tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post896033285890844864..comments2023-11-03T04:57:11.073-04:00Comments on Romance Bandits: Thanksgiving Means PieLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-70763801294879219042008-11-17T06:33:00.000-05:002008-11-17T06:33:00.000-05:00Suz, I would love the corn and cheese! I am a huge...Suz, I would love the corn and cheese! I am a huge fan of jalapeno cornbread in all its incarnations. I usually use white cornmeal, but love yellow cornmeal, too. As long as it's not sweet, I'm down with it!<BR/><BR/>My husband and children enjoy sweet cornbread (as does at least one of my siblings), but it's not something I ever enjoyed. Of course, I don't bake it in my kitchen so if they want it they go to Boston Market. *g*Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-40193680910813592352008-11-17T06:31:00.000-05:002008-11-17T06:31:00.000-05:00Joanie, when you let go of the white bread stuffin...Joanie, when you let go of the white bread stuffing, we'll hold a special Council meeting to see if you can be granted real Southern status. *g* On a more serious note, though, I grew up in TN and we didn't consider Kentucky southern except by reputation. I guess it's one of those regional prejudices?Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-48433411734931486712008-11-16T23:15:00.000-05:002008-11-16T23:15:00.000-05:00LOL, I'm just sort of chuckling at y'all!Grew up e...LOL, I'm just sort of chuckling at y'all!<BR/><BR/>Grew up eating White cornbread cooked in my mama's cured iron skillet, (which I told my sister who doesn't cook it's mine some day!). <BR/><BR/>Then I had kids and they liked the Jiffy corn muffins, coz they taste like desert! (Got loads of home made beef vegetable soup down them with that!)<BR/><BR/>Then moved to Texas and they all think corn bread is yellow and sweet. But the other day I added corn to the batter and cheddar cheese. Oh. My. God! Gotta try it, I'm just tellin ya!Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-87116484530182752552008-11-16T22:18:00.000-05:002008-11-16T22:18:00.000-05:00only faux-Southern! I love you dearly, girl but th...<I>only faux-Southern! </I><BR/><BR/>I love you dearly, girl but thems fightin words!<BR/><BR/>My Hush Puppy can beat up your Hush Puppy!<BR/><BR/>Firing up the ancestral iron skillet.....Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12566704374877697300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-81204755708314526392008-11-16T21:48:00.000-05:002008-11-16T21:48:00.000-05:00PJ, don't get me started on people who think Jiffy...PJ, don't get me started on people who think Jiffy corn muffins are cornbread! My younger sister actually likes those things, but I always thought they were horrible. The only thing worse was school cornbread, which must have been mostly flour (not cornmeal) and was <I>sweet</I>. Oh, it was wretched. <BR/><BR/>Speaking of cornbread, I made chili and cornbread for dinner tonight. Man, was that good on a cold night! It will be good for lunch tomorrow, too. *g*Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-56874116238604556962008-11-16T21:45:00.000-05:002008-11-16T21:45:00.000-05:00Claudia, who knew? NOW I know what to get you for ...Claudia, who knew? NOW I know what to get you for your birthday! I make fabulous pumpkin pie. It may not be as wonderful as your darling husband's, but I'll bet it's close. *eg*<BR/><BR/>Thank you for the raves on the chutney. It's a delight to the senses to make, every time. Please note: Claudia loves the chutney even though it contains one of her least favorite things - raisins! Yes, this chutney even makes raisins taste good. Hm. I have to make that next week, too...Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-35738482914209401232008-11-16T21:42:00.000-05:002008-11-16T21:42:00.000-05:00Louisa, honey, you are so right! My mother got her...Louisa, honey, you are so right! My mother got her favorite skillet from a lady who lived in her parents' neighborhood. That woman had had the skillet for at least 40 years. Mama knew what a gift she was getting, believe me!<BR/><BR/>I started out with brand-spanking new cast iron Lodge skillets and got on it with seasoning. I slathered them in Crisco and fired up the oven and baked the mess out of them. I would keep them in there and they would cook every time the oven was on. I've only had mine for 18 years, but it looks OLD. I gave one of my lovingly seasoned skillets to my best friend from college. I'm not sure she knew quite what she was getting, but she learned! *g*<BR/><BR/>My money's on you to get the skillet, Louisa. I think it's clear who is most <I>motivated</I>.Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-40384767939092076922008-11-16T21:39:00.000-05:002008-11-16T21:39:00.000-05:00Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving!! SACRILEGE!!!...<I>Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving!! SACRILEGE!!! THUNK! That is the sound of 200 years plus of Southern women falling over in dismay!</I><BR/><BR/>LOL! I couldn't have said it better!<BR/> <BR/><I>And yes, you MUST cook it in an iron skillet as God intended.</I><BR/><BR/>There's another way to cook cornbread? Must be that fake stuff that comes in a box. *g*pjpuppymomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18234101901405553621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-38372034729260812132008-11-16T21:38:00.000-05:002008-11-16T21:38:00.000-05:00Oh, Joan, for shame! Bread stuffing? You Kentucky ...Oh, Joan, for shame! Bread stuffing? You Kentucky types - I knew you were only faux-Southern! <BR/><BR/>As to the GR, after you let him hit the hooch, you couldn't expect him to forego the opportunity for a little drunk karaoke, could you? Let him wear himself out. Whoever claims in at midnight can deal with the hangover. Just make sure he gives the spandex back!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-43337576434494266952008-11-16T19:30:00.000-05:002008-11-16T19:30:00.000-05:00I LOVE pumpkin pie. It's my birthday cake every ye...I LOVE pumpkin pie. It's my birthday cake every year, that's how much I love it. <BR/><BR/>Caren, your cranberry chutney is the reason cranberries were created.Claudia Dainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07018678621098546704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-42473548884228337942008-11-16T19:01:00.000-05:002008-11-16T19:01:00.000-05:00Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving!! SACRILEGE!!!...Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving!! SACRILEGE!!! THUNK! That is the sound of 200 years plus of Southern women falling over in dismay! <BR/><BR/>And yes, you MUST cook it in an iron skillet as God intended. Not a new skillet either. It has to be a cured skillet. My Mom has my MawMaw's skillet and I can promise you that when the time comes there will be no fights over who gets Mom's jewelry or Holiday Barbie collection of antique Hall china. The fight will be over who gets that skillet!Louisa Cornellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12971924594129471055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-60352486384220327842008-11-16T18:14:00.000-05:002008-11-16T18:14:00.000-05:00Hang onto your giblets, Caren.I like Stove Top stu...Hang onto your giblets, Caren.<BR/><BR/>I like Stove Top stuffing.<BR/><BR/>Now, not for an OFFICIAL holiday but it serves its purpose.<BR/><BR/>And...cornbread stuffing is my second favorite. I was raised with bread stuffing. Half stale bread and half croutons seasoned with sage,onion, celery salt and pepper. <BR/><BR/>Maybe it's an Irish thing? Naw, then we'd use stale soda bread.<BR/><BR/>BTW, the GR seems to have finally run out of steam. He's crumpled in the corner with a ice pack on his head. There is a wild look still in his eye though from the inability to get "Mamma Mia" out of his head.<BR/><BR/>{A maze of feathers whirls past using a hairdryer as a microphone}<BR/><BR/>Ack! Stop GR! I didn't mean to say the MM word!Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12566704374877697300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-2100170851668550342008-11-16T17:49:00.000-05:002008-11-16T17:49:00.000-05:00By the way, the pumpkin crunch my youngest made wa...By the way, the pumpkin crunch my youngest made was voted Best Dessert at the Turkey Bowl. I have no idea what that means in the youth group, but she got the nod anyway. She was thrilled, because boys have won the past two years. A triumph for womankind!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-22924796370814429612008-11-16T17:46:00.000-05:002008-11-16T17:46:00.000-05:00Jane, isn't that green bean casserole the best? I ...Jane, isn't that green bean casserole the best? I could eat those french-fried onions right out of the can! <BR/><BR/>But STOVE TOP?! You have given me, Joan, PJ and Louisa (and possibly others) three kinds of apoplexy with that pronouncement. Darling Jane, you must come South one of these years and let us retrain your tastebuds. You will shun Stove Top evermore once you've had the heaven that is cornbread dressing. <BR/><BR/>You start with buttermilk cornbread (which you bake in an iron skillet in the oven, like God intended, at least a day ahead). You crumble it and mix it with luscious things like onion and sage (and lots of it) and diced chicken (or turkey). You soak the whole shebang in chicken broth and let it sit overnight, then bake it the next day. There's more to it than that, but the main thing is the cornbread and the sage. Preferably sage that you grew in the backyard and dried yourself, but store bought is good, too. <BR/><BR/>*sigh* It really is the best thing ever. Maybe one of these years we should have Thanksgiving in July for the far-flung Banditas. What do you say, Anna?Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-55368129905666349442008-11-16T17:38:00.001-05:002008-11-16T17:38:00.001-05:00Ooh, Janga, those sound wonderful! Of course, how ...Ooh, Janga, those sound wonderful! Of course, how could they not be with a pile of brown sugar and pecans on top? *g* <BR/><BR/>I may have to whip up a batch of those this year. Or maybe tomorrow night...<BR/><BR/>Thank you for sharing!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-90196843681085933522008-11-16T17:38:00.000-05:002008-11-16T17:38:00.000-05:00Ooh, thanks, Caren! Now I know!Ooh, thanks, Caren! Now I know!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-36589081982571157952008-11-16T17:37:00.000-05:002008-11-16T17:37:00.000-05:00Oh, Joanie, that's one of my favorite ABBA songs! ...Oh, Joanie, that's one of my favorite ABBA songs! Didn't you think Meryl Streep did a great job in the movie with 'The Winner Takes It All'? I whispered to my daughters, "I've always thought that was the saddest song about divorce <B>ever</B>."<BR/><BR/>They both frowned at me and said, "It's about divorce?" Oh, these kids today. When I was a girl and that song was popular, <B>everybody</B> was getting divorced!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-89334167926354472372008-11-16T17:34:00.001-05:002008-11-16T17:34:00.001-05:00Well, every fourth Thursday in NOVEMBER, anyway. *...Well, every fourth Thursday in NOVEMBER, anyway. *g*Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-33989471130233155192008-11-16T17:34:00.000-05:002008-11-16T17:34:00.000-05:00Anna, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the USA on the...Anna, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the USA on the fourth Thursday of each November. It commemorates a festival of thanksgiving held by the Pilgrims who came over and landed at Plymouth Rock in December, 1620 (they were by no means the first English settlers here!). They were unprepared and about half of them died before spring.<BR/><BR/>With the help of friendly native Americans in the area, they were able to plant crops that spring and harvested abundant crops that fall. They held a three-day festival of prayer and thanksgiving to give God the glory for their survival. We have celebrated some sort of Thanksgiving feast since then, but it didn't catch on at a national level until about 1863, with Lincoln's famous Thanksgiving Proclamation. <BR/><BR/>Now, we say prayers of thanks and eat WAY too much food every fourth Thursday.Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-25903445410180741342008-11-16T16:45:00.000-05:002008-11-16T16:45:00.000-05:00Congrats on the GR, Joan.I love Thanksgiving. Gre...Congrats on the GR, Joan.<BR/><BR/>I love Thanksgiving. Green bean casserole is my favorite dish. I like it with extra french fried onions. I love Stove Top stuffing, too. Apple pie with Reddi-wip or vanilla ice cream is my dessert of choice.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13040629694490652973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-14839436283818733542008-11-16T15:41:00.000-05:002008-11-16T15:41:00.000-05:00As requested:This dish has been a standard at our ...As requested:<BR/><BR/>This dish has been a standard at our family gatherings for decades. I don't know where the recipe originated, but it is in every cookbook I own that was produced by local church and civic groups, so it's a popular dish here. The name connects it to the late senator from Georgia, but I'm unsure of what the connection is. One of my nephews skips dessert and eats a second helping of this instead. I double the recipe for our standard group of 15-18. <BR/><BR/>Senator Russell's Sweet Potato Casserole <BR/><BR/>3 1/2 cups sweet potatoes (about 4 large) <BR/>1 cup sugar (The recipe calls for a full cup, but one cup makes it very sweet, so you may want to cut to ¾ or even ½ cup.) <BR/>2 eggs <BR/>1 tsp vanilla <BR/>1/4 stick butter <BR/><BR/>Bake potatoes at 450 degrees F until done, about 45 minutes. Peel potatoes and mash. ( You can use canned potatoes, drained and mashed, but the result is not as good.) Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter to potatoes and mix. Pour mixture into 8x8 baking dish. <BR/><BR/>Topping <BR/>1 cup brown sugar, packed <BR/>1/3 c flour <BR/>1 cup chopped pecans <BR/>1/4 cup butter, at room temperature <BR/><BR/>Mix topping with fork, sprinkle over potatoes, then bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.Jangahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-84293413052797524112008-11-16T15:23:00.000-05:002008-11-16T15:23:00.000-05:00Things are OUT OF HAND in the Lair!So when you're ...<I> Things are OUT OF HAND in the Lair!</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>So when you're near me<BR/>Darling can't you hear me<BR/>*S.O.S*<BR/>The love you gave me<BR/>Nothing else can save me<BR/>*S.O.S*<BR/>When you're gone<BR/>How can even I try to go on?<BR/>When you're gone<BR/>Though I try, how can I carry on?Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12566704374877697300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-64883887890102402392008-11-16T15:20:00.000-05:002008-11-16T15:20:00.000-05:00Hey, JT, cool catch on the rooster! But don't show...Hey, JT, cool catch on the rooster! But don't show him too many pictures of roasted turkeys! He might start getting a bit nervous... <BR/><BR/>Caren, what an interesting post. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Oz. Is it something to do with the Pilgrims? Sounds like a fun holiday and full of love and great memories for all of you. <BR/><BR/>Louisa, laughed at the frozen turkey story. Especially the bit about your nephew so desperately trying to get the turkey back so you could all eat it. Eeeeeek!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-67657145773897548592008-11-16T15:15:00.000-05:002008-11-16T15:15:00.000-05:00Donna, I'm also with you on the leftovers. Drag 'e...Donna, I'm also with you on the leftovers. Drag 'em out and heat 'em up, baby!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-79634476792687391742008-11-16T15:14:00.000-05:002008-11-16T15:14:00.000-05:00Oh, my, Donna. Jack Daniels in the pecan pie? That...Oh, my, Donna. Jack Daniels in the pecan pie? That's practically Southern of you! I'm from TN originally, the home of Jack Daniels, so I've had JD in all manner of food since I was a young child. It's astonishing how many things you can sneak a little Jack into. *g* Of course, I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, but the taste is so familiar, it's like a trip down memory lane. I remember having JD-flavored hard candy!Caren Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12352366686017375279noreply@blogger.com