Thanks Given

I'm a little bit slow with my Thanksgiving recap here. I blame the fact that Aunt Grace is visiting more than an overdose of tryptophan. Though I have eaten a considerable amount of THE BEST TURKEY EVER. And because, well frankly, it wasn't particularly eventful. All went well. Food was good. Company was good. A fine time was had by all. Yawn. Nothing interesting like an oven fire, or a snow storm, or a trip to the emergency room. Just a nice day. I'm bound to have something to say though...hmmm, let me see...

In looking back over the last several years of Thanksgiving recaps here on Second Blooming, I have realized that every year I say that it is THE BEST TURKEY EVER. Clearly, I love me some turkey. And either I'm getting better and better every year at turkey roasting, or I have short-term memory loss and don't accurately remember the year before. But seriously, this was a particularly damned good one if I do say so myself. I am now a dry brine convert. SO easy, and flavorful. And...I have to give a shout out to Darren, who did a particularly damn fine job of carving again this year. He studied a few YouTube videos on the subject, and went with Alton Brown's thick sliced method, which was an excellent choice. Mucho moist.

The weather has been super duper good. Yes, I am writing about the weather. That's how unremarkable Thanksgiving was. But really, it's been delightful. Cool and crisp and autumnal. I love that word, autumnal. Usually, we get a week of nasty Santa Ana winds around Thanksgiving, that drive the temperature up to the 90s right when you have to keep the oven on all day. But this year was a lovely high in the 60s and a low in the 40s. Autumnal. Yeah, I know, nobody cares.

Hey, I have a question for y'all. Do you put eggs in your stuffing? I always make Mama's cornbread stuffing, and there's no actual recipe, I just dump stuff in until it looks right. But the other day I decided to actually look up a recipe for the hell of it, and about half of the cornbread stuffing recipes on the internet say to mix in a couple of eggs. I feel sure that Mama never did that. Doesn't it make it kind of gummy? Is this one of those things that every family does differently? Hmmm. Fascinating.

Have I ever shown you my cornucopia? Well, it was Mama's cornucopia first, and I kind of love it. Not many people have a cornucopia nowadays. Here is the ubiquitous holiday table shot...

Didn't your family always used to take a "table shot" every holiday meal?

 You can't really see the cornucopia there can you? Here's a close up taken today...

The plenty in the Horn of Plenty is a little worse the wear by now, but you get the idea. It's pretty, right? I think Mama would be happy that I still put one out every year. So that was interesting.

Decided to serve from a buffet this year instead of having to pass everything at the table. Everyone was pleased. So that went well. 

Okay, this is just pathetic. 

Oh yes! I know you are all dying to know what I came up with for an appetizer! (Where's that sarcasm font when you need it?) I took everyone's advice, then kind of mixed it up and added in some shrimp for Jimmy. Many folks suggested some combo of cheese/crackers/bread/meat/olives/relish stuffs. There's this great store near us called Larchmont Wine and Cheese that makes amazing meat/cheese trays, so I decided to do my best to copy it and make one of my own. Cheeses, grapes, dried figs, good olives, ham rolled up like they do, sliced salami/sliced baguette, sprigs of rosemary for a garnish. Looked really good, I must say. Then I too Katherine M's advice and made Jimmy this Southern Living recipe for Marinated Shrimp. It was  super easy, do-ahead and delicious! Thanks everybody!

 Alright that's all I got. Y'all can go back to watching Adele videos.

 

 

Comments

[Becca]

I never have cornbread stuffing so I don't know anything about putting eggs in it, but I love eggs so it sounds like a good idea to me!

[Janice]

A yawn sort of Thanksgiving would be fine with my family. My mom went blind in one eye last year on Thanksgiving. She was visiting my older sister in Oklahoma. Mom had to be rushed back to Dallas on Saturday for emergency eye work. She never regained her sight before she died in January. This year, my oldest sister's son, 59 yrs. old, died the day before Thanksgiving. He had been in ICU for almost a month awaiting a transplant that did not happen. So we are ready for a yawn type of Thanksgiving.

Looking forward to the seven fishes meal, btw.

[Katherine M]

So glad the marinated shrimp was a hit. All went well and surprisingly smooth on Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful so we weren't all stuck inside. Glad everything was a success for you. Oh, and no eggs in our cornbread stuffing.

[Lynn]

Having been one of the lucky ones to attend this lovely meal, I would like to chime in and say this dinner was elegant, warm and wonderful. The food was yummy (and sophisticated) and the company was the best. The four "tweeny" children got along and didn't require much of their adults (always a blessing). There was no drama, no angst and I am grateful. What more could anyone want? Save the fireworks for the 4th of July! Thank you, thank you, Gretchen!

[Ginny Marie]

My mother-in-law's stuffing recipe includes an egg, but it's the regular bread stuffing, and it's delicious! I think the egg does make it a little more sticky. I have also made Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese recipe which includes an egg, and that's the first time I've even seen an egg in a mac and cheese recipe!

I was going to comment earlier in the week, but I got caught up in a family drama while reading. :( Uneventful is good, and I'm so glad you had a visit from Aunt Grace!