Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm typing this as I slip into my tryptophan coma...but I just had to pause and reflect on the day.

It is our tradition to have Thanksgiving with friends instead of family...something we've done probably 16 out of the 18 Thanksgivings we have celebrated together. It's just kind of a military tradition, I think. Usually people make the trip home for Christmas, so they really can't justify Thanksgiving, too...unless you are stationed really close to home.

We've hosted and been invited into others' homes...and even spent a Thanksgiving at the SNCO club 2 days after Jake was born because there was no way I was cooking, but I didn't want to give up the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I have SO many happy memories of Thanksgivings spent with friends.

It's actually been a great tradition that I wouldn't change...so it wasn't too big of a stretch for us to spend Thanksgiving on the other side of the world from our family. This year we put out the invitation to the other Chaplains and RPs (Chaplain assistants) who Cliff works with and a few of them accepted. I realize what a huge leap of faith this was on their part...not knowing me or my culinary abilities...so I didn't want to disappoint!

There are some staples of a Stuart Thanksgiving dinner, and a few variables.

Mandatory:



*Turkey

*Mashed potatoes...must be lumpy

*Gravy from the pan drippings (which I could seriously drink with a straw)

*Candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows (Trivia: I did not eat a sweet potato until I was an adult. My dad hated them. Maybe his whole family did? Anyway, they were never served in our home and he had me convinced they were poison. I finally tried one and I LOVE them!)


*Mr. Bennett's Stuffing. This recipe comes from my Aunt Sue. It is out of this world. I'm not sure why it is called Mr. Bennett's stuffing...but we Stuarts like to call it Mr. Bennett's "see if you can delegate it to someone else to bring because it costs more than the turkey" stuffing. SO worth it, though!

*From-scratch dinner rolls

*Grandma Corenne's secret recipe pumpkin pie (which only she held as a secret...I'll share...she'll forgive me!)

Optional:

*Ham
*Anything green
*Cranberries of some variety (This year we made my friend Susan's cherry-cranberry-pineapple jello mold. Yum!)
*Appetizers (this year we had shrimp and a veggie tray)
*Varied desserts...like cheesecake or apple pie

Speaking of apple pie, I made a deep-dish one...including homemade crust.


From this angle you can't even tell...



That I put the thumb of my silicone oven mitt right through it...like you can see so clearly here.



I've written enough, and will now leave you with a few images of the day:


































Happy Thanksgiving!