Gobble Gobble Gobble

Tis the season to be grateful! (and eat and eat and eat!!)  

This year, I offered to host Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  Cam and LaRane have done it the past few  years, and I thought it would be fun.  Plus it's just easier to wrangle Oliver at our house than anywhere else at this point! The Swapp's went to Arizona so it was just us, the Kasteler's and Grandma and Grandpa.  I figured I could handle that!  I set a fancy table for the adults... finally breaking out the china we got for our wedding for the very first time ever! (only 12 years ago) (and Clark said we'd never use it). haha!  It was fun to set a fancy table!  We even used the crystal goblets that I bought in Prague in 1999.  I'm always nervous to use them because I only have 6 and they're non-replacable.  But I love them!  

I also set a fun kids table with paper decorations from target!

Our meal was so yummy!

Mom made the turkey, stuffing, and gravy.  LaRane made the delicious pomegranite salad, homemade rolls, and colorful jello!  And I was in charge of the yams and apples, mashed potatoes, and fruit salad.  We also had Shirley Temples to drink, a Thanksgiving tradition we've incorporated from the Hymas family.  It's just sprite with maraschino cherries and a little cherry juice!  So pretty and festive.

Here are a few of the recipes that I would just cry over if they ever got lost... 

Thanksgiving Turkey Stuffing

Recipe from Grandma Dorothy Wallin

1/2 C. butter

1/2 C chopped onion

2/3 C chopped brazil nuts

1/2 C. chopped celery

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 C bread cubes

2 T parsley

1 C or more of canned evap milk

2 tsp sage

Melt butter, add nuts, onion, celery, salt & sage.  Cook until nuts are slightly browned and onions are transparent.  Add to bread crumbs and parsley.  Add liquid and toss lightly with fork until well mixed.   

(I'm not sure how long to bake it at this point... I would need to check with mom)

then of course we can't have Thanksgiving without yams and apples!  

Yam and Apple casserole

Recipe from the Lion House Cookbook

6 medium yams

3 or 4 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 C. butter

1 C. Sugar

2 C. water

3 T cornstarch

1 tsp salt

2 T lemon juice

Parboil yams about 20 minutes.  Cool, peel, and slice.  In layers in a buttered casserole dish, alternating yam slices with apple slices.  Melt butter, add cornstarch, sugar, and salt... blend well.  Add water, cook and stir until sauce thickens.  Add lemon juice and pour over yams and apples.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  

Also, this year while looking through my recipes for ideas to make as side-dishes for Thanksgiving, I came across this recipe for Waldorf Salad which my grandma Wallin had shared with me many years ago.  I remember having her and Grandpa over for dinner one Sunday.  She must have brought the salad, and I liked it so much I asked for the recipe.  A few days later, this arrived in the mail along with her hand written notes about how she likes to alter the recipe.  After finding this recipe, I knew it would be the perfect fruit salad to go along with our meal!  

Aside from all the yummy food, the best part of Thanksgiving is being with family.  We were lucky enough to spend the weekend before Thanksgiving up in Idaho visiting Clark's family and having an early Thanksgiving dinner!  Rich and Lynnae's family was in town for the first time since moving to Troy, Michigan for Rich's Rad-Onc residency almost 18 months ago!  So it was fun to spend time with them, and the cousins loved being together again as well!  That weekend was also Lorinda's birthday so we were all together for a big birthday/ Thanksgiving weekend.  We were just missing Dustin and Madalyne in New York!  We did all get a chance to face time with them, which was great... but not the same as having them in person.  

(sometimes I just want to kick myself for not taking better photos!!)  Here are all the grandkids helping grandma blow out the candles on her yummy german chocolate cake! And speaking of recipes... this german chocolate cake frosting is pretty much to die for...

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

from the kitchen of Lorinda Hymas

1 C. Evap milk

1 C. Sugar

3 egg yolks

1/2 C butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C flaked coconut

1 C chopped pecans (may substitute for sliced almonds)

Combine eval milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in small saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 12 minutes.  Stir in coconut and nuts.  Beat until thick enough to spread.  yum.  to. die. for. the. end.  

We also got a little lesson on how to make yummy caramel and chocolate dipped apples from Lynnae!  Lynnae is always making yummy, fancy food!  So this was a read treat to get to make them and take some with us to snack on during our drive home!  Wish they were closer so we could get together and make yummy treats more often!