Post holiday post…

I hope you all had an enjoyable and delicious Thanksgiving. This was a wonderful Thanksgiving for us. Holiday dinners for the first 30 years of our marriage were stressful and not fun.

I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner for 33 years. We ate dinner with Martin and his wife. Eileen, four years ago. It was scrumptious. Only making pies that year felt odd, but the break was wonderful.

Marty’s brother, Peter, came down from up north and spent a couple of days with us relaxing and catching up. We had a great time with lots of laughs, watching Hamilton, and a competitive game of Five Crowns.

My favorite Thanksgiving meme is this one. It makes me laugh every year. It’s true, isn’t it?

I didn’t post my holiday food photos because I do not go on social media on holidays or when we have guests. However, now I’m going to share our Thanksgiving with you.

I made my centerpiece the weekend before the big day. I love dressing our dining room table almost as much as cooking. 

I didn’t cook the whole bird again this year; I took the turkey parts off the carcass on Wednesday morning.

I immediately started a big pot of turkey stock. The stock simmered for 18 hours and made the house smell delicious. 

After being skimmed, the final broth was strained and went back on the stove to cook for another hour until it was reduced by half.

Check out that gorgeous and rich stock! I put half of it in the freezer for ramen soup or gravy.

Another benefit of not cooking the whole bird is that the turkey roasts for 45 minutes. My brother-in-law, Peter, was an enormous help with the turkey.

I had to use two pans because I didn’t have the kind I needed. Peter helped flip the turkey pieces since the pans were super heavy.

I had one grease fire; the heat was high when I placed the turkey breasts skin side down. I didn’t panic; I took the pan off the heat and put it on the cold granite countertop to cool down.

Our meal couldn’t have been more traditional since that was what we prefer on Thanksgiving. My two desserts were also traditional: pumpkin pie and mini pecan pie tarts.

Noah and Aja joined us for dessert after spending the day going to family members’ homes and eating two Thanksgiving dinners. Yes, they were both stuffed but had a little room left for dessert.

The five of us had a ton of laughs and stories to tell. I am so grateful they could spend time with us and Uncle Peter. Unfortunately, Sam was working and wasn’t able to join us.

So, that was it, another Thanksgiving in the books. Next up: Christmas meals.