Thanksgiving Week

Life can  become so hectic this time of year.Last weekend  as  chairman of the Benevolent Committee at church  I was  privileged to be able to  provide Thanksgiving   food bags and turkeys  with  all the trimmings  to  61  needy families in our community.

  ON  other   days and evenings  Lynn and I have been practicing for this up coming weekend's  Christmas musical, entitled Behold the Savior!  Lynn is singing tenor and  I am first soprano.  we  both are   honored to get to  sing in  an ensemble  of the title song.

Somehow in between all of this   we  hosted a lovely  Thanksgiving dinner for our  dearest friends, Dottie, Bill, Sandy, and Wes!

The day before Thankgiving, it snowed, making a great day for prep work.  I made the most  delectable  turkey stock  and  prepared the  appetizers.  Then put the  finishing touches on the setting.

We enjoyed using Lynn's  mother's  Sunday china.. 

After  we prepared   the house, and the food,  we prepared our hearts for   pure thanksgiving before our Lord!  We all have so much for which to be thankful.

 The cooler weather  set a  great  tone for  mulled cider  in pewter.

 And dinner  was  not only a vision  for the eyes, but  a  triumph  of  God's bounty....   and it  goes  so much better  when everyone pitches in  and helps   by bringing their favorite  dish of food.  I   got to make the turkey and   my mom's  delicious dressing/ gravy/ and mashed potatoes...

I used  Daphne Oz's  mashed potato  recipe from The Chew!
I didnt  make them ahead  so I didnt bake them.

ingredients

 

s

tep-by-step directions

CREAMY MAKE-AHEAD MASHED POTATOES

• 5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 2 cups half and half
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Sticks room temperature butter, plus more
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, plus more
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold, salted water. Place on the stove top and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes). Drain potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle. Using a kitchen towel or a paring knife, peel the potatoes. Then pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and add to a large bowl. Add 2 sticks of softened butter to the potatoes and stir just to combine.
• Meanwhile, combine the half-and-half and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring up to a gentle simmer and remove from heat. Discard the garlic cloves. Add the sour cream to the half-and-half and stir to combine. Then add the creamy mixture and scallions to the potatoes and stir just to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with more scallions and serve.
• For Make-Ahead the Day Before:
• Repeat process above. Place the mashed potatoes into a baking dish. Cover the baking dish with tin foil and place in the fridge the night before. The next day, remove baking dish from the fridge and let come to room temperature. In a separate bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and top the potatoes in an even layer. Dot with more butter on top. Place in an oven preheated at 375 degrees F and bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Garnish with more scallions and serve.
  
  Tips
  - Be sure not to over-mix your potatoes or they will become gummy!

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Special Luncheon Under Heaven

Today was  an awesome day....   there is nothing  at all  like  celebrating  anything   with  your Christian  sisters..   earlier this week I wrote about a luncheon I  was planning for today   to  meet with  a group of  ladies from my church   who  are partnering with me to do a service project  on Monday... to  give a  fun Easter party to   kids at  an inner city mission, some of which are  transplanted refugees from  the Far East....  what a glorious opportunity to share the love of Christ, especially during this Holy Week!   Since this is  a life journal that I am blessed  that my daughter enjoys  following, I will share that   at 9:30 this morning I had an appointment  to meet with  Good Samaritan Hospice to discuss my mother's care which   wasnt exactly the  best time for me to  be discussing many  difficult topics and then rush home to  cook for   a luncheon for 6,  but  also, because one of those  6 is  a very   special friend, I had already called her to come and help  me,  and my  dearest Lynn helped  so much, too....   So there    was  one  very   amazing blessing of  my  morning..

The menu   was 

Sesame & Ginger Chicken

source

Ingredients

1  pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size strips

1/4 

cup bottled light Asian-style dressing with sesame and ginger

2 

cups packaged julienned carrots

1/8 

teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 

head butterhead lettuce, leaves separated

1/4 

cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped

Lime wedges

Directions

Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until browned. Add 1 tablespoon of the dressing and the carrots to skillet; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes more or until carrots are crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in red pepper. On a large platter arrange 4 stacks of lettuce leaves. Serve by filling leaves with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges.

From the Test Kitchen

Stack lettuce on plates. Top with chicken-carrot mixture. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges. Serves 4

Deviled Eggs, roasted asparagus and  angel food cake topped with maserated strawberries and  whipped cream  rounded out the   lunch!

To maserate  strawberries:

1 pints (2 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced thick

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Thirty minutes to an hour before serving, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

Because this was a planning meeting, I had  individual baskets from the Dollar Tree  with the items  the ladies would need at the party at each place setting.. I was particularly  pleased the  varigated tulips opened nicely for me   right before the gathering time!

Inside each basket  were  the elements needed to decorate  Easter cookies with the children,    and  some story projects helps     to  pass out to each  child assigned to each lady! Ratio,3:1

Walmart was  a great one stop shop  for  purchasing all the decorating supplies  along with the  disposable  icing  sleeves so we  can  each have  at least  4  colors of icing in our basket of tricks!

 My daughter, Amanda  inspired me to  decorate the deviled eggs  with  chopped  red pepper, onion tops, and  carrots  to  make it  extra festive,  I also instructed my friend to  follow Amanda's   idea to  fill a baggy with  the  filling,  snip a hole in the corner and pipe the  goody into the egg white  for a super attractive look.....I love  the  special   touch that little  step made... 

         

 The  grocer did not have the butterhead  lettuce,  which  would have made for much nicer    servings....    this Boston lettuce was just  too  stiff and wouldnt roll easily... but  these  marvels were   quite delicious and were a  huge hit!

Oops, I    snapped this shot  before I had   gotten my serving of roasted  asparagus,  but what a   lovely side veggie that is for   this time of year....

 We enjoyed our dessert with  robust cups of  Arabica coffee...  Quite a lovely dining experience  today,  but   more importantly, to share  good food with  Christian friends  is  the best gift  under heaven.... 
The conversation was saturated with  what I truly believe  were  Holy Spirit inspirations   of  ways   to serve in the  church,   Benevolent  ideas  to explore,   warming  experiences  shared  and some that  were  just deeply personal revelations  shared in  the purity of  the safe  environment of trust and  understanding   One friend  summed it up this way,   "Today was  the church  in action lovingly  doing the work of the Lord." Our  stomachs  and our hearts and spirits were  filled to overflowing  today!

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