Thanksgiving

I happily joined my brother Daniel, his wife Kim, and their son Barak for T-day at their home again this year - I knew that if it was anything like last year it would be memorable. Sure enough, Daniel had a crazy story to share . . . and while I won't share it here, suffice it to say it involved ashes, fire, and an almost call to emergency services. Ah, family - love it! Contributions included cornbread casserole, green bean casserole, beverages, hors de ouvres and likely other things I'm forgetting!

Mom and Dad kindly provided the turkey (quite moist and lovely), dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. The dressing was a crockpot recipe via Southern Living which turned out quite well, and very much reminded me of what Mama Sue used to make - err, provide. When I arrived at Dan and Kim's Mom was playing Wii bowling with Barak - who was gleefully provided Gramma with advice.

It was great to see Gran and my aunt Lorie from Far Far Away (Overland Park). Gran is doing well and had a great time playing Mexican Train with myself, Kim, and Barak after dinner. It was wonderful to catch up with Lorie and chat about how our pups are doing. I was impressed that she'd taken her pup out for a walk this morning - way too cold for me!

My contributions to the meal were rolls, blackberry cobbler and pumpkin pie. I'm not a pastry maker (yet), so pies were my option to help push my culinary boundaries. I definitely made a few mistakes with the blackberry cobbler. Looks lovely in the pan but pretty impossible to dish out - should have drained the berries (why in the world didn't I think of that?). Next time I might do a vanilla wafer crust - that would likely give it a bit more stability.

Pumpkin pie, I must confess, has never been high on my dessert choices. There's just something about the texture that doesn't sit well with me. Yet I knew it had been asked for specifically so I had to do my best. Turning to foodnetwork.com I found Alton Brown's recipe - if anyone can change my mind it's him! I'm happy to report that I ate an entire piece - and gladly brought the leftover home. I'll never fear it again.

One final pic - my aunt and I both worked hard on the weight thing this year, and I'm so proud of both of us! What a great feeling to look back and see so many positive changes after a crazy start to this year. There is so much to be thankful for, and I was glad to share this day with my family.