Happy (post)Thanksgiving! I hope you are recovering nicely from your turkey hangover. ;)
We kicked things off yesterday just as I told you we would…with cinnamon rolls! (Yeeeah, between me, Ben and Ben’s little brother, who spent Thanksgiving with my family this year, we crushed the mini cinnamon rolls on Wednesday night…whoops!)
The three of us walked into my parent’s house at 8:30am and my Mom proclaimed “Oh! I was just about to put the cinnamon rolls in the oven!” To which I laughed. :)
Enjoyed warm and in about 3 bites, with a hot cup of coffee with a splash of eggnog. Have you ever tried this combo? Life changer right there!
I made sure to get the crew up, ready and over so we could watch every minute of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – my personal official kickoff to the holiday season. Attending in person is pretty high up on my bucket list. Has anyone ever gone?
I contentedly watched the Rockettes, Broadway shows and high school marching bands on the lazy boy with Black Friday ads in my lap, and a cold champagne mimosa in my hand.
It’s the only way to start Thanksgiving Day, I’m tellin’ ya!
Throughout the morning we munched on my Mom’s special Chex Mix – another Thanksgiving tradition I forgot to mention.
She puts like, triple the amount of Worchestershire sauce in each batch so it comes out tasting like salty crack. Iloveitsomuch!
When the men broke off to enjoy beers and cards,
my Mom and I took to the kitchen to finish getting our Thanksgiving feast ready.
This year she insisted I learn how to cook a turkey. Blerg! Since I had to learn, you do too. ;)
How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey
By Iowa Mom Eats
1. Thaw the bird in the refrigerator for at least 4 days. Remove the giblets and pat the entire bird, inside and out, dry.
2. Stuff the insides with stuffing, then seal with a wire skewer.
3. Flip the bird over, stuff the neck, then seal with another skewer.
4. Bend the wings back so they don’t burn.
5. Brush the entire bird with vegetable oil. IME says this results in an evenly golden brown bird.
6. Open a turkey-sized baking bag and toss some flour around on the inside. IME says this is so the bag doesn’t explode, but she doesn’t know why it would explode, or how the flour keeps it from doing so. JUST DO IT she says!
7. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the entire turkey and seal the bag.
8. Stab 6 holes in the bag and cook!
Whee! Seriously this makes for THE most juicy turkey. Like, unbelievably juicy! So yum!
When all the food was finally ready, we set the table.
Aaaand feasted. This was one of the best yet! :D
The gang was all there. Party Potatoes Deluxe,
mashed potatoes & gravy,
and Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots.
Can’t forget Grandma’s Holiday Salad or Sweet Potato Stuffed Apples with Toasted Marshmallows. DELICIOUS!
The afternoon took an unforeseen turn after lunch when we decided to light a bonfire in the backyard. It was too pretty a day to stay inside, as it was 67 degrees outside!
Nothing says Thanksgiving like bonfires and balmy weather! ;)
We ended up staying outside, enjoying the fire and sipping some cold ones, until nearly 7:00 at night. The temperature never dropped after the sun dipped below the horizon, and nobody wanted to end the perfect evening… That is, until our stomachs started growling, which meant – leftovers!
Hope your Thanksgiving was as happy as ours! :)
~~~~~
What was the highlight of your Thanksgiving? Did you participate in any Black Friday shopping this year?
[…] before it really even began. I can’t remember another year when it was warm enough to have a bonfire on Thanksgiving, go coatless until December, or run outside in January. Even if we get hit with an epic snow storm […]
[…] Fall went out in a blazing 67 degree day of glory a couple weeks ago, and I think it’s now safe to say that it’s officially the season […]
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I remember the year that my mom made me learn how to cook the turkey, my family’s way is so different. I’ve never known anyone who learned how to cook a turkey from a recipe, most people learned from their parents who learned from their parents, each generation a potention for small changes that then get passed along. Culinary evolution at it’s finest.
*Potential – eek, spell check fail.
Your family is the cutest!!
Awww, the bonfire looks awesome! I’m so jealous! I love to read the Black Friday ads too, but I don’t actually go shopping. My hubby’s family does Chex Mix as a Christmas tradition. He also LOADS it with Worchestire sauce. I’m having heart palpitations just thinking about eating all that salt. ;-)
Looks like you had a very happy Thanksgiving! Lovely. :)
I want to say one thing I was thankful for this year was your sweet potato stuffed apples recipe! They were a HUGE hit with everyone and a unique addition to our normal fare. Everyone was already talking about what would be the next ‘perfect’ meal to have them. So thanks!!
We had Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast too on Thanksgiving morning! My kiddos love them! I had to work STL’s Christmas Parade in the morning and then we headed to my brothers and had a great day! You guys looked like you had a wonderful holiday!! Oh, and I made the green bean and shallot recipe you posted and it was very popular! Thanks! And the party potatoes are a regular at our family gatherings as well. :)
Your Thanksgiving looks like so much fun! We bought a new TV on Black Friday! :)
In Canada we had our Thanksgiving a while ago, in October. I think it’s a bigger deal in the States though, by the looks of your post. (And your Thanksgiving looked lovely with your family). I’m pretty sure we don’t have any parade or televised event hehe.
We don’t really have any tradition for Thanksgiving in our family, I think we usually go to one of my grandparents’ houses where all the extended family gathers for dinner, and the next day (Monday) is a holiday. I had never heard of Black Friday until this year when I kept hearing the term on the radio! I’m still not sure what it is! But anyway, happy Thanksgiving to you!! :)