We are actually doing our family Thanksgiving on Saturday, since my husband, the dog, and I will be making a quick trip to California, and eating dinner there with some of my family.

There will be at least four of us, and maybe five. The menu:

Turkey
Pepprridge Farm Stuffing (made with my homemade broth, some celery, and parsley; onion omitted for husband.)
Green Bean Casserole--and some kind of vegetable for my husband who does not like GBC
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (I'd skip it with the stuffing but my stepdaughter loves them.)
Dried Cherry-Cranberry-Cardamom Relish (which only I will eat--hey, more for me!)
Applesauce (homemade of course)
Pumpkin Pie (my variation of my mother's recipe; I'll try the buttermilk crust with it)
Small Eggnog Cakes made in my Nordic Ware Thanksgiving mini-loaf pans My stepdaughter does not care for pumpkin pie, and she can also take some home with her. We can eat the rest on our trip west.)

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

Last year, hubby and I decided we no longer like turkey. So we're having a quite simple holiday meal. Fettuccini Alfredo with tossed salad. Initially, I suggested steak, because I have them in the freezer. Later, I changed to the Alfredo, because we think it's more special and festive than steak.

It's special, because I make it only once a year. In my opinion, it's an artery clogger with the parmesan cheese, cream and egg. We love it, though.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.
• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

The Alfredo recipe I use comes from "Papa Rossi's Secrets of Italian Cooking" (Benett & Rossi). When I first read the recipe, I thought the egg was unusual, but after making it once, we became converts. I didn't know that it originally was only parm-regg.

I didn't know Sam's sells a 4 cheese blend, but I don't like Asiago. The last few years, Sam's has carried a Romano we really like for meatballs. Normally, we "import" Italian cheeses from Chicago, but we don't feel like we're deprived when relatives haven't been here to bring us Italian-made Romano. I'm pleased with the Sam's Romano. Don't know if they have the same brand this year, and I can't recall the brand name.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Italiancook.

Mike--I have posted the recipe here:

I first baked the recipe in November 2013, and it is extremely popular with my family and friends. I don't make my own eggnog, but I buy a lowfat organic eggnog. (I can drink some without any guilt!) I freeze eggnog every year to use in this cake, and in my adaption of the eggnog scones on the KAF website.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

We're no longer having Fettuccini Alfredo. We're having a fully cooked ham, since the oven temp is broken and I can't bake one. We're also having stovetop candied sweet potatoes, broccoli, mashed potatoes with ham gravy -- I know, ham gravy is really too salty for good health, so I'll only have a little of it. We'll buy a pumpkin pie from a local restaurant. I don't like pie. The only pie I ever "make" is lemon meringue pie for my husband. The pumpkin pie is also for him.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

Your grandmother was quite amazing, Mike!

My ovens are a little less than 25 degrees too cool. But I can reheat the ham by using an oven thermometer and adjusting the temperature. As I type, I'm gathering the courage to try to fix this problem myself. I do not understand computers. I have the instruction booklet on the stovetop, have it opened to the right page, and have used the Options function to make sure it's still set to Fahrenheit. Part of my procrastination is that I can tell from reading the instruction booklet that a lot of recalibrating the temperature is intuitive. I have none of that where computers are concerned.

BTW, I said in my previous post I would make ham gravy. What was I thinking? Without cooking the ham myself, I don't have any drippings for the gravy.

I didn't know ham has more carbs than protein. That's interesting.

Thanks for clearing that up, Mike. Maybe I misunderstood. I tackled the recalibration and am pleased to report that it's easy. Instructions scroll across the screen. Easy to follow. It's a time-consuming process, because I'm adjusting only 5 degrees at a time. I don't want to go over my 400 degree goal.