Crunch Time!

Yesterday I found myself rambling a bit. Sometimes the mind does that; can't quite organize my thoughts as I want to. So, hopefully, that isn't too distracting and the point comes through.

But, now we're getting down to crunch time.  Time to focus, as the son and family arrive tomorrow for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Michael and I did the mega grocery shopping trip yesterday. Maybe that had something to do with the disorderly thinking I was feeling. I think anyone who has been in the grocery stores in the past few days understands. It's crazy out there! And they say the economy is bad? You couldn't prove it by what I saw.

So the turkey is thawing, the dressing made and ready for stuffing. The menu has been vised and revised, trying to take into consideration the differing pallets and needs of the family. I decided that this year I was going to pull out an old favorite of mine from when I was a kid, tomato aspic salad.  I'll probably be the only one who will eat it, but I'm fixing it any way.

Timing is everything. You don't want to make the pies too early or they'll get soggy. Yet you don't want to wait too long and have the oven tied up when the bird is supposed to be put in. There is a real art to all this timing, which I'm certainly not claiming to be the expert in.

Something always gets forgotten, showing up later in the recesses of the refrigerator. However, I think the kids will help remind me, of their anticipated favorites, anyway. Robert wants lots of cranberries and no pumpkin pie. Apple crisp is his choice of dessert and will need to go into the oven early in the morning so that it is still nice and crisp. There will still be pumpkin pie for the rest of us, though.

Emily likes ham, so of course we have a small one ready to pop into the oven to warm at the last minute. And I think that most of us are in agreement that roasted root vegetables are preferred over yam casserole. There you have the problem with differing oven temperatures for the same time slot. Here's where I covet the double ovens of some kitchens.

The part I look forward to, however, is when we drag out all the leftovers the next day and the next. No more cooking for days!