Marilyn, how did it go? Inquiring minds want to know.

Hi! I'm here, minus 2 TBL of A+ blood that fortunately missed the corn casserole...

but left a blood spurt pattern that would have made Dexter proud!

Below is the menu on our kitchen pantry door painted with blackboard paint by Larry. It makes me smile every time I use it. (Well, maybe not so much the day the roof inspector was in the kitchen and while admiring the door, suddenly paused. I had forgotten this little note under the To-Do list: Saturday Afternoon Sex.)

Awk.Ward.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Marilyn_CakeBalls/113.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Marilyn_CakeBalls/114.jpg


Let's run down the list of Thank you's!:

CathyZ, for her brilliant idea of roasting a turkey (11.5 lb, $6.50 at Publix) ahead of time to finish the gravy and stock.
Pat in NorthCal for Cheese Straws, closely followed by
AngAK for telling Pat they could be frozen. Ha! I got to make them the night before. Of course, I forgot I wouldn't have ANYWHERE TO BAKE THEM because Mr. Whole Foods Fresh Organic The World Revolves Around Me $65 Turkey took over the entire friggin' oven. And the toaster oven was too small. So I baked them underneath Mr. Whole Foods Fresh Organic The World Revolves Around Me $65 Turkey where they took half an hour to bake, but were delicious. I served one across each ramekin of soup.
Cindy (hugs! from Pittsburgh) for posting the original recipe for Hyeholde soup. It made an entire table of adults realize they liked split pea soup. I also got to "show & tell" the chinois and wooden mallet that made their soup so smooth.
Joe for the Caramelized Brussel Sprouts. We did a test run earlier in the week and felt the bacon grease was a little overwhelming, so I cut down the amount of bacon and then scooped out its grease. It was delightful and everyone seemed surprised to realize they liked brussel sprouts. I guess bacon makes anything good.
Traca for posting that photo of the brussel sprouts with pomegranate seeds. I picked one up and tried the seed-removal trick in "Plenty": Cut the pomegranate across the equator and hold it over a bowl--cut-side facing down--in the palm of your hand. Now take a rolling pin and whack it! Gently if you like, but I really got into it. Good way to release pent-up emotions. The seeds start to fall/pop out. You still have to dig out some, but not as many.
EVERYONE who gave me advice on the turkey. Even though it had a pop-up naval button and even though I checked it often, it still managed to overcook up to 190 degrees. I think this was somewhere around the time I was trying to amputate my left index finger and wash off the blood-stained wallpaper without the guests seeing. Oh well. Larry said the dark was moist and delicious. Sadly, I can't say the same for the overcooked, dry white meat.
Steve in LA I used your foil sling method but didn't make it long enough. It was definitely working, but I yanked it out too quickly and Mr. Whole Foods Fresh Organic The World Revolves Around Me $65 Turkey slide back down onto his non-silicon enhanced breast. I got out my big mitts and flipped that sucker over.
Richard for his Russian Potato Casserole. As always, I genuflect in your direction. Oddly, the crock pot was so hot that it burnt Larry's hand, yet somehow the potatoes were cold. Fortunately, they heated up in the oven along with the yam, stuffing and corn.

I didn't manage to get a photo of the table setting with the unfinished GBH's name tags, but here are some that were moved to the sunporch. I filled large martini glasses with candy and the guests each brought some. They all seemed to have a good time of it and I didn't have guests crowding into my tiny kitchen, watching me attempt to severe a tendon.

{No severing. No serious damage. Larry was insisting we go to the emergency room and I hissed--hissed!--that I wasn't going to the ER when I had a roomful of guests and a turkey to serve!! I told him to get LOTS of gauze and tape and that's how we got through the day. Sunday I let him take me to the Urgent Care after we cut away the gauze to find my joint swollen to double its size. I thought infection has set in but TAKE NOTE! Turns out ($100 copay later) that it's just lymphatic fluids "surrounding the wagons" as it were to help heal the wound.}

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Marilyn_CakeBalls/111.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g166/Finer_Kitchens/Marilyn_CakeBalls/112.jpg

 
Awesome!

I got tired just reading the menu, and you must be a SuperWoman indeed to do it all and still have energy for a little Saturday afternoon fun

smileys/wink.gif

 
Sally, I think Marilyn was referring to two separate Saturdays.

At least I hope so. A secret Afternoon Delight while the dining room is full of gingerbread house revelers would be one thing, but with gauze and adhesive tape? Shudder.

At any rate I hope the roof inspector didn't arrive on a Saturday afternoon and get confused about the agenda. Love the chalkboard idea!!

 
Marilyn, I'm glad to hear you survived the day and the injury! Whew, a Dexter Thanksgiving

Was there an electric knife involved?

The gingerbread house idea is stellar and you can see the guests loved it.

I also drained the grease off the bacon for the Brussels Sprouts. I'm sure it's a flaw in the Cooking Channel recipe. I will edit the post. Glad you tried it! It was a hit with our group too.

 
I finally found the little gingerbread kits at our Walmart. they even had a village with tinier

dwellings that could actually be at each place setting---but that's for another year.

 
I definitely hope you are right!

but I would pay good money to see the expression on the poor man's face when he saw the note! smileys/wink.gif

 
What sheer determination you had to carry on for the sake of your guests!

Your dinner menu looks wonderful.

Funny how you measure your blood loss in TBS - LOL!!

 
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