Saturday, November 26, 2011

THE OTHER RED HAT SOCIETY


On this day after the day after Thanksgiving, I've been sitting benumbed at my desk, still lethargic from repeated doses of turkey-feasting tryptophan, watching my favorite member of the Original Red Hat Society hang upside-down and eat. 

No, it isn't one of the middle-age neighbor ladies acting out while on a pumpkin pie suger high. I'm talking woodpeckers…pileated woodpeckers; females. Big ol' silly looking birds who were wearing red hats and feeding with much ado and gusto long before those women who sometimes take it upon themselves to suddenly invade your favorite country café, swiped the headgear idea for their own group. The upside-down hanging ORHS member in my yard is feeding on a suet block.

(Y'know, there is a rather remarkable resemblance…)

Anyway, I just want to write and say we have survived another Thanksgiving. Thanks to preplanning and prep work the day before, I didn't exhaust myself cooking this time around. We managed to forego the heady excitement of a kitchen fire this time, too. And there were no territorial squabbles in the kitchen, not even minor ones during the last hour when space becomes tight and the pace turns near-frantic as the bird comes out of the oven to rest under its foil tent, the dressing goes in, pies are readied, the green beans are stir-fried, potatoes mashed and gravy made. Even the dogs and guests behaved.

The menu: The centerpiece was a 22-lb bird, brined overnight, which I put in the oven at 9:30 a.m. and had ready three hours later. I also made cornbread and oyster dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, baked sweet potatoes, steamed brussel's sprouts, sautéd broccoli, green beans with ginger, garlic, and sesame seeds, creamed artichoke hearts, a fruit salad of cooked cranberries with bananas, oranges, pineapple, apple and grapes. Myladylove did pies—one apple, two pumpkin, one mincemeat. Plus we had various relishes, pickles, and cut veggies for munching. And of course, ice cream and whipped cream for pie topping.

I'm not kidding when I say that until we received word about 11 a.m. that Myladylove's son and his girlfriend were on their way, we actually were fixing everything above and figuring it would be just the two of us. And those side dishes were not in small amounts, either, but commensurate with the size of the turkey—based the notion we'd be able to feed, oh, two dozen or so hungry folks should they suddenly appear at the door. Not that such a crowd was possible, considering everyone was out of town except for the one son and his gal. 

But to both Myladylove and myself, part of the fun of the Thanksgiving table lies in its abundance…so a refrigerator stuffed to the gills for a week afterwards with leftovers in various bowls and boxes, is all part of the celebration's plan. 

That said, I wish we could always set our feast before a crowded table. I'd like to end the day with not a single morsel of leftover food. Such meals are always best shared…the more, the merrier. And there's nothing I'm more thankful for than family and friends. However, some years the logistics just don't work out. And in my case, the huge extended family I grew up in—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins galore, inlaws and outlaws, and those familiar and welcome faces who surely belonged to some branch of the ancestral tree because they always showed up to eat—well…that joyous, laughing, wonderful throng has been too long gone to their eternal reward. What few third and fourth cousins remain are scattered to the far corners. Nor is the count much better among friends. Alas, I miss them with all my heart, and never more than during the holidays. 

But I don't want to end this post on that note because we had a great Thanksgiving. The food was excellent (if I do say so) and the company warm and loved and wonderful. As fine a day as we've enjoyed in a long time. Moon-the-Dog was here to share it, and the son and his lovely lady brought their Jack Russell, Snoopy. 

That's my report. Now, the ORHS pileated has just flapped off. I'm feeling something of turkey-and-dressing jones coming on. Myladylove will close her bank branch up in another fifteen minutes, and be home twenty minutes after that. I know she'll want lunch immediately. And she loves Thanksgiving leftovers almost as much as I do. 

Soooooo…one must strike fast when opportunity presents. There's just enough time for me to dash to the fridge, snatch a drumstick and a dab of oyster dressing and pop them in the microwave, gobble everything down, and then set about warming up an array of dishes for our leisurely meal together, while pretending like I haven't eaten since breakfast. Remember, mum's the word. 

And belatedly, though no less sincerely, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!       
———————

24 comments:

George said...

And a belated Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, Grizz. I'm exhausted, though happily so, after reading the list of dishes you and your Ladylove prepared for the holiday. It sounds like there will be enough left over for Christmas, though I know from experience that the leftover dishes seldom last as long as one expects.

Great shot of the pileated woodpecker. Do you think they socialize with one another sufficiently to form a society? I have only seen solitaries, and only a few at that.

Debbie said...

Thanks for trying to help me with my picture storage dilemma. Unfortunately it was in Latin and I could not understand it. :D In other words, I have no idea how to do that! These cameras and computers should require a course!
Thanks so much for trying! And, I am so happy your dog is doing better. What would we do without our dogs?
Debbie

KGMom said...

Glad to hear the good report of a Thanksgiving well-fed and well-shared.

I thought of the Red Hat society, of course, of ladies in purple with said red hats. And then I thought of another Red Hat society--the one that's closed to all but a few select men who rise in the Catholic church: the college of Cardinals. Aptly named, of course.

So pileateds, ladies, cardinals and Cardinals--red hats all.

Grizz………… said...

George…

The sad-but-true part…in years past I've always bought the biggest turkey I could find, 25-28 lbs. Huge birds! Granted, we typically had additional guests for the meal, but not always all that many more. I regularly sent a bag of food home with anyone who would take it. However, we still ended up with a lot of leftovers, especially turkey.

I have a great turkey salad recipe, but never have I managed to have enough turkey come Sunday to actually make my salad. Often it was all gone by Saturday night. Moreover, the other leftovers disappeared just as quickly. We've already reduced our leftover storage boxes by somewhere between a third and a half. I think we're about two slices short of two remaining pies. The food is going fast.

I might manage that turkey salad this time around, though there's still supper tonight and tomorrow's lunch. I wouldn't bet much on my prospects.

Re. pileateds…you're right, they're not flocking birds. They hang in pairs, and most of the year will aggressively defend their feeding territory. In the winter months, they're a bit more tolerant and will allow a single or two to move in, though still not feeding together. But other than a family with parents and almost fully grown young, spotted late in the summer working through a woods together, I've never seen more than two pileateds at once. I do see my "island" pair over here at the feeders every day.

Grizz………… said...

Debbie…

It's not you, it's just that it all sounds so confusing when poorly written, as per my "instructions." But honestly, it's easy—and if someone will show you a time or two, you'll soon get the hang of it. Just have them show you how to make your pix no larger than 800 pixels on the largest side…then, they won't even count against your storage limit.

Thank you regarding Moon. I love my old dog, and I'm glad she's doing as well as she is—which seems to be very good.

P.S. If the above techno-gibberish is still in Latin, you're perfectly welcome to drop me an email (address at the side under header) and I'll take another, longer, and possibly more clearly written stab at it. Trust me, if you can blog, you can resize images. I learned, which is truly all the proof and encouragement you can ever need.

Grizz………… said...

KGMom…

We are, indeed, well fed. In fact, it might be said that the sin of gluttony deliciously inhabits our midst!

Yes, indeed, there's more than one Red Hat Society. Now here's a little ornithological word quiz for you…what other bright bird has a name derived from a clothing aspect of the Catholic church?

Finally, I'm really glad you're keeping on keeping on.

Bernie said...

Your dinner sounds delicious and how wonderful to have your ladylove's son and girlfriend with you. So happy Moon is so well, you have many blessings Grizz but then you know that already....:-)Hugs

AfromTO said...

Well the dilemna of too big a feast and not enough guests!With that desciption of those succulent eats-I would have gladly volunteered to drive 8hours just to help you out.I think a painting in exchange for a seat at your table would be fair trade.
Sounds delicious.

The Weaver of Grass said...

That sounds like one hell of a celebration to me Grizz - food sounds delicious, company sounds lovely and that woodpecker shot too - what more could anyone ask for. Happy Thanksgiving to you both.

Gail said...

HI GRIZZ - oh my, your meal sounds so delicious. I love all your side dishes and I am interested in your stuffing as I am known as the "stuffing queen", (not to be misconstrued with any other body function or action :-) ), !!!!!

And I love how you love left-overs - as do we and how you mix all your warm memories with all your new memories and it blends with grace and love and bounty. Wow! We, like you are blessed. All those who grace us with their presence at our table knew they were loved and appreciated and all were well fed. It was a wonderful day. Hallelujah.

Although on Friday morning we awoke to water all over the floor - the faucet was leaking - what a ess - Skipp spent most of the day building a new cabinet floor and replacing the faucets and pipes ugh - still needs to finish today. I managed, with Dolan's help to get most of the tree decorated while Skipp used language while under the ink I certainly cannot repeat!! :-) And as I watched him emerge from the cabinet it was lie watching a calf being born breech!! When I shared my 'vision' we laughed so hard we bot almost wet ourselves!! :-) Always good to have some levity!
Enjoy your Sunday my friend - we will busy finishing the cabinet floor and the tree and hopefully the outside white lights. And at some point we are bringing a meal of leftovers to my Mom - we are blessed, everything in this comment and your post is a blessing.
Love to you
Gail
peace.....

Kelly said...

...great post, Grizz! I just ate the last of our left-overs. Mmmmm... (I like your Red Hat Society!)

giggles said...

Nice. Your feast and the accompanying company sounds like it was all just fab. Hope the rest of your weekend was equally fulfilling....

Grizz………… said...

Bernie…

Sorry to be so slow in getting this up and replying. I've been a bit under the weather today. Got to feeling bad right after breakfast and have spent almost the entire day down.

Our meal was delicious—a fine Thanksgiving feast shared with good company. And you're right, I am greatly blessed, far more than I deserve…a fact about which I'm ever aware and truly grateful.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

Wish I'd known such a trade might be in the offering—though I would never have agreed, in spite of how much Im captivated by your work. No, it is always our delight to welcome guests freely at our table. Your "payment" is in the pleasure of your company.

The food—including leftovers—was delicious.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

Right on all counts…good food, good company, a fine feast and celebration. Glad you liked the female pileated woodpecker shot.

Grizz………… said...

Gail…

The food was great, most of the dishes being the ones I grew up eating every Thanksgiving. I'm pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to a few meals—Thanksgiving being at the top of that list, followed by Christmas and Easter—and to a lesser degree, New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, and Twelfth Night. I'll add in extra dishes, but the core remains—for Thanksgiving, turkey, cornbread and oyster dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberries. The other side dishes can, and do, vary—though Myladylove adores brussel sprouts, so that's permanently fixed, and I've been doing creamed artichoke hearts for every fancy meal since my late-teens, and I love them dearly, so they're always going to be there, too.

One of these days I'm going to do a post on cornbread…not that God-awful Yankee-plot travesty incorporating self-rising flour along with the cornmeal, plus eggs and sugar—but the real article, straight from the hills and hollers, baked in a seasoned cast-iron skillet in a 500 degree oven; 25 minutes from ingredients on the shelf to fragrantly steaming pone turned out on a plate and ready to be graced with a big chunk of butter. THAT'S the starting place for the dressing. Then chopped onions and celery, a pint of oysters (maybe more) some other breads—biscuit, homemade loaf—a couple of eggs, lots of sage, salt, pepper, all amply moistened with drippings from the turkey, and baked until everything is well cooked trough and the top is starting to brown.

Mom always made it in a long, heavy baking cooker, with lid, that held maybe ten quarts. The container was filled almost to the top. I use her cooker, though I don't fill it more than two-thirds of the way. The lid stays on for the first half hour, then is removed to allow for browning.

Egads! That leaky faucet sounds too much like our recent ordeal with the leaky toilet…and I'm sure you'll agree, not one of the more memorable ways to spend a weekend. I do feel your pain—and Skipp's—and hope everything gets fixed, dried, and no stitches are required.

P.S. Haven't forgotten the pancake recipe. (See my comment to Bernie, above.) Just slow.

Grizz………… said...

Kelly…

I can hardly believe it, but our leftovers are down to a smallish box of turkey, and enough of the other stuff for Myladylove to take for her lunch tomorrow. That's it! I may have enough turkey for salad…MAYBE.

Thank you re. pix. I've been admiring your bird paintings recently; should have commented. Too, no juncos here yet.

Grizz………… said...

Giggles…

Well, the feast and its aftermath were fine, though today hasn't been so great. But, I'm feeling better and ready to march onward. So, no complaints. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too.

KGMom said...

OK--I give up. You will have to enlighten me. I hope it helps me win at Triviaul Pursuit some time.

Grizz………… said...

KGMom…

Don't know about its use in Trivial Pursuits, but the answer is…prothonotary warbler, named with reference to the saffron color of the robes worn by clerks to the pope, the Protonotary Apostolic, a member of the Roman Catholic college of prelates who register papal acts and direct the canonization of saints.

Who wudda thunk?

AfromTO said...

You unwell the dat after your dinner-you didn't give yourself food poisoning?I may rethink sitting down with you

Grizz………… said...

AfromTO…

Nope, just a medical issue that crops up from time to time, and may get me one of these days…but not yesterday, or today.

I had a near-fatal case of Salmonella infection years ago—not of my causing!—and have no desire for an encore. I'm scrupulously clean in my kitchen and food handling.

AfromTO said...

okay I know I wasn't incoherent when I was typing -what showed up is not what I thought I sent.you have permission to correct any weird typos.

Grizz………… said...

AfromTo…

Well, I would've if I could've…unfortunately, Blogger only allows me to post or deny a comment, not edit. So long as someone does not use unacceptable language, or say something patently hurtful to others, I'm prone to give them their say without questioning coherence, erudition, or sobriety. If it's any consolation, I regularly fail to look closely at a comment I've too hastily zapped off, and end up looking the illiterate fool. Your comment didn't come close. Besides, remember who you're writing here—do you really want me putting words in your mouth? :-)