Thanksgiving Dinner, Nov. 22, 2007

Just as we left the building to go over to the young folks for Thanksgiving dinner--deviled eggs in hand, well in our plastic deviled-egg-carrier--we met some of our building buddies on the front steps. Left to right, that's Aster with Duke, and Hilary with Tucker. We exchanged Happy Thanksgiving wishes right after I snapped the photo.



Our first view of turkey no. 1 as Lamont bastes it with melted real butter.



There's turkey no. 2, in the oven, and the dressing. Lamont had to carefully shift things around so that he could get that second turkey out for its basting. They both went back into the oven to finishing baking.



Leland's getting the cornbread for dinner ready to go into that busy oven. Most of the cornbread made before we got there went into the dressing which also included pancetta and onions. According to Chow dot com, "Pancetta is cured pork belly, the Italian equivalent of bacon. Unlike American bacon, however, pancetta is cured with a variety of herbs, spices, and garlic, and is left unsmoked. Pancetta is usually rolled and tied in a cylindrical shape, then hung to dry. Some versions, such as the variety made in Florence, are left flat." I don't know which shape the guys started with--it's the flavor that counts.





All five burners were in business, too!



Cornbread's done--looks good and smells good, too.



Turkey's done--looks good and smells good, too.



Side dishes are done--look good and smell good, too. Left front is the dressing, then fresh cranberry sauce (dried cranberries, sugar, water, orange zest), with gravy last. On the right is the big red pot of lima beans (okra, pancetta, onions), then mustard and collard greens with hamhock, and our cornbread--the plate sitting on top of it with the stick of real butter is keeping it warm!



Lamont carves the turkey.



Lindsay's centerpiece looks very pretty, don't you think?

Now for a photo of everyone and their plates!



Mama



Lamont and Lindsay



Leland



My plate. You can tell by looking that we were hungry. I can tell you that we got full, enjoying every bite.



Friends Alaina and Philip live two doors up the street from the young folks. They invited us to their apartment for dessert, her homemade pumpkin pie and fruit cobblers. My photos of the cobblers turned out blurry--I believe it was dessert-anticipatory-excitement that caused my hands to shake! I should point out that we ate dessert well over two hours after we'd finished dinner.

Now for the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner story.



Flat Stanley meets Scooner, the great big cat who likes to spend time on top of the warm cable box.



Zach, Lindsay's original cat, enjoys a nap in his new favorite spot, on top of the laudry waiting to be done.



Leslie stopped by for a bite after she dropped off Chris--poor guy had to work! (They're fellow Mississippians turned Portlanders.) Their baby is Brixx, a 10-month old rottweiler. She's a great big, energetic doll!



Lindsay loves on Nari, the smaller of their two black cats.



Scooner mental telepathy: You didn't really mean it when you tried to change the channel, did you?



How fashionable! A black fur collar, brought to you by Scooner.



Scooner's finished being Lindsay's fur collar. Bye-bye, big kitty.

Thanks to all of you for sharing our blessings of the day. There's no way to number them--or the blessings of our lives--when you get right down to it, is there?