Aaahhhhh. Thanksgiving pies. We have mince, pumpkin, cranberry-walnut and apple. There’s nothing quite like the old-fashioned goodness of a home made pie.

For those of you that asked, here is my pie crust recipe. It comes from The Joy of Cooking: All About Pies & Tarts and it’s never let me down.

Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix in a large bowl:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
Add:
1 cup solid vegetable shortening
Break the shortening into large chunks then add it to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, cut the fat into the dry ingredients. When you are through, some of the fat should remain in pea-sized pieces; the rest should be reduced to the consistency of coarse crumbs. The mixture should seem dry and powdery and not pasty or greasy.
Drizzle over the flour and fat mixture:
1/3 cup plus 1 T ice water
Using rubber spatula, cut with the blade side until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Press down on the dough with the side of the spatula. If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top an additional 1 to 2 T of ice water.
Cut in the water, again using the blade of the spatula, then press with your hands until the dough coheres. The dough should look rough, not smooth. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a thick, flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. The dough can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 6 months.

Simple, right? It’s a slightly different version than the pie crust my mom used to make. There’s a bit more flour and she didn’t put in the sugar and she didn’t chill hers before rolling it. But I’ve had great luck with this recipe and would highly recommend it. Besides, if it doesn’t turn out right, all you’ve lost is some flour and Crisco. Relax and start over.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

I’m thankful that you keep coming back to read what I’ve written.

I’m thankful for your comments and advice and jokes.

I’m thankful for the inspiration of bloggers and knitters and spinners everywhere.

Enjoy yourself this Thanksgiving, whatever you do and wherever you go.

You know how there’s all those pre-game football shows? The ones where they tell you who’s going to play and who’s going to win? Well, last night we had the pre-Thanksgiving show. See, we’re sort of mostly going in different directions on Thanksgiving, so we got together last night at my brother-in-law’s house for Chinese food. Plus, our two nieces and their kids are in town, one from Martha’s Vineyard and one from Washington (state) so we had an excuse to gather up the gang.

The kids had a ball! They were running and yelling and playing. At one point they created a marching band but they didn’t make it through their first rehearsal before things fell apart. And the grown ups had an okay time, too. We talked and ate and laughed and reminisced. I, of course, knit. Wanna see the pictures? Okay, I’ll show you anyway!

This is what Chinese take-out looks like for 20 people. Yumm. You name it, we had it. And it was consumed, all of it, by the end of the night.

This is our niece, Becky, and her sons Ian and James. Becky is Dale’s older brother Glen’s daughter and she comes to visit about once a year. And James? He’s the baby and he’s the cutest thing and I taught him to clap last night. Oh yeah, Auntie Carole taught the baby to clap. Woo and also Hoo.

This is our niece and Becky’s sister, Beth with her daughter Delaney. Beth lives on Martha’s Vineyard and was the inspiration for my extreme knitting entry. You may recall Hannah’s visit there last summer. Last night we made plans for Hannah to visit again over Christmas break. Again I say, Woo and also Hoo.

And this! This is Dale’s father, Jack and his namesake and great-grandson, Jack, who is Beth’s son. Notice how their eyes are the same shade of blue? Pretty cool. Perhaps that also deserves a Woo and also Hoo.

I would say that our family’s pre-game show was a success!