Cigar, Cocktails, and Then Dinner

 Sunday, May 24, 2026

Thanksgiving Leftovers

 Friday, December 5, 2025

Meant to post this after Thanksgiving but didn't get to it. We made REALLY good use of our leftovers this year. We made a turkey pot pie, hot turkey sandwiches with gravy, and numberous cold turkey sandwiches for lunch. We also did really well eating up the sides. 

We also stretched the pumpkin and apple pie out for quite a while too.

Thanksgiving 2025 - The Final Stretch

 Thursday, November 27, 2025

Picked Mom up at 1:30 and we were back to our house by 2:00. Dale chopped up the giblets while I was picking up Mom. He added them to the gravy later as he was making it. The turkey came out of the oven by 2:10. 

The sweet potato casserole went in at 2:20. The marshmallows were put on just before. It came out about a half hour later. Dale put it in the warmer. 

Made the fruit salad at 3:00. I used two cans of fruit cocktail. 

Dale did the stove top stuffing at the same time I made the fruit salad. 

Got the corn on at 3:10...

I carved the turkey. 

And we were eating by 3:25. Oh, and by the way, we also served Hawaiian King dinner rolls. 

It all came together nicely and goodness it was delicious!

Mom brought over an apple pie her friend Joanne baked for her.

Dale and I had a pumpkin pie from Lunds. I had a slice of each!

Turned out to be a great Thanksgiving. Mom expressed to us that she had a wonderful time.

Thankgiving 2025 - More Preparation

 Thursday, November 27, 2025

At 11:15 Dale got the turkey all olive oiled up. 

At 11:30 Daled started boiling the liver and heart. He never used the neck and gizzard. He was having a hard time believing this particular liver and heart were from this 11 pound turkey as they were unusually big. 

At 11:45 we got the turkey tranfered to the pan. 

Turkey in the oven at noon. 

Started getting the sweet potatoes ready at 12:15. They won't go

They won't go in the oven until after the turkey comes out. 

Thanksgiving 2025 - Let the Preparation Begin

 Thursday, November 27, 2025

A little after 10:00 Dale pulled the turkey out of the fridge to wash it off. 

The giblets, of course, were set aside.

I helped pat it dry. It'll go in about noon but it can sit out until then. 

We started getting the cranberries ready at 10:20. The recipe calls for  2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. We never add that much sugar as it ends up a little too sweet. Dale said he put in about 3/4 cup.

When the water boiled Dale added the cranberries and stirred them over medium heat. 

Dale had them in a bowl by 10:45. 

View from the front stoop at 10:00 am.

View from the back stoop.

Thanksgiving 2024 - Sweet Potatoes, Fruit Salad, and Dinner On the Table

 Thursday,  November 28, 2024

I got the sweet potatoes ready while the turkey was in the oven. I halved the recipe on the can.  

Ingredients: 1 29 oz can of sweet potatoes; 1 egg; 1/4 cup milk; 3/4 cups brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract;  1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees; spray 9x9 in baking pan with Pam; mix ingredients in large bowl; add marshmallows on top. just before baking; bake 30-35 minutes and then take out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes

Mom arrived around 2:00 and Dale got the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes while I entertained her.  He got the sweet potatoes in the oven by 2:10 so they could be out by 2:45 and rest for 10 minutes. 

At 2:30 I got the fruit salad together. Easy to make. Two cans of mixed fruit with whipped cream. Dale got gravy ready using the giblets I cut up. He also got the stuffing ready.

Dinner was on the table by about 3:10 and it was delicious.

Dale seems to think I do a great job carving the turkey. I feel like I'm hacking away with an ax to the carcass but I guess I do okay since there's barely any meat on it when I'm finished. There's gotta be a youTube video out there that shows the most efficient and perfect way to cut it up. Maybe I'll look for that sometime. 

Mom brought over a pumpkin pie that some friends from church had made. She said they usually make about 100 pies every year to sell to people for Thanksgiving. It was delicious and one of the better pumpkin pies I've ever had. That's sayin' something cuz I LOVE pumpkin pie. 

She also brought over some port wine. Dale didn't think he'd ever had any before. I poured some for us after the pie. Mom and Dale didn't like it. They said the alcohol level was too hight (turned out it was 20%) and they just didn't like the taste. I thought it was fine but what do I know. 

Can't believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Thanksgiving 2024 - The Turkey Part 2

 Thursday, November 28, 2024

At 11:30 Dale buttered the underside of the turkey. We flipped it over to the other side and moved it to the baking pan and buttered the other side. It sat until noon when Dale put it in the oven at 400 degrees. 

                                                             

Dale put the giblets in water and got them on the oven at medium heat (5.0) at 12:23. He realized he should have gotten them on a little earlier so he turned it up to 7.5.

At 12:30 Dale basted the turkey with white wine and turned the oven down to 350.  He then basted it at intervals of about 20 minutes. 

Just before1:30 we turned the turkey over. 

And basted it again. 

And put it back in the oven. 

When the turkey was back in the oven I went to work on chopping up the giblets. 

I diced it all up. The liver was pretty soft but the heart and gizzard were pretty tough. 

All ready for when Dale makes the gravy. 

Dale took the turkey out right around 2:00 and tented it. We let it rest for an hour.