Happy Thanksgiving from the Greene Household

Originally posted November 26, 2009



Today is a day full of family and traditions. In fact, when I lived abroad, I used to take Thanksgiving thursday and the following friday off. I cooked a turkey - even though the butchers balked because they were all needed for Christmas - and the fixings. The cutie says he misses my "green salad" [its so special, it will never be made public], but I know it's not because he likes it, but because it's traditional to me and my family. Another one of our traditions, no matter where we are on this day, is to sit down and watch "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".

Kitty gnawing on the lights, squirrel in the tree, seriously overcooked turkey [the mark of Thanksgiving throughout my childhood, sorry Grandpa, but it was so very dry], and Randy Quaid's character on the side of the road, well these and more make me laugh.

Enjoy your Thursday, be there turkey or not.

The picture above is from The Situationist and the link leads to an interesting Thanksgiving article they first posted in 2007, and again in 2008.

Let's Talk About Books for Thanksgiving

Originally posted November 23, 2010

Not to long ago I mentioned in a Book Talk and eBook Talk about not liking to read holiday set romances and I also mentioned not understanding why, when I loved the picture book side of the holidays.

Well, I still don't know, but thought I'd share some of my Thanksgiving related picture and pop-up books that I truly enjoy revisiting every year.

Macy's on Parade by Pamela Pease is a pop-up with all the details of what goes into the parade on the side panels.

Milly and The Macy's Day Parade by Shana Corey and illustrated by Brett Helquist.  You might recognize his work from the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events series and Blue Balliett's fantastic YA mysteries, but this is where I first discovered him and bought A Christmas Carol edition he illustrated and The Lump of Coal treat of a book - love his work!

A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and illustrated by Jim LaMarche may not be Thanksgiving specific, but with us having to deal with leaves falling, it's a perfect book to read, especially to others.  And on a personal note, it also is one we tend to get for family and friends who have a baby.  That's right new borns are given a couple books to get their libraries started and for the parents to start reading to them.  Very important.

Just love books!

An Easy Way to Make Mince Pies in the US

Originally posted December 12, 2009

In my case it's a lack of skill and attention that led me to learn how to make Mince Pies.  They are very simple to make and don't take long either.  So here you go, something for workmates, neighbors, relatives, or yourself - a little something to put you in the holiday frame of mind.

Here we go, Mince Pies:

You need flour, sugar, milk, rolling pin, two different sized glasses, teaspoon, anti-stick method [I use Pam, but anything will do], muffin tray for mini muffins [bite size :-)], pastry for pies [I use Pillsbury, yup, told you it was easy], and Mincemeat. 

This comes in basic mincemeat and the other is with Brandy and Rum.  I've used both, but the latter is my favorite - can't taste it, but it does add a little unique flavor to the mix. 

Now, like there are recipes for the pastry, there is help around the next for making your own mincemeat.  Good on you for going there, but I get the Crosse and Blackwell.  You'll find it in your local supermarket in the "baking aisle" or in the "holiday aisle".  There are other brands, but after ten years of making these, C&B is my preferred brand.

Throw a bit of flour on your counter, roll out the pastry, not too much, but some.  Now take the larger glass and cut out your bases.  After making sure your tin is sticky proofed, gently push the pastry disk down into the muffin holes.  Gently.  Don't press the pastry to the sides and don't leave anything poking up, should be flush.

Next, use your teaspoon, put a dollop of mincemeat into the pastry cup, making sure you don't overfill.  When all the holes are filled, use your smaller glass, cut out the tops, and lay them on top.  You may have to put scraps together in a ball and roll it out again, but that's fine.

The last thing you do before cooking them is have a small bit of milk in a dish, dip two fingers into it, and gently [again with the gently] paint the top.  Now you're ready to cook them.

Cook at 425, middle of the oven, for about 15 minutes.

When you pull them out, they will be seriously hot - especially the mix - give them a couple minutes [no more] to cool down.  Using a knife tip, release the mince pie from the cup and place them on a cooling rack.  When you have them all there, add a pinch of sugar to each top, and there you go:  Mince Pies.

They taste great whilst still warm and with brandy butter on them, but they are good any way you can get them.  You'll often find Hard Sauce by CandB being sold beside the Mincemeat, as well as Plum Pudding, which the hard sauce can also be used on - well, after you've lit it up that is - but that's another thing.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Thanksgiving by John Currin, 2003 

I'm off to do a 2 mile Turkey Trot Walk to support a local group that has been around for 40 years providing employment and related services to disabled and disadvantaged members of the community, and helping them achieve financial independence through a paycheck.

A great way to get the day started.  Later it's turkey and football at the neighbors, with a nap or two interspersed throughout.

Enjoy your day, family and friends while giving thanks.

The Day Before the Big Day

What happens in the Greene household on the day before Thanksgiving?

Well, normally we'd be to the left of us, at the beach, relaxing with family and helping [by staying out of the way] my sister prepare for the masses to decend.  Masses?  Yup.  There'd her and BIL, four+two kids, my mom, the cutie and I, as well as BIL's mom and probablly sister, husband and two kids.  16 = masses in my book.

However, this year is different.  For the first time in quite some time we aren't going to the left and the two eldest neices are hostessing the event in their territory - brave souls!  I will miss them all and plan on making phone calls throughout the day to keep tabs on it all.  But not to worry, we're going to our neighbors for turkey, and shall be great fun.  I'm in charge of the devilled eggs [even though I don't eat them, I can make them :-)] and the cutie is preparing a mashed potatoes, onion, cheese mixture in a lovely pie/tart crust - yummy!  We're thinking of also bring sausages wrapped in bacon, only because we love them and want to share some of what we like.  We'll shop and prepare for this today, and also walk into town to get a special card and ornament.

Today, the cutie and I will also be going into the city [NYC] to watch some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get blown up.  It's a fun couple of hours checking it all out with a hot chocolate in hand, and then going home.  This is one of the few holidays that feels like a real holiday to me.  When we lived to the right of us and there was no Thanksgiving, so I would take the two days off and treat friends to a Turkey meal.  A few were serious disasters, but I'll leave the sharing of those for another day.

Something else on my list for today is that I'll be opening the door to reveal something rather personal on the Samhain Publishing Blog, so go over and comment - I have a seriously sweet treat to giveaway to a random commenter over there!

Today is going to be great day of pre-holiday festivities - ENJOY!

Thanksgiving Edition of Book Talk

Not to long ago I mentioned in a Book Talk and eBook Talk about not liking to read holiday set romances and I also mentioned not understanding why, when I loved the picture book side of the holidays.

Well, I still don't know, but thought I'd share some of my Thanksgiving related picture and pop-up books that I truly enjoy revisiting every year.

Macy's on Parade by Pamela Pease is a pop-up with all the details of what goes into the parade on the side panels.

Milly and The Macy's Day Parade by Shana Corey and illustrated by Brett Helquist.  You might recognize his work from the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events series and Blue Balliett's fantastic YA mysteries, but this is where I first discovered him and bought A Christmas Carol edition he illustrated and The Lump of Coal treat of a book - love his work!

A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and illustrated by Jim LaMarche may not be Thanksgiving specific, but with us having to deal with leaves falling, it's a perfect book to read, especially to others.  And on a personal note, it also is one we tend to get for family and friends who have a baby.  That's right new borns are given a couple books to get their libraries started and for the parents to start reading to them.  Very important.

Just love books!

Have a holiday party to go to and no time to make anything?

In my case it's a lack of skill and attention that led me to learn how to make Mince Pies.  They are very simple to make and don't take long either.  So here you go, something for workmates, neighbors, relatives, or yourself - a little something to put you in the holiday frame of mind.

Here we go, Mince Pies:

You need flour, sugar, milk, rolling pin, two different sized glasses, teaspoon, anti-stick method [I use Pam, but anything will do], muffin tray for mini muffins [bite size :-)], pastry for pies [I use Pillsbury, yup, told you it was easy], and Mincemeat. 

This comes in basic mincemeat and the other is with Brandy and Rum.  I've used both, but the latter is my favorite - can't taste it, but it does add a little unique flavor to the mix. 

Now, like there are recipes for the pastry, there is help around the next for making your own mincemeat.  Good on you for going there, but I get the Crosse & Blackwell.  You'll find it in your local supermarket in the "baking aisle" or in the "holiday aisle".  There are other brands, but after ten years of making these, C&B is my preferred brand.

Throw a bit of flour on your counter, roll out the pastry, not too much, but some.  Now take the larger glass and cut out your bases.  After making sure your tin is sticky proofed, gently push the pastry disk down into the muffin holes.  Gently.  Don't press the pastry to the sides and don't leave anything poking up, should be flush.

Next, use your teaspoon, put a dollop of mincemeat into the pastry cup, making sure you don't overfill.  When all the holes are filled, use your smaller glass, cut out the tops, and lay them on top.  You may have to put scraps together in a ball and roll it out again, but that's fine.

The last thing you do before cooking them is have a small bit of milk in a dish, dip two fingers into it, and gently [again with the gently] paint the top.  Now you're ready to cook them.

Cook at 425, middle of the oven, for about 15 minutes.

When you pull them out, they will be seriously hot - especially the mix - give them a couple minutes [no more] to cool down.  Using a knife tip, release the mince pie from the cup and place them on a cooling rack.  When you have them all there, add a pinch of sugar to each top, and there you go:  Mince Pies.

They taste great whilst still warm and with brandy butter on them, but they are good any way you can get them.  You'll often find Hard Sauce by C&B being sold beside the Mincemeat, as well as Plum Pudding, which the hard sauce can also be used on - well, after you've lit it up that is - but that's another thing.

Enjoy!

Happy Turkey Day!

Today is a day full of family and traditions. In fact, when I lived abroad, I used to take Thanksgiving thursday and the following friday off. I cooked a turkey - even though the butchers balked because they were all needed for Christmas - and the fixings. The cutie says he misses my "green salad" [its so special, it will never be made public], but I know it's not because he likes it, but because it's traditional to me and my family. Another one of our traditions, no matter where we are on this day, is to sit down and watch "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".

Kitty gnawing on the lights, squirrel in the tree, seriously overcooked turkey [the mark of Thanksgiving throughout my childhood, sorry Grandpa, but it was so very dry], and Randy Quaid's character on the side of the road, well these and more make me laugh.

Enjoy your Thursday, be there turkey or not.

The picture above is from The Situationist and the link leads to an interesting Thanksgiving article they first posted in 2007, and again in 2008.