(Turkey) Dress(ing) Rehearsal

In what's rapidly becoming a tradition around here (this family's definition of "tradition": something we've done at least once and liked), we had a rehearsal Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. Truth be told, the only actual similarity to the real Thanksgiving was in the turkey -- and even that was scaled way back to just the breast and none of the wings, drumsticks, giblets, etc. Maybe going all-economy for this go-round makes the real thing in a few weeks that much more fun. Or maybe, with all these kids (ha -- kids?!) scattered about and busy with their own lives, I just needed an excuse to bring everyone together for a Sunday dinner, so I called it a (mock) Thanksgiving dinner.


So here's what we served for Sunday's "mock Thanksgiving dinner," compared with what we'll serve in a few weeks for our real Thanksgiving dinner (with Dad and Lou!):

Just turkey breast vs the whole entire turkey, dark meat, white meat, wings, drumsticks, giblets, etc.

Jarred gravy vs Tom's incredible slow-cooked, made-from-drippings gravy

StoveTop stuffing vs Tom's incredible made-from-scratch stuffing with apples, nuts, raisins, celery, water chestnuts, and different breads dried the night before.

Canned cranberries vs my cranberry mold made from fresh cranberries, Jello, and chopped (entire) oranges

Bagged dinner rolls vs my aunt's amazing and fantabulously delicious takes-all-day-to-rise-a-bunch-of-times yeast rolls. (These are our family's trademark Thanksgiving offering!)

Salad from a bag vs salad from scratch with all-freshly-chopped ingredients

Mashed potatoes (no, NOT from a box... who do you take me for?!) made with non-fat milk and Ranch dressing vs mashed potatoes made with butter, sour cream, half-and-half and Ranch dressing

Fresh asparagus vs frozen-fresh asparagus

Store bought pumpkin pie vs Tom's mother's from-scratch pumpkin chiffon pie and my mother's from-scratch raspberry cheesecake

Eating from every day dishes in the kitchen, seven of us squeezed around one table, country music in the background vs the whole extended family eating from "holiday dishes" in the dining room, classical music playing in the background.

And still, the evening ended with full bellies, lots of laughs, and excitement and anticipation about the upcoming holiday!