thanksgiving (part 1)

Every year growing up we always had the same menu for thanksgiving where we all got to pick a dish in addition to the staple of turkey and stuffing (and every year we all chose the same thing): oysters for nate, peachy cream salad for jon, green bean casserole and sweet potatoes for meg, pie for phil, and overnight layered green salad for me.

Last year was my first thanksgiving in boston and it was…uuummmm… different. The green beans were organic string beans with slivered almonds instead of cream of mushroom soup. The sweet potatoes were real potatoes cut in perfect circles with cinnamon and cloves instead of out of a can topped with brown sugar, butter, and marshmallows.

This year I am doing Thanksgiving with my friends. And while it will be different than the traditions of my family, I am uniting the old with the new by making my overnight layered green salad (which just goes to prove you can call anything with lettuce in it salad no matter what the other ingredients are) and a pecan pie.

yes, that is cheese and a sour cream/mayonaise mixture on top of the greens (thanksgiving is about greatness not health)

cat at work told me yesterday that "anyone can make pecan pie... the trouble is cooking the darn thing." it can be difficult to find the perfect level of cookedness where your crust isn't burned but the middle isn't a pile of goop. My crust may be a little golden but the center will not require a spoon to eat, which with my pecan pies has happened in the past. yay!!

today promises to be a great day filled with fun times with friends... but it still isn't texas ;)