My pies came out very good: the pumpkin was very flavorful, as I bumped up the spices from the Joy of Cooking recipe, and added cardamom. The mini maple-pecan pies are excellent and I hope will freeze ok. The stuffing was pretty good, the gravy acceptable, and I have made packages of stuffing/mash/turkey/gravy/cranberry and stuck them in the freezer for later enjoyment.

I will probably hit the local brewpub around the corner soon: they're hosting World Cup games and that seems like a nice way to spend part of the afternoon.

Sounds lovely and delicious, David.

Rolls are important. Glad they worked.

We are having a loungey day today. Dinner out later.

I am in total relaxation mode today after the madness of yesterday. Took a walk on the beach at about 7 this morning. Ate leftovers for breakfast. Took a long soak in the jacuzzi tub. Took a nap. Other than putting away dishes and clearing some emails, I think I have done absolutely nothing productive. Ahhhhhh.

Yesterday was grand. I think there was 13, but who knows if I am forgetting people. So Much Food. All my stuff came out good. I didn't try everything, but one family member brought a cornbread casserole dealio that was absurdly tasty. I kept a lot of that for leftovers and I don't even care how calorie dense it is.

I usually bring a non-pie dessert to Thanksgiving, but didn't this year. I regret it! So I'm going to make a half-size of this tomorrow: [link]

I would say the food at my gathering was just OK but the company was excellent, so worth it. Think next year I’ll go back to my usual pumpkin pie recipe. The filling this year I used was Claire Saffitz’s caramelized honey pumpkin pie. It was tasty but very spice forward and I like a ginger snap pecan crust, so it fought with that a bit. And it didn’t bake quite right.

Today I have to clean and pack, tomorrow I head out on a long road trip. But first, watching some World Cup

Mushroom Stew in Pastry Cups: A+. One of my best stews. We know this recipe now and it's locked in.

I think I need this recipe.

I kinda wish I'd had a dessert but planning that for 1 person while in tech is challenging. I did have some fancy tea, which was nice. The curry (slow-cook chickpea, red lentil, and pumpkin) turned out okay, if a bit mild. If I make it again I'll give it a bit more kick.

Timelies all!

Went to work today. Not much else going on.

I am closing out my lazy day watching Princess Bride. I can’t remember taking a day off. It’s quite pleasant.

Timelies, all. I’m glad people had largely good Thanksgiving gatherings and food.

Today I put up my Christmas tree and ate leftovers. Apricot-ginger sweet potatoes mix very nicely with a tart cranberry sauce. I’ve also been doing my annual LotR rewatch. I’m watching Denethor win father of the year right now.

Argh. I was wanting to stay home cozy and try to pack and clean, but just got informed that starting next week (I’ll be gone but still) our dancing hours have been cut in half. We usually have an hour of lessons and two hours dancing and now we’ll have about and hour and 45 minutes TOTAL. WTF. I don’t know what the story is but like, it’s not that there’s a ton of people waiting to enjoy the dance floor with a house DJ at 845pm on a Friday. Grrr.