Category: My House at Thanksgiving

I always get a little bit jealous of my American friends at this time of year. Being Canadian I celebrated Thanksgiving over a month ago. The smells of delicious stuffing, crispy roasted bird and rich gravy are long gone. Mostly gone anyway. Actually, I had a bowl of leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving that I froze with gravy just last night. And I had it with some turnip, mashed potatoes, squash and roasted chicken. I basically recreated a mini Thanksgiving dinner for myself. Just to get me over the hump you understand. I drew the line at pumpkin pie but I did manage to find a Krispy Kreme donut in the back of my freezer that was an adequate substitute. Actually it wasn't adequate, but two Krispy Kreme donuts were. I've been hosting Thanksgiving for my family and friends in my home for the past 17 years. Year in and year out we all gather around my dining room table (which has changed numerous times throughout the years) to celebrate, scream, cry, give thanks and measure each others heads. So I'm pretty well versed in all that is Thanksgiving dinner related. Last night while I was scarfing down my imitation Thanksgiving dinner I thought it'd be a good idea to share some of my tips with you. So once I licked my gravy laden fingers and wiped the donut glaze from my lips I got to compiling a list of my 10 best Thanksgiving tips. 10 best Thanksgiving tips. How to Carve a Turkey. - Learn how to carve your turkey and reassemble it on a platter so it looks like it did before you put it in the oven. (epically poor photo alert on this post, lol) Make Pumpkin Pie from Real Pumpkin - Making pumpkin pie with a real pumpkin. WHAT a revelation. And easy! 5 Beautiful Centrepiece ideas just for Thanksgiving. - 5 of my best centrepiece ideas for Thanksgiving. Some easy and simple, others more difficult and elaborate. The Kids' Table - Believe it or not kids like to have a grown up table, not a cutesy kiddie one. It makes them feel special and grown up. The Brussels Sprouts recipe for people who hate Brussels Sprouts. - The only way I'll eat those gross little devil heads. The best way to clean Stainless Steel. - The best way also happens to be a chemical free way. How to make quick work of cleaning your fridge and range after the dinner. Make potato pancakes - A delicious way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. Make chicken/turkey broth - DO NOT THROW OUT THAT CARCASS. You can even pressure can it to use all year. Make gnocchi! - Don't get a beating heart over potato pancakes? Then make gnocchi with your leftover mashed potatoes. This is what a real Thanksgiving looks like.- Don't plan to have a magazine perfect Thanksgiving. It doesn't exist. Someone will fart, or throw up or break something. Just roll with it and read my account of the Thanksgiving of 2014 around my dining room table as proof that it ain't gonna be perfect. And that's O.K. Next week you'll be getting one more tip ... my go-to favourite recipe for Turkey Pot Pie made with leftover turkey (or chicken). Good luck to all of you who will be spending the next week getting ready for Thanksgiving dinners. For the rest of us in the world? There's nothing that says you can't still have pumpkin pie. Have a good weekend and if you have a great tip leave it in the comments.

Category: My House at Thanksgiving

CROWD FAVOURITES