Turkey Talk (2/3)
Catherine smiled at DJ, proud of his cooking skills. "Ohh, you know how much I love biscuits. Let's try them."
As DJ mixed the ingredients, he shared how the idea came from how much they liked cream cheese on bagel bites.
"I was telling Kaitlyn about all the flavors of cream cheese they have at Costco," DJ said as Catherine helped him roll out the dough with a rolling pin. "And she said that she uses it a lot when she bakes and she helped me find this recipe."
"Kaitlyn is a very, very good baker," Angie said as she held a round biscuit cutter in her hand.
"She certainly is," Steve agreed. "I'm sure she'll be excited to taste these if they make the cut."
Twenty minutes later, the smell of freshly baked biscuits filled the air, and it was time for a taste test.
"Let's taste them while they're warm," Catherine said.
Everyone grabbed a piece of biscuit.
Steve's eyes widened as he took a bite. "These are amazing, buddy."
"So soft and fluffy." Catherine nodded in agreement, savoring the biscuit. "DJ, you've officially become the family biscuit master. "
DJ grinned at the praise. "We made them with love, so they're extra good."
Angie nodded, swallowing a bite. "They're very very good. I vote we make these on Thanksgiving."
"Thanks, Angie," he beamed. "But we should taste the rest of the stuff, too before we pick."
"Okay," she returned the smile and looked up at Steve, holding up a bag of sweet potatoes. "Can sweet potato hash be next?"
Catherine wrinkled her nose ever so slightly. "Let's try it."
"Remember when me and Daddy had corn and beef hash when we went to the restaurant by Joanie's house with the goat on the sign?" Angie said, eyes sparkling.
"Corned beef hash," Steve corrected gently. "And how could we forget Girl & a Goat? It was one of the highlights of the whole trip."
"Can we go there again next time we go to visit Joanie and Aunt Mary and Uncle Aaron?" Angie asked hopefully.
"Of course we can," Catherine promised. "But for now. Let's see what sweet potato hash is all about."
Steve chuckled at his wife's expression and gave Angie a wink. "Hey, we're up for anything, right, Angie?"
She nodded eagerly. "Yes!"
DJ shared a chuckle with his mother and grabbed the cutting board. "Okay, the recipe says first we have to get the sweet potatoes peeled."
As they diced and sliced, Catherine whispered to Steve, "I have a feeling this might be an acquired taste."
He laughed and bent to kiss her temple. "Hey, it might just be the next trend."
With the hash placed in the oven to bake, they moved on to the next dish on Angie's list: pickled beet salad.
"Where did you come up with the idea to make this?" Catherine asked Angie as she assembled all the ingredients on the island.
"Last time I was at Ashae's house her mommy made some for dinner," the little girl said. "No one in her family liked it but I thought it was very yummy."
"Of course you did," Catherine smiled then grimaced slightly when she looked at the array in front of her. "Pickled beets and cucumber salad with horseradish yogurt dressing."
DJ looked a little skeptical. "I don't know if beets are one of my favorites. And I don't think I've ever tasted one pickled."
Angie tilted her head. "But they're pretty and colorful. Ms. Lane says colorful things are good because they can help cheer us up if we're feeling sad."
"This recipe is making me feel sad," Catherine whispered in Steve's ear.
DJ smiled and picked up a beet. He took a small bite and his eyes widened in surprise.
Catherine looked at him with an amused grin. "Well, sweetheart, are you a beet convert?"
DJ nodded, his mouth still full. "These are actually pretty good. Like pickles but sweeter."
Steve chuckled. "That's the spirit."
"And they make your tongue red after you eat them," Angie added joyfully.
Angie helped Catherine chop the pickled beets and cucumbers while DJ and Steve mixed the yogurt and horseradish dressing.
Once the salad was assembled and chilling in the refrigerator, it was time for brussels sprouts, also Angie's suggestion. She eagerly helped prepare them for roasting with balsamic glaze.
"Nonna says that balsamic vinegar gives things a special taste because it's made from grapes," DJ reported. "And sometimes in Italy people age it for years and years because that makes it taste better."
"Nonna knows all about those things," Catherine said as she popped the sprouts into the oven and pulled out the hash. "I can't wait to see how these taste."
Next they moved on to DJ's next choice of scalloped corn, and the family couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity.
Catherine smiled. "I've never even heard of scalloped corn."
"It may be a new taste adventure," DJ said. "When I knew we were gonna try some new foods Grandma helped me go online and look for Thanksgiving recipes. This one sounded like it might be good because we all like corn."
"We'll never know unless we try," Angie said, repeating one of her grandparents' favorite phrases.
"You're very, very right," Catherine said with a smile as she watched DJ spread some crushed crackers over the top of the baking pan. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"This is ready to go in the oven," DJ said.
Catherine opened the door and he carefully slid it into the already hot oven.
Steve smirked and winked at Angie. "The rest of the food will be ready soon, so let's start the last of DJ's dishes."
The little girl clapped her hands. "Pumpkin Moose!" she cried, putting her hands up by her head as if they were antlers.
"Not that kind of moose," Catherine corrected with a grin as she chuckled and grabbed a bag of marshmallows. "M-O-U-S-S-E."
"Cause if it was M-O-U-S-E it would be mouse!" DJ said, giggling.
"Pumpkin mouse!"
"I've eaten much worse," Steve said.
"Me too," Angie tossed out nonchalantly causing both of her parents to laugh out loud.
The kids talked excitedly about all the things they wanted to do with the LA crew over Thanksgiving as they mixed together butter, marshmallows, milk, and canned pumpkin over the stove.
"This is gonna be very, very good," Angie predicted.
The timer on the oven beeped and Steve said, "Once we get these in the fridge to chill, I think everything else is ready to taste."
Angie and DJ cheered in unison. "YAY! Let's do it!"
#
TBC Friday
