Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Back for the Holidays

I've missed a couple of months of entries and I feel quite bad about that. I've been distracted by an illness in the family, which has taken a lot of my time and attention. But things are slowly on the mend and I'm going to try and be back.

Yes, I did cook for Thanksgiving. We had ten people all together. Usually, we do a potluck, but this year, for one reason or another, I elected (and was elected) to do all the cooking, except for the appetizer and dessert.

I'm out of practice cooking turkeys. It was a fumble - not quite done at the time it should have been. I cooked it for five hours! But there you have it. It was necessary to toss the thing in the microwave and maybe not cut to close too the bone.

What a mess. But it tasted great and the rest of the meal turned out fine: Sweet Potato Casserole, Cornbread Stuffing (that wasn't stuffed into the turkey), Mashed Potatoes, gravy, cranberry relish, and a yummy salad with greens, cranberries, toasted pecans, apples, and a cranberry-pinot dressing.

Yum. And did that carcass make a great broth when I cooked it the next day!

The next day, all the kids came over and I made stuffed pizzas - one sausage/mushroom, and one pesto/cheese. That one was the big winner and I must make it again!

We had cookies and ice cream and blueberry pie for dessert. Lots of wine. Due to my husband's illness, my son had gallantly pulled all our Chrismtas decorations out of the garage and set up our tree. So the kids helped decorate it after dinner. That's the earliest I've had it up, but what a great help it all was! Thanks kids!

The turkey soup I made was a big hit a few days later. I used the broth and meat from the carcass and added extra carrots and celery and broccoli (including the leaves). I didn't have potatoes, so I made a batch of spaetzle to simmer in the pot as noodles. Great soup!

So the food juggling continues. I'm still trying hard to not let anything go to waste. I even put the leftover whipped cream in little mounds and froze them. These are great for a quick dessert.

I won't promise to post everyday, but I will promise to try. I haven't been working, either and probably won't start up again until the new year. So this is a strange time for me, but I expect things to return to some form of normal.

Soon!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Know what it's like to have to look after someone else, just remember to take a few minutes a day for yourself, because someone else's illness often wears you down more than not feeling well yourself. I will keep you in my prayers. Ann

Marlene Dotterer said...

Thanks!