thanksgiving 2008

a very happy thanksgiving 2008 to all!! 

i would take this time to list all that i am thankful for, but right now, such a list would not fit into just one post. even with the doom and gloom economy, things over here at the trish, ray, maisy, and cleveland house are going pretty good. my heart goes out to everyone who is struggling and feeling the crunch. i truly wish i had some profound words of wisdom to share to lighten everyone's load. all i can say is i love you all and hope you had as good and relaxing holiday as we did. for the last couple of years we have spent thanksgiving out and about enjoying someone else's laboring in the kitchen. this year, since it is just the two of us, and we are dog sitting our three legged friend jackson, we decided to stay in and enjoy a simple homemade dinner. there is definitely something to be said for spending the holiday in you pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

the day started with a nice breakfast of homemade biscuits and scrambled eggs. after cleaning the kitchen up a bit, rearranging appliances, and a quick latte, it was time to begin the cooking. i was hoping with a little pre-planning that i would be able to orchestrate the day and have the bird and sides all finished at the same time. it was going to be a simple menu of a protein, a carb, and a veggie. so first on the list was baking the cornbread for the sage cornbread deer sausage dressing.

here's the beginning of a day of cooking and washing dishes.

i'm starting with baking the cornbread for the dressing.

i'm a big fan of preheating my cast iron in the oven prior to pouring in the batter. 

ok, the cornbread is done. on to the next side dish.

finally, the very last of the swiss chard from the garden.

believe me when i tell you it was very cold this morning in the garden. there was a slight bit of frost on the greens.

add in some sliced potatoes, pour in a garlic bechamel sauce with raw milk cheddar cheese and watch out folks, that's a tasty treat.

oops, the corn bread dressing is a little overcooked. but not to worry, my cooking was redeemed by my.......

rockin cranberry sauce. those who say they don't like cranberry sauce must be referring to that horrible red jelly crap from a can. this sh*$&t was GOOD!!!!

oh little naked bird you must be cold. how about a nice facial of butter, salt, and pepper.

i'm gonna cut you bi@$&*h!!!!!!

that's right, right down the middle.

you're so pretty and golden. nice glaze baby.

dinner is served.

come on ray....time to eat!!!

candles and wine. i'm fancy!!

with the wine in a juice glasses, candles in the afternoon, no center piece, and select-a-size paper towel napkins....i am so the red neck martha!!!!!

time to make the pie. i finally decided on a sweet potato pie.

look close and you can see the hunks of butter.

it's all about the butter baby!!

my first sweet potato pie. looking good!!!
good thing i baked these on the cookie sheet. 

butter from the crust ran everywhere. 

watching the crust sizzle was very satisfying. 

sweet jesus it's done!! 

now there is no way on earth i am going to sit here and tell you everything went off without a hitch. the cornbread dressing is a bit over cooked and i couldn't for the life of me get a nice scalloped edge on my pie crust and ended up going with the "crimped with a fork" look. and there was one moment when i though the whole dinner would fall apart. i eventually had to enlist ray's help. i put him on chopping the greens and buttering dishes detail. also a huge holiday hug goes out to ray for having most of the dishes washed and put away before dinner was even ready. not to mention that my little bird had to take a 20 minute tin foil nap on the stove top while we waited for the gratin to finish cooking. but all in all, i claim the day as a success. the cornbread went into the oven at 10 am and by 2 pm we were enjoying some seriously good eats. the pie came later and was consumed at 5:30 pm. and for the record folks, i am now officially adding sweet potato pie to the esteemed list of "foods that i will never by at the store ever again." i promise to post some thanksgiving recipes later, but for now i am going to enjoy the rest of the holiday, and for you, a i'm sending out a virtual piece of pie. cheers!!

happy thanksgiving!!