Never Leave Home Without It

Thanksgiving with family and guests

Every year I open the door and yell, “Happy Thanksgiving! We’re here!” It’s my way of bursting into my mother’s and father’s house without knocking or waiting for someone to open the door. There are no formalities with my family. I’m here to help with the festivities and I’m here to share the day with those I love most.

Stepping into the kitchen, I can smell the wafting aroma of buttered turkey and freshly made apple pie. A trace hint of cinnamon underlies the atmosphere. Mom or Dad has been making petite cinnamon rolls with the leftover pieces of homemade pie crusts. It’s a tradition that I remember from when I was a little girl and my sisters and I enjoyed them almost as much as the pies themselves. I continue to make them every holiday and now my son and nieces and nephews get to enjoy them too.

The house is bustling with preparing for the family meal. Mom is vacuuming or dusting. She has been up since the crack of dawn basting and cooking the 25 pound turkey. Dad has washed all the serving platters and is now feasting on the crackers or pickles to be put out for hors d’oeuvres.   We don’t usually eat until two in the afternoon, but people are bound to get hungry before then. Dad takes special consideration to keep all the kids and guests happy until dinner is served. I brought the celery stuffed with cream cheese and olives for my annual contribution as well. Arranged on the end tables are bowls of mixed nuts and a nutcracker with picks. This keeps my husband and brother in law happy while they watch the football games.

In my hands, and in the hands of my son, are all the other goodies that I baked for Thanksgiving. My sisters and I (and my brother too!) took a vow that no more would Mom have to do all the cooking by herself. There were too many of us now to leave that burden on her and Dad alone. It’s not like when we were kids and no one else knew how to cook. So, as soon each one of us could reach the stove and fix a dish, we each found our specialty to bring to the table.

This is the most fun part about celebrating Thanksgiving.  Each one of us kids was raised the same way and ate the same thing growing up; but as we learned to cook we each developed our own sense of taste and flavor. My brother and I both love Brussels sprouts and we fight over who gets the most. If I make them, I just add some butter, salt and pepper and call it good. My sister, however, cut hers in half and roasts them with bacon. They are incredible! I never would have thought of that.  Mashed potatoes are another family favorite that no Thanksgiving table should be without. For years, my dad peeled the potatoes and then cooked them and mashed them and added the required salt and pepper.  Once my son learned to cook, however, the task of the potatoes turned to him.

Potatoes have been my son’s favorite food since he began to eat with his fingers. If there was a potato to be found, my son probably discovered it. Jay could eat French fries or mashed potatoes any time of the day. Then it happened, my son found a recipe that called for potatoes, cheese and ranch dressing- three of his favorite foods! He experimented at home with his new found treasure and when he perfected the recipe, he brought it for his Thanksgiving donation. His potatoes are the rage for anyone who tastes them and are now a permanent resident beside the holiday bird.

As I find room on the kitchen counter for my sweet potato casserole and pumpkin chocolate chip bread, my sister yells to me from down the hall.

“Did you bring my pie?”

“Yes,” I answered. “I brought both of them.” It’s not actually my sister’s pie, but she has now claimed it as her favorite so I have to indulge her fantasy.

“I don’t care about the other one,” she corrects me. “I just want the one without nuts.”

“I know.” I roll my eyes, but she doesn't see me.

My nephew opens the basement door with cans of Pepsi in his hands. He sees me and kisses my cheek.

“Hi Auntie April, Happy Thanksgiving.” He sees the pies that I’m carrying. “Are those my pies? Oh man, I can’t wait for dessert?”

I smile at my football fanatic nephew and proceed to find room on the dessert table for my specialties.

Mom comes to inspect my wares and helps move the other pies around to make room for mine.

She looks at me and asks, “Now, which one is the one with the walnuts? That one is mine.“

I point out the freshly baked goody with the toasted walnuts on top. “That’s the one, Mom. I put nuts on top so we could tell the difference and so Sarai won’t eat it by accident.” My niece Sarai is allergic to walnuts, so it’s imperative she knows which pie she can eat.

Mom separates the two pies and places hers a little further back on the table. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

I look at my mom and shake my head. “You know, you have to share that pie with me. I like nuts in it too.”

She nods as she heads off to finish getting dressed before the rest of the family comes. “I know, I’ll make sure you get a piece.”

I have to laugh. When I first introduced my chocolate chip pie to the family, only Mom and I really enjoyed it. Everyone else tasted a small piece and it sat in the refrigerator for quite a few days. Everything changed the day I changed the official recipe and made the pie without walnuts. Now everyone had to have a piece of April’s Chocolate Chip Pie. It was a smash hit with both the kids and the adults. When my sister lived far away, she would even call me just to get the recipe. It’s the only pie my oldest nephew would ask for every holiday and for his birthday.  

Chocolate Chip Pie has become a staple for every family holiday we celebrate. I make it whenever we need a dessert for a special occasion. This means Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Independence Day. It’s also requested for birthdays, bake sales, and just because we need something chocolatey! It is an easy recipe to bake and can be doubled for your freezing convenience. I don’t have an option any more to make one or two pies. One of them has walnuts and the other is left plain. Both are good and both are rich beyond compare. Top your slice with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and you will never leave your Thanksgiving holiday without it again.

April’s Chocolate Chip Pie

1 - 9 inch pie crust - unbaked, deep dish

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup chocolate chips (or half a 12 oz bag.)

1 cup walnut pieces

In large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. (Make sure they are really foamy - this helps to make it crusty on top.) Add flour, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat until well blended. Blend in oil. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.** Pour into pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

Recipe may be doubled. Bake 2 pies and freeze one for later.

** Walnuts can be omitted if desired. To make one pie with nuts and one pie without, prepare a double batch and then pour half the batter in one pie crust. Add the nuts to the remaining mixture. Then proceed as directed.

The Littlest Memories

I love Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. Not because of all the great food and time of year, but because it is a family tradition. It’s the one day of the year that focuses on loved ones gathering and realizing that life is about relationships and being grateful for one another. It’s about sharing time together and remembering what it means to be a family.  I really become angry when Thanksgiving is skipped over as all the retail stores first focus on Halloween and then skip straight into Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas too. I just wish people would take the time to stop and ponder about Thanksgiving. Our country originally began because of the love and appreciation for a Great God and His Blessings. The pilgrims knew how important it was to set aside days from the end of their harvest to give thanks for their health and their new friends and community. Our society seems to always be in such a hurry to go somewhere or do something. We tend to forget those little things during the day that bring us such pleasure and smiles. Before we know it, the day is over, the week has rushed by and our year has come and gone without any recognition of anything good. Thanksgiving was established so that we as a nation could take one day to give thanks for the abundant grace that has been bestowed upon us. (Abraham Lincoln implemented the fourth Thursday in November for this purpose and I believe it should be honored by everyone.)

 Thanksgiving is also a great time for our family. We all come together – to the best of our ability- and enjoy a great feast and lots of playtime. We celebrate our gratitude with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, all kinds of vegetables and goodies, plus an array of desserts that would knock your socks off. There are many people in our family, so anywhere from 14 to 18 relatives could be sitting at the table, depending on who makes it home for the holiday. That’s a lot of food and a lot to be thankful for. Our meal begins with prayer and then each person around the table must declare what he or she is grateful for. (With that many people, it can take a while and sometimes one of us can be accidentally skipped, so we have to speak up and stop whoever jumped their turn. It’s happened to me once or twice. J) It’s always a good time to listen to the other members, especially the little ones, think about their blessings and share with all of us.

With such a large amount of people at our table, especially if we have guests, one particular tradition that we had to establish was the use of place cards. Chaos arises when no one knows where to sit. There’s always someone who wants to sit by his grandfather or doesn't want to sit by her cousin, or else the baby needs to be beside his dad so that mom can actually eat hot food this year. One Thanksgiving we had to move my brother in law because he kept looking at himself in the mirrors. No one could carry on a conversation with him, without his peering around your head. It became quite the holiday joke. If you have a big family, you know what I’m talking about. Over the past years, it has been my pleasure to create each member his or her own place marker. I actually enjoy discovering new ways to mark each person’s plate and I challenge myself to do something different each year. Some years, depending on finances and time, are simpler than others, and some place cards have even been banished due to family requests.

We had such an occasion one year when my brother and his fiance came home for that particular Thanksgiving. Eddie rented a great condo overlooking the lake for the last week of November. In some northern states, this would have been ridiculous, but in Virginia, it was absolutely beautiful. The sky was filled with sunshine and the air was warm with a light breeze. The kids were free to visit the small beach and watch for the ducks that were near the boats. At the time, the youngest of our family was either four or five years old and she was the belle of the ball. She helped set the table and made Thanksgiving crafts to share with everyone. She especially liked helping me put out the place cards at everyone’s plate.

The place cards that year happened to be made of peanut butter fudge with a tiny monogrammed flag for each person. I had poured the fudge into small cupcake tins to make individual sized servings. It would be a little prelude for dessert if anyone wanted something sweet after dinner but before we served pie. The fudge cups, as I called them, came out very cute with mini pilgrim flags and decorative papers. My niece, Heleigh, loved them. She was so excited that there was peanut butter fudge and it was just her size! She kept asking me when we could eat them and did I have any extra, in case someone dropped theirs or got lost or if we had guests. I assured her that there were extras and she could eat her place marker whenever her mother told her she could. She nodded and then proceeded to position her card next to her grandmother. Once she had finished helping, I asked her mom if Heleigh could have a piece of fudge for being such a good helper. Her mom agreed and I gave my niece her reward. Her face lit up like sunshine. She devoured that little bit of candy and sat back humming and rubbing her tummy with delight.

The dinner was fantastic and we were all stuffed. No one wanted to move, except for the kids. It was time for some football. The adults mulled about and began cleaning up slowly but surely. My mom’s rule of thumb is that it’s necessary to clean one mess before making another.  It really isn't so bad when you have many hands helping. We had our routines and pretty soon we are all in the kitchen either picking apart the turkey or storing the extra stuffing or wiping off the table. This was the job that Heleigh wanted to help with. She would assist Auntie by cleaning the little things off the table, so I could wipe it off. The little things, of course, meant all those place cards which had to be moved or disposed of to make room for the pies and other desserts.

It all began rather casually. Heleigh was first allowed to eat her piece of fudge after she finished her meal. Then as she began to remove items from the table, she asked each family member what they wanted to do with their marker. Her brothers and sister told her she could put it anywhere, they didn't care. She could eat if she wanted to.  So she did. When she asked her uncle or aunts if they wanted their piece of candy, they responded that they were too full, she could have their fudge if she wanted. She did. Her grandmother and grandfather told her the same thing. By the time the dining room was cleaned, my niece had devoured 10 out of 14 pieces of peanut butter fudge. She suddenly developed more energy than a bunch of Energizer bunnies all rolled into one! Her words were speeding out of her mouth like a locomotive and she ran around the couch so many times I thought my head would spin.  When it was actually time to eat dessert, we knew something was wrong because Heleigh wanted none of it.  She tried eating a small piece of chocolate chip pie and then crashed on the couch. She fell asleep within minutes. When Heleigh finally woke up, her mom asked her how much fudge she had eaten. Heleigh wasn't sure; she had lost count.

The best part of the story happened later on that night. My niece got out of bed and traipsed off to her mom and dad’s room to wake my sister up. My sister was alarmed and asked Heleigh if there was anything wrong. My adorable niece, with her hair all matted around her face and her little pajamas twisted in a bunch, looked at her mother and with a growling voice said, “I want more fudge!” To this day, I am not allowed to bring or make my niece any peanut butter fudge without written permission from her mother first.

My peanut butter fudge is a favorite for my niece and for the rest of my family too. It’s very easy to make and it hardens every time. That’s why I like this particular recipe. I have tried others, but I usually end up using them as ice cream topping or for dipping my apples. The recipe makes a fairly good size batch of fudge. When using the little cupcake tins, it will fill all 24 indentations with some leftovers. Just make sure that during this holiday season you eat your fudge responsibly.

Peanut Butter Fudge

½ cup butter or margarine

1 lb light brown sugar

½ cup milk

¾ cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb confectionery sugar

In medium saucepan on medium heat, melt butter.

Stir in brown sugar and milk.

Bring to boil and stir for 2 minutes. Do not overcook.

Remove from heat. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla, stirring well.

Add conf. sugar and beat until smooth.

Spread into greased 9 inch square pan or divide into mini cupcake pans prepared with paper liners.

Chill until firm. Makes 3 ½ lbs of fudge.

Recipe may be doubled. Be very careful about boiling and stirring. Overheating can dry out fudge and make it hard to spread.