A Griffiths Thanksgiving

Well, Ivor and I [sort of] hosted our first Thanksgiving together (even though it was at my brother's house).  We somehow got volunteered to cook the majority of the food, which was no big deal. We thoroughly enjoyed it :)

Here's what was on the menu (well, what Ivor and I made anyway):

Turkey: brined w/the Pioneer Woman's special brine recipe and let me tell you it was AMAZING. If you've never tried brining a turkey before, I beg you, try it. Basically what it does is keeps the meat very very moist. There are other scientific things it does, but all you really need to know is that it will be the most tasty meat you've ever had. In addition to the brine, we added "aromatics" (aka things that make the meat more flavorful and fragrant) into the cavity of the bird, instead of traditional stuffing. The aromatics included: carrots, celery, onion, half an apple, and lots of yummy herbs. Then I covered the outside of the bird with canola oil, to give it a nice golden brown crisp. It all turned out wonderfully. Best smelling and tasting bird I've ever had!

Mashed Potatoes: Garlic, obviously. I used red skinned potatoes, and mashed them with the skin on-- a little chunky, a little creamy, threw in sea salt, coarsely ground pepper and a dash of nutmeg and YUM.  Didn't last long :)

Grilled Asparagus: made with love by my husband. I believe he used garlic (of course), olive oil and probably some other special ingredient no one knows about. They were amazing.

Fresh cranberry sauce made from scratch, with bourbon (yes, that's real whiskey), vanilla beans (actual vanilla beans), cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of orange zest. This sauce is not for the kiddies, and is to be eaten in moderation....though, it certainly wasn't :) It was a big hit! Way to go Ivor :)

Apple crumb cobbler: Ivor made it. There were no leftovers. That's all I have to say.

Banana Cream Pie: Ivor also made this from scratch especially for our special guest, Drew. Best pie ever. I'm only upset he didn't make a few more.

(have I mentioned how blessed I am to have a gourmet chef for a husband?)

Cranberry and Pomegranate Cosmos. Not sure there's anything else I need to add to that.

Ivor also made some sort of fried eggplant and pasta dish for our vegetarian guest :) I didn't get a chance to try it though I'm sure that was also delicious.

OH, and I forgot to mention the homemade gravy Ivor made from the turkey drippings. I can't even remember how he did it....but it was also the best gravy I've ever had.

This was the year of "best evers"...for sure.

Well...I think that was everything. I'm already planning next year's :)

Little Jewels

First experience w/Pomegranates last night: a semi-success!

I say "semi" because I'm not sure what I was thinking buying them now BEFORE I have a kitchen and a proper work space to cut and extract the seeds properly (the bathroom vanity wasn't the greatest idea). But I listened to various warnings and made sure I wore old clothes, because the juice squirts and stains easily! I made all the right cuts and used a big bowl of cold water...I just forgot the drying w/a paper towel part. Oh well.

They made for a wonderful, refreshing, tasty and healthy snack for me and my husband today. In the future, I'd like to do more things with them like actually make juice (which isn't too hard). They are wonderful w/cream cheese on crackers, on salads, in yogurt, w/ice cream, you name it.

If you've never tried pomegranates, 'tis the season!! Do it now while they're still ripe.

Wish List

Here are a few things on my Christmas Wish List this year (w/explanations). First, it started w/just 2 things:
1.)

The Pioneer Woman cookbook. I've recently been obsessed w/her website because she loves everything I love: food, photography, family, country, etc. From what I've heard, most of the recipes can already be found on her food blog, but I like to have a book I can lay on the counter top in front of me while cooking. And...I just like books.

2.)

Please note: this is on MY wish list. Not my husband's. He plays Fifa (that's soccer for all you non-soccer people out there). I play 1st person shooter games. Don't judge me. I don't have anger issues. I'm not a violent person. I just like pretending I'm a solider taking care of the bad guys.

So that was all I could think of that I wanted. Until I started browsing shoes...

3.)

Check out these hot boots!! :) I could really use a good pair of these babies....

4.)

Ivor and I watch Alton's Brown show, "Good Eats" all the time. This is his baking cookbook. Ivor wants all of his other cook books, I specifically want the baking one...for obvious reasons (I <3 sweets)

Speaking of sweets.....

5.)

I could really use this nice cooling rack to put some freshly baked cookies on....


Then I realized I should probably get some better photography equipment if I really want to make the big bucks someday...

6.)

This flash attachment received an average of 5 out of 5 stars based on over 300 customer reviews from amazon.com. I think it might just be a good buy


7.)

Another video game. This one might be a little less offensive than COD. Super Mario Bros. A classic brought back! Again, received an overwhelming amount of good reviews.


8.)

The Chronicles of Narnia. Never read the books. Love the movie(s). A classic collection I can't believe I don't already own. Plus, this is a must-have for the library once the Griffiths babies start coming along :)


So there you have it: a glimpse of my wish list. Other things include a few DVD's, and more camera accessories. Oh, and a kitchen would be nice :)

Merry (almost) Christmas!!!!

Mrs. Griffiths

It IS an Adventure.

Last night we made burgers on the electric griddle. Set the smoke alarms off. Then we nuked a kitchen sponge in the microwave (because we read it gets rid of nasty bacteria), but someone left it in too long and it melted.....our room smelled just lovely :)

I'm sooooooo ready for our kitchen to be done. No more doing dishes in my whirlpool tub. No more using a tv tray as a countertop. No more relying on the microwave and the crockpot as our only means of cooking meals.  It will be nice to have our bedroom just be a bedroom...not a bedroom/kitchen/living room in one lol.

Sigh...


Though we are making wonderful and humorous memories to look back on someday, I'm just ready to look back on them now.

Oh and did I mention the cat poop on my sheets? That has nothing to do w/our kitchen not being finished...but just another fun moment in the Griffiths household. I love you Mojo, but if you track poop and litter onto my bed again we're gonna have problems.

Stay tuned for more Griffiths Newlywed Adventures!! :)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Griffiths