Clown Car

Cliff, Coree and I were out in O'Malley, when we got a call to come pick up Patrick and Brandon at the tree-lighting ceremony. He didn't mention we'd be giving anyone else a ride, probably just assuming we'd be bringing the van.

I took this photo as proof that we can fit four behinds (albeit skinny behinds) in the back of tiny O'Malley. Luckily, we only had to go about a mile from Lester to Foster before they could unfold themselves.

Thanksgiving Pt. 2...Feeding Frenzy

Thanksgiving feast, 2010

The Menu:

Turkey
Pan Gravy
Creamy Whipped Potatoes
Mr. Bennett's Stuffing
Candied Yams
Asian Green Bean Salad
Elijah's Corn
Parkerhouse Rolls
Cranberry Orange Jello Mold
Deviled Eggs
Relish Tray
Veggies and Dip
Pumpkin Pie
Dutch Apple Pie
Sparkling Cider


Company's here, and we're ready to nom.



I'm not a green bean casserole fan. I think cream of mushroom soup with green beans sounds ridiculous. I eat it with the same enthusiasm as I eat ham (only to be polite). I do however LOVE fresh green beans. I sought out a better alternative online. Behold, Asian Green Bean Salad. Perfection. It's going to be in the regular line up.



Returning from last year, Susan's sister's Jello cranberry sauce mold. Jello and cranberry sauce in one. This is celestial Jello glory, my friends. It has fruits, nuts AND vegetables. I will be handing this one down to my family for generations.



Doesn't it look great with the sweet potatoes and stuffing? Since I like my stuffing crunchy, I spoon it from the crock pot into a baking dish and let it brown in the oven for a bit.



Jake is ready to get his nom on. See the corn up in the corner? Well, I had been so excited about all this fancy stuff on the menu, corn didn't even cross my radar. Little Elijah came into the kitchen while I was getting everything put on the table and said, "Don't forget the corn." Luckily, I had a couple of cans in the pantry. It was popular, actually. That green bean salad? Not so much...but I thought it was pure heaven, and that's what counts.



Deviled eggs and mashed potatoes with half n half and cream cheese. Yep. That's what I'm talkin' about.



Rolls, glorious rolls. I did a batch each of white and wheat. Although I didn't shape them the traditional way...I tried Parkerhouse. Didn't care for it. I'll be going back to my traditional dough ball method.



And of course, I have to get a pic of everyone before we eat. Brandon was still delivering his papers, so we had to go ahead without him. I made it perfectly clear that this was going to be the serious shot. Looks like Patrick and Elijah didn't get the memo.



Here's the silly shot.



You can barely see the homemade gravy in the bottom right corner. Liquid gold, I tell you. Sometimes, I want to cook a turkey just for the pan drippings to make gravy. That sounded much more rational before I typed it outloud.











We nommed until it hurt, then relaxed a bit and watched a movie before dessert.



Like grandpa, like grand-daughter.



Another shot of the pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie is so awesome...why should it just be relegated to Thanksgiving and Christmas? I'm making one for my next birthday. Maybe even two. It's a promise.



But I also made a deep-dish, crumb-top apple pie. Except, I used canned pie filling because it would take about $15 worth of apples to make this pie here, otherwise. It was still excellent.



There's Brandon! I promise, he really did eat dinner, too.



Jake's perfect dessert creation...pie with icecream, whipping cream and cinnamon and a cherry on top. You know what they say, "Go big or go home." And Jake goes big. (Hahahahaha! I crack myself up! GOES big! Don't worry, we made sure he ate lots of vegetables, too.)

Thanksgiving Pt. 1...New Tradition?

I know I mentioned that Jake's birthday celebration didn't go off as planned...we had to postpone, as he was in a lot of pain, and it was a mystery. Well, by Wednesday, he was doubled over with abdominal pain. After consulting Web MD and learning that the symptoms pointed to appendicitis, Cliff took Jake on a six-hour, emergency room adventure. Appendicitis was ruled out. He had no other symptoms (fever, etc.) and insisted he had been using the bathroom normally. Well, the X-ray proved otherwise. Evidently he was about to explode. Good times. So, they sent him home about 1 AM with some medicine to wait it out. Within 24 hours, he was fine. Phew!

Not only had he missed his birthday, but the next day was Thanksgiving. We were in no shape to be putting on a feast. Wednesday night, as I was driving kids back and forth from classes, church interviews, service projects, etc...trading out vehicles with Cliff at the ER to fill up his gas tank and leave a car for Troy at the college so he could drive himself home, etc...I was despairing over the situation. We had invited the Jones kids, since they had had their Thanksgiving early so the parents could take a trip to the Tokyo temple over the holiday. I finally came to the conclusion that we needed to put it off by a day. We have learned over the years that holidays are whenever you can be together to celebrate them, so why not?

When I posted on Facebook that Jake was going to be fine, and that we were going to be holding our celebration a day late, my friend Tracy wrote that it's how her family does it every year! She said she spends Thursday cooking all day while her husband is home to keep the kids occupied, and then on Friday, they feast and relax. Genius! I am considering adopting this tradition for my own.

So, with the pressure off, I was able to do all the prep work on Thursday, and a lot of the cooking, so that on Friday morning, I just had to cook the turkey, assemble the stuffing in the crock pot, bake the rolls, brown the sweet potatoes, etc. It was great. Here's how we spent our Thanksgiving days:



Giving the Turkey a butter massage...



Woohoo! High-five!



Gorgeous pumpkin pies. While I don't boil my own pumpkin (I like the thicker consistency of canned pumpkin better) I did make the pie crust. It was flaky and fantastic, if I do say so myself. And the recipe? My grandma's secret...you just use the Libby's recipe on the can, but add 1 Tbsp of frozen orange juice concentrate. Yum!



Once again, this year I made Mr. Bennett's $30 stuffing (my Aunt Sue's recipe), but I made my own cornbread cubes using the Pioneer Woman's recipe. (Thanks for sharing the idea, Aviva. Man, I love Facebook. I got so many Thanksgiving tips this year.) It was fantastically satisfying. I made these a day ahead to let them dry out overnight (ended up being 2 nights).



They held their shape SO much better than the bagged stuff that turns to paste.



I also bought a loaf of (Japanese) French bread to cube and dry.



This turned out way mo' bettah than the bag or box, too.



And since we were just chillaxin', I had a cute assistant to help me. He rocked.



Turkey, schmurkey! Bring on the stuffing!



Loading all the ingredients into the crockpot...bread cubes, celery, onion...



Sausage...



Wild Rice...



Another cute assistant. Man, I'm lucky.



Fresh mushrooms (a big splurge in these parts)...



Toasted pine nuts. Awesome!



After a couple of hours of roasting the bird upside down (thanks for the tip, Dad)...



I turned him right side up to get nice and brown all over...and he's got these lines all over him. Kind of like when I fall asleep on the couch and end up with my handprint on my face.



I love my trusty silicone mitts. Try turning over a turkey with cloth ones.



Then rubbed him down with olive oil...



And sprinkled him with more poultry seasoning. He also has fresh rosemary inside. Mmm.

In part two, I'll post the rest of the menu, and pics of our feast. It's gonna be GOOD!

It's Marine Corps Ball Season Again

This post will just serve as a composite of the Marine Corp Balls we attended this November. They are all alike in program and menu (including that wooden, frosted cake, into which they just insert one square of real cake, under the word "Corps,", and frost over again each night for the cake ceremony). Even with that, they do vary by how dynamic (or not) the speaker is, and by the guests in attendance.

The ceremony is my favorite part, actually. I just love a marching band, so this gets my heart pumping.



This year we were fortunate enough to have an actual bag piper. In the USA, this would be a no brainer. On Okinawa...it's a special treat.



Mmm...mmm! Love that pomp and circumstance.



Sweet!



Gorgeous, even if not entirely real. There's enough buttercream there to scent the whole room with it, though.



The first slice is given to the guest of honor (he's not in this pic), then it's handed to the oldest Marine present (we're getting closer and closer in age to the oldest present every year)...



Then the next piece goes to the youngest Marine present. All this is happening while the emcee is reading off the stats of when and where they were born, when they enlisted, etc., while the Marines' Hymn plays softly in the background. This guy pictured...was Troy's age. Yep. Little bit of a reality-slap.



And there they go....



Of course, we're all riveted by the speakers...



From the looks of it, this one was pretty good. I'm pretty sure it was the Deputy Wing Commander this night. He was funny.



Each speaker is given a gift. I imagine over time, these guys get quite the collection.



Wow. I think this is a coat rack? He told his wife they were going to put it in the baby's room.

So then, after the formalities are over, it's time for the real party to start. Remember how I mentioned it varies by those in attendance? Yeah...I wasn't lying. Some balls are pretty straight-laced, but in a fun way...


And others...not so much.



Some of them, you have to fight for space on the dance floor...



And watch carefully for the spilled drinks.



I couldn't resist this shot. This guy is feelin' fine, evidently, and decided to march along with the piper after his little bonus, half-time performance. It reminded me of one of the balls we attended at Camp Pendleton years ago. Cliff was saying the prayer (the reason we have to attend so many...Cliff and his whole "will pray for food" gig) and there was a Marine who had hit cocktail hour pretty hard. He evidently was feelin' the spirit and decided to pray along with Cliff, much to the discomfort of everyone around him. Turns out, he was leaving the Corps the following week, and wanted to go out with a bang. I wonder if the GySgt I saw screaming in his face in the lobby afterward was what he had in mind? That was the same ball where a young, female Lance Corporal lost her balance, fell backward...and literally into the lap of the CO's wife, who I was chatting across the table with at the time. You just can't make this stuff up.



While I love to dance the night away, I have to come to the reality that we are now in the category of people they are wishing will leave as early as possible so the party can really start. That's OK. I'm thrilled to have this guy all to myself, anytime!