Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well first holiday away from home is in the books. Yes I wished we were surrounded by friends and family and three separate Thanksgiving meals, but all in all a it was a pretty good day. Probably the first time I have worked on Thanksgiving since I was 17, and really that wasn't work, just an excuse to get out of the house.

Today was pretty much just like any other day as far as work was concerned, but was a series of epic failures and magical triumphs from a gastronomical point of view. I started my day with a bowl of a great new cereal (triumph 1) Jordans’ oats with tropical fruit. Unfortunately I decided to eat it with some kind of munchkin spoon. Its the perfect spoon for something like yogurt, but cereal it was a bad idea (failure 1). Ended up taking like 20 minutes to eat, getting one oat cluster at a time. After my workout (i.e. breakfast) I worked up quite an appetite, and was excited to get down to the cafeteria for lunch. You can't be too excited though, because lunch doesn't even start here till noon. Of course that makes sense since work doesn't start till 9:30, but seeing how I came in early to get the most out of my Thanksgiving dinner extravaganza (is your mouth watering). Noon finally rolled around and I headed down to see London had on the Thanksgiving menu (failure 2). It was curry day! I just couldn't bring myself to have curry on Thanksgiving. Not that I would have had curry had it not been Thanksgiving, but that was the meal du jour, and there was no way I was going there. Really the only other option was the noodle bar, and Chinese noodles three days in one week just wasn't going to cut it either. I ended up with the baguette of the day from the shop next to the office, and while they said it was "firecracker chicken", I am pretty sure it was chicken with, what they like to call salsa, which is more like spicy French dressing (failure 3). Needless to say I was thoroughly disappointed which only served to add to my excitement for dinner. I knew Kristen was planning something special, but didn't know the details till the table was set and dinner was served (triumph 2). It was an amazing spread, especially for Kristen's first go round.


Now I have always been a dark meat and stuffing guy, and while Kristen's submissions were impressive the star of the show was the sweet potato casserole (triumph 3). So good in fact that I provide it here for the world to relish in as well:

Ingredients:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter .

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:
Combine first 6 ingredients.
Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2-quart casserole dish.
Mix remaining ingredients together and sprinkle over top.
Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned.

(and Kristen's personal touch...........marshmellows, lots and lots of marshmellows)

Serves 6 to 8.


Of course after dinner there was the requisite resting period before desert, it just wasn't the same without football. I hear now that America's team is taking a beating, and for most of you that is bad news, but for me the Cowboys losing is just a cherry on top of a great day. As if I hadn't had my fill with the three servings of sweet potatoes, and extra marshmallows, Kristen brought the thunder with dessert (triumph 4). Not sure many of you know the pleasures of the giant meringues, but it is something you need on your bucket list. One of my goals in life now is to finish each day with one of these sugary delights, and vow to learn to make them myself, but for now it means lots of walks to the bakery down the street.

The scores all tallied it looks like triumphs win, and while we miss everyone our first holiday away was an overwhelming success. Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night!