Chez Grapeshot

Finalizing the Thanksgiving dinner en famille, with a new daughter-in-law this year (yay!) and both sons nearby.  What a reason to be thankful.  Granddaughter will be with us, too.  I believe this is the first ever celebration with all together in New England.

There will be a roast turkey, of course, and some stuffing, my mom's old recipe to comply with vegetarian tastes. 
 Earla's Old Time Potato Stuffing
We'll enjoy gravy, like my Dad taught me to make.  Thanks, Dad.  Not too many people know how to make real gravy anymore.  Equal quantities of fat and flour and not more than your turkey broth can accommodate.  Mashed potatoes.  Trying some squash fritters for the vegetarian.  Made with rice, too, they sound yummy.  A wild rice salad with cranberries, also good for the vegetarian and it sounds tasty.  Maybe some green bean casserole made from scratch.  And Ina Garten's cranberry conserve.  Dessert will be pumpkin  tarts and pecan pie bars. A veritable feast, so be sure, and plenty of work, too. 
 Some of the tasks can be done in advance:   the turkey broth, the stuffing bread, cut up the veggies, cook the squash, cook the beans and rice, make the salad, Make the tart shells and the pecan pie bars.  Enough left for turkey day, plus I'll have some help.  The worst is cleaning up the kitchen and trying to find a place for all the leftovers.  Thanks, too, for the fridge in the basement storeroom.  And the cold garage.

The cats will be thankful for lots of extra laps to sit in.  Share the love, they always say.

Back to my writing, which is nearly 80,000 words in the 1928 Southern California book.  Yowza!