River House Diary

 My sister-in-law works in the produce department of our local grocery store. A few days after Thanksgiving, she texted me and asked if we wanted a large, fresh turkey that would have to be frozen immediately if we wanted to use it for Christmas dinner. Of course, we did! And it was large -- 22 pounds! Wrestling with that turkey required my husband's help on Christmas Day. Our menu: Pineapple-Cottage Cheese Salad (one of Mom's classics) Chef Jean Pierre's Roasted Turkey  (be sure to watch the how-to video ) Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon and Honey Onion and Dill New Potatoes Walnut Vegetable Medley Grapevine, Kentucky Buttermilk Biscuits Fresh Apple Cake We had a wonderful meal with plenty of leftovers to send home with my brother and sister-in-law. (They are part of our COVID isolation pod.) The only problem with this menu was many of the side dishes that were cooked on the stovetop required attention at the same time. This is when sisters-in-law come in very handy!

 It was a very quiet Thanksgiving. Normally, my youngest brother and his wife come up from northern Alabama as she likes to spend Christmas with her mother. However, the surge in COVID cases kept them at home. And my sister-in-law, who lives locally, had to work all day. So it was just Pete and I. We tried a Jennie O Oven Ready Boneless Turkey Breast , which came out great. The rest of our meal consisted of tried and true favorites. Pineapple-Cottage Cheese Salad (one of Mom's classics) Seasoned Green Beans Sour Cream Potatoes with Cheese Grapevine Kentucky Buttermilk Biscuits

Our first Easter in River House was just plain weird as we are under the North Carolina governor's order to shelter in place. But Easter is one of the holidays I associate with cooking a special meal for family and so I did. The kitchen worked well. Both ovens were in use, so was the stovetop and microwave! I am far from a gourmet cook, so nothing was difficult to make and included many family favorites: Honey Baked Ham served at room temperature Baked Curried Fruit * (this fruit compote is best served on the dinner plate on or beside the ham) Sour Cream Potatoes with Cheese French's Green Bean Casserole Honey Glaze Carrots Mom's Cherry Crumble Squares   I baked the curried fruit and dessert on Friday as the fruit is one of those dishes that tastes better reheated. And made the potatoes and beans on Saturday. The carrots were made on the stovetop before dinner.