Susan Branch's illustrations capture Autumn at its best. By November Autumn is well on its way to becoming winter in the northern climes. We start thinking about Thanksgiving, making our menu, preparing bedrooms for our guests. . . .
Prepare your guest room ahead of time so that you don't feel so stressed at the last moment with all the cooking you'll be doing. . . .
S P I C E D ♣ P E C A N S
- Spray olive or canola oil
- 2 c. pecan halves
- 1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1/4 c. melted butter
- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. Mexican hot pepper sauce (Cholula)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray oil on a cookie sheet. Mix all other ingredients and spread in pan in one layer. Bake 10 min. until lightly toasted, stirring once during cooking time. Cool completely before packing in air tight container. If you double this recipe, you get a quart of nuts. You can see her make her spiced pecans HERE.
And, of course, Cranberries are a must for Thanksgiving. . . .
Let's not forget the Turkey, too. She has this memory of the first time she made a turkey. . . .
Susan's grandmother was very special in her life. Every year she shows us how to make her Grandmother's Stuffing Recipe. . . .
Don't forget the gravy. . . .
Susan's Autumn bookmark can be printed out HERE.
Here is Susan's free Autumn Stationary. Just drag it to your computer desk top, then click on it to print. . . .
Susan's first post on her blog was on November 1, 2010--seven years ago today. This is a new link to the Bean Soup she mentions. I love her idea of stringing real leaves across a window. I will do the same this year. She was planning a breakfast party in that post and was considering several recipes, including cinnamon toast. . . .
As I reread her post I wondered what I was doing that November 1st seven years ago. So I had to go up into the attic and dig out that journal to find out. Then I looked at the photos I'd taken that Thanksgiving. I'd switched the living room with the dining room and invited Son #1's in-laws to join us. Son #2's fiancee was with us as well, so there were nine at our table. Son #3, our last, had just graduated from college that spring and my husband had just retired. So much has happened since then in our children's lives--all three are married now, college and graduate school graduations have taken place, three grandchildren have been born, houses have been bought and several moves made, and the passing of their last grandparent. "Keeping track of the days" as Susan wrote above, certainly does help with the remembering. Much has changed for her as well. I've enjoyed looking back at her posts this year in preparation for this monthly post. Next month's "First of the Month" post will wrap up my tribute to Susan Branch.
What are your Thanksgiving memories? Do you keep a daily journal or a Holiday Journal to help you remember special occasions?
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A great look back at Susan's November activities! Makes me want to read the "Autumn" book yet AGAIN. Something I do every year when I get it out in September. But Good is Good. Wouldn't mind doing this again at all. Well, Thanksgiving in our family was always exactly the same until my Mother died. A big family meal at two in the afternoon. Roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, hot rolls, butternut squash, creamed onions, mashed turnips, carrot & celery sticks, radishes, olives, cranberry sauce etc. Followed by cold turkey sandwiches, potato chips & apple pie at 8 or 9 in the evening. In between the girls would clean up & then yack, while the guys watched football or fell asleep. After Mom died though, my sibs [the ones with houses/space to entertain] began taking turns hosting & we all bring contributions. I almost always bring acorn or butternut squash as well as the appetizer, which has been [ever since my Dad discovered it in the early 70s] - Clamato juice. Have you ever had it? Yum! Thanksgiving is the only time of the year when we have it, but we GOTTA have it then. I usually bring cranberry sauce too, but only my brother Jeffrey & I like it, so I make half a batch & I actually use Susan's recipe for it, which is super easy & also very good. A few years ago I discovered how delicious a small spoonful of cranberry sauce is in the middle of a cold turkey sandwich. I'm sure I'm not the first to try this at all, but I still feel like a New York Times food critic when I have it, LOL! This year Jeffrey is actually hosting for the first time & we're having a very casual dinner. Actually it's a little weird-sounding but I AM looking forward to it. He's decided to do only the second part of my parents' tradition - the "lunch" we'd have later in the evening. No big Norman Rockwell dinner. Except that he IS going to roast a stuffed turkey & serve that with hot gravy. I guess he thinks we MUST have hot turkey, but that we don't need all the side dishes & mountains of leftovers. Personally I loved going home with all those yummy leftovers to heat up later, but he's the host so he gets to choose. It WILL definitely be interesting, and I can't say I'm going to miss all the clean-up. The meal took 25 minutes to eat, but the clean-up always took at least twice as long. So I guess we'll see.. 🦃
ReplyDeleteOur memories of holidays do have a way of "provoking" us--either to good feelings or not so good feelings. I hope this new way of "doing" Thanksgiving won't disturb the wonderful feelings you have of Thanksgivings Past. I'm with you on the clean-up part, but also the cooking part. The hours spent preparing everything and it's over in less than an hour????!!
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