My turn to cook

Wednesday before Thanksgiving has been a day that I have been off for the past 4 years. Things change, jobs change, so I had to work that night. But that didn't stop me from cooking all day Wednesday.

I laid in bed planning out my attack, start with the things that would not take so long in the oven and go from there. I knew what needed to be made, I knew what I had to do, it was just getting it all started. I also wanted everything done, so that way the only 2 things left to be done on Thursday would be the turkey and dressing, no stuffing though :(.

I got up and made breakfast, biscuits and gravy for all. Why not? We are all home, let's have a nice breakfast before I take control of the kitchen.

Chuck sat in his chair most of the day, barking orders to the boys as to what needed to be cleaned. I cooked while they cleaned. It was a very busy day. Very busy, and I had to work that night.

So, I started out with the green beans, we all know they are just green beans, but in the South, you cook them all day long. Add some bacon, salt and pepper and let them cook until there is no water, add more water and cook some more. It really is an all day process. Not like what I was used to growing up, open the can, heat them up, put butter on them. Totally different. I started them because of the fact that we were eating at 1 on Thursday and there wasn't enough time to have them done the right way. My game plan was to cook them and then the next day put them in the crockpot .

Next I thought the cake would be a good idea. It had to cool completely before cutting into it to divide it. So, bake that first and then let that cool. While that was cooking, I had the cream cheese out for the filling and all that went into it. It was a Pumpkin Spice cake with this cream filling.
Now when it was time to serve it, I put caramel and pecans over top of it. This was really good!

While the cake was cooking, I washed and scrubbed and pierced the potatoes for the Twice Baked Potato Casserole. I made this last Christmas and it was a hit. My dad came over the other day and mentioned that he watched Emeril and was talking about this casserole he made. He went on and on about how he ruined it with all the cheese. I told him that I made it last Christmas. Of course this went on and on.... No, not that one, yes, that one, you know the one you went back for thirds on. Oh no, I wouldn't eat that. Well, yes you did, you liked it, and even said how good it was.

Now on to the next project. A few years ago I found this recipe for sweet potatoes in the crockpot. I thought that would be a good idea. When I thought about it, several years ago, I had my dad's wife make them. She asked and asked about what she could make, and I told her that would be the easiest to bring over. They weren't that good, she burned them, in the crockpot. This year when I mentioned it again, Chuck was a little hesitant about it. But I went ahead and made them anyways, Eric loves them. Along with the pecan-orange butter that went on top of them
Turns out these potatoes were outstanding. Cooked perfectly, nice and creamy potatoes. I generally don't care for sweet potatoes, but when cooked like this, they are amazing!

My one last thing that needed to be done was the Cranberry Relish. Ever since I started making my own cranberry relish, it seems as if they now demand it for Thanksgiving. Funny, growing up we would forget that the cranberry sauce was in the fridge, now it is the first thing out when we set up the countertop.
Now, I change mine around a bit. I put walnuts in mine. They all like it and most of the time it all goes.

One last thing for the day, Eric's pumpkin pie. And I forgot to take a pic of it. He makes the best, I mean the BEST pumpkin pie. He is like me, he wants everything to be perfect when he cooks. A very good trait to have. So, he made everything, measured it all and baked it up. Before I left for work, it was done and out of the oven. BUT while it was cooling on the rack, I open the cabinet door over head, and out falls a box of baggie. A little damage, not much, but still. The pie was wonderful.

My day in the kitchen was over and now it was off to work. Busy night, fun night, glad that I got all I needed done that morning. I didn't get home until 11. So, I spent all day, literally, all day in the kitchen. Started at 8 and got done about 5. All worth it, everything looked so good. Now, let's see how it tastes.