Our family Thanksgiving was immediate family. When I met the man who was to become my husband, I girded myself for a long weekend with his parents, and Thanksgiving with fifty of his relatives. It was a life-changing weekend and we eloped two months later.
Now, Jim’s job prevents him from taking even one day off during November/December and he’ll miss his annual joyous union with his parents, brother, grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. I should have titled this “Over The River, and Through the Woods…” but this would be my eighth year there. We’ll miss all the folks who get together only once a year. It’s some consolation that Jim’s mother has a new computer with video capabilities so we can have a video conference after dinner.
There may be near sixty this year. More babies were born. A dear one was lost. This is the closest to a grandmother I’ve ever had. You should see the spread. Of course there are turkey and ham but the sides are very southern and that tends to sweet, not what this Yankee initially expected. I never tried to bring a dessert because all the other ladies do so and dessert is a sumptuous feat in and of itself! As my husband is not very adept at culinary traditions (forget female hierarchy) he always told me to bring nothing.
Now I’m known for teaching teenagers how to cook, the day after Thanksgiving, and also for my spinach balls, spiced almonds and cashews, and boursin. I’ve already given spinach balls to my newest married cousin Brenda. We’ll really miss that big hug from Nanny when we walk in the door, plus conversations with family we haven’t seen in a year: Zoe’s hip surgeon Val the Vet; brother John and Patti and their children; Sharon and Mary and their kids; Scott and Jen and two babies, one we’ve never met; and on and on. And Gina’s going to be there this year. We’ve both been rooting for Gina for years, and she’s successful and living on the West Coast.
Someday I’ll tell you the story of the first Thanksgiving with Jim’s family. Not now. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving, Dee
Cooking with Dee 
I think I’m going to ask my two culinary students to make and contribute two of my regular dishes and see if they’re up to the task. Dee
I think it would be neat for the 2 teen girls to bring a dish of their own. The 8 y/o is planning a tea party for her 11 and 13 y/o cousins, so sweet.
Yes our southern dishes are sweet, and also made with lots of butter if possible.
They funniest addition we are now responsible for is beef bbq brisket in addition to the turkey and ham. For sandwiches that evening of course. We cheat and cook one overnight in a slow oven, covered with foil and a bottle of liquid smoke. The hardest part is handling the sheer volume of juice and meat and the former meat cutter, now cattleman, removes the fat and slices it. (A job I am more than happy to give him, hey he isn’t much use in the kitchen without his boning knife.) Bottled bbq sauce is served on the side. Believe it or not this makes a pretty good substitute for smoked meats. The potato rolls are good enough to make up for any shortcomings of the brisket (or turkey or ham for that matter.)
I think it is about time to share my favorite refrigerator roll recipe. Typical of the south, it is sweet and buttery and, for convenience, just roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter. Delicious hot or, use to make awesome sandwiches!!
Margie’s Potato Rolls
Make mashed potatoes and save the cooking water. You will need 1 1/2 cups of liquid and 1 cup of mashed potatoes for one recipe.
Combine:
1 1/2 cups of warm potato water or scalded milk 2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
Dissolve 1 pkg yeast in 1/4 cup warm water
and add to warm, not hot, liquids,
Stir in:
1 cup warm mashed potatoes
7 to 8 cups all purpose flour
Combine well, adding additional flour if needed to make a soft dough. (I usually turn it out and knead just enough to combine it well)
Place in large bowl, cover and refrigerate it overnight.
To make rolls, you can make them any shape you know how but my large production method is to roll them out to about 1/2″ thick and place on greased baking sheet.
Let rise. Bake at 400-425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes 24-36 rolls
Dee, I love the first paragraph of this post. After a weekend with this large, crazy family, self included, you two decided eloping was the best option. Ha Ha
Dearest Margie, Mother-In-Law,
We eloped because we didn’t want a big wedding as my parents had split, Jim was laid off because his project was cancelled and we didn’t want anyone but us to pay for the wedding. Plus we only gave ourselves a couple of days to plan. We love you all very much and if we’re living on this planet may even plan a ten-year anniversary! It’s in storage but you once gave me a copy of this recipe, and it said to set the dough out to rise and come back to it after church! Now that’s an exact measurement, because some Catholic Masses are 35 minutes and the dough wouldn’t have risen by then)! Sorry to deprive you of your eldest son’s wedding. What’s most important is that I apparently passed your four-day test. After one day and one trip to the 92-acre property to deliver some hay, your husband and my now-father-in-law asked Jim “so, when are you going to ask her? It’s OK with me.” It took you longer, for obvious reasons, as you still say “I told you about that….” Love you, M. Dee