Post Turkey Day Report

Hello Everyone!

I trust you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!  David and I think it might have been our best one yet.  We did all the things we love to do, and of course, as cheesy as it sounds, we were together, and for that, we couldn't be more thankful.

We woke up slowly.  I got the turkey ready and into the oven along with the first batch of pumpkin bread. Once that was set, we met up with our new neighbors for a hike in the foothills.  It was the perfect thing to get us going.  The hike was followed by a visit our Boise family the Wilcomb's for an hour or so to watch the end of the Packer game... Go Pack!  By the way, has anyone else noticed how much better looking Aaron Rodgers has gotten in the past year... a stylist must have finally gotten their paws on him, cuz he's looking really good these days.

When we got home the house smelled delicious.  The turkey was cooking perfectly, and I started in on the second batch of pumpkin bread, the mashed cauliflower, and the kale salad.  I decided that I was too tired to make the upside down pear cakes, however, I think I'm going to try them tomorrow.

Everything turned out to be amazing... except for the kale salad.  It would have been perfect, but for the olive oil I used.  Even though it was newly purchased, it had gone rancid, and the flavor destroyed the kale.  David was so sweet and told me it was delicious, but then I tasted it and almost spit it out at the table.  Oh well... not everything can be perfect on the first try... I'll just have to try, try again!   

I must say, this may have been our best turkey ever.  And definitely the best gravy ever.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but what I did made the bird the juiciest I've ever tasted... even the leftovers are juicy!  The pancetta helped keep the flavor in the bird.  Wow!  I highly recommend trying the recipe.

Best Gravy Ever!

My Cauliflower mashers still need some work, but they tasted great.  I should have used the food processor instead of the hand masher.  Oh well.

The pumpkin bread may have been the winner of the holiday though.  The almond flour made it light and the eggs gave it a moistness that was just perfect.  David almost devoured the entire thing... this is definitely a recipe I'll be cooking more often.

After eating we were stuffed, so we held off on cleaning the dishes until later.  Instead we watched an old movie and then worked on some of our creative projects.  Then watched another movie... the laziness was divine!