Thanksgiving!!!

Here it is!!  The big day!!  And, since I write this to you in the hazy, sleepy glow of post-dinner turkey tryptophan, I can safely confirm that I did NOT give my family Ebola or deadly salmonella.  Yay!  Plus, just a smidge of headache left from yesterday, cured with only one Imitrex.  Blessings and thanks-prayers for that!  I got up today to bake the traditional pre-Thanksgiving Dinner breakfast:  Pillsbury Orange Rolls.  Yum!  And then to the shower and back to the kitchen . . . .

After I got the broccoli casserole all taken care of and into the oven, Mom and Dad arrived!  So I quickly put them to work, as you do.

Preparing to carve up Tom!

You GUYS.  This turkey was juicy and savory and all the yummy words.  Also notice my potatoes over there; peeled, sliced, and boiled by yours truly.  #bragging

Dino is BIG FAN of turkey.  He ate his body weight in turkey today, with dessert of cool whip. 

Make a wish!  Hope springs eternal . . . . 

Mashing my potatoes!  Made creamy with real butter and milk.  Yum!

Finally! Time to set the table and enjoy the bounty!

I forgot to get a new tablecloth!  But I threw together a decent tablescape without one, in my own humble opinion.

An aerial view!

My dinner guests!  Mom brought her famous salad, but the other dishes were all me!

Dino thinks he should get a seat of honor.  I think he'd be very happy to have Thanksgiving EVERY DAY.

So there it is!  I successfully planned and executed the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner!  Feeling very pleased with myself, if I'm being honest, and I didn't poison anyone!  There is much to be thankful for this year, as in every year, and there are far too many blessings to count.  Most of all, every year, I love that I am not only a member of this family but I am friends with my family--dinner preparation and dinner eating was pleasant and fun with no stress or worry, and I hope all my friends are having the same relaxed and blessed afternoon that I am!  Now, as per Hickman tradition, we are headed to the movies!  Popcorn and soda for dinner after our feast, and then early to bed to get ready for CHRISTMAS DECORATING!!!

Thanksgiving Eve!

It's here!  Thanksgiving Eve is upon us, and I've been making preparations for another First!  As per usual, the adventure started with a list (all good things do, really) and a subsequent trip to the grocery store (a place I try to avoid as much as possible).  I had menu in mind, but my mother was not available to confirm ingredients, as she was in BELIZE without ME and I had to try to reconstruct the recipes from memory (her blog, if you want to see all the fun she was having--WITHOUT me--you can see it here:  www.honmex14.blogspot.com).  So here is the Wal-Mart Supercenter evening-o-fun:

Behold the grocery cart!  May I take a moment to brag that, after my careful couponing and planning, my entire bill came to $66?!  Terribly proud about this.  I mean, I purchased my bird and everything!

My cart!  Don't worry--the Tidy Cats is not on the menu.

Just wanted to document that I loaded all of it into the cart, then into the car, then...

Into the house!  All by myself!  Because my GUESTS were in MEXICO.  But I'm not bitter or anything.  ;-)

So after getting all the supplies in time to avoid the Thanksgiving crush and giving Tom a chance to thaw completely--he needed twenty-four hours per five pounds, just FYI--it's time to find space for all of this.  If we'd had snow days, I'd have been SET.  But alas, no time off for the weary, and I had to wait till today--Thanksgiving Eve--to get started.  The plan, which of course was written in list form, began with my going to the gym, showering, starting preparations, cleaning the house, and so on, until The Main Event:  cooking Tom.  But, again, Mother Nature thwarted me!  Instead of a snow day last week (which would have been helpful, just sayin'), the weather changed today, bringing in a front that also brought in a migraine.  Oof.  So, instead of satisfactorily checking off my list, I spent the morning trying to find the magic formula of Imitrex, Fioricet, and anti-nausea pills to stop the pain so I could get out of my jammies and into the kitchen.  SO OVER THE MIGRAINES.  Fortunately, the nausea stopped at around 1:30, and the headache relaxed from stabbing pain into just pressure and annoyance at around 3:30, so I could finally get busy.  Starting with . . .

Making Pecan Pie!  This is my job every year--so this I got down pat.

See?  My masterful addition of pecan specially ordered from Alabama.

Washing Dino's ears isn't in the recipe, but he got under the beaters when I poured in the pie filling and got his ears messy. . . 

My oven scares me.  No idea why, but I live in fear of horrifying burns every time I put something in there--whether it's pizza rolls or casseroles.  Hence the nervous posture here.

The best part.

The finished product!  They have a frothier top than normal; I think it's because I used real butter instead of margarine this year?  Hm.  Anyway, they smell delicious. . . . 

On to the eggs!  I asked Mom if we had a recipe for the deviled eggs, but I'd never seen one; we eyeball the stuffing and taste until we get the right flavor of mayo, mustard, pickle juice, and salt.

Cutting the eggs, hoping the innards were cooked and not still gooey.  Success!

Making the yummy deviled stuff!  Why do they call these eggs "deviled"?  Hm.  We have these at every church function I've ever been to.  Surely they'd be better named "angeled eggs"?

Filling up the whites!  Not ONE was broken in this process.  #prostatus

So now, it's time to deal with Tom the Thanksgiving Turkey.  Tom has been defrosting in my fridge since the Wal-Mart adventure, so he's supposed to be fully ready for his Big Moment.  This is the time I start worrying about giving my family (and my kitchen and Dino and Sophie) deadly Salmonella poisoning.  So far, all seems good.  I'll be sure to update you tomorrow.  We Hickmans always cook the turkey on the night before and then heat it to serve on Thanksgiving; I don't remember how the tradition started, but here we are.  This is The Way It Is Done.  Voila the process . . .

Meet Tom.  Soon to be The Thanksgiving Masterpiece.

Ewwww!!!  There's BLOOD in there.  I assumed the bag was gooshy because of the melted ice or something.  Ick factor = very high!!

The Bag of Gross Parts.  Enough said.

Seasoning Tom.  He's getting a butter and salt and pepper full-body treatment.

And into the bag he goes!   Poking some holes in there for air.

Fifteen pounds of gooey raw bird, into the pan.

Tom's new place!  Into the scary oven of horrifying burn potential for the next three-and-a-half hours.

Almost two hours in, and Tom starts to REALLY smell delicious . . . .

Aaaaand ta-da!!!  Here's the finished product!!!  I cooked a turkey!!!  Now he cools off a bit and into the fridge he goes, to be carved and served up tomorrow.  

Tomorrow brings the rest of the cooking--not everything can be done in advance, and not all of my list got taken care of.  Sigh.  But it's okay; sometimes we roll with the punches!  Stay tuned for more pics of culinary attempts!  I'm pleased by the day's progress, if I do say so myself, and have high hopes for tomorrow's dishes--also I'm pleased to add these new dishes to my repertoire; it's fun to learn new things!  Bonne nuit, mes amis . . . and happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Lists on lists on lists....

Gah!  Thanksgiving is, like, NEXT WEEK!!!  Getting my shopping in order tomorrow so the turkey will have time to thaw and I will be sure to have all my necessities in time for The Big Day.  Pics and adventures to follow....

Frozen Tundra!!

Today was a pretty great day!  Started out with my thinking I would spend a lazy day at home, grading papers, but Michaelann, a lovely fellow Herrinite and friend, asked if I wanted to come to The Game with her and her hubby.  A word about The Game.  Herrin Tiger football is in the thick of postseason fever; the kids are beside themselves with excitement--we're into the third round of playoffs, and our school can hardly think about anything else!  Our stores' windows have been painted.  The football boys' lockers are bedecked with glitterin' signs.  The dress code is strictly orange and black at school.  All week, I've been interrogated by the kids--"Are you coming to the game??"  Aaaaannnnnndddd, I knew it was going to be extracold today, so I hemmed and hawed when they asked.

Last night, when Michaelann asked if I was headed to Carterville to watch today, I confessed that I didn't get a ticket, shame and guilt flooding my system.  No worries, she tells me.  Sort out my layers and warm clothes, and through the magic of Facebook, she could hook me up.  She'll be at my house at high noon to carry me to the game. 

So that's how I ended up at The Game, freezing my tuckus off, cheering and yelling for the Tigers as we played in the cold.  It really was a great time--I spent the game with good friends who also only understand the rudimentary basics about football--"Go, sports!!"  All I can tell you is that we sported better than the other team sported, and there were lots of huddles and times when sports were discussed, and the referees did all kinds of yellow flags and hand signals that indicated when we had sported well or poorly.  Some kids sported too hard and were injured, but for the most part, we all had a great day.  Even in the frozen tundra of the football field sidelines.  So glad I went!  My attendance was duly noted by the kids who recognized me in my fifty layers of clothing and outerwear, so I won't be in trouble when I go to school on Monday.  But, since we won this game, the kids are going to be in a FEVER PITCH of excitement all this week, since we're now in the fourth round, and we'll be sporting AT HOME next time.  Oof.  Keep all of the faculty in your prayers this week . . . .

Antiques, Boutiques, and Practicing My Photo Techniques

This weekend, Mom and I spent a couple days in Paducah, enjoying the fall foliage, the fall-back time change, and the malls and restaurants available in this part of Kentucky!  Such a great time!  Every now and again, it's lovely to leave work and worry behind and go have fun--so that was our guiding agenda this weekend:  eat when hungry, sleep when tired, purchase when tempted.

We went to some antique shops along Paducah's riverfront--it's really pretty there--very quaint and sweet.  There are lots of boutiques and art galleries as well; it was such a pleasure to meander around in the downtown area with its brick streets and autumnal leaves everywhere.  These are some pics of treasures we found in the antique shops . . . .

 



 

 

Sparkles!!  This lady's shop was wall-to-wall cases of vintage jewelry, which was pretty fabulous, but the icing on the cake was that she was full-on German and was listening to a German radio station playing German folk music (maybe a kind of polka?).  I wish I could link a sound file to the pic . . . .

 

 

This one is a little poignant; at one time, it was most likely an expensive and treasured picture of a loving family.  Now it's in a box of pictures of people no one knows, on sale for a dollar.  Hm.

 

 

This jar looked so pretty with the morning sun behind it.  When I turn this pic in for class, I'll crop it a bit, I think.

 

My mother calls me Aunt Clara (the crazy aunt from Bewitched who couldn't control her magic?  She was obsessed with collecting door knobs . . . I *might* be similarly obsessed . . . .) so I had to get a pic of this!  It's a door knob turned into a little piggy that holds the salt and pepper shakers!  Adorbs.  Mom and I had pie at this place.  Delish.  Pecan and apple.

 

So the autumn sun and leaves were really showing off this weekend.  If it had been warmer, sitting outside and enjoying a dessert would have been tempting--I want to come back here when it's summer!

 

 

This guy's shop had the most impressive displays--don't know who dressed his tables and display cases, but he had such an eye for color and coordination.  Behold his display of peacock feathers!  

 

So thanks to my dad, whose idea it was for Mom and me to get away, and who watched Dino and Sophie for me, a lovely time was had by all in Paducah.  I highly recommend weekends such as these; sometimes, a girl just has to go indulge in good food and good shopping and a good recharging of the batteries.