Notes to myself for next year... feel free to mock
1. START THE ROLLS ON TUESDAY (for the refrigerator rolls recipe). You only have one oven, and it's tiny. It's fine to bake the green bean casserole while the turkey is "resting", but the rolls can be made the day before.
2. You really want new table linens and silverware for next year. Trust me.
3. Brennan made a boss centerpiece out of the round black candle rack, the two crystal candlesticks (with white tapers), and snips from the shrub out front - the hellishly thorny one with orange berries.
4. Iron the tablecloth and napkins before Thursday. Just do it.
5. It was smart to prep and refrigerate the potatoes early in the day - Wednesday would have been even better - but next time, when you put them on the stove to boil, give them twice the amount of time. The pot is cold from the fridge, and it's huge, and full of cold potatoes.
6. What was with the salty gravy? Look into that. Milk worked, though. Maybe don't salt the roux or the turkey, so much.
7. Turkey = wonderful once again. The new roasting pan worked great.
How do you cook your turkeys? I'm interested in this because my chef son says I do it backwards (he wouldn't help with it, being a vegetarian and/or grossed out) by browning the skin, then covering it with foil. Apparently I should foil it until the last hour and then let it brown. I like my way.
8. Sides = mashed potatoes, devilled eggs and green bean casserole, yay! The stuffing and corn, meh. Do they make smaller cans of cranberry sauce, since no one else eats it? I need more colorful side dishes and after yesterday's salty gravy-fest, I'm thinking we need more fresh or sweet stuff. Salad? Jello? Jello salad?
9. Pilgrim Punch (aka cranberry juice and lemon-lime soda) - everyone loved it
10. Pies and whipped cream - *sigh* Brennan makes incredible pie crust. I just wish more of us liked pumpkin pie. The big can makes two pies and that's more than we can handle. I end up eating most of it. However, three chocolate pies in Oreo crust was a good amount.
How was your Thanksgiving? Did you travel or stay home? Did you make the turkey or did someone else? Are you having pie for breakfast this morning?