Lots of food. Not so much cooking.

For most, Thanksgiving was all about persistent oven peaking, the endless quest for perfect, lump-free gravy, and hours upon hours of mashing, baking, basting stuffing, and carving.  But for me, it was mostly about eating. (Well, and a little shopping.)

The hubby and I headed to my hometown – the small yet charming La Porte, Indiana – for Turkey Day. And while we had no wifi, barely any TV channels, and there wasn’t a Target in sight, we were perfectly content cozied up on Grandma’s couch with a plate of cookies. Good food and good company go a long way.

I originally planned on cooking a big, blog-worthy meal and dessert for my grandma while we were there, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. As always, she’d spent the days before our arrival baking like a mad woman, so we were welcomed with a kitchen chock full of her famous pumpkin and apple pies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and homemade bread.

Just the thought of dismissing all her hard work to bake my own treat seemed a little rude. And even if I wanted to continue stuffing myself after the Thanksgiving feast, her pantry wasn’t quite stocked with the necessities I’m used to. (She buys flour by the 25-pound bag, but there wasn’t a bottle of olive oil or a head of garlic to be found.)

So I kicked up my feet, got caught up on a few weeks of posts I’d been meaning write, and indulged in some good ‘ol fashioned time with Grandma. It was so nice to just get away from everything. Especially that annoying, twitch-inducing sound Entourage makes when I get an e-mail from work.

And our four-day weekend was great. From turkey and sweet potato overload and endless rounds of Euchre, to Black Friday shopping at one. in. the. morning. Yep. It’s tradition around there to hit up the local outlet mall. Unfortunately, it’s also tradition to wait in line for 30 minutes to get into each store. Then again to try on clothes. And again to pay.

But not for me. I zipped past all those freezing cold crazies in line for the Gap, and instead popped into Corningware Corelle Revere, Chef’s Outlet, and Le Gourmet Chef, which were peaceful sanctuaries from the madness in the rest of the mall. And I walked out as happy as a bird with a French fry. Sure, I was exhausted and cold, but I was toting a cherry red Crockpot, a pastry brush (finally!), a beautiful pair of candle holders and a set of mini ramekins. Score for the savvy shopper!

I hope your Thanksgiving was just as fabulous. Although I have no recipe to share, I will make it up. Maybe do double one week. But I was thankful for the break and the chance to catch up. Of course, I’m also thankful for my friends and family, especially my husband, and all the readers who inspire me to continue cooking and writing. I’m already in my third month!

Oh, and I’m also thankful for this awesome antique store find I stumbled upon during our trip.  “Cooking Magic”, a book made up of 12 cookbooks from the 50’s. There’s a section called “cooking with sour cream and buttermilk.” I think I'm in love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After flipping through this book, I really couldn’t wait to get back into the kitchen. And soon you'll see the crazy concoction I cooked up just yesterday. I guess now that I'm totally caught up on posts, I just have to somehow find time to keep it up!

And the cherry on top? My first Cooking Light magazine was sitting on my doorstep when we returned. Just look at all those cookies. Double holiday issue, I really hope you do not double my waistline.

By the way, anyone make anything spectacular for Thanksgiving?