Long weekend, comfort & joy.

Spent the lengthy Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. Is there anything more festive than a crepe paper turkey watching as his real live bretheren are slaughtered, roasted, and consumed? Not really.

Turkey at my dad’s brother’s place is either deep fried, brined and smoked, or brined and grilled. My Uncle C. is a fantastic chef, and in addition to the turkey, there’s usually some ham–this year, short ribs and country, both cooked in sides. The collards with the sharp smokey brine, unaffected by either the spuds or dumplings that cooked in the same pot. The green beans, cooked within an inch of their life. There’s my brother’s favorite, the deviled eggs. There’s mashed potatoes, and baked stuffing (thick- and thin-cut, to satisfy both parties), and a rich brown gravy in two dishes (one is plain, the other contains the giblets, which gross out a large portion of the table, though the whole gravy is made with them). There was no gelatin dish–something for which I’m personally thankful–and dessert was sweet potato pie and my mother’s incredible caramel cake.

That caramel cake is blissful simplicity, and this year’s was absolutely amazing–the best one she’s ever made. Though it’s got simple ingredients, it’s not at all simple to make. The icing is finicky, needing a cool and dry day, and a very patient hand. And butter. A shitload of butter.

The cake itself is a light yellow cake, cut carefully into four layers. I think my mom uses dental floss. The icing is a straight caramel, almost praline. Getting it smooth and perfect takes considerable practice.

This year, the cake was moist, and the icing was velvety. Mom would only part with one slice out of the leftovers. It was that good.

The day after Thanksgiving, I ate it for breakfast, before heading out for a tiny amount of Black Friday shopping. Basically, we went to Target. A couple of tablecoverings, some material for curtains, and a smattering of Christmas presents later, I came home, made some dinner, and hung out with the cats.

Took some pictures of the Christmas lights. Because they’re pretty.

Had a very small Leftovers Party that turned out to not involve a lot of leftovers or party. Sat around with E. polishing off some fresh tomato lasagna, some green been casserole (which had been missing from both our holiday tables, most tragically), some roasted sweet potatoes (also MIA T-day), and some cream of mushroom soup. Tasty.

Today I had planned to chill about the homestead, do some cooking, and tidy up… and that is what I did. Save for Mom calling around mid-day to let me know they’d be over in a bit for showers. No hot water at their place, as the hot water heater had suddenly expired.

So I turned the experimental roast chicken into an actual edible roast chicken, replete with gravy and stuffing (sage sausage with some leftover cheese bread, onions, and celery, mushed up with broth from the cooking chicken. I re-served the sweet potatoes, steamed some green beans, and gave them milk and cookies–some of the oatmeal raisin I made last night–for dessert.

They left a couple hours later, squeaky clean and bellies full. I felt very grown up.

Then I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, did a few more loads of laundry, and went about the business of Sunday night at my house.

Grown up indeed.

Also included (for the missus, as M. might say), recent shots of the two troublemakers. Who are not at the moment causing trouble but quite asleep in the cat-seat. They enjoy the breaks I think most of all, as people come and go and they get extra attention. And table scraps, as evidenced by the cat barf in the hall earlier.

Ah, the holidays. To each, his favorite excess. And have a merry.

Now, I need to do something about some kind of tree…

Leave a reply: