Pages

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Thanksgiving

Didn't check the temperature this morning, but it was overcast with clearing later in the day.

I hope all my American friends are full and content after this day of feasting!

We had a nice day with our son Derek, his 2 daughters, his granddaughter,  and one daughter's partner. Good food, good conversation, and good movies pretty much describes our day.

We started out with pear cider mimosas 

and a cheese tray, then the others went off to watch Silent Night, one of my favorite Christmas movies. (No football or parade here, as we do not have TV service). Silent Night tells of a most unusual Christmas truce during WWII, and is based on a true story. Since I had watched it the other day with grandson James, I stayed in the kitchen to finish up cooking.

The table was almost ready when I snapped this photo. 

Dinner? I did the venison roast, and it was delicious, tender, flavorful, and juicy. With it I prepared mashed butternut squash with cinnamon sugar, southern-style fried green beans with bacon, coleslaw with homemade dressing, yellow rice, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Everything came from the cellar or freezer, except of course the rice. For me, this day signifies the end of harvest and a celebration of the year's gardens. I feel grateful for what our soil and our land give us, a true bounty. We are fortunate,  I know, and I never take it for granted.


And for dessert, pecan pie--my first attempt, made with pecans Derek bought in Texas, French apple pie and of course pumpkin pie. 


Hannah and her little Ellie.

I will have to try making the pecan pie again. Maybe one of you can tell me why the top layer was very hard and crunchy. Did I overbake it? The pie tasted good, but that top layer was like a peanut brittle! As I have mentioned before, I don't care for pecan pie, but it would be nice to be able to make a good one.

Buddy livin' the life. He is not allowed on the couch, can you tell?

After dinner we watched Joyeux Noel, the story of the famous WWI Christmas truce. It is another favorite that we watch every year. I am fairly certain that one or perhaps two of my great uncles on my English side were at or very near the place where this truce took place, so the movie has special meaning for me. (I visited their graves with two of my sisters in 2019, so some longtime readers might remember the posts I wrote about that trip to France.)

It was a full, lovely day. Tomorrow back to what passes for normal around here. No Black Friday shopping, though. That is not one of our traditions. Or perhaps I should say, our tradition is to not shop on Black Friday. But if you go, be careful be safe, and I hope you find many bargains!


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

12 comments:

  1. Looks like that you had a great celebration with your family! If the filling turned too hard, it could mean that it cooked too long. You bake it until just set and if you have a thermometer, measure the center of the pie..it should be around 200 degrees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thermometer is a good idea! Thanks, Angie. Since this is a favorite pie for my son, I will need to learn how to get it right!

      Delete
  2. p.s I actually prefer it when it's slightly solid...something to chew :-))

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds like a wonderful, yummy family day. I haven´t seen the movie, only read about it.
    No Black Friday here, either, it´s nonsense in my eyes...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. We are not big holiday shoppers anyway. I prefer shopping at small local shops and online to going to big box stores.

      Delete
  4. I haven't seen those movies. Closer to Christmas we will watch our two versions of A Christmas Carol. and around New Years we watch White Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We love White Christmas, watch it and Scrooge every year. Along with the Truman Capote Christmas one and a few others.

      Delete
  5. It sounds as though 90% of your meal was prepared with things harvested by you or your family. Glad to hear the roast turned out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that's about right, Jim. Truly a homegrown affair!

      Delete
  6. What a great traditional sounding Thanksgiving - without turkey of course. So good to hear about your dishes, as well as to see family gathered around the table, and TV later while digesting!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a very nice Thanksgiving. (I just wrote Christmas and had to go back and correct it!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven't baked one in a long time, I used to every year. You may have overbaked it, yes. It sounds like the sugar separated to the top, it helps to make sure it is well dissolved, seems like I used to warm it in the syrup well before mixing in everything else, and a foil shield helps the top not over brown. Also as the other lady mentioned, it's best not to overbake. It will continue to cook as it cools on the counter. I only ever used the Karo recipe on the bottle with white and brown sugars mixed, or the recipe straight off the pecan bag. Annie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Comments are moderated so may not appear immediately, but be assured that I read and enjoy each and every word you write, and will post them as quickly as possible.