Friday Five

It's 11:22 pm, so I'm kind of pushing the envelope on having this be the FRIDAY Five, but sermon avoidance continues and this is as good as any distraction I know.

1) Did you cook or bake anything for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving was at our house this year, with a motly, delightlful assortment of about a dozen others who've washed up on the west coast. It was just a wonderful, relaxing time. Everyone brought stuff, so I made turkey and Grandma Kandi's cranberries and Martha's cranberry chutney and brussel sprouts (instead of the green bean goo everyone seems to eat.)

2) How was it received?
The turkey was, truthfully, not the best I ever tasted, and no one said a word about it, so I'm thinking most everyone else felt the same. The main problem was, I didn't make enough gravy. (When I explained this solemnly to mom on the phone, "Well who DOES make enough gravy?" Right on, mom. Never enough gravy...)

The cranberries, everyone was like "Oh, very nice," but really, who EATS cranberries? I had a regular sized bag, made two different things with them (Martha says twice what I made was supposed to serve 8) and still had piles of leftovers.

Everyone's crazy about brussel sprouts, which are so seldom served that they're like something really exotic. And so thrilling to find that they are delicious! What is your secret? (half a stick of butter, friend, but don't go telling just ANYONE that).

3) Anything left over?

Cranberries, of course. 3 brussel sprouts which I bull headedly saved in tupperware and will throw away in 10 to 12 days. A little turkey. And (woo hoo!) since we were hosting, we got lots of pie! And the yummiest mashed potatoes ever eaten (more butter secrets - melt it first! - thank you Adrian!!)

4) What's the best use of Thanksgiving leftovers you have ever seen?

I'm on the pie for breakfast bandwagen.

5) And the worst?
This year's turkey travesty - sob! Left out the carcass and all the yummy meat on the bones all night because of being so easily distracted by, you know, life. I've been looking forward to that amazing turkey stock from last year for months. I'm already planning when I can try again to roast another turkey.

Still Friday, and I'm signing off.