Thanksgiving break began on Tuesday at our house. Since Wofford had a bye in the playoffs, David came home for a long break from school and football. Jay had a break from school, but basketball is in full swing with a 3-day Thanksgiving weekend tournament. Homecooking was on the boys minds so Tuesday night just the four of us enjoyed shrimp marinara with salad, fruit and brownies. Wednesday night the GWU basketball team came over for a homecooked meal. David's roommate Mike also arrived for dinner so we had 16 hungry boys at the table. After mowing through 8 pounds of hamburger, a 22 pound ham, mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, homegrown corn, green beans, salad and fresh fruit they finished off two runs of chocolate brownies. Genuine smiles and grateful hugs were all the thanks we needed as they left to go back to campus.
Later some of the boys high school friends began to drop in and it seemed like old times in the kitchen as they laughed and caught up with each other.
Thanksgiving Day we woke up early to get the turkey ready for the oven. Cooking the turkey has been on my to-do list for our Cabin Thanksgivings in Lattimore ever since my friend, Marie, told me to use the Reyolds Oven Turkey sized cooking bag. I tried it years ago and those folks at Reynolds know what they are doing. The turkey is browned and juicy and the bag keeps everything from getting messy. Especially when you are traveling the 10 miles to Lattimore with a hot cooked turkey in the car.
So for Thanksgiving at the Cabin this year, we expected a smaller crowd of about 40 guests. Even thought this is a smallish crowd for us it still called for a big turkey - exactly 21.8 pounds - which I found early enough to get on sale. There are five main things to being in charge of the turkey. 1) Stay tuned to the sales to get the size you need at a good price. I prefer to get frozen turkey because you can count on it tasting fresh. 2) Remember to take it out of the freezor about a week ahead of time to thaw completely. 3) Get it in the oven in plenty of time to cook and then make the drive to Lattimore. The oven bag will keep it hot and juicy. 4) Learn to use an electric knife to make carving easy. 5) Follow the oven bag instructions exactly like they say. You won't be disappointed.
So we arrived in Lattimore for Thanksgiving Lunch and the festivities had already begun with skeet shooting and riding on the train car. There is an old railroad track that runs by the cabin and several years ago the Southern railway planned to take up the track. Dad bought the track that went through his farm and also a little yellow car which was used by the railroad company to work on the rails. So several people can fit into the train car for a ride up and down the tracks and it is a hoot. I especially love it at night when there is a full moon. Jackson was in charge of the train car and the skeet shooting and everybody had a lot of fun outside while the crowd gathered. Hunt family, and families of family, plus a few college students were in attendance this year.
Libby, Mama, and I had spent Monday afternoon at the Cabin arranging tables and decor and making sure we had seating for everybody who might arrive. Daddy supervised and as usual insisted on using real flatware and blue plates so we had gathered these from various places. Real flatware and blue plates really are a nice touch and pretty too. So Mama and Daddy are both happy with that. We had tables for dessert, coffee, hot cranberry juice, and iced tea. There are two long harvest tables ready to recieve the main dishes as they arrive. These tables are complete with labels for what is to be placed where. The labels are key because we are fairly particular about the gravy being near the rice and dressing and because when that many people are bringing in dishes it lends some order to the chaos.
The Thanksgiving meal in Lattimore is a group effort and we organize early on by sending out an email with the plan for who brings which dish. We hardly need this plan anymore because for the most part we basically do the same things every year. It wouldn't be the same without turkey, ham, homegrown corn and beans, Ruby and Jack's sage dressing, rice and gravy, Libby's broccoli casserole, Penny's sweet potatoes (with and without marshmallows), Judy's oyster casserole, layered salad, spinach salad, biscuits, rolls, fresh cranberry relish and Mama's cranberry salad. For dessert we had chocolate cake, Sister's coconut cake and of course pumpkin pies.
After Jim said a Thanksgiving blessing, everyone moved through the line and sat down at one of the tables. Unlike the labels for where the dishes are located, we don't really care who sits where. The main thing is to enjoy the food and especially the company.
After the meal, Cindy usually leads the entertainment and this year Jackie requested a cake walk. Since we had eaten the cakes we had to improvise for the prizes. Jackson somehow played his ipod off of the ancient console record player and everyone gathered on the cabin stage to use the oriental rug squares as spots. The music started and those who wanted to began to walk around the rug. Mama participated and then she started doing her gazelle hop dance and that made everybody else want to show their dance moves. This went on a couple of times as they reversed the direction of the walk and when the music stopped Jackie announced the winners to laughter and applause. I am thankful that we're still making up our own fun in Lattimore!
Mama's Cranberry Salad
This is a dish I have only made once, because Mama always makes it. I did make it the year Mama and Daddy were in Loma Linda, California at Thanksgiving for proton radiation therapy. It is one of my favorite Thanksgiving tastes because it is crunchy, flavorful and not too sweet.
Grind together:
1 pound of raw cranberries, washed
1 or 2 whole oranges, peeled and quartered
Mama uses a big old timey sausage grinder for grinding. I bought one the year I made this dish, but I think you could use a food processor.
Add to ground mixture:
1 1/2 cups sugar (or a little less)
Fix jello:
2 3 ounce or 1 6 ounce cherry jello
1 1/2 cups boiling water
When jello is dissolved and cooled, mix everything together and add
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup celery
Spray 9 x 13 pyrex dish with pam and spread the mixture into the dish. Unlike sage dressing, Mama likes this one to be spread evenly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Fresh Cranberry Relish
For those who don't like jello, Mama also makes a fresh cranberry relish.
1/2 orange, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, washed
1 medium red delicious apple, peeled and quartered
1 8 ounce can of pineapple tidbits without juise.
Process orange in food processor fitted with knife blade until finely chopped. Add rest of ingredients and pulse 4 times. You don't want it too creamy. Chill covered until ready to serve. Makes about 12 servings. (6 carbs, 25 calories)
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