Thanksgiving

Amy already blogged about the "thanks" part of thanksgiving... I thought I'd blog about the other part - the FOOD! This year, my family is having a change of plans. Usually, my mom's side of the family gets together and eats at mom's house. This year, though, mom and dad and kate are going to KY jelly to be with the fairels' (sans rob who is at training for this month in CA), so nathaniel, kendal, and i are "on our own" as far as tradition goes. its actually worked out pretty good because this year, his side of the family doesn't have to arrange their schedules for me... and we're going there for thanksgiving! yay! now here is the "funny" part... nathaniel's dad mentioned he wanted to have a "traditional" thanksgiving meal. well... i'm the only one in the family from the south (with a grandfather that grew up on the Chesapeake bay)... and i do believe what i call a traditional thanksgiving meal is a little different than from what the midwesterners think is a traditional thanksgiving meal. (i certainly don't mean this in a bad way, no way is better, they are just different.) i mean... no oyster stuffing? i suppose we haven't had any either since my grandfather died years ago... but i still crave it. my mom makes stuffing from cornbread, cornbread that she fries before she makes the stuffing (fries it just for the stuffing). i'm not even sure if stuffing is on the menu for this year, but i'll be ok without it. cranberry sauce: right out of the can. thanksgiving is just another meal unless you have some of this nasty stuff. i'm sure a can of cranberry sauce won't be on the table on thursday (again, i won't miss it). sweet potato casserole: i'm in charge of bring a sweet potato dish and for the 32 years i've been alive for thanksgiving, i've been forced to eat sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top of it. this year, i'm not making it (again, i don't even like marshmallows unless they are blackened on a fire or mixed in with rice krispy treats). now one thing i will miss is angela's eclair dessert thing. oh, and grandma jones's chocolate pie (even though i scrape off the meringue). and now that i start really thinking about it, i wanted to mention the BEST TURKEY i've ever eaten...(especially since i'm not much of a turkey fan). it was maybe 4 thanksgivings ago, and melissa cooked it. they lived in the "big" house in MO (radcliff? i can't even remember the name of the town) - and she stuffed it with all sorts of wonderful herbs. it was her first turkey, and it was the best one i've ever eaten. by the way, the best pork loin goes to Dad T! And it is on the menu for Thanksgiving! yay! so here's to all that i'm thankful for, and here's to the turkey that mom, dad, and kate will get to eat (i'm sure melissa will make one just as good this year), and here's to all the "new" stuff i'll eat this thanksgiving (like butternut squash soup)!