavily with salt and set aside.

Purée the soup in batches in a blender, adding more broth to get the desired consistency.

In a separate bowl, stir 1 teaspoon of the minced chipotle into the crema. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the remaining 2 teaspoons chipotle into bisque and ladle into soup bowls. Top each with a dollop of cream and a sprinkling of seeds.

Per serving using 5 cups of low-sodium chicken broth: 177 cal.; 4 g pro.; 23 g carb.; 9 g fat (3 sat., 5 monounsat., 1 polyunsat.); 9 mg chol.; 633 mg sod.; 5 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 44 percent calories from fat.

Let us give thanks...

There is so much to be thankful for....

I am thankful to be in a happy marriage.

I am thankful that my children are healthy and sane, and that I only have four of them.

I am thankful to live in the country with the hawtest world leader evah.

I am thankful for the delicious feast I will be attending today, and all I have to make are cupcakes (which won't be this fancy, fyi).

I am thankful for my mental health... and another shout out to only having four children.

I am thankful that this is not my son, nor my daughter's baby daddy.

I am thankful that I have avoided this headline... so far.

Happy Thanksgiving, Cyberworld! What are you thankful for today?

Thanksgiving Photos

After I took the crappy cell phone pics, I remembered, oh, yeah, I have a real camera. I always forget about that thing.

I forgot to buy fresh flowers, so the girls had to improvise on the table setting. They did a good job, though!

And here's the table with the food on it. Turkey, Ham, Dressing, Tofurkey, Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Brusselsprouts and Cranberry Relish. Is your mouth watering?

And this is why I love my circa 1950's maple table, even though it is sorely in need of refinishing. It is huge! Over 60 inches wide, it can easily accommodate having all of the food right in the middle of the table with plenty of room to eat. And since we only ended up having 10 adults at the table, we didn't put all of the leaves in. With all of the leaves, I've fed 16 adults comfortably at this bad boy.
Three little monkeys, munch on turkey.
Bono was our bartender. He did an excellent job.
Bar overflow was on the front porch.
A divine day, one of those days that gives you even more to  be Thankful for.

Crappy Cell Phone Photos

I took these while I was still chained to the stove. Oyster artichoke soup (which was heavenly) and red currant glazed turkey. It looks burnt, but that is because of the glaze. It was divine. Best. Turkey. Ever.

Why would anyone shoot a chicken?

That's what my four-year-old niece asked me last night. She is obsessed with where meat comes from, and frankly, not too thrilled about what she is learning.

She asked me: "How did this turkey get dead?"

And I said: "I think this turkey had a long happy life on the farm, and then when it was time for him to die a natural death, he came here to be our Thanksgiving dinner. It is what the turkey wanted." (Note: I am not this child's mother, so I can say anything I want to say, right?)

She said, completely ignoring me: "Why would anyone shoot a chicken or a turkey?"

I said: "I don't think anyone shot it."

She said, again ignoring me: "I think there was a bad guy on the farm, and the farmer tried to shoot at the bad guy, and he accidentally shot the turkey instead."

And I said: "I think that is exactly what happened."

Happy Thanksgiving

I am hiding out in my room for a few minutes of downtime in the midst of holiday gaeity in my home. We've had a great meal with a great dessert still to come. Nice roaring fire and a dozen bottles of wine down. But I ready for my jammies now, thank you.

I took some photos of the world's most wonderful turkey. Will post later.

Hope everyone is full and happy tonight : )

Time to make the donuts

Ha, I wish. 

Actually, it's 7:15 a.m. and it's time to go clean the burnt gunk out of the bottom of the oven so I can cook the turkey.

Last year, I did not clean the burnt gunk out of the bottom of the oven before I cooked the turkey. And I put the turkey in one of those disposable aluminum pans. At some point, the pan was punctured and "turkey juice" started dripping to the bottom of the oven. Long story short, a fire extinguisher was pulled but not used, and the party moved outside to the deck in the freezing rain while the house de-smoked.

My goal for this Thanksgiving feast: no fire extinguishers. Wish me luck!

Happy Thanksgiving, and may you have a smoke-free day.

Get ready, here comes Thanksgiving

I spent the day getting ready for Thanksgiving. On top of hosting dinner for ten adults, four teens and five little people, three of the adults are from out of town. So I'm not just gearing up for Thanksgiving festivities, but I am also prepping two guest rooms and cleaning the nooks and crannies. And my nooks and crannies? They are so full of shit you wouldn't believe it.

The good news is the grocery shopping is all done, the turkey will be delivered tomorrow and the main floor of the house - living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom - are all clean as a whistle. And I did laundry. Did laundry as in washed everything we own. Everything.

The bad news? Everything is now in my bedroom. Like EVERYTHING. All of the junk and crap that needs to get sorted out is now in my bedroom/office. And it is scary. It is, like, PBS documentary special scary. Here's a little peek. This is the office half of my bedroom. Doesn't it just give off a great vibe of productivity?

And doesn't this look cozy and inviting for a good night's sleep? Aren't you jealous of the restful atmosphere of my sanctuary?Thank God my job for tomorrow is cancelled, so I have one more day to tackle this disaster zone before the out of towners arrive Tuesday night.

HB requested my oyster artichoke soup recipe, but I think she's now out of town with no Internet access. Sorry, HB! But here's the recipe for anyone that might be looking for a yummy soup to serve with your Thanksgiving feast!

2 stick butter

4 bunches green onions

4 garlic cloves

6 cans of artichoke hearts

6 tablespoons flour

8 cans chicken stock

2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoon anise seed

2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 quart oysters

In a large heavy pot, melt butter and saute chopped green onions and garlic until soft. Wash and drain artichokes; cut into quarters and add to onions. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat well. DO NOT BROWN. Add stock, red pepper, anise, salt and Worcestershire. Simmer for 15 minutes. Drain oysters, reserve the liquor. Add oysters and liquor to pot and simmer for about 10 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. Make at least eight hours before serving, it gets better with age.

Crisis averted, at least this one

Turns out 90% of what I enjoy watching on TV, which is about four, five, maybe six shows per week, is available online and for free. Some of it, I don't think is so legal. Are you REALLY allowed to record a show, chop it into 10 minute segments and post it on You Tube? I would think there would be rules against that. 

So, the great TV crisis of '08 is officially at an end. I have other things to be fixated on and lamenting the loss of satellite TV is no longer on the list.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment or sent an email or a text message or called me about anxiety and SAD. I am leaning towards the suggestion of taking Tim to Louisiana for an exorcism, that way I can visit my family and that's frugal, the whole two birds/one stone aspect of it. 

My friend ordered my 24 lb turkey for me last night, so it's officially time to begin fixating on the next stressor, which is Thanksgiving prep. My house is a sty. I will have guests occupying not only the guest room, but the futon in my office as well. I love hosting Thanksgiving but I hate the prep and build up. Not the food prep, I like that part, but the whole clean the house to a higher standard than how we normally live part, that part sucks. But it is a necessity, because I have to tell you, our bar around here is set pretty freaking low.

What is everyone else planning for Thanksgiving? My head count as of today is 10 adults, 3 teens and 5 children. We usually end up with a few more than that by the time the day rolls around. Everyone will bring food, but I always make my oyster/artichoke soup, the turkey, a ham, a tofurkey, plus Tim grills a salmon. We leave the sides to the guests.

I am trying to think of something clever or fun to do to mix things up this year. We always go around the table and everyone tells what they are thankful far. Very Hallmark movie-ish. I am thinking, have everyone write down one thing they are thankful for and we'll mix them up, everyone read one and have to guess who wrote it.

One year, the last year, actually, that I didn't host, dinner was really, really late and I drank way too much and was hungry and cranky, so when we finally sat down at the table and we're going to say what we're thankful for, I proposed that we go around the table and tell something we really dislike about someone else at the table instead. My game was not well received, but I thought I'd get things started and went on to say some less than flattering things about my now ex-sister in law. 

Ah, good times, good times.