Still upacking, and now the holidays are here

Well, we are in our new house, and still trying to get settled. This is the largest house we've ever lived in, and it is strange to be able to have space for all of our belongings. We are not fully unpacked yet, but the main level of the house doesn't make me cringe any longer, so that's a good thing. One of these days we will get around to hanging pictures, but I do wonder if we will ever be fully unpacked. No matter what size house I move into, whether it's smaller or larger than the last place I've lived, I find that I always need at least one piece of furniture or something in order to fill that one space. You know that space - that area that your eye invariably moves to that just seems wrong, empty. There are a lot of spaces like that here, yet in an odd way I'm enjoying the emptiness.



This picture was taken a few days after we moved into the house, and it shows all of the open space that surrounds us. You can't quite make out the cornfields that can be seen from our backyard, but they are there. Perhaps it's the open space around that is opening my eyes and helping me enjoy some of this stillness.

Several friends and family have asked for pictures of the house, and I should have taken pictures of the house the day before Thanksgiving, when we celebrated the holiday with Patrick's mother and the house looked good. But, I didn't. Yesterday because we were having leftovers, we thought we'd get a jump on the decorating and pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations. Now there are decorations everywhere, but nothing is decorated. Our thin false tree that we bought for our small condo in Norfolk is standing in our living room without any ornaments looking quite sad and lonely. Let's hope I can get this posted and the decorations up!

Speaking of the leftovers...




We very rarely have the same recipes year after year for the holidays. Both of us love to try new recipes, and experiment with different flavors. This year the only thing that we have made before was Creamed Corn Gratin that I got from Bon Appetit magazine. It is so good that we have made it every year for Thanksgiving since I found it. The first time was part of a Thanksgiving meal we prepared and delivered to some of Patrick's co-workers that were working on the big day while we were stationed in Italy.

I was impressed with all of the side dishes we made this year, and I will be making them all again. I have always found that most Thanksgiving Sweet Potato recipes are too sweet, but the Sweet Potato Puree with Brown Sugar and Sherry that we tried this year was fantastic. I'm looking forward to using the leftovers to make sweet potato ravioli or gnocchi, or perhaps both!



I particularly loved the Cranberry Nut Rolls . I am going to be making these again and again to have with soups, but especially for breakfast. I had a wonderful breakfast of leftover rolls toasted with butter - um, yum! The only thing that I may do next time is make them a little smaller, to maximize the crust.


The Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Apples were very easy to put together, and would be good as a side dish for any fall or winter dish.

P.S.
Just click on any of the links to get the recipe links! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Memories and Faraway Friends

I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving and what it means to me. I'm not sure if it's just because of the upcoming holidays, or "holidaze" as I like to term it. I think it is because we are so far away from most of our family and friends, and I miss spending time with them. I especially miss cooking for them.

Most people spend the holiday with the family and a select few friends. Before I was married, I only knew the holidays as time spent with family. Gatherings around the table with family, that always ended with discussions about politics. Sometimes fun, but always loud! The food for my family was never the most important thing, it was the gathering and the the love. My grandparents were originally from the New England area, and the dishes I grew up with were all traditional New England Thanksgiving dishes. I miss spending time with family, but I have to admit I do not miss Creamed Onions!

Then I was married, and we were gone. First to Seoul, South Korea where we celebrated with friends. I can't remember many of the details of our first Thanksgiving there, other than the panic of preparing my first big meal for a group of people! We knew how hard it was to be away from family for the holidays and decided to invite anybody who wanted to come. Now that I think about it, it wasn't a huge party, I think there was a over 10 people. But that was more people than I had ever served, and we had to buy more plates, silverware, napkins and glasses! The second year we co-hosted Thanksgiving for a group of mostly single sailors and marines with my friend Chasity who lived 3 floors below us. It was great, and besides the fun, I remember it was the first time I had ever had pecan pie!

Since then, I have celebrated Thanksgiving in 3 different countries, and at least 7 different cities. I've been lucky enough to celebrate through the years with all sets of our families. We've traveled to Dallas to celebrate with Patrick's father and step-mother. Soon after I met my father, he became ill, and we came here to St. Louis to spend the last Thanksgiving that my father got to see with him and his family.

I think about all of the friends that I have fed at our house, and all of the friends who have fed us at their houses. I also think about good friends that I have not had the opportunity to celebrate with. For all of the times that family is far away, friends have become family, and I miss everyone of them.

This is for every member of our immediate families, as well as our friends that are like family: Chasity, Danielle, Tara and Marvin, Crystal and Rob, Shazi and Bernard, Shastie and Ed, Tammy and Marvin, Maureen and Tim , David, Valarie, Michelle and Dan, Craig and Mikal, and Sean and Shay. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. I love you all!!