Doesn't anyone else like cranberries? I don't like the congealed tube out of the can, but I just cannot eat turkey without real cranberry sauce!

Lately, our menu has been:

Turkey Breast
Stuffing balls
In Bird Stuffing
Cornbread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Brocolli Casserole
Nasty Congealed Cranberry Sauce
One Serving of Real Cranberry Sauce
Small Congealed Salad
Rolls
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Fruit Pie

I am seriously toying with going elsewhere this year, and so far, the Mount Vernon special tours are winning. Close enough for a couple days, far away enough from people I see all too often.

The gunk out of the can is to cranberries as Tace Bell is to Mexican food. But I love cranberries. We often have a wonderful cranberry/apple crisp (oatmeal and nuts on the top). It's what I always hope there are leftovers of -- it's great warmed up for breakfast.

And yes, I'll admit that I love to make Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish.

We did the go-somewhere-completely-different thing last year. I highly recommend it after significant life changes like we've both had in recent years.

I'm not sure what we're having this year, because I'm going to live-in's family's Thanksgiving. Instead of being where I want to be. Which is in the kitchen making dinner for my family.

He fully understands and is supportive of what I am giving up to be with him.

This is like, the biggest deal of my life. I've only ever missed Thanksgiving one other time in my 26 years, and the past three years I've made the dinner for my family. It was my mom's favorite holiday.

Ever since my Dad told us about how 'thanksgiving' was really a puritan attempt to replace Christmas which they viewed as too C-of-E in practice back in colonial days we have tended to down play the whole thing and concentrate on the main event of 25 December.
This year for 'thanksgiving' we are planning to have the whole herd rally at a grand old hotel for a buffet dinner. They always do a good job in their restaurant and they have a solid wine list. Then we will wander back to Mom and Dad's place for Champagne, Vintage Port, coffee and cigars for the men and liqueurs for the ladies. Very old fashioned but great fun.
Three of my four grandparents are still with us and are already locked in to fly over and visit and stay through our New Year celebrations. The big dinner will be Christmas which starts after midnight mass with a French style seafood meal at 02:00. Coffee and croissants at about 09:30 or 10:00 with Galliano Mimosas. Turtle soup and gumbo for those who get hungry. Dinner will either be about 16:00 or might be about 19:30 for drinks and 20:00 for the meal. Still in the planning stages. Grandpere is threatening to open his last two magnums of Fonseca 1945 and Grandad says he will not be outdone. They keep a collection of bottles at Dad's for special occasions so they don't have to worry about sediment when flying over. Should be interesting. More later.
Anyway, dark suit for t-day and black tie for Christmas if usual practice is followed.

That's what relationships are all about. :) Compromise and taking turns. It wasn't such a big deal to us when we had to start alternating holidays, but it took some time for our families to adjust. Now we don't care where we go, so long as we're together and are home on Christmas morning (for Santa reasons)

While it may be true that Thanksgiving took on added significance in parts of New England due to Puritan downplaying of all but the most religious aspects of Christmas (much like Hogmanay in Presbyterian Scotland), Thanksgiving itself was simply a New World take on the harvest festivals that have, in one form or another, been part of almost every culture in the world, including English and Native American. In a modern twist on that, I don't think I'm alone in appreciating Thanksgiving partially because it lacks the commercialism that has infected Christmas.

Either way, enjoy your celebration.

A facebook status on my feed today:

I am sick of people jumping the gun on Christmas and completely bypassing Thanksgiving, which is clearly the best holiday ever. You don't have to buy anyone gifts or candy, dress up, leave the house, or even go to church. It is day solely dedicated to sitting in your jammies and stuffing your face.

Heck yes.

They left out football!

(((HUGS)))

*****************
I absolutely love cranberry sauce and can't have turkey, greens, and/or stuffing without it. Thank God I'm not one of those people who doesn't want their food to touch. :)

This year we're having salad, turkey w/ gravy, stuffed acorn squash (a staple since the salmonella scares a few years back), mashed potatoes, mashed turnips and carrots, corn, cranberry sauce, bread, cheesecake and whatever pies my sister-in-law is inspired to make. We're skipping the soup this year, because everyone seemed a little full last year before the turkey was served and the peas, because too many adults don't like them. We're hosting again, but have a smaller crowd with only 16 it looks like. We usually pick up 1-3 friends of various family members, but it looks like everyone has a home so far.

Turkey (if you don't want it to be dry...stick an orange up its backside before putting in the oven)
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans (cooked ALL day with ham hock)
Corn souffle
Homemade yeast rolls
Gravy (of course)
Cranberry Sauce
Strawberry Pretzel Salad (yummy!!)
Honey Baked Ham
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pecan Pie
Banana Pudding
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies (P-butter with Hersey Kisses) Double yummy!

^^^^ ummmm banana pudding .. haven't thought about that for awhile .. I might have to make some of that this year instead of a frozen pumpkin pie

We ALWAYS have baked macaroni & cheese at my Grandma's. Every big meal, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July... It's my FAVORITE. She can't leave it out, I'd be way too sad. Like my plate is half macaroni & cheese, 1/4 turkey, 1/4 mashed potatoes.... then ANOTHER helping of half the plate mac & cheese & half the plate potatoes.


But I really can't wait for leftover sandwiches

Our Thanksgiving is usually about 20-22 people large. We always have two meats. A traditional turkey (although this year we're grilling it), and then a duck option. I'm making the duck this year...it's going to have a red-wine sauce and candied kumquats.

For appetizers before the big meal, we usually have a bunch of wine and cheese for the adults focusing on a particular region of the world or California, and then of course pigs in a blanket for all the kids.

The sides are all fairly predictable and traditional...gravy, broccoli or green beans, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, etc.

The dessert is always pie...usually we have three options, which are almost always pumpkin, apple and key lime.

We also do a brunch the morning of where the only things served are raw oysters and champagne...delicious and easily my favorite part of the day.

My family lives about 8 hours away from here, by car. So, since I moved here, I've always traveled home for Thanksgiving and then spent Christmas by splitting between his mom and his dad.

Thanksgiving just isn't a big deal for his family, and it really is for mine, so this has worked out so far. This time, his extended family on his dad's side is all getting together in Texas, attendance is pretty mandatory. It just makes me really sad that someone else is making mom's favorite stuffing recipe, and impersonating Julia Child, in a kitchen that's not even the one in the house I grew up in, for my dad, brother, and extended family. It just feels not right to me.

This year, though, we will be spending Christmas morning together, but at my dad's house. I'm OK with that.

I'm thinking about taking my cookbooks with me (you betchya I have the same ones my mom did, but the newer versions that have all our favorites plus some new recipes) but I don't know if that would be rude since I've only met live-in's immediate family before. Maybe I'll just stash them in my luggage just in case. At least they'll have a pair of capable "yes ma'am I have sown a turkey up before" hands to help with the preparation.