The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Friday, November 23, 2012

It Don't Take Much

        For me, Thanksgiving is all about family...and gravy. I don't need lots of fancy culinary creations. I don't need family heirloom silverware and fine china plates. All I need is my family around me, and some good gravy.

        I am, after all, a saucy type of gal...

        Yesterday I had both kinds of gravy. This year, we invested in a fat separator to make the gravy not as slippery and slick as it usually is, but I had my doubts. I saw that the fat had indeed risen to the top of the container, as promised, but when it came time to pour the juices out, I figured the fat would pour out right with the juices. The instructions claimed the fat would remain in the container, but I scoffed.
 
 
 



       However, it worked exactly as advertised. And I was happy, because a delicious gravy is one of my favorite parts of a Thanksgiving meal.

     The other gravy came with my kids. I was lucky enough that my son took the time from his studying to come to St. Louis. Even more fortunate, my daughter and her family made the long journey from Florida to spend the holiday with us. And with Jason came his mother, Sharon, who lives three hours away in Illinois.

     Having a kind and capable daughter is wonderful, and Jason is the perfect partner for Virginia. He is the gentlest man, he's the best dad I've ever encountered, and is the epitome of thoughtfulness.

     And although he is fond of making snarky jokes that I appreciate, and he makes them in a soft-spoken voice so they don't offend anyone but only serve to entertain me, he's still a guy, and he's still from another generation. His mother Sharon is a different story.

     It's comforting to have a friend join me at Thanksgiving who is also "family." She and I are both having a love affair with our granddaughter--she's our first and only one--and we enjoy each other's company.

     So I enjoyed the gravy that has already added an inch or two to my waist, along with the emotional gravy--the "extra" bits of pleasure that come along if we're fortunate beings.

      What kind of gravy did you enjoy on Thanksgiving?
 

12 comments:

  1. It sounds like you had a perfect Thanksgiving! I'm so glad you were surrounded with family. My hubby and I enjoyed Thanksgiving on a cruise ship in the Caribbean! We are thankful for so many things but especially that we have each other!

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    1. Pat--So THAT'S where you drink from the fountain of eternal youth--in the Caribbean! ;)

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  2. I feel the same way about my son's mother-in-law. The family get togethers always include our blended families. My daughter's in-laws are different. They don't seem to like us and act like we are in a competition of some sort. I refuse to play ..... She always gives extravagant gifts to my daughter. I cook for my son-in-law and he seems to love me for being me.

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    1. Kathy--I'm glad you have some of your kids' in-laws that are pleasant to be around. It's NOT a contest, but some refuse to see it that way...

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  3. I am not a fan of gravy, but your description of the process, and that picture, make me want to chug it right out of the spout.

    As for your emotional gravy...(hee, hee, the forbidden ellipses!), it sounds like your Thanksgiving companions would NEVER gang up against you to make sure you would not win a game of Apples to Apples.

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    1. We're talkin' about homemade gravy--nothing out of a can or jar went into the making of this fat-laden elixir.

      White wine, Better-Than-Bouillon Mushroom Base (okay, THAT came out of a jar, but no jarred or canned gravy was used to help out my sauce), the pan drippings, butter, flour, turkey stock, balsamic vinegar--yum!

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  4. Aww, that was a sweet as a cupcake, and I know how sweet that little girl must be. Glad you had an abundance of gravy.

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    1. Linda--Your Nicole is at that sweet-as-a-cupcake age, too. I hope you had a lot of gravy over the holiday, as well...

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  5. So glad you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. We've got all three of our kids together over this long weekend and I'm loving it. :)

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    1. Lisa--I'm glad you have all your kids together. Enjoy! As they start having their own kids and make their own home (not always close to "home"), it gets harder, but sweeter.

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  6. I've often wondered if those gravy separators work--not that I would ever actually make gravy--but good to know.

    The emotional gravy, now, I'm all over that!

    Glad your Thanksgiving was grand. ;-)

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  7. Cathy--It sounds like yours was as well...

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