Happy Thanksgiving!

    

     Hello, gentle readers!

     It is Sunday afternoon as I write this (I’m trying really hard to get back on schedule) and my house is redolent with the aroma of dinner simmering on the stove. I’m making a good, old fashioned Yankee Pot Roast, complete with mashed potatoes, gravy and caramelized carrots and onions. It’s my grandmother’s recipe (she related the recipe to me over the phone a very long time ago—we’re talking decades here—after I completely botched my first attempt). It’s comfort food. A family favorite. One of the dishes I do well.

         I am not the world’s best cook. I’m not the world’s worst cook, either. I make mostly simple meals that are filling and satisfying (I do make a spaghetti sauce with meatballs and sausage that will knock your socks off). Thankfully, no one has ever become sick or died from my cooking, but I have made a couple dishes that even the dog wouldn’t touch. On those occasions, my DH told me in the kindest, most diplomatic, way possible “Please don’t make this again.”

         Why am I telling you this? Well, Thanksgiving is coming up. This is, by far, my favorite holiday. I love roasted turkey with all the trimmings. And I go all out. Deviled eggs (my own recipe). Spinach dip (Knorr’s recipe). Cheesecake (Grandma’s recipe again). Pumpkin Pie (my aunt’s recipe).

         Over the years, I’ve taken the best recipes of family and friends, tweaked them for dietary restrictions (my DH cannot have red, green or yellow peppers), and made them my own. I use my mother-in-law’s recipe for the dressing/stuffing (again, related to me over the phone long distance). She was like me. She didn’t measure anything so it was trial and error for a while until I figured it all out. Her most cryptic direction?  Add water until it looks sloppy. When I asked her to explain that, she just said “You’ll know it when you see it.” And you know, though it’s taken a long time, she was right. I do know it when I see it (and feel it with the spoon….oh, and one of the tweaks? I use chicken broth instead of water. And real butter). Oh, I should stop. I’m making myself hungry!

         Happy Thanksgiving all!

Remember: spread kindness wherever you go.

Marie