Although We Could Get Into That Whole Heated Debate About Colonialism and Destruction of the Native American Homeland, I Suppose...

Well, the pie is made - I believe one should have a contribution to the Thanksgiving table, a specialty that one does well - a dish you can conveniently bring to the neighbors, your friends, the office potluck, etc.  Mine is apple pie, and I'm quite good at it, if I do say so myself.  I had a recipe for a Devonshire Apple Pie that came from an old Family Circle Dessert Cookbook, but the book has been lost and my handwritten copies are sometimes hard to locate and so I've been struggling the past few years to find alternative recipes.  This year it's a fairly simple Dutch Apple Pie which is very similar to my original recipe, minus the sour cream (it's a streusel topped apple pie, basically - the Devonshire version added sour cream as part of the filling - now, the problem turns out to be that sour cream upsets a delicate balance of liquids and can turn out very soupy without something to absorb the extra liquid, especially if you use juicy apples.  So there was considerable experimentation to get the flour level right - my Grandmother's suggestion - but I had finally hit it and now the recipe is gone and I'm lost).

All of which is to say, I find Thanksgiving to be much fun, but I don't usually do the heavy lifting on food prep.  I can cook a turkey - and was responsible for a lovely braised turkey that we did at my sister's, from a very complicated Martha Stewart recipe.  I have a yearning to try doing a TurDucken, but my Mom has said flat-out no. 

Which may be about all I have to say for today.  It's a hard week for the political junkie in me, but luckily all the traveling and seeing friends has been a welcome distraction.  So in terms of big issues there's not much to discuss.  As for missing yesterday, Jennifer and I had endless food and flower shopping adventures, and that consumed the whole day.  Tomorrow I will be traveling again (to Montreal), so posting will be light - but my friend Ray has promised a wi-fi connection, so there will be something.  Have a great Thanksgiving... as I will, with the most adorable child in the universe (my nephew).

Comments

[Kate]

One Thanksgiving maybe 20 years ago, my mother made a pecan pie that turned into a soupy mess. Every year since then, my aunt Julie (her older sister) brings straws to Thanksgiving dinner and busts them out when we bring the desserts to the table. It just goes to show you that family never forgets your cooking snafus, and never misses an opportunity to rub them in your face.

Or, maybe that's just my family ...

[Jennifer]

I'm dying to make a turducken! I was thinking about it very seriously for next year. I'll do it but you have to come to my house for Thanksgiving. There's the deal...the gauntlet.
Luv ya, babe!