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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 22, 2023 8:02:51 GMT
On the lighter side, what do y'all plan to do on Thanksgiving?
I got a Butterball deboned turkey breast and am going to bake some Stove Top stuffing. I also had a Rock Cornish hen that I picked up some time ago "just because" and put in the freezer, and am going to bake that too. My son's never seen a Cornish hen and I want to see what his reaction will be.
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Post by farronwolf on Nov 22, 2023 16:40:24 GMT
We did a non Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving on Saturday at our house. Picked up mom and brought her home, about 20 or so family were there. We just did sandwich and crackers/cheese with veggie tray and other finger food so we could spend more time visiting and less time with all the cooking.
Tomorrow, we will do a full Thanksgiving dinner at my wife's sisters house, then go visit with mom a little while.
Hopefully Friday and Saturday I can get some time in on the sawmill to get all the lumber cut for a 24x24 shed I need to build. I will be very thankful not to be at the office for a few days.
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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 22, 2023 18:27:34 GMT
We did a non Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving on Saturday at our house. Picked up mom and brought her home, about 20 or so family were there. We just did sandwich and crackers/cheese with veggie tray and other finger food so we could spend more time visiting and less time with all the cooking. Tomorrow, we will do a full Thanksgiving dinner at my wife's sisters house, then go visit with mom a little while. Hopefully Friday and Saturday I can get some time in on the sawmill to get all the lumber cut for a 24x24 shed I need to build. I will be very thankful not to be at the office for a few days. Maybe you can come over and help me plane down the warped door I've been working on for a couple of months. My son complains that it looks hideous and he doesn't want it put back up (it's to his "mancave", which used to be my mancave until he decided he needed it more). I have to plane down the edge so it will close. It is one of those Atrium-brand doors (no longer manufactured) with the lock installed in such a way that I had to destroy a small part of the door to get it out, and hope to replace it with a simpler lock if I can find one to fit into the mortice. Used to be a patio door until one of the previous owners decided they wanted to add a room to the house, by walling in the patio. I have basically surrendered my bungalow to my son and mother, while I live part-time in my mother's larger and nicer house across the street. I have a small bedsit where I sleep (can't leave my mother alone overnight as she is disabled) and a small work area with a cheap laptop and our homeschool books, and that's about it.
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Post by RN69 on Nov 22, 2023 21:15:51 GMT
I will be spending Thanksgiving day with my daughter's family and in laws. Although my daughter lives 2 hours away from me, her husband's family live about a half an hour away from me. So my daughter and son in law always drive down to be able to spend time visiting with his sister and her family. The cousins enjoy playing together. His parents also live close by and they love to have their whole family back together for a shared Thanksgiving dinner. Since I have been on the go starting back in September and only arriving back home less than a week ago, I told my daughter that I'd rather just stay put until the New Year. She said she'd come and pick me up for the drive down to be with family and celebrate Thanksgiving. For that I am truly thankful! I was told not to worry about bringing anything to our feast but I haven't listened. I'm bringing a fresh orange cranberry relish and a small Carmel apple layer cake that I saw in Publix bakery. It tempted me to buy it and I gave into the temptation! Here's a photo of it so that you can see why I didn't resist. My son in law and his brother in law are in charge of cooking the turkeys in their smokers. They spatchcock the turkeys which helps them cook faster. The side dishes are provided by the ladies. There will be a total of 12 people to feed. Must haves for the meal include the ubiquitous green bean casserole, Southern style cornbread dressing and gravy, cooked baked horseradish carrots, cranberry relish, probably both mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes to satisfy those who prefer one to the other. A very healthy green salad is also a choice for those who are counting carbs/calories. I will miss having some mashed rutabagas and the creamed spinach my Mother used to make but I have my own plans to cook each of them at home the next day. Desserts usually provide multiple choices of pies which is why I went with a cake even if it is a decadent one. I'll be able to indulge in a glass of wine with my meal since I won't have to be driving home. Looking forward to seeing grandkids, dogs, and all of those loved ones. I am grateful for all that I've been able to do and see this past year. Y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day too. P.S. homeschooldadI think that you should put the cooked Cornish hen on a platter and tell your son due to inflation this was the only poultry you could get for Thanksgiving.
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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 23, 2023 7:15:30 GMT
P.S. homeschooldad I think that you should put the cooked Cornish hen on a platter and tell your son due to inflation this was the only poultry you could get for Thanksgiving. No, I'm just going to present it, and see what his reaction is. He doesn't eat turkey, but he does know what one looks like, and how big one is. We occasionally see a wild turkey wandering around from the forest near our home.
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Post by AveMaria on Nov 23, 2023 19:57:14 GMT
A Blessed Thanksgiving to all.
My job position requires me to work today. Two wonderful gals are dropping off a dinner for myself as well as the person relieving me tonight.
So I'm spending 8 hours in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, with the tabernacle in view from my desk. I'll visit family tomorrow or Saturday.
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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 23, 2023 20:30:21 GMT
P.S. homeschooldad I think that you should put the cooked Cornish hen on a platter and tell your son due to inflation this was the only poultry you could get for Thanksgiving. No, I'm just going to present it, and see what his reaction is. He doesn't eat turkey, but he does know what one looks like, and how big one is. We occasionally see a wild turkey wandering around from the forest near our home. My son was underwhelmed. His reaction was pretty much "oh, okay". I baked it in the air fryer and it really turned out quite well. There is not much to a Cornish hen. Basically a very small roast chicken. Seasonings were melted butter, salt, black pepper, white pepper, sage, paprika, and MSG. The ultimate in simplicity.
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Post by tisbearself on Nov 23, 2023 21:53:36 GMT
I made an eggnog pound cake because I had leftover eggnog that had soured and I wanted to use it up. It came out nicely, I just had a piece.
I got takeout Thanksgiving dinner from the cat shelter cafe like I have done for several years. Their food is very good and always winning Best of the Main Line awards, and it benefits the shelter cats. I just have to reheat the food which I will do momentarily.
Years ago I made Cornish hens for me and husband. With prune and apple stuffing. Wild rice stuffing is also good in those lil' birds.
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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 23, 2023 22:17:07 GMT
I made an eggnog pound cake because I had leftover eggnog that had soured and I wanted to use it up. It came out nicely, I just had a piece. I got takeout Thanksgiving dinner from the cat shelter cafe like I have done for several years. Their food is very good and always winning Best of the Main Line awards, and it benefits the shelter cats. I just have to reheat the food which I will do momentarily. Years ago I made Cornish hens for me and husband. With prune and apple stuffing. Wild rice stuffing is also good in those lil' birds. I still have most of that small fruit cake I had for Christmas last year. It's wrapped up on my kitchen counter. Supposedly they last forever.
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Post by theguvnor on Nov 23, 2023 22:20:10 GMT
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Post by tisbearself on Nov 23, 2023 22:59:20 GMT
I made an eggnog pound cake because I had leftover eggnog that had soured and I wanted to use it up. It came out nicely, I just had a piece. I got takeout Thanksgiving dinner from the cat shelter cafe like I have done for several years. Their food is very good and always winning Best of the Main Line awards, and it benefits the shelter cats. I just have to reheat the food which I will do momentarily. Years ago I made Cornish hens for me and husband. With prune and apple stuffing. Wild rice stuffing is also good in those lil' birds. I still have most of that small fruit cake I had for Christmas last year. It's wrapped up on my kitchen counter. Supposedly they last forever. I saw Claxton "fruitcakes", those kind that come in bars with a picture of a horse drawn wagon on them, at the grocery store and they looked just like the ones my mom would get about 55 years ago, so I bought one for nostalgia. They do last forever. I daresay they might even outlast Twinkies, cockroaches, and Keith Richards. Mom had one in the 70s that sat in the basement food storage cupboard for several years till one day I as a teenager got desperate for a snack and opened it. I found it was pretty good but high in calories, so over the next few months I finished it one small slice at a time. I reckon it will also take me a long time to consume this one unless I decide to cut it up and bake it into some other dish as it's basically a bar of candied fruit.
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Post by homeschooldad on Nov 24, 2023 2:14:37 GMT
I still have most of that small fruit cake I had for Christmas last year. It's wrapped up on my kitchen counter. Supposedly they last forever. I saw Claxton "fruitcakes", those kind that come in bars with a picture of a horse drawn wagon on them, at the grocery store and they looked just like the ones my mom would get about 55 years ago, so I bought one for nostalgia. They do last forever. I daresay they might even outlast Twinkies, cockroaches, and Keith Richards. Mom had one in the 70s that sat in the basement food storage cupboard for several years till one day I as a teenager got desperate for a snack and opened it. I found it was pretty good but high in calories, so over the next few months I finished it one small slice at a time. I reckon it will also take me a long time to consume this one unless I decide to cut it up and bake it into some other dish as it's basically a bar of candied fruit. This wasn't Claxton, it was just one of those generic Walmart things, but it's the same basic idea.
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Post by theguvnor on Nov 24, 2023 10:30:11 GMT
It's amusing how the fruitcake sits in the larder/cupboard in all countries. No one ever really loved them when I was a kid. Mum had more of a sweet tooth than dad but even she found them way too heavy and would eat half a slice or something and then the rest would go back in the cupboard.
More hilarious was the old tradition at Christmas here of setting fire to Christmas Pudding. Neither of my parents were drinkers and you had to use brandy for this traditionally. One Christmas my dad decided to give it a try and over did it with the brandy and we had his special recipe, 'Incinerated Pudding.'
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Post by tisbearself on Nov 24, 2023 11:23:54 GMT
I think the fruitcake is a relic of a different era when people didn't have easy access to sugar or honey, leaving fruit as the only sweet treat. A few months ago I looked at a cookbook called "Northern Italian Desserts" and the whole foreword was the author writing about how her mom grew up decades ago in Northern Italy and during her growing-up years knew almost no sweets or desserts. There was no candy and no chocolate. Once a year at Easter her mother would buy a bunch of dates, cut them up, and mold the pieces into a cross shape and the kids would eat that as their Easter "candy". There was also a type of super-basic, super-plain unfrosted cake that the mom would make once in a great while on very special occasions. And that was it. I am thinking the mom must have lived during wartime or in some very economically depressed area. Anyway because of this lack of dessert in her mother's life, the author was motivated to research all the purportedly traditional desserts of Northern Italy of which her mom knew absolutely nothing. I guess these desserts must have been "traditional" only for the wealthy people in the region.
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Post by theguvnor on Nov 24, 2023 11:36:23 GMT
My father recalls not eating chocolate till his late teens as rationing was still in effect in the UK and Ireland till the mid to late 1950s. If you ask older people who can recall this era in the UK and Ireland they will tell you about shops being mobbed in the 1950s when oranges and bananas turned up in large quantities.
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