We have our traditions, Lesa. I have gotten in trouble trying a different kind of turkey stuffing enuf times - I gave up any idea I had about pecan, orange or sausage stuffings. The recipe is right there on the pages of the Better Housekeeping cookbook 1960 . . . parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme (chopped onion & celery). Our onion and rosemary but, even tho' we have the parsley, that's ignored and the only variation that is tolerated is to use cilantro instead.
DW will drag greenbeans out of the freezer for that bean/cream of mushroom casserole. I've gotten soooo tired of that! (But, don't tell DW! She loves it . .
).
After knocking ourselves out with baking, I insist that the veggies be real simple. They have to cook quickly and be out of the way for things coming out of the oven. Mashed potatoes (our spuds & celeriac, & I'll use cream cheese in place of some of the half 'n' half). The "other" green veggie will be either broccoli or cabbage with lemon juice/butter/black pepper drizzled over it.
Starting the night before, DW will use Grandma's recipe for rolls & the dough will stay over-night in the fridge. She will use Grandma's pie crust recipe on T-day morning. I will slice up some of our local apples and use G'ma's recipe for apple pie. I will mix the filling for the Buttercup squash pie just as I did as a kid in G'ma's kitchen. If there is enuf pie crust, DW will want me to cook some lemon filling for it. There are plenty of egg-whites to make a meringue. Except for the rolls, these things will be out of the way and cooling before the bird goes in.
Along with the turkey, an extra loaf pan of stuffing and that dang casserole will take up all of the room in the oven! We've got the sweet potatoes (from store) and have been enjoying them for about a week now. If we are lucky, DW won't remember them and try to cram them into the oven. Not that I dislike candied sweet potatoes but there's only so much room! The pans of rolls will go in as the turkey is being carved while I'm simultaneously making giblet gravy on top the stove!
So . . . rolls will be hot from the oven and I always go for the cold Buttercup pie with coffee after the meal, which I've eaten in my t-shirt because I've spent about 8 hours within the confines of a super-heated Thanksgiving kitchen! I'm not given to naps but, I am likely to make an exception after the meal.
Steve
