Friday, November 23, 2012

Thankful for Family, and Friends, and Pot Luck

The Husband and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner here, with a house full of family and friends.  All of our guests brought food to share, which is always my favorite way to have a party.  Everyone contributes to the feast, and no one is stressed out by the preparations.  Believe it or not, I only took one photo all day ... a picture of one of my pumpkin pies.

This is from my grandmother's recipe.  I know I'm biased, but this really IS the best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten.  (Recipe at the end of this post)
 
 
Pot Luck parties are the best!  I am pretty adventurous when it comes to food, and I love the variety of choices at a Pot Luck party ... especially since most of our friends are just as adventurous as I am
 
Our menu included:
 
Cheese, crackers, chips, and other finger food
an assortment of WONDERFUL tropical fruit from 'Robert is Here' in Homestead, Fl.
Traditional turkey and dressing, with mashed potatoes and gravy
Collard greens, cranberry apple relish,
Orange rice,
Bread pudding with bourbon sauce and ice cream
Cupcakes
Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream
(I know I'm forgetting some things)
 
Among the crush of people, we also had four dogs ... our two, and two that belong to friends.  The two guest dogs fell right into line with ours, following people around, sitting and staring longingly,  and hoping for treats or randomly (or purposefully) dropped morsels.  Our cats made themselves scarce upstairs while guests were here.
 
I just remembered ... I did take one other photo ... this one, of our friend Kim and her entourage.  TJ and Daniel and Ruby were REALLY trying to encourage her to share the chips.  (I'm glad I had my iPad sitting on the counter so I could capture the moment.)
 
 
 
To add to the lovely day yesterday, the afternoon football game was a good one ... the Redskins beat the Cowboys in a really exciting game, which is always a good thing for this 'Skins fan.  (I send my condolences to those of you who are Dallas fans.)
 
Today is supposed to be a lovely, sunny day ... with cold temperatures due to return for the weekend.  I hope to take advantage of the warm weather and get our outdoor Christmas decorations put up.  If you drive by and find me sitting on the roof of the porch, be sure to wave.
 
*******************************
 
Nonnie's Pumpkin Pie
 
1 small can of Pumpkin
3 Eggs
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon each Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, and Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ginger
1 1/2 to 2 cups Milk (I use skim, because that's all we have in our house)
 
Pour this mixture into two unbaked 9" pie shells.  (sometimes I make my own crust, sometimes I use the store-brand rolled pie dough, and sometimes I totally punt and use Marie Callender's frozen shells.)  Bake at 350 degrees until center of pie is set ... this usually takes over an hour, and it's hard to give an exact time.  I set my timer for an hour, check the status of the pies, then reset the timer in 15 minute intervals.  It's practically impossible to overbake this, unless you forget and the pie is incinerated.  Err on the side of a little more done, rather than underdone.
  

7 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you had a nice Thanksgiving with friends and family!!!! I too love potlucks since you get to try so many new foods. The pooches are so cute too!!!!
    Have a great weekend :o)
    ~Des

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  2. Great photos, our dogs had that same pose. We finally closed the dining room door so we could eat in there in peace, but we could hear them sniffing under the door. LOL

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  3. It sounds like a fun day. I love the picture of the dogs. Ours do that, but if Zeke gets too close you get covered in drool!

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  4. It looks like a wonderful day, Connie. It makes me smile seeing all your fur friends gathered for treats. Your gramma's pie sounds good. I will try it next time I bake a pie- xo Diana

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  5. Why would anyone want to go power shopping when they could have had a day like the one you did.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.

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  6. Hi Connie, Glad everyone had a great time including the dogs. I had a great Thanksgiving too. Thanks for the pie recipe!

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  7. The dogs are too precious and your pie is picture-perfect. I'm glad you had a nice holiday. :)

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