Mashed Potatoes Are For Everyone To Have Enough

Brad and I are not huge fans of the Thanksgiving Day meal. Neither of us really likes turkey and Brad wonders why an entire holiday built around food doesn't consist of a better menu. If turkey was sooo good, why don't we eat it any other time of the year? Don't get us wrong, we love getting together with family, cooking, watching football, playing games, being thankful...we just don't like the meal. I really don't like dressing, either. It doesn't matter if you make from great-grandma's secret family recipe or from a box, it's just soggy bread with vegetables in it. I don't like soggy bread. My family always makes cornbread dressing and it's a labor of love, but it's still soggy cornbread. My sister-in-law is famous for her sourdough-cranberry dressing and everyone in Brad's family raves about it, but I feel it's a waste of really good sourdough bread. The greenbean casserole is full of squeaky, under seasoned green beans and don't get me started on sweet potatoes!

The only dish we truly enjoy is mashed potatoes. I'm making the mashed potatoes this year and I make a mean mashed potato. Seriously. I'm not boasting and I'll be happy to share the secrets with anyone who asks, but my mashed potatoes are really something to write home about. Just ask Phoebe, who's entire Thanksgiving Day meal will consist of mashed potatoes. That girl loves her some mashed potatoes! Sarah, Carrie, and I are also making all the appetizers...my other favorite part of the meal. I think I could survive solely on snacks my entire life and be completely satisfied. I never go anywhere without a good snack. And just in case you were wondering, we are making cranberry salsa (sooo utterly divine that I took the recipe from a friend and made it a part of my own holiday tradition), homemade pico de gallo and chips, sausage balls, and some kind of yummy cheese ball that Sarah is whipping up. Yum. I can't wait.

If asked, Brad would tell you that he would like to have a really good steak and his mom's homemade chile rellenos for Thanksgiving. I'm a little more traditional. I'd love to have a honey-glazed ham...with mashed potatoes, of course, and "Eli's Favorite Green Beans." I make them for him and they are scrumptious. He tells everyone that his mom makes the best green beans so that's how they became known as "Eli's Favorite Green Beans." Everything else is a bit nebulous, but there would also be piping hot, yeast rolls. They don't have to be scratch rolls (Rhodes rolls are fine by me), but they do have to be warm and brushed with butter.

I think I'd better go have breakfast and sweep my floors before I wind up waxing eloquent on all my other favorite foods! Happy (Early) Thanksgiving! I hope it's filled with all your favorite foods.