Redmption and Consumption

I had a good feeling about Thanksgiving this year. The past few years something has gone awry and marred my perfect Thanksgiving spread. Last year I accidentally used kosher salt (and too much of it at that! NEVER MEASURE SALT OVER THE PIE FILLING!) in my pumpkin pie. I ate it, but Matt said it was too salty and inedible. The year before that I had a major migraine while cooking my pies and I forgot that my crust recipe made 2 crusts, but my pie filling only made 1 pie. It tasted good, but they were only half the size they were supposed to be!

This year I was bound and determined redeem myself and get that darned pumpkin pie right (especially since I pride myself on my pie skills, and it's supposed to be one of the EASIEST pies to make, and I have done it successfully before). My pecan pies have turned out fine for me every year, but this year I wanted to try a black bottom pecan pie with a layer of chocolate on the bottom.

Both pies were a success! The chocolate/pecan was a good combo, but I think Matt and I both prefer it without. I also have to admit that I had a nice sized serving of each pie and didn't feel one bit bad about it! It was nice after being on sugar block for 3 weeks!



Our friends Erin and Christian came over. She brought some stellar homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, a lemon meringue pie, and a vegetarian lasagna for Christian.

Matt brined and took care of the turkey and the gravy (if I had to do be in charge of the bird, we'd just not have turkey!! Preparing a whole bird is just too much for this ex-vegetarian to handle!). We've had problems in the past with the drippings burning, so this year we sprang for a good roasting pan. It worked! No burning drippings. No smoke. We didn't have to add broth to the bottom of the pan to keep it under control. It was great.

I made the aforementioned pies, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and dressing. I've made a different dressing recipe every year for the last 5 years and I think this one was one of my favorites. I need to write down what I did some time soon so I don't forget it! I got general amounts from this recipe, but kinda just winged the seasonings and added two eggs. Doesn't Matt's plate just look like the perfect Thanksgiving plate?!

Dean especially loved Erin's rolls and cranberry sauce! While he ate some, he wasn't so sure about the dressing, green beans or mashed potatoes.


Right after dinner it was Dean's bedtime (such great timing!) so I took about 10 min. and put him down. After that the 4 adults played Rockband for a couple hours. It was a lot of fun.

Also, here's a glimpse at the current project that is consuming my time: a patchwork Christmas tree skirt. I have been working on the blocks the last couple weeks, but I just finished the top tonight. Now I just have to sandwich and quilt it (I am going to attempt to free motion machine quilt...I might be crazy!!!!!), cut out the opening for the tree, and bind it. I got the idea from Crazy Mom Quilts' tutorial. We have a small tree so I reduced the size a bit. It's coming together nicer than I thought it would...
I should also mention that Matt's vacation time this week has been consumed by upgrading our light fixtures. We now have all matching lights. All of the ugly brassy-gold fixtures were tossed out and replaced by nice brushed nickle fixtures. Not only that, we also have all new brushed nickle door handles through out the entire house. Yay! I love upgrading.