We celebrated at Derek's house, a few days late because he was flying home from Iraq and his flights were a little questionable.
Two years ago: Larry and I, Tommy, Aaron and his family gathered at our house to enjoy dinner in the log room.
Last year: about 24 people gathered around our table! It was a feast, the best Thanksgiving I can ever remember.
This year: It looks like a smaller crowd will gather in the log room, but the food will be plentiful I know good company and good conversation will flow with the cider (and maybe soemthing a little stronger).
I'm planning the menu now, thinking about what is in the cellar, what is in the freezer and what I might have forgotten. Here's the menu so far. For us, this is a celebration of our year of growing our gardens and turkeys, and storing the harvest:
Roast turkey (thawing as I write) and gravy
mashed potatoes (in the cellar)
green beans with mushrooms and rosemary (garden and cellar, mushrooms from the store)
cranberry and orange relish (both from the store--wish we could grow them!)
yams, cranberries and apple casserole (from the cellar except for the cranberries)
corn (from the freezer--how to fix? looking for something different)
pickled beets (from the cellar)
pear and raisin compote (pears from the cellar, raisins from the store)
salad? will we need it? or just do a veggie tray for snacking?
pumpkin pie (pumpkin from the cellar, I think, although might have to use store-bought since I'm not sure what I have)
green tomato mincemeat pie, or maybe the little tarts everyone likes best (from the cellar)
corn sticks and cornbread wedges (Jackson's Mill cornmeal--yum!)
apple cider (from the cellar)
wine (from the store)
So, what's on your menu?
That sounds so good I'm gonna go make a sandwich. We're at Michael and Courtney's this year. I'm not sure what the menu is but I do know Theresa Marie is doing the green bean casserole in the old casserole dish we used when we were little.I really like that. I'm doing up the potatoes, green tomato mincemeat (recipe from you and thank you sooo much!) and pumpkin pie. The pumpkin is from my porch. :) Last year I still had one for Easter pie too. They keep real well. It has to feel good to eat on the table we used growing up too. I love you Sue.
ReplyDeleteRog says him too! :)
Sounds wonderful, Maggie! I remember that casserole dish. It always had the geen beans in it. My pumpkins, unfortunately, got fed to the chickens this year. The kitten kept playing with two of them and they started getting bad places in them. I told Larry to give those two to the chickens, but he misunderstood and gave ALL the pumpkins to the chickens! So, unless I have some canned pumpkin left from last year, it'll be storebought this year. The chickens, I hear, enjoyed their orange feast very much :)
ReplyDeleteSO much awesome food coming out of the cellar! That's terrific. Honestly, I don't know what we're having - We always go to a friend's home (really, they're more like family). Happy Holidays to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteYour list sounds so good. I like that you are having pickled beets. My Grannie used to make the best. We are going to my mom-in-laws for the holiday. Having a smoked tenderloin this year. Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteNow smoked tenderloin could be a real treat for a change. I remember some years having roast venison and a turkey. Nice!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely holiday, farmchick.
Sounds like a nice meal. We will be going to my son and daughter in laws house for the second year in a row. We'll have turkey, dressing, rolls, mashed potatoes, my sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, my son Andrew's punch, pecan pie, pumpkin pie...and who knows what else. Have a nice Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting hungry already!
ReplyDeleteWe will be at my Mom & Dad's for turkey dinner, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, rolls, cranberry, pumpkin rolls and pumpkin pies. Oh, how could I forget the Tofurky (vegetarian) that my Dad will be eating all by himself.
Not sure if I left anything out but it sure seems that there will be plenty.
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!
Tofurky? I hope you share the recipe, Jessica! Happy thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteMenu sounds delicious. Though I have to admit what really impresses me is - "from the cellar" - all your hard work comes back to the table! Brava!!!
ReplyDeleteAaron is all laid up with his meniscus issue again but we had Ham (and yes I cheated, we had a $50 gift certificate for Heavenly Ham), my sour cream mashed potatoes, butternut squash (the kids picked this), corn on the cob, stuffing, and rolls. I also made some homemade pies - Apple and Pumpkin. But the pies will definitely have to wait a while.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of the kids is priceless. I can never believe how much they change within a couple of years.
I know. I remember how happy they were at the table, feeling so special. That was a good day. Well, all of them have been! Today was nice, not so many people but very laid back and comfortable. I'll post photos soon.
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