What did you do this Thanksgiving that you'd never done before?

[tblue]

Never done in Thanksgiving, I mean.

Me, I made a cherry pie from (almost) scratch! Big deal for me cuz I am a born defroster.

[HopeHoops]

1. Played a 3-way game of "Magic: The Gathering".

My wife and youngest daughter (16) were the only ones home yesterday. The game took FOREVER, but it was fun. My middle daughter (18) is at her boyfriend's house for the weekend and my eldest and her boyfriend are coming back today. We do Thanksgiving dinner on Friday so that works.

[amyrose2712]

2. Made my own dinner.

[begin_within]

3. I took 3 sleeping pills as soon as we got there and laid down for a while.

Got up to eat, but then went and laid down again until it was time to go.

[LiberalEsto]

4. Made roasted corn on the cob

for our new son-in-law, because corn is the only vegetable he will eat.

Soaked it in water for 30 minutes. Wrapped it in foil. Roasted it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Unbelievably delicious.

[av8rdave]

5. Went black Friday shopping at midnight with some friends

Never again!

[nolabear]

6. Cornish hens. Meh.

We have two meat eaters and two vegetarians now. I didn't want to throw out turkey and I actually like being semi-vegetarian with my husband so wouldn't have made all that soup and sandwiches, etc. So since I recall liking Cornish Hens I got two. Something just wasn't right. I missed the turkey flavor. Next time I'll do a turkey breast.

[idiotgardener]

7. I bought a frozen apple pie

and honestly, it was pretty bad. It had a chemical taste to it and I'm the type that thinks that bad apple pie is still better than no apple pie, but I will never buy that kind again.

[LiberalEsto]

14. We got a terrible apple pie

I know better than to buy the standard supermarket apple pies because they are loaded with high fructose corn syrup, and are otherwise tasteless.

But they had a special on these big lattice-topped apple pies. I read the ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup.

Gaaak. The apples tasted like sofa cushions marinated in sugar syrup. Same texture too. Never again.

Even I can bake a better one.

[idiotgardener]

20. Homemade is easy, it's just time-consuming and a little tedious...

I recently got a tortilla press to make my own tortillas, and I'm thinking I could use it to make mini pies too, and that would eliminate some of the tedium!

Sorry your pie was bad too :-(

[MorningGlow]

8. Held my tongue and didn't argue with my right-wing fundie aunt

:rofl:

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. Met two people I'd never met before.

And didn't eat a whole lot because I had an upset stomach, which was sad, because my friend who did the cooking cooked a frakking fantastic meal.

[fizzgig]

10. we made some changes to our menu

made the gravy the night before using just aromatics and stock, made creamed collard greens, made stuffing from scratch and tried a different turkey preparation that turned out AWESOME

[mysuzuki2]

11. Got drunk on cheap wine before dinner.

Oh wait, nevermind. I do that every year.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. First Thanksgiving without my dad.

He passed away this spring. It was a bit sad and weird to have a holiday with no parents.

[UrbScotty]

35. Hugs to you.

:hug:

[Dystopian]

13. Two things.....

tblue
Nice...your first cherry pie. I'll have to put that on my bucket list ...

Firstly, I spoke with a Native American :D

The other was horrible. I was at my sister-in-laws...beautiful family gathering and reunion. I had met Bruno before, the AKC(?) registered German Shepherd. He was placed in the bedroom as there were so many people there. He loves everyone, so my son and I visited him in his 'room' when we arrived. Oh happy day! Happy Bruno! During dinner, Bruno was allowed out of his room and wandered about meeting and greeting. He was under the table by my legs. I lifted the table cloth, we were about three inches apart, nose to nose....and I squealed, "Hi Bruno!" He snarled and growled at me. I freaked out. Bruno was put back in his room and my feelings are still hurt. I understand that looking a dog straight in the eyes can bring this out, but wow, I feel so sad....

I already had the scent of five dogs on me when we first said 'hello'....
It was that intimidation factor, I think.
I wouldn't even be writing about it except that I love dogs so much..and can't take the rejection.


Guess I'll have to get over it...


peace~

[LoveMyCali]

17. Awww, don't take it personally

Holidays are very overwhelming for everybody but especially for dogs and kitties. You probably just startled Bruno after all you got along fine when you visited in his room right? Not a rejection just a little puppy melt-down because of frayed nerves.

[Dystopian]

26. You're a sweetheart : )

LoveMyCali

Thank you for your kind words...
I feel that dogs are people too...
You're right, of course.
Your description of puppy melt-down made me feel better.
:loveya:
My children still think I'm so goofy for taking it personally ...
His melt-down became my melt-down...
I know the next time I see Bruno ... all will be as it should.


peace and love to you~

[KamaAina]

15. Had the meal with Occupy San Jose!

No, seriously. Having nowhere else to go, and seeing a Thanksgiving potluck at OSJ on Facebook, down I went. Thanksgiving at Occupy San Jose did bear some resemblance to a bunch of people sleeping out for Dead tickets, only more diverse. Having slept out for tickets myself back in the day, I can assure you this is not at all a bad thing. Of course, we shared food rather than pot. :-) There was even a shouting argument (over tactics for future demos), just like at real Thanksgiving!

[ellisonz]

16. Ate at a restaurant...

...bought store-prepared leftovers.

My mother, aunt, and grandparents have no desire to cook.

Claim Jumper gets two thumbs down for some dry prime rib.

[Generic Brad]

18. Did all my cooking without checking a recipe

First time ever and the best dishes I have ever cooked for the holiday. You get old, you just KNOW stuff.

[grilled onions]

19. Ordered Pizza

There was even enough for lunch today!

[Remember Me]

21. We did something really, really smart

I've fixed a LOT of t'giving dinners in my day, xmas dinners too; I'm frankly sick of it. In years past we've gone out a couple of times for t'giving but it was just too costly this year. But we still didn't want to go to all that trouble (and how can you NOT go to all that trouble unless you go out or just pretend it's not t'giving?).

So we bought the grocery store dinner -- a 12 lb. turkey and all the fixings for just $39. And it wasn't bad, either. We'd have spent about that much ourselves had we gone to the trouble, and 3x that had we gone out to eat. This way we had the best of all possible worlds including LEFTOVERS!! We augmented with more pies and real whipped cream, that green bean casserole thingie and heavenly rolls. it was perfect.

I'm tellin' ya, a new tradition is born! I think we're going to try to do the same for xmas.

[csziggy]

22. Made pecan tarts instead of whole pecan pies

I'm not doing that again. The pasty was not that good. With entire pies, I mix up the filling, pour it into bought pie shells, bake them and I'm done.

I made the pastry for the tart shells from scratch, had to shape each piece of dough and mush it into a muffin tin space, mix the egg base for the filling, measure it into each tart shell, measure the pecans into each tart, stir the pecans into the egg base, and bake. And then the tarts are a whole level more complicated to package and transport.

For those who want a good pecan pie recipe:

1/4 cup butter, softened (melted is fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup
1 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten

Beat or whisk until well blended and slightly foamy. Stir in:

1 - 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Pour into a 9" deep dish pie pastry. Bake at 375 F for 50-60 minutes. It should be slightly jiggly in the middle - if it is completely set, it is too done. Serves 8 to 12.

[fishwax]

23. made stuffing and twice-baked sweet potatoes

I never really cared for stuffing, but yesterday I decided to try to throw together a brown rice and chorizo stuffing, and it was great :)

[blueamy66]

24. danced with my guy

to Daryll Hall.......lovely......Sara Smile

[Book Lover]

25. Made lamb chops

And pardon me saying it about my own cooking, but they were *good*! Breaded and fried in olive oil in the cast iron skillet. It was teh yum.

[seaglass]

27. Made my first blueberry pie which included zesting my first lemon - haha!

It tasted great hot with some vanilla ice cream :-)

[tigereye]

28. maple-pumpkin pie, in addition to my usual pumpkin

cheesecake pie.

[femmocrat]

29. I didn't put up any decorations.

Just didn't feel like dragging out the fall decorations this year.

[tigereye]

30. maple-pumpkin pie, in addition to my usual pumpkin

cheesecake pie.

[PassingFair]

31. Drove down to Ohio to see "The Kooks" in concert.

Got back this afternoon.

Best concert I can remember.

(But I'm old, and I may have
forgotten a few.)

[trackfan]

32. It may be the first time I've ever carved the turkey.

I don't remember for sure. We usually have a bigger crowd, and in the rush right before dinner, I'm usually busy making gravy, finding extra chairs, allocating oven space to people heating up various side dishes, etc. This year, with a more manageble crowd, I found that I could best spend my time carving, which worked out well.

[shanti]

33. packed everything up

before anyone had a bite. one son bailed on me at the last minute, and the other didn't arrive until 5:30PM. he had to pick up GS. quite a contrast to last year's TG.

[Auntie Bush]

34. First time I ever ate that turkey. lol

[IcyPeas]

36. watched the entire 3rd season of The Wire