Thanksgiving Rambling and Recipes From Edna’s Kitchen
It’s been a while since I’ve just talked off the cuff, so here we go. It’s Thanksgiving, and my personal motto is: Be Kind, Be Thankful, Be Fed.
It could be a microwaved bean and cheese burrito from your local gas station convenience store or a full spread of turkey, potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. It doesn't matter as long as you are fed. I’ve had it both ways, from full spread; too much food for the average family of five, to being alone with only a can of vegetable soup. Always try to be grateful for what you have in the moment.
Growing up Thanksgiving was always a three-day process that went like this:
Day 1: Makes lists of groceries from at least three different stores (you know to get the best deal on that can of green beans), list of recipes and ingredients needed for each. Pulled from the little wooden box of handwritten three by five cards.
Usually something like this:
Turkey
Stuffing
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Salad
Cranberry Orange Relish
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Relish Tray etc. you get the idea.
Now Day 2: Making the cranberry salad and relish, which involved taking out Grandma’s old hand crank grinder that attached to the table like a vice. Getting a bowl and towel for the floor under said device, because the juice from the berries goes everywhere. Then on to grinding two bags of cranberries. Then grinding oranges with the peels for relish. Next, assemble said salad and relish. Onto prepping the turkey that had been thawing in the fridge.
Day 3: Thanksgiving Morning getting the turkey into the oven making sure to keep to the schedule of when it needs to be braised. You figure a 16-pound turkey takes about 4 hours to cook. So having to braise it every 45 minutes or so. We also ate early on Thanksgiving between 2pm and 3pm. So that turkey had better be completely thawed and in the oven by 10am. Then peeling and cubing many potatoes to be mashed, and assembling the green bean casserole. The stuffing varied, if I recall it was assembled and stuffed into the bird. Or at least part of it was the rest was in a casserole dish and baked off.
At around noon it’s time to assemble the relish trays which involves opening cans of olives and jars of pickles. Black olives, green olives, bread and butter pickles, sweet pickles, cherry tomatoes and cut up bell peppers. Oh, and can’t forget the celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese. And sometimes sliced summer sausage and hard cheddar cheese, with Ritz crackers, (because of course).
Then there were the drinks, cranberry juice mixed with 7-up or Sprite, and a variety of sodas, from Root Beer to Ginger Ale. Then the mad dash begins, where everything needs to be done cooking and put out on the table. The table that has been adorned with a table cloth, and the wedding China for plates. After all the prep, cooking and then eating comes doing dishes, (and yes, we didn’t have a dishwasher for most of the time) so then standing in the kitchen doing the dishes for another few hours. On a personal level it always seemed like a lot of effort for very little reward. I also don’t really care for ‘traditional Thanksgiving food’ probably because I was the one doing most of the cooking, serving and cleaning up.
Nowadays as an adult our Thanksgivings are kept on the simple side. I still make a nice dinner, (like I do almost every day). It's been a smaller turkey or ham with some sides, or a pot roast or a nice lasagna with garlic bread. This year it’s a corned beef brisket (prepared in the crock pot), mashed potatoes with gravy, and peas. The world being what it is at the moment, I am also not big on overeating or wasting food. I try to be mindful and eat everything that we buy and prepare.
So, there are my ramblings about Thanksgiving food. I whole heartily wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous Holiday Season. Hug your family and friends, be kind to all, be thankful for what you have and be fed, by a can of chicken noodle soup or tuna sandwich it doesn't matter as long as everyone has something.
A few more closing thoughts as we enter the chaos of the Holiday Shopping Season, it’s a season of goodwill, reflection and spending TIME not money on others. Besides Black Friday there is Small Business Saturday for your local downtown shops. Also support independent authors, artists, musicians, and business owners.
Four Recipes for November From Edna’s Kitchen
Creamy Cranberry Salad
Apple-Gorgonzola Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
Butternut Squash Soup
Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing 
Creamy Cranberry Salad
Ingredients:
2 Cups Cranberries, ground in blender
1 Cup Sugar
2-3 Cups Mini Marshmallows
1 Pint of Whipping Cream, whipped
20 oz. Can Crushed Pineapple, drained
Steps:
Add sugar to ground cranberries in a blender and blend together. Add to the whipped cream and stir until well combined. Fold in the marshmallows and crushed pineapple and serve or refrigerate until ready to serve. 
Apple-Gorgonzola Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
Vinaigrette
⅓ Cup Olive or Vegetable Oil
¼ Cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped
Salad
1 Bag (10 oz) Mixed Baby Greens or Italian-Blend Salad Greens
1 Medium Red or Green Apple, chopped (1 cup)
½ Cup Crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese (2 oz)
⅓ Cup Chopped Walnuts, toasted
Steps:
In a small bowl, beat vinaigrette ingredients with wire whisk until smooth. In a large bowl, toss salad ingredients with vinaigrette just before serving. 
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
One 2- to 3-Pound Butternut Squash, peeled and seeded
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Medium Onion, chopped
6 Cups Chicken Stock
Nutmeg
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Steps:
Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In a large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with a slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve warm.
Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 Pound Mild Bulk Breakfast Sausage
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Cups Sliced Leeks, white and pale-green parts only, cleaned well (about 2 large leeks) note I used half an onion instead of leeks
2 Granny Smith Apples, cored and chopped
1 Cup Chopped Celery with leaves
1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
1 Cup Dried Cranberries, rehydrated in boiling water for 15 minutes and drained
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Sage Leaves
2 Teaspoons Chopped Fresh Rosemary
6 Cups Boxed Bread Cubes (croutons)
⅓ Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves
2 to 3 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Tablespoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sauté the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through, crumbling coarsely with the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage and drippings to a large bowl. Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, apples, celery and poultry seasoning to the skillet and sauté until they are soft, about 8 minutes. Mix in the drained cranberries, sage and rosemary. Add the mixture to the sausage, then mix in the croutons and parsley. Next add the chicken stock a little at a time until the stuffing is very moist. Be sure not to overdo it; it shouldn’t be mushy. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a casserole dish. Bake in a 14-inch oval or 9 by 13-inch rectangular casserole dish and place, uncovered, in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is crispy and the center piping hot. Remove and serve immediately.
If you’re interested in more recipes from Edna’s kitchen, Megan has written a series of cookbooks. Check them out at this link:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B018F9AT1C