Thanksgiving cooks, start your engines!

I’m off to smock a dress with a friend this morning (I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to learn how!) and then the Thanksgiving preparations begin.

I asked everybody in the family and it seems that we only care about mashed potatoes, rolls and dessert. We can’t exactly skip the turkey, but I think we’ll just get some smoked at the local BBQ place.

I had the bad idea of inviting York’s best friend’s family over for dessert. They’re from Jordan and I figured it would be nice for them to have real, homemade American food. I have since learned that their relatives from Jordan will be in town so it looks like we’ll be having an additional 15 people over.

Jennie’s Dessert Factory will be open for business this afternoon. I will be making (in addition to 24 rolls and a ton of mashed potatoes):

2 apple pies
pecan pie
Tin Roof pie (chocolate mouse over a base of caramel and peanuts. Yum!)
Lemon Truffle Pie (I know; so not Thanksgivingish. But I get tired of the same heavy desserts every Thanksgiving. I’m always kind of embarrassed making it since it’s lemon and lemon is for summer, right? But it’s my favorite pie ever and I’m really glad when it comes time for dessert.)
Pumpkin Roll (I love pumpkin cake and cream cheese. So good!)
Oreo Casserole (for the kids. And me.) The recipe is here. It’s amazing how fantastic a pile of chemicals can taste.

We’re supposed to be having pumpkin pie too (that’s a rule, I believe) but I do not like it and will therefore not be making it. It’s just too vegetal to be dessert. Somebody else will have to bring it. Or maybe I’ll just get one at Costco later. Isn’t pumpkin pie one of those things that tastes fine store-bought?

My feet are going to be killing me by Thursday night and I’m estimating that I will run the dishwasher at least 15 times in the next three days. Usually I’m utterly spent by Thanksgiving dinner and just slump in my chair and shovel food in for several hours. But this year I’ll have to be a sparkling and scintillating hostess for strangers. Not to mention I’ll get to explain why we won’t be having coffee with dessert. (Always awkward.) At least they’re Muslim so they won’t be expecting any alcohol. I hope.

It will all be worth it for those 5000 calories I plan on eating, though.

(And Charlie, this is smocking:)

| Filed under Baking, Family, Good Things, Yum

10 thoughts on “Thanksgiving cooks, start your engines!

  1. So you'll be posting pictures and recipes right?!?! I love lemon anything and will be attempting my first lemon pie this year. But yours all sound tasty…I'm in a pregnant pie mood. LOL

  2. I'm making three pies for the big day and I'm a little nervous. I've never attempted a pecan pie and the chocolate pie seems daunting too.

    Good luck my friend!

  3. And STUFFING! Don't forget the stuffing! The only purpose of turkey, after all, is to surround the stuffing. (OK, I'll bring it!)

  4. Can you pretty, pretty please make some of that when you come out here? I'll buy the ingredients, help in the kitchen, pay you hourly, whatever.

  5. I have a smocking pleater. I've made, um, a total of three smocked dresses, but I love having it. I think I'll have more time to smock when my kids are grown. Sadly, I'll also have fewer models. But I'm counting on grandbabies.

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