Meal No. 288: Thanksgiving on the Half-Year

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and for the second year in a row, this served as an appropriate occasion to have Thanksgiving on the Half-Year. Since 2006, Thanksgiving for friends has been an important event on the annual calendar, and last year, some of us in that crowd decided that once a year was not enough for that overwhelming feast. Also, because of family or travel obligations, some folks were not able to be here for the November event. And I have to confess that I like putting together pretty much the whole meal, but the traditional Thanksgiving celebration here at the Roediger House is when everybody will bring a great dish. Nothing wrong with that at all, and it's a great help! But there are long-time favorite dishes that it means I don't get to prepare in November.

With a crowd of nine people around the nicely-arranged table (thanks to Everett Kline!), we stuffed ourselves silly. The meal would not have been possible without all the assistance and contributions of David Wald (especially keeping the prep items washed and ready and making sure that package of turkey gravy came out right, not to mention joining me in making the delicious chocolate pie we had for dessert). Everett was right there, too, and carved the turkey breast, which I kind of hate doing!

There has to be turkey, of course, and this one was juicy and tender and full of flavor. I also like having some beef tenderloin in wine sauce, and it was also spot-on.

And then there are the traditional side items I love, like corn pudding:

And layered green bean casserole, a recipe that my sister passed on to me a long time ago:

Oven space has been freed up since I came across a tasty recipe for sweet potato casserole that's done in a slow cooker:

Roediger House regulars Amy and Alston brought Brussels sprouts and bacon:

...and Amy led the way through the buffet serving line:

There is nothing about the meal I would change, except more room in my belly: