It is amazing to me to realize that Thanksgiving was almost a week ago. The time whirls by so quickly!
A week ago my husband and kids had a half day at school. I had the entire, glorious day off and really enjoyed it.I had decided that I would use most of the same recipes from last year. I like trying out new stuff, but work related time demands and stress made that less appealing this year. I decided to only tweak a few things and call it good. I had my grocery shopping list made, had intended to go to the grocery store early, but puttered instead. What a luxury that was. After getting groceries I went to The Container store to pick up a few table decorations I spied a few days earlier. As I was walking to my car I noticed that a soft, gentle, calming snow had begun to float down. I had been inside long enough that the vehicles and trees had a slight dusting of snow and the Christmas lights had a special glow. It was a reminder that the Holiday season was upon up. It set such a nice mood up in my soul.
Later that evening Ellie helped me by baking two Nantucket Cranberry pies. I made stuffing, and tons of sides. Larr and Ethan set up the extra table and began gathering the various plates, glasses and silverware that we would use the next day.
We had a small group for Thanksgiving this year. Grandpa Don taught Ethan how to carve the turkey.
Mark and Lilia came along. Lilia made a crab appetizer and a lovely White Cranberry Spritzer that was a great hit (recipe below). Grandma Gay brought over green beans and lots of goodies for appetizers. Aunt Kathy brought along a cherry pie and an Almond Chocolate Tart (recipe below, too) that my mom loved. She even asked for the recipe, which is rare for her.
We had a quiet evening after our guests left. Ellie and I perused the Black Friday ads. I kept an eye out for deals on the IPod Touch 4g. The best deal I found was at Target where they had them for $220 with #0 in Target gift cards. Ellie decided that she wanted to go to Black Friday. She remarked, "I don't know why I didn't go [Black Friday shopping] with you and Ethan last year. I guess I was still a tomboy and did not care." Ethan thought about going with us, but was lulled into a deep sleep once he went to bed. I had a feeling that Target would only be selling a few of those IPod Touches at that incredible price so I continued to search after the girl went to bed. In the end I found one for $199 with free shipping. I decided to go for it and reduce my anxiety over getting a great deal.
The next morning 3:15 a.m. came early, but an excited Ellie was ready to go quickly and we were in line by 3:30. Target hired 5 police and security officers to make sure that the line was civil. It snaked around the front and side of the building and continued along the fence of the nearby post office. The people at the very front of the line had been there since 11:00 Thursday night. They were after a half price giant HD television. Once in the store I sent Ellie to zip through the crowd to the Electronics department, but she forgot which Target she was in and made it there at the same time I did. By then the two specially priced IPod Touch 4g.s were already sold and paid for. We spent a while looking around and picking out a few movies that were on sale for $2-$3, instead of $13-$15. Everyone was pretty civil. I think Ellie had hoped for more drama.
We left Target and went to Radio Shack. The guy there was late so we headed over to check out the wild times at Walmart. The woman ahead of us in line had been there at midnight. She said it was crazy. We wanted to see it for ourselves. Sure enough, it was still a madhouse. People stood, looking forlorn, in front of empty wooden pallets that had surely held some desired treasure just a short time earlier. Some of them looked like they thought they could make the good materialize if they simply showed enough desire or distress. The Electronics department was the very essence of Black Friday madness. There were people with carts and crumbled lists moving in packs, like wild dogs. One young woman with an obscene mouth waded through the crowds ranting and berating them. I was a little amazed that someone did not reach out and clock her. At each of the price checking stations there were piles of discarded goods. We spied a pair of women who had clearly taken part of the "Take as Many as Possible and Decide if You Want It Later" group. They started out with huge pile of movies and games, walking away with just two of them. Even with every register open and running at top speed, the check out lines ran the length of the store and then some. Ah, The People of Walmart were in fine fashion that day. We were glad to step over piles of stuff and exit without any bags in hand. We thought about going out for breakfast, but I did not feel like sitting and waiting so we headed over to Sam's club to grab some milk, eggs and the like. They were handing out a nice breakfast that we enjoyed together. We were back home by 9:30 and it felt like an entire day had passed. I took a short nap and I think Ellie did, too.
White Cranberry Spritzervia Cooking Light magazine, December 2010
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)
2 3/4 cups white cranberry juice drink (such as Ocean Spray)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
12 mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 cups club soda, chilled
1 1/2 cups white rum (This was substituted with more club soda)
Crushed ice
Preparation
1. Combine cranberry juice, sugar, rosemary, and 12 mint leaves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Strain juice mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Stir in lime juice; cover and refrigerate.
2. Combine juice mixture, club soda, and rum in a large pitcher; stir well to combine. Serve mixture over crushed ice. Serve immediately.
CHOCOLATE ALMOND SHORTBREAD TART
via Aunt Kathy
1/2 c. SLIVERED ALMONDS + ENOUGH TO SPRINKLE ON TOP (1/4 c.?), toasted (4 min. at 350 deg.)
10 OZ. SHORTBREAD COOKIES (LORNA DOONE OR SANDIES) to yield 1 1/4 C.
Crumbs
2 T. SUGAR
¼ c. BUTTER, MELTED
1 ½ c. HEAVY CREAM
12 OZ. SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE (BAKING, NOT CHOC. CHIPS), CUT INTO SMALL PIECES
¾ t. INSTANT ESPRESSO OR COFFEE (I forgot to add)
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 375.
Reserve almonds for topping, & transfer remaining almonds to food processor; process until minced. Add cookies & sugar; process until mixture finely ground. Drizzle in butter; pulse until just incorporated (or mix butter into cookie mixture with spatula).
Transfer mixture to 9” (what I used) or 11” tart pan with removable bottom; tamp crumbs into pan bottom & up sides. Bake about 10 min.
Meanwhile, place cream, chocolate & espresso in 1 ½ quart microwaveable bow; microwave on high until cream is hot & chocolate has mostly melted, about 3 min.
Whisk until chocolate mixture is smooth.
Pour into shell & refrigerate until firm for up to a day ahead. No more than 2 hrs. before serving, bring tart to room temp. Sprinkle with remaining almonds & serve.
Serves 12-16.
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