Red Velvet Wisdom

Anyone who knows myself and my husband very well know that we do not really like to travel.  We invented staycations. We do one place that we can make a little day trip to and really enjoy ourselves. In fact, we went on our honeymoon here. If you are ever in northeast Texas, I would say you have to swing by Jefferson.

The other day I took my daughter and our neighbor to just look around Jefferson. To my surprise, they were fascinated by the history of the town. They even begged to go to the museum. I am not so interested in history so I let them explore all four floors while I looked around the first two.  I found some neat things. Of course, the first stop had to be the general store, followed by the candy store/antique shop.

The general store is set up like an old time general store. We looked around and went to the candy shop. This is the only place I can find things like candy cigarettes or the old time taffy. They even make their own fudge and have a case of nothing but. The kids each had their own money to spend. I really do understand the phrase, “like a kid in a candy shop” now so much more clearly than ever before.

They bought a bag of candy each and ate on it the whole time we walked around and looked at antiques and gifts. There are dozens of shops in this town that have just about anything you can imagine. The beauty of this town is that it is small enough to walk around the small downtown area and see most of the shops on foot.

We finally headed over the to the museum. It is four stories of history about the town and the area.

They even had this.

The time came for lunch. We had so many choices before us. We narrowed it down to a few that I had never been to before and I thought might be kid friendly.

We finally decided on BBQ.

The kids enjoyed it, even though they were hyped up on their bags of candy.

While walking around we passed a city drug that had an old time soda/ice cream fountain. We went back for dessert.

We were soon ready to head home, making plans to come back soon and ride the Christmas train. My husband also wants to ride the riverboat and tour the area on water. Me? I’m happy walking around and shopping, finding things that you can’t get anywhere else or are made locally. To be honest, one post about Jefferson doesn’t begin to describe everything. You would have to stay at one of the many bed and breakfast establishments to really understand and see all there is to see.

Each time I go to Jefferson I think of our honeymoon. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast, having the whole servant’s quarters to ourselves. We got up each morning to a homemade breakfast in the master house that is unlike any you can get anwhere else. We antiqued.  We shopped for gifts. We ate. We didn’t do much of anything but did a lot, never going far from home.

A discussion at work today revolved around dressing. When most of us in Arkansas, Texas, Lousiana, or Missouri speak of turkey and dressing, we think of a cornbread mixture. I was in college before I knew that there was any other kind. Yes, I was sheltered. No, we never traveled.  (Our parents have this irrational fear of ever leaving the area in which we live for fear “something will happen!!!”  I personally think Mama needs to watch less Nancy Grace but that’s just me.)   I realized one day and am reminded often that not everyone knows how to make the dish that is a staple in our Thanksgiving meal.  Apparently some people think that dressing involves what I basically consider to be wet croutons but I digress.

My first taste of anything different was when I was just out of college and had Thanksgiving with a then-boyfriend’s family.  We had cornish hens with stuffing.    Was it the most delicious thing I had ever had?  No, but to be honest,  I was excited to get something different.  Clearly the grass is not always greener.  On the flip side of things,  my boyfriend was overjoyed to eat at my parents’ house where my mother made “the best cornbread dressing I have ever had”.

Over the years I have perfected my own style of dressing that I consider to be near perfect.  Yes, I’ve had the year of the green dressing.  Of course no matter how many years of good dressing I make, that year of green dressing will never be forgotten and I will be reminded of it each and every year.  (Don’t buy poultry seasoning from the dollar store) Other than that, I have found a way to have delicious dressing time after time.

Yes. The crock pot.  I don’t take credit for developing the recipe, but I have found out how to make it for our family that is pleasing. First, I make a pan of cornbread. I usually make a 9×13 pan. If you use the instant packages of cornbread mix, use 4.

Let the cornbread cool completely. Crumble it into a large bowl. Add the following:

• 2 cans of chicken broth
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 1 medium onion (finally chopped and softened in butter)
• 1 cup celery ( finally chopped and softened in butter)
• salt
• pepper
• poultry seasoning
• 1 egg

I mix these ingredients well, saving the egg for the very last. Once you mix it all together, add salt, pepper, and seasoning to taste. For me, I add a little at a time. It is probably about 2 Tablespoons, give or take a shake. Taste it and see. I think it cooks a little stronger than you taste. Add the egg when you are happy with it and put it in a crock pot that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Add a few pats of butter and slap on the lid.

I usually make two crock pots at once. (Yes, my crock pots are old. I know) I cook for about 6-8 hours. It is moist and perfect every time.

Next time: Cranberry Sauce.

So we decided to do another give away, this time two cookbooks.  One of the cookbooks has all the ins and outs of frying a turkey, and that got us on to a conversation about how Thanksgiving was so different even just a few decades ago.

Just think, when our parents were kids,  you didn’t just run to Wal-Mart and grab a frozen turkey and thaw it out.  Very often, the turkey that you ate for this festive occasion was one that you had become friendly with by way of fattening it up all year.  And then, there was the pesky business of getting the bird from the walking and squawking phase to the plump delicious dinner phase.

Now, let me say that even though I love turkey, if I had to do all the necessary steps involved in the killing, plucking, boiling, etc. my family would have to learn to love the vegetarian lifestyle.  Tofu would be our most valued player at the table.   I don’t particularly like messing with the bird prior to it being cooked and on the plate honestly, and the idea of having to chase a live animal around in order to somehow make it into a Normal Rockwell holiday meal is really nothing short of comical.

So, in celebration of not having to do the dirty work ourselves, here is our newest giveaway.  Two cookbooks that will tell you how to fry up an already dead bird in several delicious ways.  Also included is a cookbook of recipes from Dena’s school.  Leave us a comment on here or on the Facebook fan page to throw your name into the hat.

Get your comments in by Monday, November 23rd at 5:00 P.M. and we will pick a winner!  Stay tuned for more stories of our Thanksgiving holiday as we blog all about it over the next few days (we are doing ours early this year due to scheduling).

The last few years it has become tradition that I host Thanksgiving.  While I do enjoy the grown up task that has been passed down to me, I sometimes find that little things like my husband working or myself being sick prevents me from preparing the perfect turkey dinner. At one of these times I made an executive decision and decided to take the family out.

It is not a decision that I am proud of. My family had never had a holiday meal in a restaurant. (and haven’t since)  Honestly, my parents don’t really go out to any restaurant that much and eating out on a holiday is not something that normal people do. (in the opinion of my late grandmother) In years past each Thanksgiving found our family cleaning house for 24 hours straight while simultaneously basting a turkey and chopping celery.  I insisted that we try something new. Look how great that microwave had worked out when you finally gave in and tried one. Maybe this would be just as convenient.

Deciding on a place to eat was my first sign that this was going to be an epic fail. I suggested something different, like Mexican. “Do they serve turkey? What kind of pie?” We finally decided on the Cracker Barrel. It is a middle of the road type of place. Of course, all I heard the entire meal was, “Who picked the CRACKER BARREL?”

The food was good and everyone was full. We even had dessert with the meal. Everyone hated it. Everyone looked for something to complain about.

• “My fork is dirty”
• “This chair is hard”
• “Is this chicken or turkey”
• “I got a bite of something that won’t chew”
• “Too bad we don’t have anything made from scratch”
• “Did you make a chocolate pie”  

I left $124 later with the impression that I had hosted the worst Thanksgiving our family had yet to endure. Was it worth having no dishes to wash and not having to cook for two days?

Pretty much.