Thanksgiving 2010 – Turkey in a Bag, Dinner Roll Pillows, and Perfect Pie

This year for Thanksgiving, we had Chris’ sister, brother in law and our nephews here for dinner.  The stress of several days’ worth of extreme cleaning was mitigated by the fact that our 18 year old nephew cooked the entire dinner. From scratch.

He cooked the 18.5 pound turkey that Chris got free from work in one of those Reynold’s Oven Bags, inside our electric roaster. He rubbed the turkey with melted butter, poultry seasoning, and salt first, then it cooked for about 4 hours. I was very skeptical of the oven bag method, having never done it before. I was sure the turkey would still be pale when it was done but much to my surprise, it did turn brown. And fell apart. I barely got a photo before it was sliced, plattered, and served up. Here’s Chris while carving:

Our nephew also made homemade rolls. As in, from yeast and water and flour and I don’t know, the pillows angels sleep on or something. I was in the living room grumbling about how crappy the Macy’s Day Parade was (seriously. ENOUGH with the freaking Broadway  performances, I want to see SNOOPY, dammit) so I didn’t see what he did exactly, but somehow he turned a bowl of dough into huge, pillowy on the inside, chewy on the outside dinner rolls that rivaled any I’ve had at any restaurant.

(I made him put that apron on for the picture, like any 18 year old man, he could have cared less if he was getting his shirt messy while cooking.)

I didn’t get a photo of it, but he also made homemade cranberry sauce, like from fresh cranberries and everything.  Chris’ sister made the candied yams and his brother in law did the mashed potatoes, which just left one thing – dessert.

People, my 18 year old nephew made a from-scratch Granny Smith Apple pie with a topping he came up with on the spot.  The recipe he used called for mixing the sliced apples with a flour-sugar-spices-butter mixture which he mixed up before he peeled the apples. After he sprinkled a bunch of it over the apples, he had some left over. So, here’s what he did…

He put the top crust on and pressed it down over the apples. Then he sprinkled the rest of the flour-sugar-spices-butter mixture on the TOP of the pie, and baked it. When it came out of the oven, it was the prettiest apple pie I’d ever seen:

But the looks had nothing on the TASTE. Oh, my friends, you cannot imagine the deliciousness of this pie. I would eat it hot, cold, with ice cream, with whipped cream, in a box, with a fox, in the rain, on a train…

We told him he’s hired forever. From now on, he’s welcome to make Thanksgiving dinner every year. As long as he makes that pie.

HOW WAS YOUR THANKSGIVING??

Why I Love Our Local Independent Toy Store


Thanks to American Express for sponsoring my writing today about small businesses. American Express is presenting Small Business Saturday, a way to honor the local merchants who are the backbone of the economy, this Saturday, November 27. They’re offering statement credits to people who shop at small businesses, advertising for small-business owners, and donations to Girls Inc. for “Likes” of the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook. Join the celebration by clicking the “Like” button and then visiting the Facebook page to learn more about the program and read the terms and conditions that apply.

About a mile from my house is a wonderful toy store called Toy Village. It’s the bottom floor of a gorgeous old house, and members of the family that started the store  still occupy the top floor. Because the store is in a house, you have to imagine walking into an old house and instead of a living room, seeing shelf after shelf of toys.  I consider Toy Village an educational toy store, because they focus on good quality items from brands like Melissa & Doug, Brio, Plan Toys, Corelle, Calico Critters, Steiff, and Madame Alexander.

In the main room are the Playmobil sets, a huge Brio train table, Corelle dolls, and a wall of Plan Toys dollhouses, farms, horse stables, and all the accessories.  There’s a tiny room off to the left that was probably once a closet or pantry where they keep the Melissa & Doug play kitchen and play food.

Wind your way through the main room at the front, turn left, and you’ve got a small room that was probably a bedroom, now full of gorgeous Madame Alexander collectible dolls, another smaller room that might have once been a dressing room now full of baby dolls and accessories. Pass through a room filled floor-to-ceiling with exquisite stuffed animals, pass by a tiny room just big enough for a child’s table and chairs topped with a gorgeous tea set (where kids are encouraged to sit and have pretend tea parties), and enter the main room that might have been the master bedroom or maybe the family’s living room.

In the main room, kids can play with a three story, fully furnished dollhouse, a train table filled with tracks, trains, and magnetic cars, or play with cars on a huge bi-level wooden garage with a real working elevator.

Set along the walls in some of the rooms are china cabinets with a constantly changing supply of exquisite treasures. Porcelain dolls of all sizes, tea sets made from real china with plates the size of a pencil eraser, collections of storybook character dolls, Russian nesting dolls, snow globes, it’s all wonderful and amazing.

It’s not just the inventory that makes me love Toy Village though. It’s the people that work there. As soon as we walk in, someone comes out from behind the cash register and walks up to us saying hello.  Because there are so many rooms in the store and the same toys can often be found in more than one place, the employees always offer to walk with us to another section of the store to show us more of whatever we are looking for.  They are always knowledgeable about their stock and as enthusiastic about a really cool toy as I am!

Yesterday, I took Kaitlyn there to let her pick out one last birthday gift. We were greeted by both the man working the register and a lady who had been stocking shelves nearby.  After Kaitlyn picked out her gift and we spent a few minutes in the back room playing with the dollhouse, we went up to the register to pay.  I started chatting with both employees, and mentioned that it had been Kaitlyn’s birthday the day before and she had asked to come to Toy Village to pick something out. After I paid for her toy and he was putting it in a bag, I noticed him slip something else in.

“I’m adding a book to your bag”, he said, “for a special girl on her birthday”.  I mean, honestly, has any chain toy store ever given you something for free because it was your daughter’s birthday?    Every time I walk in there, I feel like I’m visiting friends who just happen to run a toy store.

Even if you don’t have an American Express card, please think about patronizing your local small businesses for the holidays. Click the Small Business Saturday logo below to visit the Facebook page for this promotion, and if you support small businesses, click the “Like” button!

Small Business Saturday

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Thanksgiving Snack Mix

I posted this on MomCooks last year, and now I want to share it here with all of you.  The recipe and image comes from Organized Christmas, which despite it’s name is a great resource for recipes and crafts for every holiday. They call this “Thanksgiving Blessing Mix”, I prefer to call it “Thankful Snack Mix”. To give this as a gift as “Blessing Mix”, visit Organized Christmas for free printable ingredients lists or bag toppers you can attach to baggies of this mix before handing it out to family and friends.

Thanksgiving Snack/Blessing Mix Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups Bugles brand corn snacks
2 cups small pretzels
1 cup candy corn
1 cup dried fruit bits or raisins
1 cup peanuts or sunflower seeds
1 cup M&Ms-brand chocolate candy
16 Hershey’s-brand chocolate kisses
free printable blessing mix gift tags or bag toppers

Directions:

In a large bowl, gently mix all ingredients except Hershey’s Kisses.

Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup Thanksgiving Blessing Mix in small cellophane treat bags. Add one Hershey’s Kiss to each bag. Close bag with chenille stem or twist-tie. Makes 16 bags.

Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation’s abundance.

Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

Candy corn: Sacrifices of the Pilgrims’ first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.

Nuts or seeds: Promise of a a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried fruits: Harvest gifts of our bountiful land.

M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to guide us to a blessed future.

Hershey’s Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?? Tell me in a comment!