Thanksgiving: Dinner, part 2

Ahhh...the long awaited call of

"DIIIIIIINNER TIME!!!!!!"

They came a-running!

Who wouldn't, when you've been smelling THIS all afternoon?

From Broccoli Au Gratin...

To Cranberry Relish (a.k.a. "Purple Rice")

Everything was full.

Our plates...

Our tummies...

And pretty much every table and chair we could round up!

Tables cleared and the dishwashers having knocked out the stacks of dirty dishes (thank goodness for paper plates!) We gathered for a time of prayer, thanksgiving, and singing!

This is truly what makes our family so special to me. Bound together not only by family ties...but by the Holy Spirit! These times are always looked forward to and treasured, as we share with each other the ways the Lord has provided in the past year. Comfort in times of sorrow. Grace in trials. Guidance given. Abundant joy! Blessings unlooked for! The love and care of God, manifested in countless ways to each one. :) Just a few shared in the evening, but happy, joyful faces speak volumes! :)

A then...the long awaited....

DESSERT TABLE!!!

How does one choose?

Eh, try 'em all!!

After all, Thanksgiving only comes once a year. :)

And so finally, a month after the fact, the Thanksgiving '09 Food Chronicles are....ENDED.

Almost...

Do you even KNOW how lovely this sight looked at the end of the day?

Okay, the end! :)

Happy New Year everyone!

Thanksgiving: Dinner!

And now comes the time of day when you nab pretty much anyone with hands, and drag them into the kitchen. Most were willing victims. :)

Grand times to be had in the kitchen!! Though we ran out of counter space about half way through, and the desserts had to relocate into the schoolroom, and said room had to be locked and barred to keep any nibblers out.

Kidding. :)

All is in readiness...and, this picture does not need a description...but it's title is

TIRED

Thanksgiving: Lunch

The Spread

The Thanksgiving mice who look on in astonishment at all the food.

Fun times!!

Some serious game-playing...using brain power burns calories, doesn't it? I mean, the Memory game is TOUGH!!

Some of the kiddos tried eating outside...but it was a BIT too cold, even for the toughest of them.

And you had better believe the 2 babies present got passed around and greatly enjoyed! This is my dear friend from work, Ernestina. She loves babies, and had been looking forward to this for weeks! :)

But eat lightly everyone! Dinner is still to come!

Thanksgiving: Breakfast

Okay, I'm getting sick of Thanksgiving food! Especially since it's now after CHRISTMAS!

*sigh*

So here's the big Thanksgiving meal day! Spread across several posts, otherwise I'd never get anything else done this afternoon. And then we'll be done and move on. :) It was a very fun Thanksgiving day, though, with a houseful of dear family and friends!!

To start with, here is Michelle's and my brain for the day, zoom in and see our menu, a list of what needed to get made, and what it required (any toppings, oven temp., cooking time, BASTING, etc. ;)), and an hour-by-hour "to do" list:

And this, friends, is the List-er Extraordinaire:

Project #1

TURKEY...

and don't we look like we know exactly what we're doing with those big birds?

Turkey taken care of, however, breakfast was the fist thing on everyone else's "to do" list. Here are the remains of the delectableness.

We had a few minutes of tea break, before beginning lunch prep. :)

So the fun begins, and the crowd starts gathering!

My Favorite Sweetie

MUCH better than any Christmas candy, wouldn't you say?

:)

And finally...

Best Ever Carrot Cake

6 c. grated carrots (yes, SIX!)

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. raisins (opt.)

4 eggs

1-1/2 c. white sugar

1 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. crushed pineapple, drained

3 c. all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)

In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 1 hour, then stir in raisins.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 10-inch cake pans (or three 9-inch cake pans).

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, stier into the wet mixture until absorved. Finally stir in the carrot mixture and the walnuts. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

And in case you find yourself in the horrible position of not having a cream cheese frosting recipe, here's our favorite:

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy, adding more confectioners' sugar if too runny, or milk if a bit too thick (1 tsp. at a time!)

Pecan Pie in Bar Form

Confession:

This is NOT the recipe I used for Thanksgiving. I didn't like it as well as this one, which I've made once or twice before. :D

Sticky Pecan Pie Bars

Crust:

1 pkg. (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix

8 T. butter, melted

1 lg. egg

Filling:

3/4 c dark corn syrup

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 c. chopped pecans or pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350. Blend cake mix, butter, and egg in a parge mixing bowl on low for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides occasionally. Batter should be thick. Press crust mixture evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake 20 minutes, or until crust just begins to brown.

Meanwhile, prepare filling. Blend corn syrup, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla on medium speed until well combined. Fold in pecans. Pour filling over baked crust and spread evenly over entire surface. Bake 22-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown and the filling just starts to set. Cool 30 minutes before cutting.

Freeze nicely...if you have any leftovers.

And the Butternut...

Butternut Cream Pie

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs)

1/4 c. hot water

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sugar

2 T. caramel ice cream topping

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

3/4 c. plus 2 T. cold milk

1 pkg (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

Whipped cream and toasted flaked coconut (opt.)

Cut squash in half; discard seeds. Place squash cut side down in a microwave-safe dish; add hot water. Cover and microwave for 13-15 minutes or until tender. When cool enough to handle, scoop out pulp and mash. Set aside 1-1/2 cups squash (save remaining squash for another use).

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the squash utnil blended. Beat in the sugar, caramel topping, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves until blended.

In a small bowl, whisk cold milk and pudding mix for two minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set. Stir into squash mixture.

Spoon into pastry shell. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and coconut if desired.

Grab a fork and enjoy!

Cousin Sawyer's favorite...

Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

2 c. pureed pumpkin

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1-1/2 T butter or margarine, melted

1 T. molasses

3/4 c. evaporated milk

1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. salt

unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 450F. Combine pumpkin, sugar, and remaining ingredients in order given. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 325. Continue baking for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes clean.

Enjoy with a BIG blob of whipped cream.

Of course. :)

Michelle's Apple Pie

Michelle's Apple Pie

Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)

6 cups chopped peeled tart apples (about 6 medium)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sour cream
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

TOPPING:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter

Directions:
Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; flute edges. In a large bowl, combine the apples, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into pastry shell. For topping, combine flour and sugar in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the apples are tender. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 8 servings.

Desserts: Part 4

The Grand Finale!

This was the one dessert that got finished up the day after all the others. I got the cakes baked on "dessert day", but we were too bushed that evening to frost it. :) Lazy lazy.

But all in good time...here it is!

"Best Ever Carrot Cake"

In all its swirly, cream cheese frosting glory.
And you wouldn't believe how good cranberries and cream cheese frosting are...I'm going to have to experiement with that combo in the future...

And almost as a side note, here's a picture of the sticky, gooey pecan pie bars. :) By this point, I was tired of pausing every couple minutes to take a picture, and was just plowing through the recipes. :)


So ends the creation of Thanksgiving's sweet ending...
With the rest of it yet to come!

Desserts: Part 3

Ladies and gentlemen, gather around to see the magnificent transformation of this lovely berry pie....

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Into a succulent berry COBBLER!!!

And interestingly, it was one of the first to go. :) I suppose with the berry juice oozing out everywhere, it was just irresistible.

Desserts: Part 2

Butternut squash? In a PIE?!?

Yep.

I will post my recipes before long, because this is a

Really Yummy Pie.

But it was all made possible by the two squash squashers. For one of whom (as noted earlier), the job was a result of a misdemeanor.

Doesn't she look penitent?

Okay, not really. They're great kitchen helpers, who love to do (almost) anything. :)

This squash did cause a death, however.

In the midst of its 15 minute microwave time, an old friend breathed its last.

Dear old appliance,

We say good-bye

With many a tear,

And many a sigh.

"All for the sake

Of a Butternut Pie!"

A moment of silence please...

Wipe away your tears, however!

The pie turned out amazing!

And so ends the pie portion of our day. A good 5-hours work!

Behold:

berry, pumpkin, butternut, and apple pies!!

Just a couple little more things for our dessert table, and the day will be done!

Desserts: Part 1

So day 1 of Thanksgiving baking.

Which culinary delight do you think we started with? And spent an entire day creating?

DESSERT of course!!

First the pies!

Armed with tea and lovely Thanksgiving aprons (thanks Mom!!!), Michelle and I got up *early* to begin our dessert campaign.

Early, meaning we were in the kitchen before 9am.

Aren't you impressed?

We nearly lost one of our pie crusts though...SOMEbody was so excited about dessert, she almost ate a raw crust. We consigned her to hard labor after that incident, and had her cut up squash (to be seen later).

First pie on the menu...

Pumpkin!!

This was a new recipe from a friend of mine at the Orchard. It had just a touch of molasses in it...and boy did it smell good! I'm not going to tell you why all those little pie crust cut-out turkeys are around the edges though. Because that woud mean I'd have to 'fess up to accidentally breaking Michelle's perfectly fluted crust when I took the pie out of the oven. Oooops.

And so after we'd finished the pumpkin pie, and a berry pie (no pics) and Michelle had finished rolling out all the crusts, by golly it was time for the girls to make lunch, and we had to clean up somewhat, and then get started on pie type #2.

We had a great clean-up crew...lots of cheery helpers!

lots and Lots and LOTS!

And then...

can you guess what kind of pie came next?

Three apple pies, coming up! I got this job, since I've had quite a bit of experience with apples...somewhere.

Filled up, and (almost) oven-ready!

We go for good ol' crumb-topped apple pie.

We are Dutch, after all.

And so it begins! The dessert marathon.

More desserts, to be served momentarily...