Christmas Menu

Our Meal Plan:
I have never made a real turkey. My husband has cooked one in a turkey boiler. My husband has cooked on in an infrared thing-a-ma-jigger. But I've never made a real live (well... dead) turkey. So this was my plan. You know, you invite 11 guests to go alongside our 12 family members so you really want to try your patience and cooking skills. (Note to self: when we finish our "work" kitchen put labels on every cupboard and cabinet, I would like someone to explain to me why the 2 pieces of the "shield" for the mixer would be in 2 separate places, one in a cabinet and another in a drawer.... I seem to do alot of talking to myself, now I'm blogging to myself... )

Appetizer(s):
Hummus with Tortilla Chips
(nixed the Veggies and Dip when we ran out of the veggies after stuffing the turkey, making a salad and so on)
(nixed the Veggie Pizza when the 2 youngest (perhaps some of the olders) tore off large slabs of the crust and we ran out of cream cheese.... whodda thunk we'd use some 12 - 8 oz boxes?!)

Lunch:
Turkey (followed recipe from Simply Recipes for Mom's Roast Turkey)
Gravy (followed my Mom's recipe, though I've yet to add drippings from the pan)
Stuffing (followed a recipe from All Recipes for Old Fashioned Stuffing... my SIL makes the best stuffing... just FYI.. my stuffing seems a bit mushy)
Spiral Ham
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole (I never was a fan of this stuff but after altering the recipe a little and adding cheese... it is tolerable... it seems to be a Wisconsin thing)
Spinach Casserole (this is our own recipe, simple, delicious way to eat spinach)
Roasted Red Peppers (I grew to love these after having them at someone's house!)
Lettuce Salad with carrots, radishes, red peppers, green peppers, cheese and an oil/vinegar sweet dressing
Cranberry Sauce
Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes (wishing I had added shredded cheddar cheese)
Cranberry-Orange Jello Salad
Rolls and Butter (thought I should mention the butter in case Alice in WI reads this :) Of course the butter dish... the glass one... rolled out of the fridge and on to the floor in a gazillion pieces

Desserts:
Cheesecake with Cherries
Lemon Cheesecake
Peppermint Blizzard Pie (Lisa brought that)

Drinks:
Hot Cranberry Tea
Wine (from Spain-where-they-really-know-how-to-handle-tough-vintage)
Apple Juice (for those of us who aren't tough-vintage....)
Water
Milk

We spent about 4 hours preparing food... I had great helpers so it made the prep work go very quickly. We transformed our van into a refrigerator. Stay tuned for the reality show tomorrow.

We are attending Midnight Mass and will probably get home about 2am and I have to get up at 5:15am to get big bird into the oven. I am going to admit I got a big bird.... 24 pounds and let me tell you it is big because they are very uncoorperative and don't support themselves when you try and pick them up to dress them. Not quite as bad as bathing a newborn for the first time but fairly close.... the turkey doesn't holler at you!

For Christmas Dinner we will be going to Aragorn's family's house so that will be a very yummy meal.