My Thanksgiving Menu

For Thanksgiving this year, my husband and I are going to his brother's house, which means I won't be hosting the dinner, I'll just be supplementing. 

I am 39 years-old and I have never actually hosted a Thanksgiving meal myself.  Next year, it's my year.   Mark it down.  Put out the flyers.  Lorie's hosting dinner even if she is the only person who shows up.

But for this year, I have a list of things to bring and here they are:

Two smoked turkey breasts.  My hubby will do these.  And I say that very loosely.  I bought them, thawed them, will remove the wrapper, inject them, season them, clean up all the raw turkey blood/juice that will get on my counter and then he will put them on the grill and smoke them.   Then I'll insert the thermometer and let him know when they're done.  Then he'll remove them to a pan that I've handed him and he'll bring them into me and I'll cover them with foil.   Later on, I'll wash the pan.  I'll probably clean up the grill, too.  And he'll get all the credit.

Two coconut pies.  I've never made a coconut pie before.  I have a zillion recipes, but my hubby said he wanted an old- fashioned coconut cream pie with meringue.  I am a whipped cream girl, so after much searching, the two recipes I've settled on are both from Emeril Lagasse.  Best Ever Coconut Cream Pie for me because it has coconut milk in it and Coconut Cream Pie for hubby because it has meringue and seems old-fashioned.  I'll let you know how they turn out.  I have already made six Perfect Pie Crusts and they are waiting for me in the fridge and freezer.

Italian Cream Cake.  My brother-in-law Larry just has to have this at Thanksgiving, or so says my sister-in-law, Tamara.  My mother-in-law usually makes this but the torch has been passed to me.

Mashed Potatoes.  I would reeeeaaallly like to make these mashed potatoes, but my in-laws and hubby are really into traditional Thanksgiving food, so roasted corn in the mashed potatoes would probably not be a good idea.  I'll just make the regular ones.  You really should try them sometime, though.  I don't mean to brag, but they are really, really delicious.  You could leave out the cilantro and chipotle and they would be awesome covered in gravy.

Brown Gravy.  For my hubby.  He doesn't do giblet gravy.  My mom makes some killer giblet gravy and I love it.  But I won't be with my mom. :o(  I've already bought my McCormick brown gravy packets.  [Foodies shudder everywhere.] ;o)

Italian Salad.  Just wanted something fresh and raw.  I know it's not Thanksgiving-y, but oh well.

Here are a couple of other recipes I wanted to link you up to.  For the last three or four years, I have been eyeing this recipe in one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks, but have never gotten around to making it.  Last night at our Thanksgiving supper at church, the fabulous Tonya Bedwell brought one that she had made.  I seriously had to hold my self back from eating a second piece.  Total yumminess.

Also, my own sweet Amber made this Turtle Pumpkin Pie and even though I am temperamental about pumpkin, it was really, really good.   She's turning all domestic-y and the transformation brings me happiness, joy, and lots of snickering behind her back. 

So that's what I'm bringing.  I don't know if I'll be blogging this week or not.  Sugar Plum said she will be live pie blogging on Wednesday, so I'll be checking in with her as well as all of my other foodie friends.  If I was a decent blogger, I would live blog, too.  I'll have to think about it.

And for your viewing pleasure...

From The Kitchen Of Zoe Grace...

My recent trip to Missouri was centered around a very special event.  My niece, Zoe, turned four-years old.  

When Aunt Lorie comes to visit, we always bake or cook something, so when I saw this adorable chef's dress-up costume, I just had to get it for her birthday. 

She loved it and immediately got her kid's cookbook off the shelf so we could pick out something to make together.  We wound up making these ice cream mice.

The important thing to remember when you're working with a four-year old in the kitchen is to just allow them to dive in and use their little hands. 

Give a kid a Tootsie Roll and they'll roll it into a rat's tail.  That's what I always say.

 

She had fun and Aunt Lorie had LOTS of fun. 

At the end of the stay, she asked me "Do you want to come back at criss-uh-mus?  You could help us put lights up."

I melted into a puddle of sticky sweet goo right then and there.  

Then she added that  "flying on a plane is much quicker."  She must have heard about our driving woes and wanted to give us a little tip.  Four-year olds have all the answers sometimes.

Ice Cream Mice

6 miniature graham cracker crusts

6 large scoops of vanilla ice cream

Round chocolate covered cookies, such as Reese’s cookies, or Keebler grasshopper cookies, for the ears

Chocolate covered peanuts for the eyes

Malted milk balls for the nose

Chocolate sprinkles for the whiskers

Regular sized Tootsie Rolls for the tails

1.   Place a scoop of ice cream in a graham cracker crust.

2.   Press in the cookies, chocolate covered peanuts, and the malted milk balls for the ears, eyes, and nose.

3.   Add three chocolate candy sprinkles on each side for the whiskers.

4.   Roll out a Tootsie roll on a cutting board until it’s long and thin like a mouse’s tail.  Press into the ice cream.  Refreezing at this point will cause the tail to break off, so you may want to add the tail right before serving.

White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins And A Shout Out To Taylor

Sunday afternoon I was at home working on the computer and when I checked my email I saw that one of my Facebook buddies had written on my wall.  This is my Facebook buddy:

 

This was her comment that I have copied and pasted:

 "I just read through your ENTIRE blog. (The rice and beans one.) I am printing out some of the recipes. You are the coolest person I know."   (Emphasis mine)

Let me tell y'all, my head swelled to four times it's normal size and I was giddy the rest of the day.  You know you've really made it in life when a middle schooler thinks "you are the coolest person I know."  And for her to read through my ENTIRE blog?  I have no words, people....I AM QUEEN OF THE BLOGOSPHERE, I AM!!!!!!

Taylor, sweetie, I'd like to dedicate this entire post to you.  Keep cooking and maybe one day I'll be reading your blog, or better yet, watching YOU on Food Network!

The other day I was in Sam's and I was doing some major bulk shopping and while I was in the baking aisle I heard the faint calling of my name.  I turned around and it sounded like it was coming from a HUGE bag of roasted and salted macadamia nuts and then I heard it again and indeed, it WAS coming from a huge bag of macadamia nuts.  I quickly answered back, because, hello, I am not going to NOT answer someone who calls my name, even if it is a bag of nuts, so I said YES and put them in my buggy.

And I immediately went to Wal-Mart and bought several of these:

Because everyone knows that you just shouldn't have one without the other.  No.

Oh, I made cookies alright, but the real star has been the muffins.  This past summer I was in a little store in Georgia that carried imported items and right by a big jar of Nutella was what looked like a white chocolate version of Nutella, and I am SO kicking myself for not buying it because how good would that have been slathered on these muffins?  Note to self:  Work on a recipe for white chocolate butter.

If you make these:

-Take care not to overbake them.  I did once and they were just not as good. 

-I love chopping my own nuts because I like 'em kind of big, but you could certainly used the pre-chopped kind.

-I sometimes add in a whole cup of white chocolate chips.  I also used extra drizzle because I have a tendency to overdo things like white chocolate.

This recipe won me a second place prize in Taste of Home Magazine a few years ago.  I've copied and pasted the recipe below, but you can click here if you want to see how much fat and calories are in one muffin.  Beware.  It's not pretty.   

White Chocolate Macadamia Muffins

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup white baking chips

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Glaze:

1/2 cup white baking chips

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chips and nuts.

2.  Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

3.  For glaze, in a microwave, melt chips with cream at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over warm muffins. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.