Wednesday/Thanksgiving Eve

Heffalump

Good morning, WW!  It is dead here.  Dropped DS off, Wooz was still asleep when I left.  I warned DH not to let her puppy-dog eye him into half a dozen pieces of pottery today.  He made me coffee, and traffic was light, so that's something.

I think I'm in good shape for tomorrow.  I should probably sketch out a plan, but it's all stuff I've done before, nothing too ambitious.  Which is usually when I overlook something.

Who's here today?  What are your Thanksgiving plans?

bleve0821

I'm here!  

Safe travels to everyone this TG!  Hope everyone makes it out and back safely and soundly, and the family drama is kept to a minimum.

We're driving up to DH's GM's house tonight.  Hopefully DH can get off work a little early so we don't get in at midnight.  No expectations for how TG will go this year, but I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.  

In my infinite wisdom, I've been on PetFinder looking at available pups, and I found a cutie not far from the grandparents.  Sent the link to DH just because, he took it upon himself to contact the foster agency, and we may be meeting him soon.  The act brought tears to my eyes (as did the pile of Toothless poo I stepped in last night... All the toys, his ashes on the mantle, and it's a pile of dog shit that breaks me down.), but I do not know if I'm prepared to let a new pup in.  At the very least, I guess, it'll be a good gauge for our readiness.  I'm not gonna lie, though... I do have half a mind to fill out the adoption application.

This is the same man, however, who found a box of mine from college and couldn't understand why I wanted to throw my GRE scores out and insisted I keep them so I "can put them in a scrapbook."  Um.... Why on earth would that be a valued memory?  I drove my car into a ditch trying to get to the test center because it was whiteout snow conditions that day and my dad had to drive 2 hours to get me.  He was PISSED.  Also, I don't scrapbook. 

And yet, there they were, sitting on the counter this morning... The abyssmal verbal score still laughing at me.

DrillSergeantCat

Getting off at noon today! After lunch, I'm headed home to start cooking. I'm making pumpkin and apple pie today and cornbread for the dressing tomorrow. I made cranberry salad last night and skipped the step of grinding the cranberries so I'm not sure how it's going to taste.

MissKittyDanger

I'm here because it's not Thanksgiving for us
Since I'm assuming you're hosting, how many people are you having? What's the menu planned?


Last night M's friend came over to drop off some meat they got from the deer on the weekend. Since likely hood is that M won't get paid before we see him again on Sunday, I told him I'd pay it and he can just pay me half back.

All is good for mortgage to come out and for when the condo fees come out. If it were when we pay property taxes, we would be screwed.


Not much on the plan tonight. I want to go over the budget with M tonight for January, and ensure we're going to make the most of it and pay shit off.

kimmiinthemitten

@AtomicBlonde my best friends pup passed away 8 months ago.  I got her a watercolor print of his face for her birthday in August.  I balled my eyes out over him last weekend.  It happens.  It's okay.

Today I'm slammed at work and exhausted since my insomnia kicked back in hardcore this week.  But we got our engagement pics back so I'm too busy playing to actually work.  I'll AW my faves in another post so I don't hijack Wednesday haha.

We're going to the Lions game tomorrow, so I'm cooking dinner for the 'rents Friday.  If my dad took the turkey out of the fridge to thaw like he said he did.  

ShesSoCold

I'm here and at work. But behind on all the crap I gotta do.

Yesterday my plan was to make 2-3 pans of pecan pie bars (I only have one jelly roll pan) and pie crusts, possibly some cookies after I made caramelized onion dip and roasted garlic for the mashed potatoes. But the house smelled so savory-good from the onions and the garlic that I didn't want to muck it up by baking. So of course, I took a nap to solve my problems. So I was cranking out pie crusts and pecan bars at like 9 last night.

Today I have a wax I'd forgotten about, I'm going to slice and soak the potatoes, chop all my veggies for roasting, make more pecan bars and make the pumpkin pies. My friend's mom used to make the best ever dutch apple pies and if I'm feeling ambitious, I may make one.

We apparently have to go to my dad's tomorrow night so instead of him cooking, I said I'd bring desserts and we'd drink.

Heffalump

MissKittyDanger said:

I'm here because it's not Thanksgiving for us
Since I'm assuming you're hosting, how many people are you having? What's the menu planned?

Not really hosting, it's just DH and the kids and me.  We are having:

Turkey breast

Stuffing (or, ahem, dressing, if you prefer)

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Green bean casserole

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

Sweet corn cake

Pumpkin-pecan pie

Apple-cranberry pie

mrsconn23

I'm here until noon.  As soon as I get off work, I have to jump right into cleaning.  We're hosting DH's family, some friends, and SIL's grandma.  We need to go get wood chips and charcoal since we're smoking the turkey.  And we need to get ice and other stuff to brine it.  

I have to work Friday.   DH has to work this weekend (Fri/Sat night).  So everything else is going to be low-key around here.  
 

MissKittyDanger

@ShesSoCold  wanna come bake at my place? I don't bake until closer to Christmas ...

MissKittyDanger

Heffalump said:

MissKittyDanger said:

I'm here because it's not Thanksgiving for us
Since I'm assuming you're hosting, how many people are you having? What's the menu planned?

Not really hosting, it's just DH and the kids and me.  We are having:

Turkey breast

Stuffing (or, ahem, dressing, if you prefer)

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Green bean casserole

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

Sweet corn cake

Pumpkin-pecan pie

Apple-cranberry pie

I call it stuffing
The sweet potatoes with marshmallows must be an American thing, what's it taste like?

ps i'm coming for dinner

ShesSoCold

MissKittyDanger said:

@ShesSoCold  wanna come bake at my place? I don't bake until closer to Christmas ...

I bake all the time. H likes something sweet in his lunches so I bake something every week for him. It's so nice though to be in our house that we love and in a real life functional kitchen (previously we had the shittiestly laid out old-ass kitchen ever and then a tiny apartment kitchen).

I makes these candied pecans for Christmas that everyone loves. H LOVES himself a pecan pie (and the pecan bars I make) and yesterday I watched Alton Brown make a pecan pie with the candied pecans. This will blow H's mind.

Now I'm all excited about Christmas baking. I don't eat most of what I bake usually but the snickerdoodles and egg nog sweet bread don't stand a fucking chance.

Heffalump

MissKittyDanger said:

Heffalump said:

MissKittyDanger said:

I'm here because it's not Thanksgiving for us
Since I'm assuming you're hosting, how many people are you having? What's the menu planned?

Not really hosting, it's just DH and the kids and me.  We are having:

Turkey breast

Stuffing (or, ahem, dressing, if you prefer)

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Green bean casserole

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

Sweet corn cake

Pumpkin-pecan pie

Apple-cranberry pie

I call it stuffing
The sweet potatoes with marshmallows must be an American thing, what's it taste like?

ps i'm coming for dinner

I think it is an American thing, and I think there's a substantial subset of Americans who aren't fans.  I prefer pecans, personally, but I'm alone in this at my house.  DH actually peels the marshmallow layer off, but doesn't really love pecans in his sweet potatoes, either.  (Also, he doesn't even really love sweet potatoes, but he eats some on Thanksgiving.)  The kids love it.  It reminds me of Thanksgiving at my grandma's, and Wooz specifically requested it, so I put it on our menu.

Also, DH is making omelets for breakfast tomorrow!  Looking forward to that.  I'm going to throw some Trader Joe's pumpkin rolls in the oven to go with them, and then afterward get on the road right away so I can see my mom and be back in time to start prepping.

What time do y'all eat?  Thanksgiving dinner was always, well, dinner time in family--maybe a little earlier than usual, like 5:00/5:30 depending on who was hosting (and whether/what time the Bears were playing, LOL).  The first time I had Thanksgiving with DH's family, they ate at like 11:30 in the morning, which felt odd to me. 

mrsconn23

Menu: (I love cooking, so I'm making a whole day of this shit)

Breakfast:

French Toast
Bacon
Sausage
Eggs

Apps:

salami/crackers/cheese/cheeseball
chips/pretzels/veggies/dip

Dinner:

Turkey
Pork shoulder
Stuffing (fucking stovetop, ugh...I hate stuffing, so I have no say)
Cranberry 
Mashed Taters and gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Rolls/Cornbread/Cranberry bread

Dessert:

Pie
Ice Cream Cake

Lots of beer and wine, too.   

MissKittyDanger

ShesSoCold said:

MissKittyDanger said:

@ShesSoCold  wanna come bake at my place? I don't bake until closer to Christmas ...

I bake all the time. H likes something sweet in his lunches so I bake something every week for him. It's so nice though to be in our house that we love and in a real life functional kitchen (previously we had the shittiestly laid out old-ass kitchen ever and then a tiny apartment kitchen).

I makes these candied pecans for Christmas that everyone loves. H LOVES himself a pecan pie (and the pecan bars I make) and yesterday I watched Alton Brown make a pecan pie with the candied pecans. This will blow H's mind.

Now I'm all excited about Christmas baking. I don't eat most of what I bake usually but the snickerdoodles and egg nog sweet bread don't stand a fucking chance.

My MIL requested Boston Cream Cupcakes next time I bake, so I'll likely make those.
If I make snickerdoodles, they won't make it either lol

mrsconn23

Re: stuffing...I *haaaaaaaatttttttttttteeeeeee* stuffing.   I've never liked it at all.  It's a taste and texture thing. 

This past weekend, we did a mini-thanksgiving with DH's family in IL.  His uncle made this savory bread pudding with leeks and other stuff.  I was skeptical, but it was one of the best damn things I've ever eaten.  I need to go to San Fran and stay with him for a week and have him teach me how he makes stuff.  He makes basic dishes, but everything he's ever cooked for me (us) has been amazing. 

bleve0821

Y'all are making me wish I was contributing to TG this year.  Even when I'm not hosting, I typically make at least one dish, but no one has taken me up on my offers to make something this year.  Now I feel useless and slightly sad.  

kimmiinthemitten

@mrsconn23 of all my growing up poor foods Stovetop Stuffing is the one I can't quit!

DrillSergeantCat

Re: stuffing vs. dressing 
If it goes inside the bird, it's stuffing. If not, it's dressing. However, I catch myself calling it stuffing all the time anyway.

Re: marshmallow vs. pecan topped sweet potatoes
I prefer pecan topped because of the crunch. Everything is so soft at TG already, so I need to feel like I'm working at least a little bit to chew. I use the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse recipe for mine and they are delicious.

I'm making way too much food for 6 people.

thefanciestbeckler

Morning! I'm here and at work. I'm hoping the boss will let us off early, but there are no guarantees. Hardly anyone is here today.

We finally figured out our Thanksgiving plans. As of this morning (nothing like the last minute, right?) we are staying in town. Me, mom, and my grandparents are having spaghetti and salad at my grandparents' house. We just can't risk driving to Knoxville and my grandma having an accident in front of all those people, and its way too late to order food from anywhere or make a full TG meal.

I can't lie, I'm a little bummed. I really look forward to all the traditional TG dishes every year. I want us to do whatever we can to make this special for my grandparents though, and they were thrilled at the idea of spaghetti. Apparently several people from their church have already brought them turkey and dressing, etc. and they are getting burned out on it anyways. It will be good. At least things are finally settled.

Heffalump

DrillSergeantCat said:

Re: stuffing vs. dressing 
If it goes inside the bird, it's stuffing. If not, it's dressing. However, I catch myself calling it stuffing all the time anyway.

Re: marshmallow vs. pecan topped sweet potatoes
I prefer pecan topped because of the crunch. Everything is so soft at TG already, so I need to feel like I'm working at least a little bit to chew. I use the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse recipe for mine and they are delicious.

I'm making way too much food for 6 people.

I have not seen the Ruth's Chris recipe, I'll have to check that out.

Re: way too much food for 6 people, I'm doing 2 pies for 4 people. :P

thefanciestbeckler

kimmiinthemitten said:

@mrsconn23 of all my growing up poor foods Stovetop Stuffing is the one I can't quit!

Same here! Lol! That was a staple in our house!

Heffalump

mrsconn23 said:

Re: stuffing...I *haaaaaaaatttttttttttteeeeeee* stuffing.   I've never liked it at all.  It's a taste and texture thing. 

This past weekend, we did a mini-thanksgiving with DH's family in IL.  His uncle made this savory bread pudding with leeks and other stuff.  I was skeptical, but it was one of the best damn things I've ever eaten.  I need to go to San Fran and stay with him for a week and have him teach me how he makes stuff.  He makes basic dishes, but everything he's ever cooked for me (us) has been amazing. 

S/O Thanksgivings with MIL, I had never had oyster stuffing until I had Thanksgiving at her house.  I had heard of it, but in the same way you hear about landmines or dust storms--there's no relation to your actual life.  I hate oysters.  When I took a bite of her stuffing, first there was that fishy-briny taste, and then I actually bit into one.  ::gag::

Man, she loved her kids, but she was an awful cook.  She would simmer a can of green beans for like two hours on the stove.  (DH used to refer to them as "gray beans.")  Meat was always cooked until it was so dry it would actually absorb all the saliva in your mouth.  She used to boil broccoli on the stove in water, and then when it was good and mushy, she wouldn't even drain it, she would just throw in a block of Velveeta and stir it.  It was like this soupy, yellowish goo.  She tried to make pudding pie (with pistachio pudding mix), but the pudding didn't set, so when she cut it, the filling ran out.  She did a good job with her canned corn, and packaged rolls.  But cooking was just not her thing.

The first year I was there for Thanksgiving, her sister and aunt were late.  When they finally arrived, they said they weren't hungry because they had stopped at Denny's on the way.  OMG, she was so mad.  DH tried so hard not to laugh that I was afraid he would pull a muscle in his face.   

mrsconn23

kimmiinthemitten said:

@mrsconn23 of all my growing up poor foods Stovetop Stuffing is the one I can't quit!

It's family tradition on DH's side, so I get it.    It's imperative to them to keep TG as 'traditional' as possible since MIL's passing. 

Stuffing (and oatmeal) makes my mouth send the "GTFO" signal.  

CharmedPam

We get out at noon, and i have to do my emissions test and renew my car stickers. yay.  I bet it'll be busy too since the dmv is closed till Saturday.

I didn't go grocery shopping last night.  I parked the car in the lot.  Sat there.  Said 'crap my grocery list is at work' and then we went home to watch Stephen king's "thinner" instead.  Again, I think I shot myself in the foot because it will be busy today.

Is it Friday yet?

DrillSergeantCat

Heffalump said:

DrillSergeantCat said:

Re: stuffing vs. dressing 
If it goes inside the bird, it's stuffing. If not, it's dressing. However, I catch myself calling it stuffing all the time anyway.

Re: marshmallow vs. pecan topped sweet potatoes
I prefer pecan topped because of the crunch. Everything is so soft at TG already, so I need to feel like I'm working at least a little bit to chew. I use the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse recipe for mine and they are delicious.

I'm making way too much food for 6 people.

I have not seen the Ruth's Chris recipe, I'll have to check that out.

Re: way too much food for 6 people, I'm doing 2 pies for 4 people. :P

http://cocinandoconalena.blogspot.com/2010/12/ruths-chris-sweet-potato-casserole.html

Here ya go.

mrsconn23

We're planning on eating around 3 or so, but we're not firm on that time.  It just depends on what time the meats are done smoking. 

Re: Sweet Potatoes/yams.  We don't make them hardly ever.  I think SIL might have made them one year, but it's not a staple on either side.  I don't like sweet potatoes (I swear I'm not a picky person and I am open to trying new stuff!) unless they're in fry form with a ton of sea salt. 

SaintPaulGal

Heffalump said:

MissKittyDanger said:

Heffalump said:

MissKittyDanger said:

I'm here because it's not Thanksgiving for us
Since I'm assuming you're hosting, how many people are you having? What's the menu planned?

Not really hosting, it's just DH and the kids and me.  We are having:

Turkey breast

Stuffing (or, ahem, dressing, if you prefer)

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Green bean casserole

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top

Sweet corn cake

Pumpkin-pecan pie

Apple-cranberry pie

I call it stuffing
The sweet potatoes with marshmallows must be an American thing, what's it taste like?

ps i'm coming for dinner

I think it is an American thing, and I think there's a substantial subset of Americans who aren't fans.  I prefer pecans, personally, but I'm alone in this at my house.  DH actually peels the marshmallow layer off, but doesn't really love pecans in his sweet potatoes, either.  (Also, he doesn't even really love sweet potatoes, but he eats some on Thanksgiving.)  The kids love it.  It reminds me of Thanksgiving at my grandma's, and Wooz specifically requested it, so I put it on our menu.

Also, DH is making omelets for breakfast tomorrow!  Looking forward to that.  I'm going to throw some Trader Joe's pumpkin rolls in the oven to go with them, and then afterward get on the road right away so I can see my mom and be back in time to start prepping.

What time do y'all eat?  Thanksgiving dinner was always, well, dinner time in family--maybe a little earlier than usual, like 5:00/5:30 depending on who was hosting (and whether/what time the Bears were playing, LOL).  The first time I had Thanksgiving with DH's family, they ate at like 11:30 in the morning, which felt odd to me. 

We do the big meal in the mid-afternoon.  It generally falls somewhere in the 2/3/4:00 range, depending on how the cooking goes and how many different things are being made that year.  Then slight nibbling and/or dessert around dinner time (8-ish).  Ours is always super small and informal, so it's basically whatever we want.  I'm not cooking anything myself this year, but I might get to help my mom with some of the execution at their place.  

Today at work the other sales managers and I have a site visit at a brand new hotel that just opened up. Even though we are technically competitors, people in this industry are pretty collaborative, and several beloved former staff members from here went to work over there.  I'm really excited to see it since it looks pretty amazing in pictures.  It's also like a block from my wedding venue, so I will probably be doing a wedding block there.  After that, just waiting for the head honcho to make the call on what time we get to take off today.  Historically we get cut loose anywhere from noon to three pre-holiday, but both of the decision makers have turned over since that happened last.

ShesSoCold

At every holiday or monthly family birthday party at my Grandma's, dinner was always at 4. Sometimes we ate closer to 5 but we were at Grandma's at 4.

It is early but nice because then we can slip lunch and as we got older, we had time after to go to the other side of the family or our S/O's family.

thefanciestbeckler

I HATE sweet potatoes. I. Will. Not. Eat. Them. EVER. I don't care what you do to them. I don't even really like to make them for other people because it grosses me out to even touch them.

With that being said, I am the only person in my family who feels this way. I usually am stuck with making them because everyone in the family thinks they are absolutely necessary for every holiday. *gag*

We do ours with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans on top. The marshmallow thing doesn't seem to be something many people do in my area.

MissKittyDanger

Blegh stovetop!
Always have ours from scratch pretty much. My nana taught my dad, and now M is going to do it {because he also is a better cook than myself}
Interesting fact is that M's stepdad's mother makes her stuffing same way.
It's Scottish or Welsh I think.

How to make stuffing in my house:

Bread {ripped into small pieces}
Onions {chopped small}
Mix together with poultry seasoning {start with 1 tbsp - depends on how much you're making, depends on how much needed}
1 tbsp of butter as mixing.

Wet hands and splash stuffing, keep mixing together and wetting hands until thoroughly mixed.

Stuffing - in bird
Dressing - in tin foil on side, still refer to it as stuffing because life is hard enough.

MissKittyDanger

Depends on who's making dinner.

My parents always did bigger dinners to eat at 3-3:30 {4pm latest}

M's family (both sides) tend to eat about 5ish, so you have to fight the turkey coma as you're talking.