The After Glow

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. With our families, friends, homes, and careers, we all have so much to be thankful for. At our house, we celebrated our good fortune with a most wonderful meal. I should say most wonderful meals. Travis's parents and one of my brother's came to spend a day or two with us. On Wednesday night, rather than cooking as we'd planned, we ended up going out to dinner at a nice, (relatively) new local Athens restaurant called the National. (Visit their website at http://www.thenationalrestaurant.com/ for a preview. I highly recommend dinner there. Be sure to ask about the prices on the wine specials, though, before you order; sometimes they are a bit pricier than you might expect.)

We had my favorite Breakfast Casserole Thursday morning. (See recipe link at left.) It is a very hearty dish that kept everyone satisfied until our late afternoon / early evening "real" meal.

About noon, I put out Spinach Dip with a variety of crackers, traditional ranch dip (Hidden Valley Ranch dry dressing mix with sour cream) with a veggie tray, and grapes and cheeses for those who needed a few munchies.

About 5:30 we had the Big Meal, and I do mean big meal. Regular readers already read that our family decided against a turkey this year in favor of freshly smoked ribs. I know it departs from tradition, but you just can't beat Tom T.'s ribs. (I'll try to get his secret recipe one day!) Of course I made Dressing. The Green Beans with Bacon were a huge hit. I cooked traditional Southern-style greens (post coming soon!), a mix of kale and turnip greens, and the Sweet Potato Casserole received raves (we had a few plain baked sweets for the purists among us). In an effort not to over-dress the Broccoli Salad, I under-dressed it, so it started out a tad dry. Fortunately, adding a bit more of the dressing fixed that. I learned that I just can't skimp on it. Oh well - lesson learned. We all ate about 10 bites and were ready to burst!

After completely stuffing ourselves, we went for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Dessert followed - Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie with Whipped Cream.

This morning, we hauled out the pies and the leftover Breakfast Casserole and ate in a pleasant stupor in front of a fire while Dave Alvin's music played over the living room speakers as we wrapped up another successful Thanksgiving with all the bellies full and all the blessings counted. Now let's get ready for Christmas...

Broccoli Salad with Pecans and Cranberries

Last year, my entire family came to my cozy (tiny) house for Thanksgiving. It was the first time I made everything, start to finish, for everyone. I had so much fun planning the menu and shopping, but when it came time to make the casseroles, I found myself in a pickle, so to speak. I love both squash and broccoli casserole, but two cheesy casseroles seemed a bit much, even for me. That's when I remembered broccoli salad. I've had it many different ways, some with cheese, some with raisins. I almost (but not quite) like it every time. As with everything I cook, I needed to come up with my own recipe recipe that reflected my tastes. So that's what I did, and boy was it a hit! I needed about 2 more gallons of it than I had. Here's how I did it. Do you love broccoli salad, too? Tell us Dishers how you do it!

Broccoli Salad with Pecans and Cranberries
This makes an excellent sweet and tangy broccoli salad for your family at Thanksgiving.
INGREDIENTS:
4-5 cups broccoli florets, very lightly steamed (for 1 min. or so only) or raw
1/2 small red onion, raw, thinly sliced
1 package bacon, either precooked and crisped in the microwave according to package directions or cooked and drained of excess grease, crumbled.
1/2 to 3/4 c. cup good quality mayonnaise (Hellmann's and Duke's are always good choices)
2 T. cider vinegar
6 T. sugar or Splenda
1/3 cup or more lightly toasted pecans
dried cranberries for garnish (or more if desired), I like Craisins

Mix mayo (I think less is more), vinegar, sugar / Splenda to make dressing. Set aside. Combine broccoli and onion; add dressing. Mix pecans and a small handful for dried cranberries and sprinkle over top of salad.

NOTE: The nuts and cranberries are part of the recipe I developed and are not in the "classic" versions of this salad. If you don't like the cranberries and pecans, you might like to add raisins as some people do or 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese.