"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

It's just the wife and I this year and I didn't want her to have to work herself ragged in the kitchen today so, we're having a ham, yams, scalloped potatoes, and baked asparagus, Simple but very tasty. Oh, and a pumpkin pie with whipped creme.

Have a good Turkey Day everyone.
 
Today is dinner at my dad's with all my siblings, and the relatives/grandparents from my dad's side of the family. Tomorrow we are hosting at our house, with all of my mom's relatives and grandparents. Saturday my youngest brother turns 30, so he's having a BBQ b-day party at his house. 3 big dinners 3 days in a row! I better go buy new pants.
 
marsturm said:
Its a beautiful morning here in Ventura, CA. Bright and sunny after a light rain, first in many months! We are going to our daughter's for dinner, she lives five miles from us and our son-in-law is a very good cook. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
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The rain is great we got a pretty decent amount up in Sunnyvale. I am hoping for more but am very thankful for what we got.
And I am very thankful for all of you great folks here on the Porch :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone :)
 
Modoc ED said:
It's just the wife and I this year and I didn't want her to have to work herself ragged in the kitchen today so, we're having a ham, yams, scalloped potatoes, and baked asparagus, Simple but very tasty. Oh, and a pumpkin pie with whipped creme.

Have a good Turkey Day everyone.
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That's pretty close to our table this year and for the same reason.
My wife makes a drop-dead amazing turkey dinner. But it's a lot of work and there aren't enough folks in the house this year to eat more than a fraction of it.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday full of thanks.
 
My wife has had a very stressful time since losing her mom September a year ago, and losing her dad in October. She has made four or five casserole dishes for Thanksgiving every year for over twenty five years. Thanksgiving was usually around twenty family members, but we thought this year it would be nice to keep it simple with just the two of us. So....Honeybaked smoked turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, cranberry jelly (from the can, a Southern thing :D), rolls, but no dessert this year :eek: (watching our waistlines).
 
Different kind of holiday for us this year, too. Both our parents are too old now to host the Thanksgiving gatherings that brought all the siblings together for years. Our single daughter is attending grad school 9 hours away by car (which she doesn't have), so it's hardly worth it for her to spend all that travel time for a long weekend. So my wife and I are doing a pretty low-key holiday. We had honey maple turkey sandwiches (with pepper jack cheese, dill slices, hot pepper rings, lettuce, mustard, peppercorn dressing) for lunch, and we baked a Marie Callander Razzleberry pie that we'll enjoy this evening with vanilla ice cream (I'll probably drizzle some dark chocolate sauce on mine). I found a couple of Cornish hens while rummaging through the freezer, and I might bake those tomorrow while she's at work. She's napping right now, and I have the latest Jack Reacher novel that I plan to start in a couple of minutes. Pretty weird, but fairly wonderful, Thanksgiving! (And I'll probably do my online Black Friday traditional knife shopping spree tomorrow.)

- GT
 
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We are having roast chicken, creamy mashed asiago cauliflower, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, and roasted rosemary radishes. I think that's all we're making at least. My wife may have other things in mind. I try to stay out of her way when she is cooking, and she returns the courtesy when I am in the kitchen.
 
5K Qs said:
Different kind of holiday for us this year, too. Both our parents are too old now to host the Thanksgiving gatherings that brought all the siblings together for years. Our single daughter is attending grad school 9 hours away by car (which she doesn't have), so it's hardly worth it for her to spend all that travel time for a long weekend. So my wife and I are doing a pretty low-key holiday. We had honey maple turkey sandwiches (with pepper jack cheese, dill slices, hot pepper rings, lettuce, mustard, peppercorn dressing) for lunch, and we baked a Marie Callander Razzleberry pie that we'll enjoy this evening with vanilla ice cream (I'll probably drizzle some dark chocolate sauce on mine). I found a couple of Cornish hens while rummaging through the freezer, and I might bake those tomorrow while she's at work. She's napping right now, and I have the latest Jack Reacher novel that I plan to start in a couple of minutes. Pretty weird, but fairly wonderful, Thanksgiving! (And I'll probably do my online Black Friday traditional knife shopping spree tomorrow.)

- GT
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Ditto here GT, just the wife and me in a very low key quiet day at home with the cats. I just made our dinner which was grilled cheese sandwiches (cheddar jack, muenster and pepper jack) along with broccoli cheddar soup ;) I told her "Happy Cheesegiving" LoL :D
 
5K Qs 5K Qs

I've always thought Thanksgiving was special since we had such a large extended family back in the 60's and 70's. Most of those family members are gone now or too old to travel.

Your Thanksgiving sounds pretty dang good :D I might have to bust out when Walmart opens at six to grab a pie after all.
 
JB in SC said:
5K Qs 5K Qs

I've always thought Thanksgiving was special since we had such a large extended family back in the 60's and 70's. Most of those family members are gone now or too old to travel.

Your Thanksgiving sounds pretty dang good :D I might have to bust out when Walmart opens at six to grab a pie after all.
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Definitely have to make adjustments with age in ways I was too foolish to anticipate.
But you're right: pie provides some welcome consolation! :thumbsup::thumbsup::p

- GT
 
jc57 said:
We are having roast chicken, creamy mashed asiago cauliflower, roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, and roasted rosemary radishes. I think that's all we're making at least. My wife may have other things in mind. I try to stay out of her way when she is cooking, and she returns the courtesy when I am in the kitchen.
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Well, my wife thinks that's a wonderful menu, but I don't think I could eat anything but the chicken! You are having my three least favorite vegetables! ;)
Hope you are havinga great Thanksgiving!
 
leghog said:
My wife is an RN practicing patient care at a hospital. She left at 0545 this morning for a 12 hour shift. She'll get home about 1920 this evening. We'll cook a turkey and the fixin's tomorrow.
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Well, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow!
 
Prester John said:
You are having my three least favorite vegetables!
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You'd be surprised how great those yucky vegetables can be when cooked right and with some flavorful healthy fats. The cauliflower is boiled first, then you add asiago cheese, butter, and cream cheese and then blend it all together (I used a hand mixer but you could use a whisk or potato masher). You adjust the mix to taste. Last time I made it I used purple cauliflower instead of golden, and parmesan cheese and butter, with some lemon juice and lemon zest. Completely different taste and texture, but still really good (though the purple looked weird).

Adding bacon to Brussel's sprouts is a game changer. I do a different recipe than my wife (which I think tastes better) which is stovetop and not oven, where you cut up the bacon, cook it in a skillet and then remove it, then saute the shallots, some minced garlic, and the sprouts in the bacon fat and add the bacon back in before serving. You can also use some chicken or vegetable broth and simmer until fully reduced if you don't want to cook everything in the bacon fat.

The roasted radishes were an experiment from a recipe we found. They turned out pretty good, almost like roasted baby red potatoes. None of that sharpness you get from fresh radishes (which I like anyway).
 
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THE REDNECK BLACK FRIDAY:

Every year on Black Friday I make the 1.6 mile trek to Tractor Supply to buy two polyester, acrylic, and wool mixed C.E. Schmidt Workwear shirts. As usual I was there a few minutes before they opened at 0600. Different this year though. There was a crowd of about 30 people waiting outside (instead of the usually few of us waiting in our cars/trucks) for the doors to open. Have never seen that before. Evidently they had a very good sale on a 24 long gun safe. By the time I left, the store was very busy. A Redneck Black Friday. First time I witnessed such. But in this case, all customers and sales folks remained calm and polite. Customers took their turns in line at the registers and at customer service. Lots of "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" and "have a good day". Didn't see one elbow thrown nor one person shoving past another nor even hear any harsh words. That's the way Black Friday should be, folks.
 
We had a fun-filled and enjoyable Thanksgiving. We started out by watching the Macy's parade on TV. My kids love the marching bands and I like the giant balloons. We then went to my Mom's assisted living facility (old folks home) and had their Thanksgiving lunch buffet with her. She's 96 years old and can't get out much, but we make sure to be there for her. This is also great because there is no food prep, no dishes to wash, and the food is excellent. Then we came home for my post turkey feast nap :cool:. Then off to the afternoon movies to watch Fantastic Beasts (good movie). Finally back home to enjoy a non-traditional dinner of corned beef that had been cooking in beer in the crock pot all day long. We wrapped up the day by decorating our Christmas tree and watching a Christmas movie before bed. Let the Joyous Season begin!!!
 
Sounds great, @ JohnDF
My mom is a 93-year-old stroke survivor, and I think cooking Thanksgiving for 14, and cleaning up, which she wisely insists on or she'd never find anything, is a bit much. She agreed with me yesterday, but next year she won't want to not do it again.

I know I've said it before, but I don't care how many times I say it: she's the toughest, bravest person I'll ever have met. If I ever meet anyone half as tough and brave, I hope they'll be on my side.
 
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