thanksgiving weekend

we were supposed to go to los angeles for thanskgiving to be with my brother and his family.  things didn't turn out that way. instead they had to come to us.  it has been a whirlwind the past few weeks for a variety of personal reasons and getting through the day has been an achievement. my niece made this turkey to celebrate the day. 

wednesday evening the gang came over for dinner and we picked up fried chicken from hill country.  really juicy and seriously crispy skin.  didn't love it.  what can i say?  if i am going to have fried chicken i want it just perfect. the sides are small so if you are thinking of a group, order lots of larges. 

thursday was a day of cooking.  began with the stuffing.  it is all about the stuffing, isn't it?  my stuffing is pretty basic and i believe the family would kill me if i ever made something different. 

4 sweet onions chopped, 3 heads of celery ( stalks chopped ), 1 stick of unsalted butter.  melt the butter in a large pan and toss in the onions and celery and saute until soft.  two loaves of challah and two loaves of Arnolds white bread.  toasted in the broiler.  cut into cubes.  mix together the sauteed onions and celery with the bread.  also toss in warm chicken stock, about 2 cups.  also six eggs beaten.  the liquid part ( chicken stock and eggs ) should be added slowly as you don't want the stuffing to get too soft.  Might use less chicken stock one year and more the following.  season with salt and pepper.  if you have too much and it doesn't all fit in the bird, put the rest in a casserole dish and bake at 350 until warm. 

dinner was good and every stuffed themselves silly like all good people do on thanskgiving.  so american.  sides were pan fried brussels sprouts and roasted slices of peeled acorn squash with pumpkin oil drizzled over the top and some pumpkin seeds and pomegranite seeds tossed on top for good measure.  i made gravy too and it actually came out good.  never been great at making gravy.  decided it is all about the roux. the cranberry pear chutney is there too. 

friday morning i was dead to the world.  i think the last few weeks finally took its toll.  i could not move from the couch and watched three movies and never got out of my pajamas.  saturday i finally mustered up the energy to take a shower mid-day and went out with emily up to barneys for a little retail therapy.  loved the windows.  ina garten is really one of my all time favorites.

went to see tiny furniture in the evening with fred.  an interesting slice of life film.  first time movie maker, leah dunham.  won many film festival awards.  a young woman comes home after graduating from college and we watch her try to figure out her life while navigating the world of living under your parents roof again.  not an easy time.  we walked over to jeffreys grocery for dinner.  the place was hopping.  everything was delicious but the banana bread pudding was a killer.  we were going to go out to park slope to see ben kweller play but i honestly didn't think i could make it.  i do love ben.  next time.

sunday came sooner than i'd like.  finished the book, the writing circle by corrine demas.  hated the ending and wanted to much more from the book- alas.  see the sweet tea in the background.  we became addicted to the stuff after austin city limits.

last and certainly not least.  i am feeling semi-normal again and because i was home so much i got to spend a lot of time with ollie this weekend.  i think he really appreciated the company. 

ready for monday.