I’m stuffed.
We just had Thanksgiving Dinner, again. It was just as good the second time around – and just as filling. It’s 8pm. I’m ready for bed.
Yesterday was a blast. Everything went off without a hitch, the turkey was perfect, the food fabulous, and the company even better. Who could ask for anything more?
A couple of slight revisions to the menu. I didn’t make the Pumpkin Wontons. When I pulled the skins out of the refrigerator wednesday night, they were moldy! (And dated mid-December.) I wasn’t about to head to a grocery store on Thanksgiving Eve, so… delete. We still had more food than we needed. (I tried to cut back. Really, I did!)
I also saved the Brie Fondue for today. I heated it up whilst we were doing our Christmas Decorating. It was a great afternoon snack.
I simmered the carcass all last night and most of today. I have an extremely rich broth out there right now. It’s strained and ready for Turkey Soup tomorrow. I’m psyched! Turkey Soup is my most favorite part of Thanksgiving (well… other than the 10 different desserts!) My mom made great soups. They’re the ultimate in comforty foods for me.
Back to last night’s dinner… Marie made the best sweet potato casserole! The potatoes are whipped and topped with brown sugar and pecans. If you put them in a bowl and topped ’em with whipped cream, they would be a fantastic dessert! I love ’em. She really liked my pumpkin polenta. The fresh peas were a hit – even with the youngsters. Gino went back for seconds.
Speaking of Gino… we’re going to have him down here with us again in a couple of weeks to bake Christmas Cookies with us. We had a blast last year and were hoping we’d do it again. Last night we found out his sister, Elizabeth wanted to join us this year. Gino was bummed because this was ‘his’ time with us. A guy weekend.
The solution: We’re having a Boys vs Girls Cookie Bake-Off! Gino will stay with us and bake cookies, and Elizabeth will be with her mom and Aunt Marie making cookies. Each side will get to submit one cookie for judging by the rest of the family on Christmas Day. We’re a shoe-in, unless Aunt Re-Re makes her Jelly Strips. Marie makes the best Jelly Strips…
It was a great time. We cooked for days, had a houseful of people, ate for hours and still had the house completely put back together before we went to bed.
And about 80% of our Christmas Decorations are up! Since neither of us would be caught dead at the mall – or any other national retailer, Black Friday is our day to decorate for Christmas! Today is also our 13th Anniversary. What better way to spend it than to transform the house to our Santa’s Workshop?
‘Tis the Season to be Jolly, indeed!