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Thanksgiving 2014 – The invitation reads “Shall we all gather at Grandma’s house?” For Thanksgiving 2014, this grandma’s house was a shell’s toss away from sand and surf.
It was beyond awesome to have every member of the family gather under one roof, if only for a extended weekend – from the family matriarch great-grandma, to grandmas, a grandpa, moms, dads and nearly all the children.
Those family members who lived too far joined us via FaceTime®.
The Beach Connection
In this family, our one weakness, if you can call it that, is that we are all driven by an unknown force to make our way to the beach, in winter as well as summer, to breath the salt air and welcome the morning sun.
Oceanside Thanksgiving 2014
Neither steady rain nor a stiff wind or a nor’easter (you would not know it from the photo above taken immediately after the storm passed) prevented us from gathering for another traditional family holiday and the equally traditional turkey meal with all the “fixins”.
Thanksgiving 2014 Menu
- Two small turkeys from Wegmans® (with extra white meat)
- An 11 pound Smithfield® glazed spiral cut ham
- Two types of stuffing
- one with celery, onions and poultry seasonings
- and a plain stuffing seasoned with salt, pepper and moistened with butter
- Very creamy mashed potatoes – perfect for all that good gravy
- Roasted sweet potatoes wedges tossed in EVOO with minced garlic and fresh rosemary bits.
- Fresh green beans cooked till tender in rich chicken broth
- Steamed broccoli – plain and buttered
- Cranberry sauce with whole berries (recipe for my cranberry relish mold)
- Two kinds of gravy – from the pan juices and McCormick’s® Perfect gravy recipe.
A Dish For Every Palate
You might wonder why we opted for a packaged gravy when the rest of the meal was completely from scratch! It’s a long story.
Still wonder how we made it there with all that food and also question my sanity in taking on such a meal, for so many, in a kitchen not my own. Grandmas just do that.
Let me quickly add that it was a spectacular kitchen with state of the art appliances but you know what happens when you try to cook in any kitchen other than your own.
Before The Cooking Started
I had to spend some time just making sure I could find cooking utensils, pots, pans and make sure that we had enough flatware – and dishes – to set a proper table.
The range did have a temper tantrum but how often does your stove require a “reboot” of the circuit panel?
In the end, I discovered that every imaginable kitchen gadget was available – just a matter of remembering which drawer to look in.
Should the kitchen of my dreams ever magically materialize when I come down for morning coffee one day, may the Thanksgiving 2014 kitchen island be the centerpiece of the floor plan.
Thanksgiving 2014
We stay up late and get up early catching up on everything we can think of since we were together last.
Nutella Banana Rolls
Kids of all ages always tackle a puzzle. This year, it was a particularly frustrating 1000 piece monster.
My sister brought along an interesting cookbook. We all had a good laugh going through the recipe titles.
Some of the recipes sounded appetizing.
Permission granted to let your imagination run wild. We’ll let you judge for yourself.
Being on the beach at sunrise is a tradition. Toes must be in the sand when the sun first makes an appearance on the horizon.
Then we gather in the kitchen with steaming hot coffee, cinnamon rolls and a full breakfast. This year, I added a batch of Nutella and Banana rolls. Delicious!
Memories are made this.
A Trip To Delaware Is Not Complete Without…
A Delaware Beach
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About the Author
1 Cook, 2 Countries & A Taste For World Cuisines: Cooking A La Mode De Chez Nous - Cuisine d'Hier Et d'Aujourd'hui! For the love of home style cooking and great food. Memories are made of this!