Thanksgiving at the Blackhams (2023)

 

I think one of the times I miss Maga the most is at Thanksgiving. While Grayson is more than capable to take over the cooking ... Maga always had such cute decor, and pulled the family together. Clay and Courtney do every other year with Courtney's side of the family, so we've been doing Thanksgiving here for several years since Pammy passed away. Gray had invited Olivia, Ana and the boys, and then we invited my folks to join us too. 

Grayson had two turkey breasts ... one in the smoker, one in the oven. He made his yummy mashed potatoes too, we even made gravy, as we had guests (it's not normally part of a Blackham family meal).  I had prepped the day before, making roll dough, jello cubes, cookies and "pie in a pan" dessert. I finalized the rolls in the morning and got them raising ... orange rolls and dinner rolls. We also had Brazilian Cheese Rolls, gluten-free for my dad, although they are enjoyed by many. Basil carrots (another Pammy memory). Cooper had made a cheese ball. Stove top stuffing. Whipped butter. Olivia brought some little pies to add to the desserts.  Did we have a Honey Baked Ham? I think so ... writing in retrospect, I can't remember for sure. 

We got the kitchen table cleared off, and brought a long table and square card table in for extra seating. There was another table set-up in the front room, but it wasn't needed.  Gray pulled out some tablecloths, and there was some minor decor, attempt at festivity.  There was a near miss as we pulled the heavy water dispenser down from it's place on the high kitchen shelf (lucky there wasn't anything broken). We used some nice, but disposable, plates and glasses. That saved on cleanup! Kate ended up staying home with Vera (the doggie). 

It was a laid back Thanksgiving. 

A little before ... and after. 

There were leftovers to send home with the guests, and still have some here too. 

That's pretty integral to Thanksgiving, right?

Time for a nap.

Thanksgiving 2022

 

I've has been doing a lot of family history blogging for The Westra Way, and a visit to the folks house had me bringing home a big box of "family artwork" from the Westra siblings over the years. In it, there was found a creative "hand turkey" I made back in elementary school. There's a big box of Blackham Boy artwork as well, so looking through it, there were more examples of creative turkeys made by the boys. Fun how different they all are!

Thanksgiving morning started with Colton off to do some early morning training with the boy's basketball team. They ran the track at school, and they took a selfie! Yeah! I'm thankful for that! Grayson was busy prepping for the meal. One turkey breast in the sous vide, and another on the smoker. Injected with a yummy buttery solution before cooking. 

Grayson also makes the world's best mashed potatoes! Instead of making rolls from scratch this year, we elected to use the Beehive Lion's House rolls. They had been set out (in the fridge) the night before, and didn't raise as much as I would have thought. They still didn't seem to rise much, and I was a bit worried they weren't going to. After being stuck in a sunbeam, they got a jumpstart and were big and beautiful. I had made Jello cubes (no cranberry sauce, but these have a similar look, right?) and added basil carrots and simple stove top to the meal. Gray had picked up a HoneyBaked Ham ... not that we were lacking on food! Cool Whip dessert for after (my "pie" in a pan). Of course, since we have vegan K8 and Cal, we had some vegetarian options as well.

Grayson and Landon needed to lay down to rest and digest after the meal. I worked on some clean-up and the rest of the crew was up for some games. First up though, as they had been discussing Pokemon, I had mentioned it was too bad that they didn't fill their minds with all sorts of other facts (rather than Pokemon evolutions, attacks, regions, etc). I mentioned listing the presidents and the states on a map. That last suggestion peaked their interest for a contest to see who could get the most correct. I printed out some blank maps and everyone had five minutes to fill it in. 

Colton was the clear winner - completed first and fast, with everything correct. One could surmise he had a bit of an advantage, being in U.S. History currently in school, but Colton said they hadn't really talked about the states, and he hadn't really studied the states since elementary school. We reminisced a bit about the boy's 5th grade programs back at Terra Linda, with an "America" theme, and the song "50 Nifty United States". In fact, there was a post about it, and there's video! See it HERE. Then there were games. SET and CTM. It was a small, family Thanksgiving. We had our meal at 1:00, and Cal&K8 headed off to another Thanksgiving with her side of the family. 

There had been the annual turkey cookies early in the week also. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving - 2021 AND Years Past

Thanksgiving 2021 ... Ironically, we had a bigger crew for Thanksgiving dinner last year, right when Covid concerns were running really high. Clayton's family had just recovered from their Covid cases ... so we actually felt fairly safe gathering together as they hosted. This year, Clay and Ana with with in-laws, so Olivia joined us as we had a small Blackham family dinner. 

We had the married kids ... and three vegetarians, so in addition to regular turkey (which Grayson brined, then stuck in the sous vide, then browned) we had some Tofurky. Callahan gave it a thumbs up. Salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls. Lots of drinks ... I actually didn't get the turkey cookies made in time for Thanksgiving (I think we had some "pie in a pan" Cool Whip dessert) but made them the day after. 

... I realized I hadn't done a Thanksgiving post last year, or the year before, or the year before that (I had made a post about 2016 when Grayson prepared quite the feast and 2014, when Clay&Courtney hosted). So here's a peek at some of the past Thanksgivings ...

Last Year ...

Courtney and Clay were hosting in their new house (next door to their old one). Gray was on  turkey (some in the Sous Vide, some smoked) and Landon made the rolls.  I made  stuffing, jello cubes and my "pie in a pan" cool whip dessert. Dinner was yummy. We ate, then the kids went downstairs to play Jackbox while the adults talked. Some financial stuff with Olivia.  Milo the dog is HUGE, and was trying to eat everything, and did some tricks which made everyone laugh. Dessert, then home.

... and the year before that was at our house, small crew. 

First Thanksgiving without Maga.

The day before Thanksgiving there were some blizzard conditions. Landon and Sol had just flown in from Mexico (and had a scare at the airport when Sol's paperwork was taken for additional questioning). Keaton stocked up at Nike (employee 50% discount) and Cal and Kate's hamster died. Hubs had the turkey brining in a bucket on the front porch ... the mail lady wasn't quite sure what to make of that. 

We were ready for a calm Thanksgiving day. It was small, as Gray's family was taking turns with the in-laws and Cal&Kate were with her family. Sol had to work, so Landon came and grabbed the littles and they went to a movie while Gray and I prepped the meal. I got the rolls going, sticking them in Keaton's room with a small heater as the day was quite cold. Gray got the turkey on the smoker and prepped the potatoes. Sol ended up getting off work early and was able to join us, and Keaton had invited a couple of his friends to come as well. It was a very laid back Thanksgiving day. Landon, Sol and the two little went to another movie after dinner.  Keaton headed into his "Black Friday" shift at Nike ... but he didn't make it there without incident. It was NOT how we wanted our Thanksgiving day to go (Toyota Truck Totaled). The end of 2019 was rough ... and then came 2020. Oye!

... and 2018

Thanksgiving at Maga's house ... cute decor and disposable dishes. LOTS of food and a chocolate fountain.  Aunt Olivia was recovering from a bad tooth infection and could barely talk, eating was hard too. Landon brought a bunch of dice and we had a big 10-person game of Pirate after dinner (should I mention that I won?) Then it was movie time as most of the crew headed out to "Ralph Wrecks the Internet". 

2017.. we hosted (Clay&Courtney went with her side of the family)

Thanksgiving was on November 23 ... I remember my rolls didn't rise (it was cold!), the prime rib was done early and the turkey was taking longer than expected. Added Brazillian cheese rolls to the menu and could have used double (or triple) ovens. Sent home leftovers with family and still had plenty for us too. 

2016 was at our house, and Grayson went all out with a few turkeys done up in different ways. 2015 the whole Blackham clan went downtown to GrandAmerica for the buffet there for Thanksgiving. 2014 was hosted at Clay and Courtney's house. 2013 it was at Pammy's, 2012 it was at Clay and Courtney's and Gray deep fried a turkey. Probably at Pammy's every year before that ...

 

Thanksgiving 2016

Thanksgiving! In the past, it's been a relatively relaxing holiday. We'd just pack up and go to Grandma's and eat. At times I'd bring rolls and a dessert, but it wasn't much work. This year though, we were hosting. I made my annual turkey cookies a couple of days before ... they aren't for the actual Thanksgiving gathering, but more just for us. Silly children prefer them without all the candy corn, so I left several plain. But me? I love the full bird. Especially the day after making them, when the cookie and candy corn have softened overnight.

Clay's clan was going to hit the buffet at Grand America as we all did last year, so with our family, Maga, Olivia and Ana's family, it was an even dozen. We moved the couches and set up an extra table, and pulled out our serving stuff. Grayson was smoking the turkey ... turkeyS, plural. It was more because he wanted to try different presentations than to make sure we had enough food. There was a regular basted/seasoned turkey, one "spatchcocked" ... basically butterflied, one breast wrapped in bacon, and some ham.  I'd bought him a new huge ricer for his birthday, which is what he uses to make his mashed potatoes. Pam brought Lion House Rolls and pies and Ana brought a salad. I made jello cubes and my chocolate pie in a pan dessert. We were set ...

We started eating as Gray carved the first bird, and everyone was pretty much done before he even started on the second! Oodles of meat. Gray even set up one of the fountains with caramel flowing as another dessert option. As if anyone had any room ...

We joke that Pammy never gets a warm meal, as she's always still in the kitchen working as everyone eats. Today ... she sat, and Gray was the last man standing. I think he got to enjoy some of the fruits of his labor though. There are plenty of leftovers. We sent some home with everyone and still have a fridge full. It was a good day. I enjoyed having it at our house ... I was able to sneak away and lay down on my bed for a bit after eating!

Thanksgiving & A Throwback

Happy Thanksgiving!

This holiday is one of my favorites. Maybe because we never host it, I get to relax. I meant, we usually contribute ... rolls, desserts, Gray's wonderful mashed potatoes. but still, it's usually a pretty laid back day full of food and family and fun.

This year, we went to Clay and Courtney's home for the holiday. Clay smoked a turkey. There were a ton of desserts left over. What was NOT left over?

Turkey Cookies

These have been a family favorite for years. I never got around to making them, so I wanted to be sure I got to it this year. Landon even made some dough and went to a friend's house to make some there. We got a couple batches in. They are yummy!

Here's Landon and Callahan enjoying their turkey!

And a Thursday Thanksgiving Throwback ...

The same two boys.

They have grown up...

It was a nice Thanksgiving holiday ... next up, Christmas!

Preschool Indian

Even though the kids have had a couple different preschool teachers, ALL the kids have made these cute Indian outfits as part of their Thanksgiving celebrations at preschool. When Landon needed an Indian outfit for the church Halloween activity, I suggested he just make something like this!

Turkey Cookies!

Turkey Cookies

Gobble Gobble .... a few years ago I saw these CUTE cookies in an advertisement. They have since become an annual Thanksgiving treat. They are just basic sugar cookies ... I'll use a Betty Crocker mix if I just need a few, and make a batch of dough from scratch if I'm trying to make more than a dozen. The cookie cutter is actually a "pumpkin", basically just a circle, with a little "stem" at the top. I just turn the cookie upside-down and the stem is now the turkey's feet! As I snack on my candy corn throughout the Halloween and Thanksgiving season, I try to set aside the candy corn without the white tip ... these I use as the beak, cutting off the yellow or brown top and using those for the feet. Mini chocolate chips are the eyes, and the little decorator frosting finishes the red waddle. I just add a little brown food coloring to a basic butter cream frosting for the base. The basic design also works for cupcakes!

Turkey Cupcakes