Thanksgiving Take-Aways

I've learned that in corporate life--and life in general--it's all about the "take-aways". So what were my "take-aways" or "key learnings" (substitute your buzzword de jour) from Thanksgiving 2009? Everybody seemed to like the list in the last post, so I'll stick with that holiday trend:

1. Never trust Kroger.

After assuring my friend Alex and I that they would, in fact, provide me with a cooked, WARM, and ready-to-serve turkey, they still found a way to succumb to the Can't-Find-a-Cooked-Turkey-To-Buy-in-Louisville Curse. I sent Bobby to pick up the turkey while I mashed the potatoes (more on potatoes later in the list), he returns in a huff of "OKDon'tfreakout!" Just what every first-time Thanksgiving hostess wants to hear from her hubby, right? He presents me with a white trash bag (tall, kitchen) with yellow drawstrings and GIBBONS scribbled across the front in a black sharpie. I was too distraught to capture this on the iPhone cam because at the time it was NOT funny. Kind of like how leprosy ISN'T funny. It's a little funnier now. The turkey was cooked, put back in a little turkey bag that left imprints all over it, put in a trash bag, and into the refrigerator. COLD. Once removed from it's bags and onto my counter, it was probably the ugliest looking turkey I'd ever seen in my life. Bobby proceeded to attack it with our large kitchen knife (read: not a turkey carving device of any sort), and butchered the poor bird all over again--and all over our counter. It was enough to make this card-carrying carnivore want to turn over a new Vegetarian leaf. Really, I hope Bobby treats his surgical patients a little better under the knife. So all in all...don't trust Kroger.

2. Make your own turkey.

See above.

3. Don't use Fat Free Cheese in Macaroni and Cheese.

Let's call this "Bobby's take-away", and leave it at that.

4. If you're going to mash 10 potatoes by hand, do NOT wear a cashmere turtleneck.

Thank you, Secret Invisible Solid.

5. Dinner should always be after 3:00pm.

Otherwise it looks awkward when you carry the remnants of the champagne bottle back to your room for a "nap". I'm not saying I did that. I'm just saying it's a take-away.

Turkey aside, everything turned out really well. The Bourbon Brown Sugar Ham was the hit of the meal, the Mexican cranberries were delicious, the broccoli casserole was wonderful as always, the potatoes were perfect, and the mac & cheese was better reheated the next day :) You're probably all really sick of looking at your own Thanksgiving left-overs, but here are some snapshots of a few of the dishes before dinner--and my fabulous place mats and napkins (on sale at Pier 1 for $2/ea!!!) Totally showing off my beautiful wedding gifts too! And of course, our surprise dinner guest who wanted us all out of her chairs ASAP.