On the love side, it's a time to see family. You get to step in from the cold weather for a warm and comforting meal where people take time to reflect on that which makes them feel happy and grateful. It's the calm before the storm, a break from the overly material-obsessed society we have become. A day where you put your wants and needs aside and just reflect on how lucky you are.
On the hate side, boy does this day wreak havoc on my digestive system and my waist. I go home feeling so full that I don't think I could possibly eat another thing for days. But then I have to do it all over again the next day (Eric's family one day, mine the next), and let's not even speak of the piles of leftovers. The ultimate day of gluttony. It begins the unstoppable downward spiral of overdoing it that you can't claw your way out of until it's time to make a resolution.
But I digress.
This year, my contribution to the two Thanksgiving feasts we attended was to bake the pies (big surprise, right?) For Eric's family, I baked the Honey Crunch Pecan Pie I blogged about here. For my family, I baked that same pie, plus a Pumpkin Pie and a (special request) Cherry Pie. I've included links to the recipes at the bottom of this post. All three pies were amazing. The pecan was so pretty and garnered the most compliments. The pumpkin was the most work and ended up with a cracked top. My dad, who loves pumpkin pie so much that he bought one at Safeway so he would be sure he had enough pumpkin pie for just himself, said it was the best pumpkin pie he'd ever had. And the cherry is an old favorite. Probably the pie I've made most often as it's Eric's favorite dessert. I baked this one, in particular, for my grandpa who seemed to be more excited about this pie than anything else that day.
I'd like to give a shout out to both my mom and Eric's mom for a job well done. Each meal was amazing and I get so overwhelmed and impressed with how much work goes into preparing this meal and how easy you both make it look. Everything was delicious!
I hope everyone out there had a wonderful holiday.
Here's my dad preparing to carve the bird:
My mom did a beautiful job decorating the table:
About to dish out the pies:
And here are the recipes...
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Lovely! I wish I had been there to sample your pies :D mmm
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain on the whole "downward spiral of overdoing it" thing. There's too much good stuff everywhere. It's a serious problem. Sigh. See you on January 1st.
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