So here it is, only a few days from Thanksgiving! The next couple of days are going to be ultra busy, at least I did my last-minute shopping for the Thanksgiving Feast today so I won’t have to join the panic crowds on Wednesday. Besides, I’m trying to do a bunch of ‘make ahead’ things so all I have to worry about on Thursday besides roasting the turkey and making the gravy is enjoying our company and relaxing! Tomorrow I drop our dog off at the groomers (boy does he need a bath and a shave! The neighbor’s dog keeps coming over and jumping all over him, so he is looking like a mangy mutt these days – even though we’ve been giving him a bath every weekend and I’ve been studiously brushing him out…he doesn’t shed, so his hair just keeps growing until it gets cut!)

I also have some wine to rack so I can move the carboys from the dining room into the basement (boy I need an actual ‘wine room’ so I don’t have to divide the equipment and miscellaneous stuff between the basement and the attic!) then I can finish getting the dining room ready for company (sans the smell of a brewery with my fermenting wine! LOL!) Wednesday is going to be a huge cooking day for me – I’m planning on making an apple-cranberry pie, a pumpkin pie and getting my ‘day ahead mashed potatoes’ and ‘day ahead stuffing’ all ready for the big day. My darling daughter is off school that day, so she insists she’ll be ‘helping’ me as I get things all ready for Thursday. She’s very excited for Thanksgiving, she keeps saying she wishes it was Thanksgiving already so she can say “Happy Thanksgiving!” LOL!

For anyone interested, the mashed potato recipe I’ve been using the past few years is a wonderful ‘time saver’ and everyone raves about how yummy they are. The recipe is as follows:

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:

5 pounds potatoes, cubed (I like to use red-skinned potatoes)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup milk (or half-n-half)
Garlic powder to taste (or onion salt if you prefer)
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place potatoes in a large pot of lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and mash.

2. In a large bowl, mix mashed potatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, garlic powder (or onion salt), and pepper.

3. Transfer to large bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. (I usually transfer it to my crock-pot’s removable insert to store in the fridge – then I just have to set it in the crock-pot base the next morning!)

4. Place in crock-pot and turn on warm/low for about 4 hours – stirring occasionally to check consistency, add butter or milk as needed. Do not completely cover the crockpot with its lid as too much moisture can be trapped and make the mashed potatoes a bit runny.

Alternate method:

3. Transfer to a large casserole dish, store in fridge overnight.
4. Remove from fridge about 1/2 hour before you want to bake it.
5. Cover, and bake for 50 minutes in preheated oven.