Have a Seat at My Table

How was your big (fat tummy) day?  You know what I want to hear about?  Your mishaps.  I'm going to tell you about mine, and I had more than ever this year.

First let's get a good look at my table.  I loved it, thought it turned out simple and darling.  I was really tired of the same old stuff I pull out all the time so I grabbed some leftover fabric for a new look.

We had our Christmas card photo shoot earlier this week, thus my premature wreath.  The rest will be going up this weekend, yay!!

And yes, I know I'm the only person on the planet that loves baby's breath.

Spray paint your old gourds leftover from Halloween.  Or, if you're like me, forget you were planning to do that, throw them all away, and go buy new ones a week later.  

Tough to talk about the food today when we're all sick of it.  Maybe that's just me.  I'm a huge leftovers girl, but I have a one time only rule after Thanksgiving.  I think it's from doing all the cooking.  I freeze it all and pull it out in a month when we're ready again. With the exception of the turkey and rice soup which I've always got brewing within 24 hours.

Anyway...so I've been making the same food for 13 years.  Seriously.  With the advent of Pinterest, my interest was piqued by some new recipes.  Then I decided to look up all my staples and see how others make them.  This led to at least a slight tweaking of every single thing I've been making forever.  

I HIGHLY encourage this.

Mishap #1- Monday Stock Prep

I always have multiple bags of bones in my freezer so I can whip up some stock whenever needed.  (Never made your own stock?  Mercy, it makes all the difference in the world in everything.  A great basic stock recipe can be found here.)  Long story short, a few hours into the all day simmer I stuck a big ladle in there to move everything around and a turkey leg and a PORK RIB came up in the spoon.  Oops.  I quickly called my sister who wasn't nearly as alarmed as I was and said "Eh, just taste it. You'll probably get some real flavor depth there."

She was right, whew.  It was actually pretty fabulous.

Mishap #2- Wednesday Pie Disaster

This recipe on Pinterest for Salted Caramel Pie grabbed ahold of me and would not let go until it came to be.  Unfortunately it takes hours to make.  Especially when you dump the first batch out in the bottom of your oven.  Awesome.

Uggh.  An hour later I got to start all over again. (Tip: when you're making a new recipe, buy 2x the ingredients.)

It was DELICIOUS, but insanely rich.

Mishap #3- Thursday Morning Buttered Bowl Catastrophe

After I mixed up the butter and sage for my turkey rubdown (I followed this recipe for my turkey change up this year- it was AWESOME), I carried the bowl to the sink and my butter fingers fumbled at the goal line.  Shattered glass in your sink and garbage disposal the morning that all your dishes explode out of your cabinets crusty with uncleanliness? (Am I the only person who has at least 4 major cleaning expeditions for this one meal?)

My sweet husband managed to extract most of the shards and all ended well.  We think.

Mishap #4- Thursday Last Minute TOO SALTY GRAVY *SOB*

I was so dang sad about this I cannot help but keep trying to shade someone else with the blame.  Y'all the turkey drippings with all the herbs made an AMAZING gravy...I was tasting it all morning, swooning at my perfection.  One of our guests actually went to culinary school, and since I didn't know him very well I wanted to include him.  After prompting him, he indicated he would add some salt.  Apparently my salting hand is a big fatty because BOOHOO it was way too salty and ruined.  It's all I could think about the rest of the day.  He did a very worthy carving job though.

Other recipe tweaks....

My husband almost had a stroke when I told him I was changing up my world renowned dressing*...but I only tweaked it a little.  I always do 1/2 cornbread, 1/2 bread cubes but this year I changed out the bread for biscuits (a southern thing) and used fresh sage for the first time ever.  YES, approved.

TIP: If you're not making your cornbread and other bread parts of your dressing a few days early and letting it sit out and get stale, you are missing a crucial texture that will send your dish over the top.  That and homemade stock....just do it.

Getting stale.

Cooked and yummers.

Tip: BUFFET!!!  I'm sorry, when I want to eat all this glorious food, I don't want to break from my mawing down to pass someone something every other bite.  Make your own plate and have a seat.

Also, I really do make a concerted effort to be Green throughout the year, but I am unfriendly to the Earth on big holidays.  I can't be washing all those dishes, I'm sorry.  Plus these pans keep the food much more airtight than haphazard foil covers in the fridge.

Tip: Make ahead mashed potatoes!  Never done the potatoes the day before....this rocked.  They always make me crazy the day of.  No more, starchy nemesis, no more.

What did you learn yesterday?  So many mishaps this year...but if I'm not learning, I'm not growing.  Something like that.  Or I'm just clumsy.

I'm still full, but it was a great day. 

Yum!