Big Kitty Fun: A Traditional American Celebration of Pie

I can has tur-kee? Luk how gud an skinnee I ams. I sitz jus like a gron-up.

So, time to catch everyone on how the homemade Big Kitty Thanksgiving went. Pretty well! I was informed that Thanksgiving is the #1 Potato-eating holiday in America. And, we were no exception. But, I gotta tell you, we also celebrated the Pecan and the Pie like we were eating our last meals.

But, as you've probably surmised, no one died. I did not create a great poultry-shaped missile of death by undercooking the turkey (a major cause for worry), the apartment did not burn down (just one little burn on my arm), and it was pretty hassle free. Not to worry - it's still my house - the cats were bad.

The madness started on Tuesday. I made pie crusts using Aunt Indiana's awesome recipe. Plural. For the six pies I made. Again, this is Big Kitty Land. They were mini. Then, Wednesday, we got 1/2 the day off, and I came home to meet the Fresh Direct order. God love those people. Incidentally, I had a very Baptist epiphany. Rosh Hashannah is my favorite holiday. I get 2 days off, and because of where I live, I get a parking spot. Which puts it ahead of Thanksgiving.

Where was I? Ah... so, the cooking began. I need to give a big shout out to The Pioneer Woman Cooks! here. I have tried several of her recipes, and she's awesome - old school cooking with a NOLA touch. Praise Jesus! Help for a woman who loves to cook, but who grew up with a mother that. just. can't. TPWC! and Martha got me through a major extravaganza of cooking without a single call to my aunts or the Butterball Hotline. Her stuff isn't usually super healthy, but if you're over 30, you know how to cut back where you need to. I cook pretty well, but this was a big, daunting undertaking. I was really glad for the help. I would have made more of her recipes, but Dr. Boy begged me to stop cooking and eat already. I made 1/2 portions (mostly):

NOLA Sweet Potato Casserole (really good, read the comments, cut the sugar)
The Old Boss's Sweet Potato/Yukon Potato Gratin (bland, fatty, skippable)
Garlic Mashed Potatoes (used the technique not the recipe, and it made a difference)
Oyster & Pecan Stuffing (great the day of, not worth reheating)
Green Bean Casserole
2 cherry pies, 2 pumpkin pies, an apple pie, and Aunt Virginia Beach's amazing pecan pie (Which didn't work this time. Not to worry,... I made 2 more cherry pies)

I brined the turkey (Alton Brown is right) in a giant bag. For future reference, the giant piece of meat was of no interest to my cat. But the giant ziploc baggie was impossible to resist. Grumpy got a very stern talking to, and then refused to come in the kitchen again. But, he stayed close by.

Outside yer keetchen, watchin' what U did to dat bird. Blackmalein U laters.

Then we were off to the AMNH for

That's a dinosaur-holding-a-wreath topiary

Inflation Eve

The balloons are 4-5 stories high laying down.
Notice the grown woman on a man's shoulder's in the middle of the photo

with a couple (hundred?) thousand of our closest friends. It took an hour and a half to walk around one city block, and we were never allowed to stop, but it was still cool and definitely improved the parade on TV the next day. Then, a stop at Crumbs, and home to bed.

Thursday, I put the turkey in to roast, and got crack-a-lacking on the cooking.