Precursors to Christmas

Webers old and new

Prior to last week, in the spirit of meticulous planning for which the Weber clan are practically famous, we had decided that our Thanksgiving feast would be consumed at four o'clock.

The time was based on how long it would take me to get everything ready -- I work alone -- as well as the time that Erica and Chad could arrive, because they planned to spend the early part of the day with Chad's family.

Andrew and Brittany stayed in town for Thanksgiving; they'll be with her family for Christmas.

Stephanie and Joel and their brood were with us for Thanksgiving as always. They traditionally go to Pennsylvania for Christmas with his family.

Audrey and Dagny live here, so naturally they were with us all day.

I began cooking at ten that morning and, even though I'd made my Crock-Pot cranberry sauce the night before, it still took me all day to complete the meal. 

Stephanoel plus Melly, Lissy, and Andrew

We had a fat Butterball turkey breast, a fatter Kentucky Legend ham (KL is the only kind I'll buy now; when you've found the best, no need to concern yourself with the rest. I'll leave all the Honey Baked and Smithfield spiral-cuts for the rest of you) studded with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries, Crock-Pot cream corn, a double recipe of broccoli casserole, fluffy mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with store-bought (Costco) roasted turkey gravy, sweet potato casserole smothered with Jet-Puffed marshmallows, ambrosia, deviled eggs, the aforementioned cranberry sauce, King's Hawaiian rolls, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, soda pop, and coffee.

Yes; every surface in my kitchen was covered with treats and viands of the holiday sort, and the table groaned, and if anyone went away hungry, you can't lay that at my feet.

I imagine it was much the same at your house.

And yes; we sat down to eat promptly at four o'clock. I actually had everything ready at about ten minutes before four. That is what's known as skill of the culinary kind.

I'll thank you not to snicker. 

Audag

Funny story: At about three thirty I began placing cold items on the table. I set out two glass dishes of the cranberry sauce and my vintage amber Tiara deviled egg plate loaded with the southern delicacies.

The plate has twelve egg-shaped depressions which hold the deviled eggs. There's a space in the middle for a few extra eggs or maybe some garnish, but I had boiled only eight eggs -- two were lumpy so I threw away the whites and used just the yolks -- and I'm not into garnish so all there was, was the ring of one dozen hardboiled egg halves, each eggy bowl piled high with a rich mixture of smashed yolks, a generous dollop of Mrs. Campbell's chow chow, just enough Duke's mayonnaise, a squirt of French's yellow mustard, and to-taste sprinklings of kosher salt and coarse-ground black pepper.

They looked enchanting and as I walked away from placing them on the Thanksgiving table -- at which the children and their children were already gathering -- I admired their beauty (the eggs, that is) and looked forward to enjoying them with the meal.

The next time I looked, though -- and this was maybe five minutes later -- at least two of the deviled eggs were gone. It may have been three.

I assumed my bewildered expression -- the one that is never far from me -- and wondered aloud what had happened to the untouched symmetry of my egg plate.

Cherica

Andrew laughed. Oh Mom! he said. I'm sorry! I thought they were precursors!

Precursors, I thought -- and probably said -- and yes, I was laughing too. Did he mean appetizers?

No matter. They were exceptionally good if I do say so. And I pretended to be annoyed but I wasn't. I don't care when my boy eats the deviled eggs; and if he eats them all (he didn't) and wants more, I'll make more.

Following dinner, but as a precursor to coffee and pie and the tree-lighting by little Andrew -- yes, my tree is up and decorated and yes, we have two Andrews -- and the Thanksgiving-night gifts TG and I had gotten for everyone (festive holiday outfits for the kids and Christmas decorations for each household), we went outside for a short photo shoot.

I wanted a picture of all of us for our Christmas card. You see it above -- and some of you may receive it in Christmas card form too! So you have that to look forward to.

It was a truly lovely cool day and it didn't take long to get all of these great shots of my darlings with their darlings.

Brittandrew

The next day -- when we normally do Stephanie's family shoot for her annual Christmas card -- we were able to spend shopping and eating leftovers because she was happy with the picture of her group and there was no need to revisit the situation.

I am finished with my shopping too. And it's not even December! Which is good because it will take me from now until midnight on Christmas Eve to wrap all these presents.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Monday :: Merry Christmas

Comments

[Mari]

It sounds like the perfect day! And I'm impressed by you being ready 10 minutes early. That's pretty amazing with a meal like that. Your Andrew sounds like some of my men - they would say something similar!
Speaking of Andrew, I think little Andrew is looking a lot like big Andrew! (And that's a good thing!)
The photos all look great. We did the same, ran out for a photo after dinner so I would have one for my card. It was very cold here though (in the low 20's) and Ruby was very anxious to get back inside. Keep that in mind when you get your card! :)

[Jennifer]

@Mari ... haaaahaha I can't wait to see Ruby pining for the warmth of home and hearth! She's all about the creature comforts ... just like me! xoxo

[sally]

Your Thanksgiving dinner reminds me of all the ones we spent at Mom's house! And, your family? So beautiful, each and every one. :)

Speaking of precursors reminds me of all the times I'd be frying cornbread; it seemed like for a very long time since the 'people' kept sneaking pieces. LOL

Merry Christmas to you, and your lovely family, Jennifer.

xoxo

[Jennifer]

@Sally ... well when it comes to cornbread, all bets are definitely OFF! Merry Christmas to you and yours too xoxo

[Brittany]

HAHA this is great! I love this post!

[Jennifer]

@Brittany ... Wasn't it just the best? The day, I mean ... haaahaha xoxo

[Barb]

Hi Jenny, Obviously, I'm way back here in November because I'm catching up with your posts. Your portraits are always so character-driven and seem to tell a story. I don't have the gift you do for taking them. Of course, your family members make excellent models... Yum to all the food!

[Jennifer]

@Barb .... Your pictures are YOU! I love them. The food was good but it's time to get back to low-carb eating ... with a vengeance! xoxo

[Jennifer]

Love the family photos! You are such a beautiful photographer. I'll have to try to catch up regularly.

[Jennifer]

@Jen ... Thank you for reading, dear sister-in-law! xoxo