So in my thankfulness for learning, I am also thankful for memories. Yesterday - as a holiday - was a natural Memory Collector Day. Any day is a Memory Collector Day, but we don't always have our Memory Collector Hat on for regular days like we do for holidays.
But rather than simply telling you I'm thankful for the memories we made yesterday as a family, I thought I would combine my thankfulness for learning with my thankfulness for memories in a Top 10 List.
Ready? Ahem...clearing my throat...er...fingers...for the pronouncement...See? It's in bold and centered so you know it's important.
The Top 10 Things I Learned on Thanksgiving Day 2013
# 10 - Don't ask for a roll taste test on Thanksgiving Day.
I have a go-to roll recipe from King Arthur that I found a few years back and quit looking for roll recipes after 25 years of looking. Well, I knew that one batch wouldn't be enough, so I thought I would ask for a taste test of a slightly different roll recipe to see if I should have a new go-to roll recipe. I had the whole family around...lots of taste testers available...why not? Well here's why not. Thanksgiving has sooooooo many other good things on the table, people want a roll as a vehicle for cleansing the pallet or sopping up gravy, but they don't have room for a second roll to do a true taste test. Save roll taste tests for other days, Deb.
And speaking of rolls...
# 9 - Homemade cinnamon rolls and eggnog make a pretty good Thanksgiving Day breakfast tradition.
It's a new tradition for G and I. While I knew I'd need to put together two batches of dough, I also knew that we'd really only eat about 1.6734 batches, so that could leave 0.3266 batches available to make just enough cinnamon rolls for two - ok, three since D was around yesterday morning, too, but you get the idea. And eggnog is a holiday treat that we look forward to every year. (Not D; he stuck with milk.) I didn't say that this Thanksgiving Day breakfast tradition would be healthy. Nor did I say that we added any adult liquid with a rationalization that "it's 5 o'clock somewhere". I simply said it was good - as in tasty but not too filling - and easy since the roll dough was already together anyway. Can it be Thanksgiving Day again tomorrow please?
And while I'm still speaking of rolls...
# 8 - Make a batch of Angel Biscuits.
So a certain someone feels a little closer to home for Thanksgiving. 'Nuff said.
# 7 - Strawberry juice needs to be controlled when mixing with brownies.
All part of a pie experiment for A. What I tried yesterday wasn't altogether bad - but we're not there yet. I have a next idea to try, but this experiment is its own blog post, so stop back by in 2014 and we'll talk some more about strawberries and chocolate and pie.
# 6 - This works.
We have 3 different sweet potato tastes in our family - those who like plain sweet potatoes (with just butter and salt like a baked Irish potato); those who like sweetened sweet potatoes with golden brown melty marshmallows all over the tope; and those who like the sweetened sweet potatoes but with the crunch of toasted pecans on top. So I put the above together in one dish. I am a bake my sweet potatoes kind of girl. I hate to peel sweet potatoes or boil them in their jackets. Why bother when I have a perfectly good oven that will bake them while I go enjoy cinnamon rolls and eggnog with my honey? Once they are baked, I let 'em cool (cause there's still cinnamon rolls and eggnog with my honey to enjoy), peel, add melted butter and mash. I stopped right there to make the inner mound of the pic above, garnished only with sea salt. Then I sweetened the remainder with brown sugar, maple syrup (just a touch) and just a touch of pineapple juice. I piled all of that in the remainder of the dish, and then garnished with mini marshmallows for that crowd and toasted pecans for that crowd. (I will let you in on a little secret. I am almost positive that some folks took from all three. Shh...don't tell.)
# 5 - Wisdom teeth surgery three days before Thanksgiving has some lingering effects.
I won't belabor this, but trust me when I say that K wasn't his normal self. Poor guy.
# 4 - Fireplaces need five stockings, not three.
And B makes a find Vanna.
# 3 - I have adult children who can cook a whole turkey. That's a good feeling.
Last year, S&A made the turkey (not sure if it was their first or not), and it was quite tasty. And this year S&K did the turkey (their first), and it was also quite tasty. As a mother, that is a very satisfying sort of feeling. They are well on their way to carrying on traditions of future family get togethers. Not that roasting a turkey is a prerequisite to family get togethers, but there's just something good and hopeful knowing that they can manage a turkey without freaking out.
# 2 - Four generations represented around the table is a good thing. That is a very good thing. Something worth contemplating with a good thumb suck.
And the # 1 thing I learned on Thanksgiving Day 2013...
# 1 - My oldest son will step up and read the 103rd Psalm since he knows his mama will choke up if she tries.
And he even self corrects if he reads a part wrong...and the family was listening while he read, cause we caught it, too. Good stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving leftovers everyone!
We are off to find a Christmas tree today. We are gonna have ourselves an ad-benture!
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