Plans For Thanksgiving

No news to report around here, so I'll bore you with our Thanksgiving plans. The Pony will be coming out to join us for the holiday meal. He's fortunate to have two days off in a row, since his usual day off is Wednesday. As The Pony says, the Friday after Thanksgiving will be Not-Heaven. But he will be fresh from two days off, and a hearty meal, plus leftovers to take home for a quick supper on Friday.

Hick once again has requested ham for Thanksgiving. I prefer turkey, but The Pony doesn't care. So ham it is. Also, I like a "fresh ham," as my mom called it. Not a smoked ham. And I like the bone-in version. But Hick doesn't want the bone. He says you're paying for the bone. I think he's not so much a cheapskate as he doesn't like carving around the bone, even with a spiral ham.

Anyhoo... I got two kinds of ham. They're portions lopped off a regular bone-in ham, not one of those "cheap" hams like stores give away for certain promotions. The kind that's an oval of smoked pressed meat. Not appetizing to me. I got a smoked version, and also a honey-baked version. I'm pretty sure Hick and The Pony will snatch up the honey-baked version first, despite Hick's alleged preferences.

Hick and The Pony said I could prepare fewer dishes, to make it easier on me. About the only thing I'm leaving out are green bean bundles (very time-intensive), and hash brown casserole (not even that hard to prepare). Our tentative menu is:

Ham

Stuffing (Stove-Top brand, as preferred by The Pony)

7 Layer Salad (because I want it, even though it takes time to make)

Vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions) roasted with bacon on top

Sister Schubert's Rolls

Cheese variety for sandwiches

Store-bought desserts

I am vacillating on making deviled eggs. The Pony and Hick love them. I will be boiling eggs anyway for the 7 Layer Salad. The Pony will be picked up by Hick on Thursday morning, to come out and help me with last-minute preparations. So with him fetching me the ingredients, it won't be too much of a hardship to make the deviled eggs. I can sit and peel eggs and stir up the filling. I have not yet floated this plan to The Pony, but I'm sure it's worth the fetching effort to feast on deviled eggs, and have some to take home.

Most of my prep can be done on Wednesday. I'll make sure Hick slices the ham portions, so they only have to be warmed in the oven while the rolls bake on Thursday. The vegetables will be baked on Wednesday morning, so they will only need warming, and the bacon can be used to top the 7 Layer Salad. The salad will be constructed on Wednesday evening. So there should be a couple hours on Thursday for The Pony and me to make the deviled eggs. I'd like to bake The Pony an Oreo cake, but that will be for Christmas, when Genius is here. The older I get, the less I feel like standing and cooking and cleaning up.