Family, Food and Chestnuts Roasted On An Open Fire

We had a great Thanksgiving Day and are looking forward to a couple more days of relaxing with family and friends. We ended up having 22 which is a record, I believe. We had to be creative to get everyone a seat. The family is outgrowing the "kids table" phase, so we did the best we could.

We cooked a 21 lb turkey with onion, celery, sage and thyme stuffing. The crowd made light work of it, but thankfully I have cooked a turkey breast, so I have plenty of leftovers.

We did desert buffet style. We had pumpkin pie, three kinds of apple pie, lemon merange pie, cheescake and more. I think it was the biggest desert selection at our house so far.

After all the feasting was done, I made a fire in our fire pit and looked at the Jupiter and Venus which were next to each other in the early evening sky.

We capped off the night by roasting up some chestnuts in the fire.

Enjoy!

Great Deals under $50 at Cooking.com!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

I just finished the shopping for Thanksgiving. We are having 22 at our house, as my wife's tribe descends to the Shore from North Jersey and a few others show up for the feast. We have a pretty traditional meal. I have posted it here for you edification.

Thankgiving w/ the Meyer Family

Shrimp Cocktails
Assorted Relish Trays
Roast Turkey
Celery, Onion and Thyme Dressing
Mushroom Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Rutebega
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Corn Pudding
Green Bean Casserole
Brussle Sprouts Tossed with Brown Butter and Toasted Bread Crumbs
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Roll
Cheese Cake
Mixed Nuts
Roasted Chestnuts
Chocolate
Apple Cider
Coffee
Tea
Egg Nog
Soda

Several things I have learned to do over the years that you might be interested. First off, I brine the turkey. It makes a big different and is well worth the extra step. There are several recipes for brining turkey on the internet, however most of them are to complicated. If you want to read about the simple way I brine my turkey follow the link. Also, I do a make ahead gravy. You can learn about this following this link or the one link to gravy above.

This has been a challenging year for many people and I know that we still have some challenges ahead. However, when you consider the abundance we have been blessed with in this nation, even in tough times, we have much to be thankful for. More than that, we live in the free-est of lands, power transfers from presidents and party without a shot being fired or any blood being shed. Most importantly, each of us have people in our lives to love and be loved by, and just about anyplace in this land you can find a place to just pause and take in some beauty (for free). Have a great Thanksgiving Day everyone.

Enjoy!

Great Deals under $50 at Cooking.com!