A8
Thanksgiving
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
DAY OF THANKS
By Robin Roberts
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he seasons in our house were
always marked by the center-
piece of our dining room table.
We ate at that table only at Sunday
dinner and a few special breakfasts
— Easter, Christmas. The dining
room itself was sacred. It was one of
those special adult rooms where my
brother and I were not permitted to
play or even enter except for those
special meals. At Thanksgiving my
mother set the centerpiece with a
small pumpkin pulled by four porce-
lain turkeys with reins of dark ribbon.
The piece was dominated by harvest
colors, orange and brown. Sprigs of
corn husk, cobs of maize. Porcelain
pilgrims paraded alongside, with In-
dians fore and aft.
Tantalizing aromas fi lled the
house. The turkey had been stuffed
the night before with stuffi ng that had
been marinating for the entire day.
Shelves in one of the refrigerators had
been cleared and removed to make
room for “the bird” as my father re-
ferred to it. By mid-afternoon our
nostrils quivered at the pungent scent
of roasting turkey. Potatoes boiled in
a giant pot and next to them rutabagas
and peas. A small roaster fi lled with
the dressing that didn’t fi t inside the
turkey shared the other oven with
Yorkshire pudding. Earlier in the
day pies had been baked and they
sat cooling on the wide, tile counter.
Pumpkin, strawberry-rhubarb and
apple all added their sticky-sweet es-
sence to the already mouth-watering
bouquet of the kitchen.
As I watched my mother mov-
ing pans and dishes and saw the
turkey golden and glistening with
beads of sweet sweat removed and
placed on the carving platter, sins of
gluttony fi lled my thoughts. It was
my father’s duty, and right, to carve
the turkey, and he now entered the
kitchen, normally solely my moth-
er’s domain, and began with roy-
al fl ourishes. While he carved, my
mother spiced and fl avored the juice
in the bottom of the roasting pan
now simmering on the stove and
at our dining room table. In many
ways my parents were old-fashioned,
demanding proper manners and re-
spect. My brother and I deferred po-
litely to them when we disagreed,
said excuse me if they were already
talking and we wished to interject our
thoughts and waited to be excused be-
fore leaving the table. But there was
much love in our family also, and
much laughter. My mother insisted
mealtime was a time for sharing your
day, your adventures and foibles.
A time of knitting together each of
our lives. A time of seeing our place
in the family, in the town and in the
world.
Robin Roberts is a writer who
lives in Canyon City.
becoming thick, tantalizing gravy.
My brother and I were called into
service to transport the feast into the
dining room. As she handed us each
delectable dish, my mother would
direct us where to place it. The tur-
key would go in last, carried by my
father and set down in front of him
where he could serve us. He always
served my mother fi rst as was her due
as cook and matron. Then he would
serve my brother, who was older, and
then me. Finally, with solemn dignity,
he served himself, seemingly oblivi-
ous to his sons’ chaffi ng and drooling.
And yet we still would have to wait
until after we gave thanks for the
bounty that lay before us.
I learned much of life and manners
For your Thanksgiving feast
mixture in, covering with tin
foil.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 min-
utes and serve immediately.
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Thanksgiving
Dressing
This dish is quick to do a
disappearing act on Thanks-
giving Day, so be sure to have
plenty on hand to serve to the
guests!
Ingredients:
2 loaves French bread, cut
into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. butter to grease pans
1 onion, chopped
5 stalks celery, sliced in
1/4-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. butter, to sauté
veggies
2 tsp. celery salt
Eagle file photo
Thanksgiving Dressing
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. dried sage
2 eggs, beaten
2 C. chicken broth
1/4 C. butter, melted
Call the John Day Golf Course Clubhouse
at 541-575-0170 and ask for Jessy or Ronda
1 lb. ground sausage,
browned (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 de-
grees. Butter two cookie
sheets and set aside. Cut bread
into small pieces, and place in
a single layer on the baking
sheets. Stir occasionally as it
bakes until dried out — about
30 minutes. Allow the bread
crumbs to cool and add to an
extra-large bowl.
While the bread is in the
oven, melt 1/4 C. butter in a
skillet and sauté onions and
celery about 10 minutes. Stir
often. If you’d like to add
it, brown the sausage at this
point.
Add all ingredients to the
bowl and stir until all ingredi-
ents are combined.
Grease a 9x13 pan with
cooking spray and pour the
Southern
Candied
Sweet
Potatoes
This recipe is easy and de-
licious — a nice addition to
the holiday meal.
Ingredients:
4 large sweet potatoes,
peeled and cut into 1/2-inch
slices
1/2 C. butter, one stick
2 C. white sugar
1/4 C. heavy whipping
cream
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Pinch of clove
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Salt to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 de-
grees. Peel the sweet potatoes
and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
Place in rows in a 9x13-inch
casserole dish. In a medium
saucepan over medium heat,
melt butter. Stir in sugar, mix-
ing well, then add whipping
cream and incorporate. Stir in
02991
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Golden Grahams S’mores
cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and
vanilla. Pour mixture over
the yams and cover with foil.
Bake 40 minutes, remove foil
and bake for 25 minutes more.
Plate up, drizzling sauce over
the sweet potatoes.
Golden
Grahams
S’mores
This is a heavenly snack
recipe is from the kitchen of
Hailey Delaney of Canyon
City. This is a good one to
share with your Thanksgiving
guests. For an autumn twist,
add a bag of candy corn.
2 1/2 boxes (12 oz.) Gold-
en Grahams cereal
6 C. miniature marshmal-
lows (10 oz. bag), divided
1 package (12 oz.) choco-
late chips, divided
1/4 C. light corn syrup, op-
tional
5 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Grease a 9x13 pan.
In a large pot over low
heat, melt 5 C. marsh-
mallows (save 1 cup for
later), 1 C. chocolate
chips, butter and corn syr-
up, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Stir in
vanilla. Stir in Golden Gra-
hams cereal until evenly
coated. Stir in remaining 1
C. marshmallows and re-
maining chocolate chips —
add candy corn, if desired.
Press mixture into pan with
buttered hands. Let cool.
Serve with a spoon, or press
and cut into squares.
Tip: Use parchment pa-
per in the 9x13 pan to make
clean up a snap.
Canyon City
Community
Hall
Saturday,
Nov. 26
9 AM - 4 PM
{
{
There will be lots of handcrafted
items, Avon, furniture, fish,
plants, vases, marshmallow guns
and much more!
04845
Wood Stove Bricks
or Pellets
to keep you and your
family cozy this winter
652 W. Main St., John Day • 541-575-0549
Outdo
Buy by the Bundle,
or pallet
SANTA
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F r o m t h e l a t e s t l a p t o p s , t a b l e t s
a n d s m a r t p h o n e s t o w i r e l e s s
s p e a k e r s a n d a c c e s s o r i e s , w e
h a v e a l l t h e g i f t s t h e y ’ r e
w i s h i n g f o r t h i s C h r i s t m a s .
Baker City
2830 10th St.
541-524-0122
Every other Monday
in John Day
170 Ford Rd.
541-575-1311
Strawberry Mountain
Premium Wood Pellets
Local Distributors
JD Rents
727 W. Main
John Day
541-575-1156
Pioneer Feed
831 W Hwy 26
John Day
541-575-0023
Manufactured
by Malheur
Lumber
Company
DP Home Entertainment
139 E Main St. • John Day • 541-575-1637