Thanksgiving Dinner Preview

Tonight is the monthly meeitng for a women's club I'm a part of, and this year the November meeting theme is a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I volunteered to make the cranberries and stuffing. Neither of which come from a can or box, respectively. Soooo I've spent the better part of my day in the kitchen preparing the turkey dressing (which started with the unenviable task of boiling turkey giblets and the neck), and my signature cranberry-pear chutney. I always make the chutney whenever we host Thanksgiving - found the recipe years and years ago and gave it a try, loved it, and made it part of our family's tradition. The stuffing, which has been in my husband's family for a few generations, is another story. I absolutely LOVE it. But I've never made it before! The tradition is that the men of the house (usually my FIL) do the turkey and the stuffing; the women take care of everything else (though my husband rocks at making mashed taters). So today, I'm making it for the very first time. To share with 25 or so other ladies.

I was disappointed with the chutney, I think I overcooked it a bit so the bright ruby red color is not as vivid, but hopefully it still tastes good. The stuffing is ready to be baked, which I will do shortly before I depart for the festivities. Meanwhile, a small turkey is slowly roasting (needed it for making the stuffing!), so that my family will also get a little preview of our dinner in 3-1/2 weeks! Another first for me...like I said, the men of the family normally roast the turkey, so I sure hope this one turns out as good as when my husband does it. Time will tell!

Now I need to clean up the amazing mess I made in the kitchen...