Friday, November 29, 2019

Thanksgiving Feast 2019

This is the "Before" photo of the Thanksgiving table.  The turkey is in the oven and the house is filled with the delicious aroma of sage and the 28 pound bird.  Our chef is Dayle.  He took on the turkey roasting when I was busy with three little children and he has kept on with it still.  Thankfully.  :-)  He first makes the dressing from scratch, chopping oodles of celery, onion and parsley and sautees it in copious amounts of butter.  Then pours the veg over the bread cubes, adds sage, salt and pepper and then tosses in some chicken broth to moisten it.  He stuffs some in the bird and the rest goes into a baking pan.  


I spread the special tablecloth on grandma and grandpa's old oak farm table.  The turkey platter will soon be heaped with slices of deliciousness.



The silver is lovingly placed on folded napkins and crystal goblets ready for sparkling apple-cranberry cider.



The kitchen goes into a fever pitch with Kristi coming over early to help out.  She peels and cubes the yams and russet potatoes and sets them to boil.  She and Dayle mix up the green bean bake and I perform the magic of topping the cooked yams with butter, brown sugar, a dusting of cinnamon and covered with mini-marshmallows. Then this beauty is lugged out of the oven!  I am the potato masher and use my newish red Kitchenaid mixer which held the whole 8 lbs. at once.  The last thing is making the gravy which required the attention of three of us. Dayle poured the drippings into a separator pitcher and removed most of the fats and put it back into the roasting pan.  We then added a quart of chicken stock, diced up giblets and a slurry of water and flour.  Kristi stirred and we added salt, pepper and a magic ingredient, called "Kitchen Bouquet" which my sister Denise recommended.  Wow, that added a lot of flavor and color to the sauce.

Kitchen Bouquet is a browning and seasoning sauce primarily composed of caramel with vegetable flavorings. It has been used as a flavoring addition for gravies and other foods since approximately 1873. Its ingredients include caramel, vegetable base (water, carrots, onions, celery, parsnips, turnips, salt, parsley, spices).


And before we dig in I snap the photo for historical purposes.  I love looking back over the years and seeing who is here and how the children are growing.  I have to laugh as we still produce the same amount of food as we did when the entire family of 14 was around the table.  But the leftovers are wonderful and we have turkey dinner for days.  LOL!


And.. here we are, the result of days of planning, days of shopping, hours of cooking.. one rather full plate of divine yummies.  You can't even see the turkey as it's under the potatoes and gravy.  :-)



Yes, we were all stuffed like a turkey and after we finished the meal we all went around the table to say what we were thankful for from the last year.  Caleb said "math", Hayden said "for not being in 5th grade anymore", I said "for Dayle still being with us", Kristi said "family", Travis said for "family and a good job", Dayle said "family and still being around to enjoy us all".

Mocha was thankful for some turkey tidbits while Dayle was carving the bird.  :-)


Today we're relaxing and enjoying the glow of the memories of having our loved ones here.  Our son Shawn and grandson Michael both worked the holiday.  They were missed.  Our daughter Amy in Ohio hosted her in-laws and cooked her very first Thanksgiving turkey at the age of 47.  She said it all turned out good and they had a nice time, all 13 of them.

Tell me... what are YOU thankful for from the last year?

((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

16 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving! It all looks delicious and mouth watering. I think that right now I am thankful to have such amazing and supportive schools that work with me to help both my kids. It certainly makes a difference. xx Susan

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  2. Teresa, your table is beautiful all dressed for Thanksgiving! Love your pretty dishes. Dayle did a great job with the dinner. So nice to have a man that cooks!
    I'm so thankful to have a loving husband and family.

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  3. It looks like a wonderful day. Our kids talked me into using paper plates for dinner the first time ever. I have to admit, it made cleanup easier. The dishwasher ran four times yesterday anyway!
    I'm so very thankful to have all of our kids here this week. It has been wonderful. The house is quiet for a bit right now as most are at the mall shopping and Alex and Tara are working on their computers. Apparently Britain and Japan don't celebrate Thanksgiving so they still have work to do. Ha!
    I'm glad you had such a wonderful time with the family you had close by.
    Blessings and love,
    Betsy

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  4. Glad you had such a lovely time Teresa, it looks like an amazing meal. And well done Dayle, for the cooking. I love your thankful things. I am thankful for my health and that of my family. Have a lovely weekend. CJ xx

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  5. Looks like the perfect celebration meal. Looking at your photograph of that full plate of food is making me hungry!

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  6. Thankful that Al is back with her boyfriend Will . Thankful that my Son and my Uncle, and husband and Father had some good times before his failing. Need prayers Teresa

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  7. Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving celebration with us, Teresa...I enjoyed your post! I am thankful for the beauty around me, including the loving contact I have with family and dear folk like you. ((hugs)), Gracie :-)

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  8. Teresa
    I can't remember if i already commented. Just back from my respite at the barn. Great horses. Great kids. Great volunteers. Just called the nursing home, couldn't reach my father. Ill nap and try again later. Im thankful for : you. for zach 's happiness in Mexico, for Allison finishing her grad school a lost and for my hero, my fireman. My rock.

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  9. It looks like it was delicious! We ate so much, very much like your dinner with green beans and sauteed mushrooms, and my husbands family cheesy onions which are to die for! I have been eating leftovers ever since Thursday and loving every bite. Have a wonderful weekend Teresa.

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  10. I am thankful that my parents are still living and I am in touch with them each day. Also thankful for my own family and that we had Thanksgiving together this year. Your dinner looks like perfection and I loved seeing it.

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  11. That looks absolutely delicious Teresa. I have never cooked a turkey.... would you believe it?! Dayle did an amazing job with it. Lovely to see you all smiling. I am thankful for my health, and that of my family. Have a lovely weekend xx

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  12. Happy thanksgiving day to you all a little late ❤❤ Here Sunday 1st Dec and thankfull for family time xoxo Also good health still 😀😀

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  13. My 86-year-old Dad hosted Thanksgiving. My mom has dementia so I was anticipating my dad yelling at her for help and her forgetting where pans are. Dad has never managed Thanksgiving before, - as usual, he's out to prove he's still capable and won't accept help. We come to his home and he's got the table expanded and set, the turkey is in the oven. Again, offers of help were refused. You and I, we know how many people it takes to get the big dinner on the table. I sat my mom down on the couch and had her look at my recent Japan photos (all on my IG - RocketGirl50). She kept laughing at my friend's parakeet. Dad got the turkey out of the oven and started slicing it up and then pooped out on us. No potatoes, no stuffing, no yams, like he promised. I made some gravy and we sat down to table. All-in-all, a wonderful thanksgiving with plenty to eat, even if he tried to blame my mom for not peeling the potatoes. My nephew and girlfriend brought tamales, and I brought the green bean bake, along with a fab salad, and potato rolls from my local Thriftway (best bakery). Oh, he bought the pies ahead of time (like five days before). God bless my stubborn dad.

    I am glad you had help!
    I usually host as I have the room and the helpers.

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  14. Such a beautiful table, before and during Thanksgiving. I am thankful for a warm home, reasonably good health, a loving spouse, healthy children and grandchildren and resources to travel to see them. Happy Thanksgiving - a little late.

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  15. What a gorgeous table Teresa! And what a LARGE Turkey!!! I would have loved that. The one Colin & Mailing cooked was a little small (in my opinion) - there was plenty, but not that much for leftovers (my favorite part). Love your turkey platter.

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  16. It was lovely to see your wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations Teresa...such a beautiful table and delicious food...and loving family. So glad it was a happy time for you all. XXX

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