I spent half of yesterday prepping/cooking and then got up at 6:00 to start throwing everything into crock pots. What? You don’t do that? It’s awesome, because then instead of musical ovens your guests come and say, “What can we do to help?” and you just wave an arm at your counter full of crock pots and say, “Nothing. It’s all done.” And then they back away slowly. Yay!
This year I’m thankful for lots of things, like that I didn’t break any other bones while cooking stuff, and that my family and friends are awesome, and my readers (that’s you) are lovely and supportive, and that this year is almost over. (CAN I GET AN AMEN?)
Of course I am missing having Chickie here—she won’t be home to visit until next month—but in the spirit of my new the-glass-is-half-full-dammit outlook, I compensated for her absence by putting meat in every single damn dish. (Sorry, honey. I’ll make whatever you want when you’re home for Christmas, sans “chicken juice,” I promise.)
Otto is blasting “Alice’s Restaurant” while hard at work on the turkey and I’m about to go make some rolls, but I have some crappy iPhone pictures to share with you because I’m taking a break and I’m a giver like that.
I started yesterday with cranberry sauce. One cranberry-orange-ginger-compote (basically a traditional sauce) and one raw cranberry-horseradish relish. And look, I already lied to you! No meat in these.
Then I did the prep for these next two, which are happily socked away in crock pots, making the house smell amaaaaaaazing.
First, cornbread-apple-caramelized-onion stuffing. Usually made with vegetable broth for my girl. Today? It’s got a pound of sausage and is well saturated in chicken broth. MEATTASTIC.
Next, drunken sweet potatoes with pecans and apples. This is a Guy Fieri recipe and YES, I AM ASHAMED, but damn if it isn’t delicious. (No meat in this one, either. I am a lying liar who lies.)
I apologize for this next one. Because it isn’t Thanksgiving until I have to touch a disgusting turkey neck. (Turkey neck = gross, but finished giblet gravy = delicious.)
So the turkey’s going in the oven and the mashed potatoes will be beaten into submission with all the butter in the world, and the rolls will be Monkey’s favorite thing even with a billion pounds of food on the table, and our guests are bringing pies. But I also made this:
(That’s gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake with a molasses cookie crust. Also meat-free, but I’m willing to tell everyone I put liver in it if it leaves more for me.)
I’m wishing all of you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving, and whatever peace your heart needs this holiday season. It feels like it’s been a long year for so many of us; I’m glad we can still gather and give thanks and mean it. I hope you can, too.
Happy Thanksgiving Mir
Happy Thanksgiving Mir! May you all have a wonderful day and thank you for always writing and letting those of us who live so far away be a part of your daily life.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mir and family!
AMEN. Enjoy the delicious day!
Amen! And Yum! Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy thanksgiving to you too. And there is a turkey neck simmering on my stove as well. Two kinds of cranberry sauce – regular and a cranberry chutney (YUM).
I am thankful for your writing, your stories and for you!
How many crockpots do you own, woman?! A most impressive spread, and I admire your grace in the face of the year’s challenges. And in the face of what has been a difficult year, I feel truly thankful for friends like you. Enjoy Meatapalooza.
I, uh, currently own six crock pots, three of which will be working today.
I have an illness, I know.
Happy turkey day. I know it will be hard without Chickie, but allt he meat may make you feel a little better!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! You are an inspiration! :-)
Happy Thanksgiving! It’s been a crappy year for so many. Let’s hope the holidays bring on the cheer!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Mir! Enjoy it all.
I made a pie.
You win at Thanksgiving!
Everything looks amazing! Have a delicious day. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Otto, Monkey, and everyone at your table:)
YUM!
AMEN SISTAH!!
And I wish I had six crock pots! Actually, I wish I had ONE crock pot.
Have a good Turkey Day!
Happy Thanksgiving, Mir & co! Also, in your free time (ha!) you need to start a crock pot recipe blog. ;)
I am impressed, you didn’t break anything. May the whole of Thanksiving be fabulous for the whole family (Happy Thanksgiving all the Americans, everywhere!). But those turkeys better watch out : Thanksgiving is over but Christmas is not that far away (I can hear the wattles wobbling in fear all the way across the Atlantic) and then they will gobble gobble gobble you all up!
Happy Thanksgiving. I’m thankful that you didn’t break anything.
Looks like a delicious spread (at least for us meat-a-tarians)! And the crockpot technique is brilliant. Clearly I need more crockpots :)
I’m going to a co-worker’s house for dinner. I don’t have to bring anything, but I volunteered to bring rolls and a green bean casserole, which I need to start making. Should be fun though – even as a bachelor, I like cooking once in a while. :) Happy meatful turkey day!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and to continued good health for Chickie and all (and esp no more kitchen mishaps).
You’re a wonder! I will be thinking of you and yours…
Love,
Mom
Happy Meaty Thanksgiving! Those sweet potatoes look great. Any chance of the recipe for the crockpot?
I’m sorry to hear that Chickee isn’t joining you, but I hope that you and she and all will still have a delicious holiday and will get to Skype a nice visit.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mir! I wish I could sample that cheesecake, though. We’re doing traditional pumpkin pie, even though I tried to get my husband to go for a different pumpkin cheesecake. No dice. He’s apparently a traditionalist. (Although we are having cheesy potatoes instead of mashed, so there’s that.)
Have a good one!
Happy, happy Thanksgiving. It all looks gorgeous (bar the turkey neck. Turkey neck never looks gorgeous, even when attached to the living, breathing bird). Your giblet gravy reminds me of how my mum would make gravy each year with the browned butter-and-flour, the intensely flavoured stock from the giblets that had been simmering all day, and at each stage it would smell better and better and… then she would chop up all those boiled-to-death innards and pop them in the gravy. Sigh. I went gravy-free every Thanksgiving until I learned to make gravy myself out of self-defence!
Recipes, please!! We’re cooking Saturday, and I’d love to use crockpots!!
Those drunken sweet potatoes need some bacon.
Happy Turkey Day!
Someday we have to address how GOOD and easy homemade GF pie crust is.
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have a wonderful, stress-free weekend.
Thanks!! I’ve never adapted recipes before. Looking forward to trying this!!
Amen! As the owner of multiple crock pots…you can never have too many crock pots! I like you even more knowing we share a love of crock pots!
well, despite your earlier posts that had me cringing and weeping over your food selections for thanksgiving, i must say, this all looks and sounds delicious.
So, AMEN!! May you and yours have a fabulous Thanksgiving.
Also, please post the recipes for the stuffing and the pumpkin cheesecake as soon as you’re done eating. Or, you know, in the next day or so. Or whenever you feel like it.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Mir.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Mir.
I understand the meat thing. My dairy-allergic son is in Morocco this fall; so, if I can’t have him here at Thanksgiving, I’m sure as heck going to have butter instead. I added it to everything.
Alice’s Restaurant! My husband mentioned today that he always heard that as a kid on Thanksgiving growing up in Westchester. Small world,
Would love the sweet potatoes recipe -that looks great but not sure how to adapt for slow cooker. Botched my first attempt at GF pie crust – was too thick and therefore hard as a rock. Oh well- hopefully I do better next time.
HOW MANY CROCKPOTS DO YOU HAVE?!?!
Happy Thanksgiving, Mir! I hope your day was great!
A very Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Hope you had as happy a Thanksgiving as possible with the chickita missing. Everything looks so yummy, you don’t mind if I crash your party next year, right? xoxoxo
Happy Thanksgiving. Hope it was delicious and you have lots of yummy leftovers.
so thankful for you, mir!
Here’s to 2013!! Happy Holidays Mir and family.
I did not go online once yesterday, but I am most impressed by your spread. I forgive the Guy Fieri recipe, although I can’t stand him, because dammit, that does look delicious! I hope you had a wonderful day :)
Happy thanksgiving (late) Mir! If anybody deserves a terrific holiday season it’s you and your family!
Love from across the pond :-)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our peanut-allergic kiddo is spending the night at Grandma’s do we’re ordering Chinese food, not quite the same as ‘meattastic’, but still living it up in her absence!
OMG. Even though I am still full from yesterday (thanks to the 2 turkey leftovers), those sweet potatoes look absolutely amazing. I hope you took a good picture of them, because they look front page delicious.
Six crock pots? SIX? How does that even happen?
Hope you had a wonderful Turkey Day!
Giblet gravy? I’ve never been so brave.
I use the crockpots, too. Potatoes, extra stuffing, and anything else that doesn’t have to be fabulously fresh.
Amen and AMEN!
OOoh, won’t you please share the stuffing and sweet potato recipe???… or should I just google, that would be nicer than begging, wouldn’t it…lol..
Hope your day was wonderful.