waiting for the cream cheese to soften so I can make cheesecake.

I'm going to make some cranberry sauce to send with Daniel to his sister's, and also some veggies. Cranberry sauce, as we all know, is modest effort yielding maximum thrill. The veggies are asparagus stir fry mix, so all that requires is open bag, pour into microwaveable container.

So for tonight, I am cooking spagetti squash, and making a meat sauce to go over it. This is the first time I've ever attempted to treat spagetti squash like spagetti. I hope I like it. I hope Daniel likes it.

Is graham cracker crust OK for pumpkin pie?

I made squash soup and espresso brownies today. I brought everything over to Mom's already, including peach nectar for bellinis and wine for Mom and stepdad. I was considering making either chocolate covered oreos or cornbread tonight, but I think I'll try to get some rest instead.

ETA: I will be making the brown butter and sage sauce for the pumpkin ravioli tomorrow.

have made: stuffing (with bacon, caramelized onion, apple & sage); green bean casserole (mushroom sauce made from scratch); sweet potato thing that has a pecan streudel on top, cranberry sauce (with pear and fresh ginger) and giblet gravy. Have butterflied the turkey.

My mother, of course, is making the mashed potatoes. They are the best!

Is graham cracker crust OK for pumpkin pie?

I don't see why not. In your shoes I might add in some cream cheese to the pumpkin filling, or else a layer on top or bottom, just for the heck of it, maybe as a substitute for eggs or anything else requiring cooking, and just do the whole thing cold. If people give you guff for it, just call it a pumpkin dessert.

ION, apparently I am now too wimpy to uncork a bottle of wine.

Ha!

I figured out how to do it with finesse rather than brute strength.

I'm watching the Barbara Walters interview with Obama. So far, no really tough questions, or even terribly interesting questions.

Avoiding House spoilers is tricky. I wasn't able to watch this week's episode yet, but I just saw a preview for next week's where the first line of the preview was someone mentioning something that happened this week.

I'd just do a crustless pumpkin pie --but graham crackers will work just fine.

waiting for the veggies in sweet potato soup to cook --- then I can make it soup.

No big surprises in the Obama interview, but I just love seeing them together. They're so cute!