Thanksgiving
2008 At HomeThanksgiving And A House Full Of Special People 10/24/2008 (Page Two)
Page Created: 11/26/2008 Page Last Updated: 11/05/2023 00:20
Let the preparations begin ! As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The family arrives and begins their trek to the kitchen, the center of all activities!. See Pete's Camera Thanksgiving 2008 photos also. This year we had:
- Sue and Paul
- Flower and Sarge (The puppies)
- Pete and Lisa Chartier
- Mitch and Luisa
- Zachary, Amanda and Connor
- Penny, Chris, Brooks, and Brianna
- Tammy, Randy, Sierra, and Katie
- Dave and Cathy McTevia
- Laurie
The Before Picture...
All is awaiting the arrival of the clan!
The head turkey (Mitch) has arrived
The Champagne Begins To Flow
Champagne is mostly fermented in two sizes of bottles, standard bottles (750 mL), and magnums (1.5 L). In general, magnums are thought to be higher quality, as there is less oxygen in the bottle, and the volume to surface area favors the creation of appropriately-sized bubbles. However, there is no hard evidence for this view. Other bottle sizes, named for Biblical figures, are generally filled with Champagne that has been fermented in standard bottles or magnums.
Champagne corks are built from several sections and are referred to as aglomerated corks. The mushroom shape that occurs in the transition is a result of the bottom section, which is in contact with the wine, being composed of two stacked discs of pristine cork, cemented to the upper portion which is a conglomerate of ground cork and glue. Prior to insertion, a sparkling wine cork is almost 50% larger than the opening of the bottle. Originally they start as a cylinder and are compressed prior to insertion into the bottle. Over time their compressed shape becomes more permanent and the distinctive "mushroom" shape becomes more apparent.
Brooks demonstrates how to open a Champagne bottle. He is interested in
cooking and wants to become a chef!
The Kitchen Activity Begins To Increase Dramatically
The spiral cut ham gets its glaze... It looks like a volcano
Did You Know? Spiral sliced meat is a loaf of lunchmeat, usually ham, that has been sliced with a helical cut in preparation for serving. This is generally done by the food processing company with a special machine. Slicing the meat in this manner makes it easy to serve but prevents the loaf from falling apart which planar slicing would result in. The intact loaf is more aesthetically pleasing for presentation and more easily stored than separated slices would be.
Dave arrives and takes him place by the snack table
Lisa sits near the wine!
Mitch is toasting the almonds and working on gravy
Erma Bobbeck - What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? ~Erma Bombeck, "No One Diets on Thanksgiving," 26 November 1981
Lisa
demonstrates the proper way to clean and peel a potato
You can smell the toasted almonds all over the house
Not a lump in sight!
Cathy and Dave
Phillips Brooks - Stand up, on this Thanksgiving Day, stand upon your feet. Believe in man. Soberly and with clear eyes, believe in your own time and place. There is not, and there never has been a better time, or a better place to live in.
Chris stays out of the way
Pete gets a surprise call from his sister
Nuts!
The bird arrives on scene.
Did You Know? The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird raised for food. The modern domesticated turkey descends from the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), one of the two species of turkey (genus Meleagris); however, in the past the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) was also domesticated. Despite the name, turkeys have no direct relation to the country of Turkey and are native to North America.
The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry, partially because industrialised farming has made it very cheap for the amount of meat it produces. The female domesticated turkey is referred to as a hen and the chick as a poult. In the United States, the male is referred to as a tom, whilst in Europe, the male is a stag. The average lifespan for a domesticated turkey is ten years.
The great majority of domesticated turkeys are bred to have white feathers because their pin feathers are less visible when the carcass is dressed, although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are also raised. The fleshy protuberance attached to the underside of the beak is known as a wattle.
A few of his friends... all before!
The Little Turkeys Arrive For Meat-man
Flower and Sarge are specially trained to seek an audience with "Meat-man" prior
to dinner
Notice Flowers is ready to to eat... Mouth open and in a lunging position
Meat-man makes sure Sarge gets something also!
Mitch as brought carving to a new level of art form
The Migration To The Food Begins in Earnest!
Lisa serves the twice baked yams
Did You Know? Yams are high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, potassium, and manganese; while being low in saturated fat and sodium. Vitamin C, dietary fiber and Vitamin B6 may all promote good health. Furthermore, a product that is high in potassium and low in sodium is likely to produce a good potassium-sodium balance in the human body, and so protect against osteoporosis and heart disease. Having a low level of saturated fat is also helpful for protection against heart disease.
Zachary displays the new cloths styles while surveying the food!
The apple sauce (homemade) arrives in style with Sue assigning its spot on the
table.
Tammy and Randy Arrive On Time!
Tammy shows how two fisted drinkers hold their glasses
Tammy and Dave McTevia
The ham gets carved and served on a platter
Sarge is a genuine "ham-ologist"
Dinner Is Served
On your mark... Get ready.... Eat!
It Was A Swarm Of Activity
No one is bashful and Dave fills his own plate this year!
It's like the shopping center with shoving and pushing
"Quick... Get it while it is hot"
Pete always makes sure his end of the table has drinks!
The kitchen is empty for the first time all day!
Now the heavy duty eaters arrive on-scene. Zachary and Mitch begin to
devour everything in sight
Did You Know?
Devour –verb (used with object)
1. to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.
2. to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly: Fire devoured the old museum.
3. to engulf or swallow up
The house suddenly becomes quite with the exception of clinking of silverware
and a few m-m-m-m-m-'s
Cathy and Dave McTevia
Paul dressed in proper attire
The House Is Full
And the crowd goes wild!
Pete also takes many pictures for the website history book
This is Lisa's third time at the table
The Tradition Continues; Pete Is Definitely A Leg Man!
He does his magic and makes the leg disappear right in front of your eyes
Laurie arrives for a visit after a day of visiting other feasts. She gets
Mummy's plate!
Dessert Time
Notice "Dave" carved into the bottom of the pie.... This is for David McTevia
Did You Know? A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients. Pies can be either "filled", where a dish is covered by pastry and the filling is placed on top of that, "top-crust," where the filling is placed in a dish and covered with a pastry/potato mash top before baking, or "two-crust," with the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Pies can be a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to ones designed for multiple servings.
So-called “pyes” originally appeared in England as early as the 12th Century, but the word “pie” is not attested in the Oxford English Dictionary until the 14th century.
For Mitch (complete with a picture of the content)
Jeanette and Paul's favorite... Mincemeat!
Did You Know? The name 'mincemeat' comes from the original recipe. Up to the Victorian era the mince(meat) pie would actually have been a spiced meat pie with some dried fruit. Today the only remnant of the original meat is the inclusion of suet. Typically fillings today consist entirely of fruit-based mincemeat containing dried fruit such as raisins, currants, glace cherries, apricot, candied peel; spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg; nuts such as walnuts or chopped almonds; suet; and some kind of alcohol, usually either brandy or rum. Mince pies are suitable for vegetarians only if the suet is replaced by vegetable fat.
A Quick Walk Outside Is In Order So We Can Eat Some More!
A view from the sidewalk into the gated community where the inmates re generally
kept
Warnings are provided
The tangerine tree is so loaded wit fruit the poles support the limbs so we can
get to the front door
What Is This????
We are not sure ourselves
The Four Food Groups... Candy, Chocolate, Cake, and Cookies
This will also disappear!
Truffles were amazing.... Lisa makes them jump out of the box into her mouth
with no hands involved
Now for some serious visiting
Katie and her Mom Tammy
Zachary Re-Arrives With Amanda
The girl's name Amanda \a-man- da , am (a)- nda \ is pronounced ah-MAN-dah. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "fit to be loved , lovable ". Amanda first appeared on a 1212 birth record from Warwickshire, England . Literary : poets and playwrights brought this name into popular usage in the 17th century . The name was probably modelled on Miranda . May also be used as a feminine form of Amandus, the name of a sixth - century French saint .
Finally, Sue Gets To Relax And Visit
Sue is happy so everyone can be happy!
"Paul! Put that camera down!"
Even Meat-man (Mitch) can take a break!
Another Family Tradition... Going Around The Room And Everybody Says What They Give Thanks About This Year
Tammy
Brooks talks about "What do you give thanks for?"
The hairy ones!
Time To Tear Down The Tables/Chairs... With All These Men It Is Easy!
It took Paul an hour to set it up and these guys 3 minutes to tear it down!
Serious Visiting Time Begins
Wine and truffles are in order
Did You Know? Chocolate truffles are a group of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, usually in a spherical, conical or curved shape. Other fillings may replace the ganache: cream, melted chocolate, caramel, nuts, almonds, berries or other assorted sweet fruits, nougat, fudge or toffee, mint, chocolate chips, marshmallow and popularly liquor. They are named for their resemblance to the truffle fungus.
Notice the shirt!
Expounding and solving the world's problems
Problem solved... time to laugh
Mitch and Luisa
Sue and Tammy
Hand signals in use
"Really?"
She is on a roll
Oh oh... What do you suppose he said??
