Whether it’s just my wife and I or with the “kids” I really enjoy waking up on Thanksgiving Morning to make my special Egg Nog pancakes…

Simple pleasures.

DEFINATELY need a recipe for eggnog pancakes! sounds divine!
and a great way to ring in the winter holiday season.

lots of laughter and talking and cleaning up, then pulling evrything back out of the fridge to make sammiches late at night…sheer bliss.

It’s the sammiches that make it for me… I love just knowing that there are turkey sandwiches to be had, after the fact. That has been sad in recent years, Hubris and I living overseas- I run a restaurant… and serve great thanksgiving dinners to all these wandering expats living here (500 reservations for thurs. and friday this year- turkey and all the trimmings, even pumpkin pie which is rare in japan) but In the past I have always forgotten to take leftovers home to make sandwiches. NOT THIS YEAR… I have my take away order in with my chef. should be A-OK!

We have dubbed our Thanksgiving “When North Meets South”. Picture 12 women trying to outdo each other on the side dishes. Crockpots and hot plates line the makeshift tables set up on the patio.

My brother married a southern girl and her side bring the corn pudding, ham souffles, string beans with oil and mushrooms and an eggplant pie.

The North shows up with Baked Lasagna, Eggplant Rollatini and stuffed shells and stuffed garlic & mozzerella bread.

There is literally food and people and kids all over the friggin’ place. Each year the crowd gets bigger and bigger. Each year couples change and new kids from extended families show up. It is like a good nightmare.

I would really like to make your cheese macaroni and stay in bed and eat the whole thing all by myself….but instead I’ll be bringing it on Thursday. I’m in charge of the Kiddie Kookie Snack Tray anyhow…

Which reminds me of a tale when I was a young married woman. My husband and I moved into a home on the lake and the association was having their yearly meeting and barbeque down in the park by the boat ramp. He was a pilot and he was going to be out of town so I made plans to go without him. On the invitation it said to bring a covered dish. Thinking that there was an ant problem down in the park, I figured that’s why they wanted us to bring a dish with a cover. So down the the lake I head in a straw hat, a cooler, and a dish with a cover on it. There was no food in my dish. As soon as I got down there, all the older women surrounded me and I was introduced to everyone and then they opened my dish. I was so damn embarrassed that I should have brought a side dish in my covered dish. Those women laughed their butts off at the New York girl.

Does anyone have a recipe for Apricot wild rice? Can an apricot wild rice stuffing recipe just be baked in a casserole dish and not stuffed?

Yes indeed it can! Don’t have an actual recipe, but have made something similar with half wild rice and half regular (or barley – surprising but good) and with sauteed onion, celery, pine nuts and/or pecans, cloves, thyme, salt and pepper. May have used some green or red bell peppers too. This is fine in a casserole or stuffed into a squash and baked.

Also – have done the wild rice and barley think with onion, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, celery, carrots diced tiny, plus fresh herbs – dill, chives, and Italian parsley is especially nice, or thyme/basil/oregano whatever.

My wife and I announced our engagement Thanskgiving weekend, on a Thanksgiving filled with one darn good turkey with stuffing, and lots and lots of authentic (by definition) Chinese food.

Then one year we put on our red battle shorts and slew the heathens who were trying to take away our Christmas – somehow. I’m not sure how, exactly, but that’s for me not to know and for God to sort out.

God bless and… Be safe out there.

Chowder will be a lovely and low-fat (fat free half and half to thicken it up) meal.

Besides, EVERYONE knows thanksgiving is all about FOOTBALL!

The Niners aren’t playing (GO NINERS, THREE IN A ROW!) but I’ll be watching whatever losers are on.

We can all be thankful that Rick Santorum not only lost his Senate seat, but he’s already ruled out running for Prezzie in ‘08. Not that that comes as any sort of shock.

Thanks Steve!

On the canned or frozen green bean and cream of mushroom casserole. I used to take it to gourmet pot lucks and watch it disappear first every single time. It’s so funny to see it mentioned several times here this evening.