The first thing I had to do was go to the store to get a 40 watt light bulb for the range hood. The light bulb chose 7:30 Wednesday night to die and untimely death (untimely for me - that is probably only the second bulb we have used in the 21 years we have been here). Fortunately the local Shaws was open for a portion of the day and it had appliance bulbs, so I didn't have to cook in the (relative) dark.
WS worked on getting snacks made; sheese and crackers and pepperoni, shrimp and cocktail sauce, chips and dip, peanuts etc. He also mixed up some spiced eggnog with a bit of the Captain. I seasoned the turkey and put it in the oven shortly after noon. The cheesy mashed pototoes had been made the night before and put in the crock pot crock for refrigeration. I stuck the taters back in the heating portion about 1 and set them on low. I also premade two casserole dishes full of green bean casserole.
Guests started arriving about 12:30 - shortly before the start of the football game (NE Patriots vs Detroit Lions). SIL brought the Black Forst Pecan Pie. Jimmy showed up next, then WS's nephew, then Karen (who brought brownies and raisin bars).
We had plenty of good conversation while watching the game. The Patriots won so that set everyone in a good mood (except WS who took a dislike to the Patriots way back in the '80's). The turkey got done a little early so I got it out to "rest" and shoved the grean beans and rolls into the oven.
Everything turned out well and it was quiet for a while as everyone dug into their meal. We were all stuffed so we had to "rest" a while before going after the deserts. We had the second game on the TV, but had the sound turned down and had music on the stereo as background noise to the conversation.
Somewhere between 7 and 7:30, it was time to pull out the ice cream and whipped cream to go with the pie. The pie was awesom (SIL was disappointed because the crust was a bit overdone and hard - I just added a touch of water and nuked mine for a short time - it turned out nicely warm and with a soft crust).
The house started cooling off (the oven was no longer going) so I started a fire in the wood stove (I loves me a good fire!). Any other day the woodstove would have blazed all day, but I didn't want the guests to overheat between it and the oven.
The last guest left around 9:30. WS and I just kind of laid there in a stupor before finally calling it a night and going to bed.
Today the cleanup begins. However, I did use paper plates so there are just a few less dishes (that leaves more room in the dish drainer). But the cleanup is a small price to pay for the great day we had yesterday.
We had good food, good entertainment and even better company for Thanksgiving. We hope you had the same!
Bogie--You and Dudette, both, used crockpots for potatoes this year. Marvelous idea! I'm so happy that you and your family & friends had such a great day. We were @ Dude's & Dudette's open house for about three hours, yesterday. Marvelous GrandDaughter was at work, but Chew & NG1 showed up just as we were leaving, so we got our smooching-the-kid in before we left. As usual, today is being spent well away from the dedicated shoppers!
Posted by: Cop Car | November 26, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Holy cow how did the whole weekend slip by? We were out most of the time but I meant to at least CALL family.
Posted by: bogie | November 29, 2010 at 04:52 AM
Bogie--Now, did we think to call you? Somehow, with email & blogging, calls don't come to mind! (Not that we don't enjoy hearing your voices.)
Posted by: Cop Car | November 29, 2010 at 01:48 PM
I feel much better!
Posted by: bogie | November 30, 2010 at 04:53 AM