For many a year we have been hosting a small family get together on Thanksgiving Day. This year was a little different as we had 2 guests from Hong Kong. Agatha and Kristel are friends of my Sisters Son Matthew. This was the girls first American Thanksgiving and they added a lot of festivity to the family celebration. On Saturday we visited two cemetery's where my Mother and Nancy's Mother was buried. The weather was great and all the rain that was forecast did not arrive until Sunday.
This year we deep fried two turkeys and oven baked one. Total weight of the turkeys was approximately 50 lbs, which gives you about 25 lbs of meat. When the last guest left on Sunday there was no turkey left.
We have over 150 pictures of the celebration but we only loaded up 55 for the blog. It was a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy the pictures.
Have a great week and Merry Christmas
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| For safety the deep fryer assembly is completely level. |
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| Rick and Chuck watching the deep fry operation. It is very important that someone is always on guard. The day before we put the heaviest turkey in the tub and placed enough water to cover the turkey. Once the turkey is pulled out we mark the water level and subtract 1 inch and that is where we fill up with pure Peanut Oil. The oil expands slightly so that is why we start 1 inch low. |
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| The first turkey going into the pool |
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| The Turkey is lowered slowly to avoid any splashing. Also this helps keep the oil from over flowing. You have to make sure the Turkey is completely dry. Water and Peanut Oil does not mix well. |
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| Chuck and Rick holding the first Deep Fried Turkey |
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| Just some Turkey Guests going across the property. They are frequent guests and roost in the tall trees back of our home |
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| More Wild Turkeys. Don't Worry we did not have the wild ones for dinner. It is hunting season in Ohio but these guys don't seems to be worried. Maybe Ohio hunters are bad shots |
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| This is part of the Gaggle of Turkeys. Total count was 25 of them |
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| Baked Beans side dish for dinner. Mark brought this tasty dish in. Great Flavor |
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| Cooked Cranberries. Tasty |
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| Dave cooking the Harvard Beets. Old family favorite from back in the day |
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| Harvard Beets look great don't they |
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| Home Canned Green Beans. Nothing Better. Flavored with Bacon, some Salt Pork and Onions. Toni brings these every year. Fantastic |
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| Dave, My Sister Toni, Chuck in the back and Mark. Preparing food for the dinner. Other than myself everyone had some time in the kitchen. I am the official dinner taster. Only do the job your good at |
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| Mark mashing the potatoes. There was enough to have Potato Cakes for Breakfast on Saturday. They go great with Eggs, Bacon, Toast, Juice |
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| Nancy and Dave checking the 20lb Oven Turkey The Turkey was a Amish Live Turkey from our local butcher shop |
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| Dave and Toni making stuff for dinner |
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| You think the stove is dirty, you should see the kitchen floor. So much food you might just stick to the floor |
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| Nancy is happy with the oven Turkey. Looked and tasted great. Inside the turkey is Nancy's homemade Bread Dressing. She always make an extra big dish and flavors it with the fluids off the baked turkey. |
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| Just one of the plates of Turkey. It did not last long. |
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| Another plate of Turkey. The deep fried was really tasty. The peanut oil and the marinade we inject into the meat makes a big big difference. |
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| More Turkey. The above three pictures were placed on the dinner table. Other Turkey plates were waiting their trip to the table. |
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| Home made Pecan Pie. We had two of them and both were GREAT It is not low calorie but who cares. We only have it once a year. |
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| Home Made Pumpkin Pie. We had two of these. One of the pies was made with Organic Pumpkin. Both were great. Not sure one is better than the other. |
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| Marshmallows, Crushed Pineapple and Real Coffee Creme. One of my favorite desserts from when I was a mere child. You have to have real coffee creme. Most stores do not have that. Luckily Meijer's in our area carries it. Without the coffee cream it does not taste perfect |
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| Home Made Fudge. The peanut butter was fantastic and the other is a chocolate. Not sure what type but tasted great. Dave brought these. He likes to cook |
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| Hawaiian Wedding Cake. Nancy makes this every year. Absolutely fantastic. The icing is homemade, very smooth, just the perfect amount of sweetness. Must be the cook GREAT. If you are a baker make one of these and you will put it at the top of your favorite desserts |
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| What is dessert without a homemade Whip Topping. My Sister Toni makes this every year. Fantastic. Much better than ole Cool Whip. Made with Half and Half Sweetener etc. Not a low calorie version but again only once a year. That is moderation |
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| Our Son KR cutting the pies after dinner. |
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| Thanksgiving Family. Toni's not in this one she had to take the picture |
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| Talking and Eating is always good. Thanksgiving is a fun time. The dinner starts off by giving thanks and Toni led the prayer |
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| Agatha and Kristel our guests from Hong Kong. They loved our German Shepherds. Our sister Toni brought her dog Pearl and she is at the bottom of this picture. Next year will get a better shot. |
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| Agatha and Kristel enjoying their first American Thanksgiving Dinner. They tried everything including the Egg Nog Drink. Some of the food we have they have never tried, so they did. |
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| Agatha relaxing after dinner. Agatha is in a Hong Kong Nursing College and will graduate soon |
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| Kristel relaxing after Dinner. The left for Hong Kong on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Kristel is in a Hong Kong Nursing College and will be graduating soon |
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| Kristel and Agatha enjoying the day |
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| Matthew, Agatha and Kristel taking a little nap after Dinner |
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| Kristel and Agatha presented Nancy and I with a gift set of chop sticks. Neatly package and will be framed and placed in our dining room |
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| Nancy and KR. He sure has gotten tall |
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| Sandy looking at all of our Thanksgiving pictures on the Ipad. There were over 600 of them starting with 2004. I have 2 more years of pictures to convert. Maybe next year |
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| Mark and Dave leaving with some leftovers |
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| Matthew and Mark moving another table to the dining room |
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| Mark relaxing after Dinner |
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| Chuck relaxing after Dinner |
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| Matthew, Agatha and Kristel relaxing after Dinner |
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| Nancy getting the Dinner ready for Bandit and Belle. They deserve a big dinner treat also. Great Dogs |
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| Nancy visiting her Mothers Grave Site. The cemetery is located about 20 miles from our home. Just a country cemetery away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Pretty nice place |
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| This is Nancy's Mother site with the new wreath. She was a great woman. Guided and helped Nancy and I many many times. The kids called her Grandma Cheat Cards as she always beat them in any card game |
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| Across from Margaret (Nancy's Mom) is some ole cemetery stones. Interesting reading |
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| Rick and Toni at our Mothers Gravesite in Burr Oak Ohio |
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| Our Mother always loved this area. Just a short distance from their land. Back in the day they spent a lot of time in Burr Oak |
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| The Famous Nelsonville Train. Throughout the year the train rides through the Hocking Hills. Notice the Santa Claus getting ready to board. The Hocking Hills has kids just waiting to talk to him Nelsonville is located on the way to Burr Oak. Click for Nelsonville |
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| We shopped at Rocky's Boot Store. They used to make the boots here, but like everything else the product is now made in China. The distribution is still from the area, so some jobs were saved. |
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| Belle and Bandit relaxing after their dinner. They handle the holiday crowds great. Babies to ole people not a problem. Strangers something else. Thanks for viewing our blog and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS Rick, Nancy Bandit and Belle |
