Thanksgiving

I just got back from a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's house.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is an excuse for the family to get together and enjoy each other's company, plus there's always great food.  This year we had the usual foods, including turkey (of course), green bean casserole (with honey bunches of oats on top instead of corn flakes), brussels sprouts with bacon bits, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy made from the turkey drippings.  A couple new things this year were a Quinoa casserole-type dish that my sister made (very tasty) and a different pumpkin pie recipe.  The spices were a bit different than usual plus the crust was to die for.  It was made with half vodka in place of water, which allows for a moister crust when rolling it out, but then it bakes out, leaving no flavor and making the crust with just the right amount of fluff.  Overall, a fantastic dinner.  I made an appetizer (with the help of Martha Stewart) of a blend of cheeses, formed into a log, covered in roasted pistachio nuts.  It took about 2 hours to make (which included shelling and chopping about a pound of nuts) but turned out great.

One thing we do every Thanksgiving is the Christmas grab-bag.  It can be called other things, like Secret Santa, etc. but basically, each person draws a name from a hat (we actually used a top hat this year) of a person to buy a gift for.  It is a little complicated, since the only rule is that you cannot select yourself or any member of your household.  With one family of five, we usually have to draw a couple times to get it right.  Amazingly, though, this year we got it right in one try.  This was after we got the rules straight, though.  My grandpa's sense of humor (when we can't tell if he's kidding sometimes – he's a master of timing and keeping a straight face) is always a highlight of family gatherings.  He played along as if he didn't understand the rules and it took us three or four minutes before we realized he had us in a "who's on first"-type circular conversation about who he was allowed to draw out of that hat.  For the second year in a row, I didn't draw my cousin Daniel (who I drew almost every year before that, only to buy him "dangerous" gifts like knives or zippo lighters).

My youngest cousin had the idea this year to make a "family turkey," which was a turkey she drew, to which we each added a feather that said what we were thankful for.  I had a slight deja-vu moment when we read them aloud after dinner, reminding me of when John Lithgow's character's family did this on Dexter, but since there was no serial-killer vibe, all was good. 

I hope all my friends and the family who wasn't there had a good Thanksgiving.  If not a good visit with family, then at least a nice break from work or school.  It's sure nice to have a long weekend.  Who knows, maybe I'll even start getting ready for Christmas, my favorite time of the year.  We already have the stuff to make the first batch of fruitcake (good fruitcake, not like the bad reputation it usually gets) and pretty soon it will be time to start making cookies.  I think I made at least 20 dozen last year; I don't know if that will be possible again, while working full time over break, but we'll see…