The One with the Proof

As in the proof that I, along with a great deal of help from my fabulous mother, managed to cook my first turkey evah.

Mom made the stuffing and turnip and brought up a beautiful 16 pound turkey.  I was in charge of the mashed potatoes, butternut squash, asparagus, appetizers, and pie.

While I only ate a little bit of the food, it seemed to be enjoyed by all.

The pepperoni bread that I've become rather famous in these parts for.

Here goes nothing...

In the words of my former nun of a mother, "The key to a good turkey is to baste the fuck out of it."

The beginnings of the to-die-for mashed potatoes.

Pretty damn good looking turkey if I do say so myself.

Hubs did a fantastic job carving the little guy.

Some of the feast.

I made the mashed potatoes earlier in the day and put them in the crock pot while the turkey finished cooking.  Made it much easier than trying to time everything perfectly.

Did the same thing with the butternut squash after I roasted it.

So, take that Thanksgiving gods...I pulled it off and we enjoyed the company, food, and laughter.

We had a gorgeous apple pie from Gregg's several hours later, but I didn't manage to get a picture of that before it got attacked.

Beyond thankful for the incredible blessings in our life this year (even for crazy Max who as I type keeps stealing the throw rug from the kitchen and running into the living room with it because I'm not paying attention to him).

And now, onto the Christmas preparations and festivities!

The One Where I Am Thankful

This is going to be a quick post because there is turkey to be cooked and potatoes to be mashed.

I just wanted to say how thankful I am for all the blessings we have been given this year.  From family and friends to our little bean, we have been incredibly lucky.

Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

The One with the Bath

I took a bath this afternoon.  It was glorious.

Until the toy that Max was playing with kept going behind the toilet and I had to keep getting out of the bath to "fetch" it for him.

Starting to get a little nervous about cooking the big meal on Thursday.

That's all I got for tonight.

The bean and I are off the lay on the couch and fall asleep in the next 30 minutes or so.

The One with the Unpopular Opinion

I'm gonna throw this out there.

I pretty much expect that there will be some people who disagree with my opinion.  I pretty much expect there are going to be others who really disagree with my opinion.

Here goes...

I. hate. Thanksgiving. food.

There, I said it.  It's out in the open and on the Internet and the dozen people who read my blog will know it.

I have never liked Thanksgiving food.  I mean I'll eat mashed potatoes any day of the week, but the rest of it - the turkey, the stuffing, the eleventy jillion cooked vegetables - it kinda makes me sick.  There is no great story behind my hatred of this food.  My father used to cook Thanksgiving dinner when I was growing up and I imagine the food was delicious to those that liked it.  We have great cooks in our family who have created wonderful meals throughout the years for this holiday.  I typically bring a salad to these dinners.  Something about all the food just doesn't do it for me.

Well, this year, I am apparently cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my immediate family (Hubs, my mom, and my brother).  We typically go to my sister-in-law's house, but decided to hang here this year and I insisted I wasn't going to cook anything Thanksgiving-y that day.  Macaroni or steaks or just about anything but Thanksgiving food.  And then Hubs gave me his "How could you deprive your husband of his favorite food?" face and I knew I was cooking the gross food this year.

My mom offered to help me out.  I love my mom beyond words, but cooking isn't exactly her thing.  This should be interesting.

So, it's off to Pinterest I go looking for decent recipes.  We set a tentative menu when I was in Connecticut visiting this weekend and I am hoping this all turns out alright.  I mean, I consider myself a good cook and I can certainly follow a recipe, but I have never cooked a turkey in my life.

Christmas dinner, no problem.  Easter, piece of cake.  Thanksgiving, potential disaster.

Just hoping it doesn't turn out like this...

Original image from here.

Any words of wisdom from veteran Thanksgiving cooks are greatly appreciated.