Monday, November 26, 2012

Thanksgiving Day 2012


Hello everyone! I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day! I spent the actual holiday with friends because my mother planned our dinner on the following Saturday. That means I had three huge dinners last week. I never thought I would say this, but I'm tired of eating! For the dinner with friends I decide to make the dressing. This was my first time attempting it and I've heard all the horror stories about the dry or undercooked dressing so I was a nervous wreck. I called on the matriarchs in my family and I was tickled to death at the outcome. My dressing came out perfect!

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We decided we wanted homemade cranberry sauce for the dinner, so I got online to see what I could discover. I found a recipe for Orange Ginger Cranberry sauce. It was so simple to make and so positively delicious. I made some more to take with me to my family dinner on Saturday. I grew up on the canned stuff that you slice, but I can promise you from this point forward I will be making my own.

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There was a slight amount of stress involved with the Turducken. The directions said to cook it three and a half hours. Well it took seven. Nothing a little liquid sedative and flower picking couldn't handle. The Turducken came out just fine and everyone enjoyed each other's company while we waited. We still managed to sit down to eat at a little over an hour past the scheduled time. That's why you don't wait until the last minute to do things people.

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And what a lovely table we had to sit down and enjoy our meal. I don't have public pictures to display of the food. I want to respect the privacy of the guests that attended. They were all seated around the table when the photo was taken. I had an absolutely incredible holiday and I hope all of you thoroughly enjoyed yours as well. And yaaaaaaaaaaa! Christmas is just around the corner!

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14 comments:

  1. A Happy Thanksgiving!

    Thank you for sharing your emotions! In my country we do not celebrate thanksgiving holidays. I know a little about that holidays only thanks to American movies I have watched on TV.

    Turkey - it`s OK, but what is it you are making in the bowl? What are the ingredients of that meal?

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    1. Mare,
      What I’m making in the bowl is cornbread dressing and it’s delicious! I guess its more of a southern tradition and there are many, many recipes to make it and pretty much each family does it their own way. The tricky part is getting it the correct consistency. You don’t want it too dry or too moist. It should be firm enough to hold its shape when you spoon it out of the pan, but at the same time very moist. I don’t know if you are familiar with Paula Dean or not, but she’s a famous cook from my region of the US and here is a link to her recipe. If it doesn’t work just copy and paste it.

      Paula Deen's Recipe

      It’s pretty typical of the recipe and it has exact measurements, which I don’t have for my recipe.

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    2. P.S. It's great to see a photo of you!

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  2. I have never made dressing but last year, for the first time, I made cranberry sauce with orange juice. It was fantastic. I made it again this year.

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    1. Phillip,
      I was so happy mine came out so well! It was delicious!

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  3. I am a lousy dressing maker. Luckily my family isn't too picky as long as there is good gravy to put on it. :) Your table looks so elegant. I know what you mean about all that food. It is fun to get together with friends and family but alll that food. Whew.

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    1. Thanks Lisa! I can't take credit for the table this time though. It was done by a friend at his home. He did a wonderfu job and I thought the sterling candelabras were just beautiful.:0)

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  4. Randy,glad you had three thanksgivings..haha...I love your tablecloth..and I made the same cranberry sauce...just added a splash of amaretto....yum...I too have some silver candelabras form goodwill...only silverplate on brass...you had better lock yours up!! I have always wanted a turducken....butdont you get it online or yo make your own butcher do it??

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    1. Amaretto? Yumm! Sharon, the table cloth and candelabras are a friends. I helped him host Thanksgiving at his house for our friends. Don't worry, he stores the candle holders in a secure place and only takes them out for special dinners. I used Martha Stewart's cranberry sauce recipe. She may be a B**** but gurl knows her stuff. The turducken came from Winn-Dixie and it was great! You should try one!

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  5. So glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know Christmas will be the same. What exactly is a turducken????

    Was out planting all of those wonderful bulbs you sent to me today. I was giving many thanks for such a nice friend to think of me!

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    1. Tina,
      A turducken is stuffing inside a chicken, inside a duck, inside a turkey. LOL Everything has been deboned except the wings and drumsticks on the turkey. you can actually cut it in slices because there are so few bones.

      I hope to get my irises in the ground this coming weekend. Actually I wanted to get the garden cleaned up some too, but I take a look at all the leaves hanging on that oak tree and I think at this point it may be an exercise in futility. I'm so glad you are happy with the bulbs, I hope they bring you joy for many years to come! I know I'm going to love my irises, thank you so much. :0)

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  6. Yum, I thought I was over Thanksgiving dinner, but your post made me hungry again. Quite a feast, and kudos on the cornbread stuffing! I'm still a slice-it-out-of-the-can cranberry eater, but yours looked delicious. And your friend's silver - lovely! But it reminded me I'd better polish mine in preparation for Christmas.

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    1. Lost roses, you should try the cranberry sauce! It's so easy and sooooooo good. Here's the link:

      Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce


      It only takes like 12 minutes to make. She doesn't say do this and she would probably cringe if she knew I did, but when you add your water and it thickens up, mush up your cranberries a little until you get the texture you want. :0) It really is fun to make and the scumptious flavor is the reward.



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  7. Randy you should really run an upscale bed and breakfast .. you have such a lovely home and you entertain to the nines with such beautiful settings and decor .. I love seeing these pictures : )
    The "turducken" ? is or has me gobsmacked .. totally amazing , can't imagine the process of how you do it .. migraine city for me .. but alas I see the vodka comes out with some very pretty flowers and the "ahhhhhhhh !" factor is instilled : )
    Well done YOU !!
    Joy : )

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