Over the river and through the woods to the mini manse they came…
So, I haven’t ever cooked a turkey (or mowed a lawn, washed dishes without rubber gloves, changed a dirty diaper… because you know, my nails are jewels, not tools) but my friend Rasta decided to bake a bird for the Thanksgiving holiday, as she wasn’t traveling back to New York. I had family from Iowa coming into Nashville, she was kind enough to invite us over and it was a Griswolds meets the Iowa Hillbillies meets City Chic. In other words, the best kind of holiday mash-up.
I’ll let you guess which is which.
I went to help prep the evening before and basically sat on my ample derriere washing the evening away with wine, BUT I did help with snapping green beans, K?
Being a sous chef is hard work.
Upon my return to the mini manse, I called Mama CBXB no less than 31 times in 25 minutes because I was attempting my first casserole with a whopping six ingredients.
What’s a ¼ lb. of cheese?
Do you drain the corn or leave the juice in it?
What’s a ¼ lb. of butter look like?
And voila!
Corn and noodle casserole was a hit.
OK, I may have eaten half of it but still, a success.
Rasta baked her tail off, as I supplied a cases of much-needed vino.
My contributions.
Rasta stirring up a storm in her kitchen.
Upon completion of the bird baking, no one in the place had ever before carved a turkey.
How many peeps does it take to carve a turkey?
The bird got divvied, the casserole was a hit and Precious the chug may have had the tryptophan kick in earlier than the rest of us.
Tired turkey.
Friday, after shaking off our turkey comas, we headed down to Bailey’s Irish Pub to join another 125 Hawkeye fans to cheer on our fave team for the last game of the year.
Hey-oh! Hawkeye time!
The outcome of the game looked rather bleak at halftime with the score being tied at 14-14 (and as the Hawks basically rolled over and died their last two games, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win). But, in the third and fourth quarters, Iowa scored an unanswered 42 points, leaving us with a winning 56-14 score.
Somewhere between shots one and four…
… and somewhere between shots five and eight.
Of course each and every time the Hawks scored, I had to Facetime Dada CBXB who was up in Iowa visiting the twins.
I can’t hear you but drink!
What do you do after a victorious beat down? Celebrate, naturally. We headed to Robert’s Western World for some of the best old school honky tonkin’ around.
Showing G’Lee a fun old-fashioned country time.
Enjoying the holiday leftovers in Iowa, my BIL was showing off his doughing skills, making turkey and gravy pizza.
Dough master.
No one was upset about the use of leftovers.
Of course, the second the clock struck 12:01 am the day after Thanksgiving, the twins were ready for Christmas. And the decorating commenced.
Tree trimming.
Old school advent calendar.
While the mini manse residents are still recuperating from the shenanigans – surely, it’s just a turkey hangover.
Snuggle train still ongoing.
A day of Hallmark holiday movies and moving from one side of the couch to the other worked wonders for us.
Working our wind down with wine. Duh.
Here’s hoping your well on your way out of a gravy coma.
CBXB
Cowboys and Crossbones 