Almost time....

Today has seen a flurry of activity at the ranch. Cooking and more cooking and construction on a sod house for school and pie deconstruction and reconstruction and dancing at the Fantasy(Phantasm)of Trees. Very busy day, but very productive. I learned a valuable and sad lesson today about pie crusts. I was so happy to make my Granny's pie crust ahead of time and have it chilling in the fridge, ready for yummy pie construction. Before there was Alton Brown and Good Eats, there was Granny and awesome mountain woman food with no written recipes. There was also no rule of chilling your dough before you rolled it out....a detail I totally overlooked in 2011. Once the dough came to a decent temp, 3 hours later, it turned into an epic fail. Rolling it and transferring it became an exercise in futility. Needless to say, that dough was scrapped and mr Aunt Erma's pie crust recipe was made and used immediately. We made a pecan pie AND my very first lemon meringue pie from scratch. Alton Brown's name and recipes are being used a lot over the holidays, but the man is very good. He knows his stuff. Here is a not so flattering picture for you:

On this, the eve of Thanksgiving Day, I hope that you tell one person tomorrow how thankful you are for them. It may really mean more to them than you would ever know. Enjoy your meal, but remember those who have nothing. Play a couple good games and relax and enjoy yourself. Life is a gift. Remember that...I sure need to. Love to all of you!