Thanksgiving on the River

We know it's almost Christmas, but we forgot (actually kept postponing!) to publish the post from Thanksgiving Day. We decided that we wanted to do Thanksgiving on the Tickfaw and invited everyone out for dinner later in the day. Having a dinner later in the day avoids some of the conflicts with other invitations and work schedules for some, and gives everyone a little time to more fully work off an earlier meal. We were surprised that all of the kids, except for Larry's son Nathan who was in Tennessee with his in-laws, said they were coming. With that response we cooked up a storm over three days. We feasted on bacon-oyster cheese dip, corn-cheese and green bean casseroles, spiced cranberry-kumquat relish (yeah, the one I sent to Chef John Folse's contest last year that just happened to appear, minimally altered, on one of his shows this year), au gratin potatoes, and orange-garlic glazed ham. We felt the ham would be a change of pace for everyone. Jane did desserts with royal rum pecan and pumpkin pies. To take the chill off and get everyone in a festive mood, Larry made his hot buttered rum topped with whipped cream and nutmeg. The whipped cream may not have been a very good idea though, because grandson Brennan kept squirting the can in his mouth! We think he will outgrow stuff like that, but who knows....

After we had dinner we all headed outside, turned on the Christmas lights and got a bonfire started. The fire was a real joy thanks to Brennan who helped Larry gather some of the firewood a couple of days earlier. Larry had changed the oil in both boat engines a few days earlier and the 10 gallons of oil that was poured on the firewood really got it going. Jane's son-in-law, Jamie, had not had seen the boat, so Larry showed him around while the kids played on the boat and near the fire. xEveryone seemed to have a pretty good time and left as the fire was dying down. Jamie, and maybe Milana, indicated they wanted the recipe for the dip, so here it is. Keep watching WAFB's Stirrin' It Up and you might see it in a slightly altered form sometime!

Larry’s Bacon and Oyster Dip

1 cup sour cream

1 bottle (3 oz.) real bacon bits, or ¼ lb. sliced bacon crisply cooked and crumbled

½ lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1½ tbs. prepared horseradish

4-5 green onions, chopped

1 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 can (8 oz.) oysters, drained and coarsely chopped

Combine the all ingredients, reserving 2 green onions, in a baking dish and mix well. Sprinkle with remaining chopped green onions over the mixture, cover with foil, and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until thoroughly warmed but not bubbling. Serve with vegetables, bread rounds, crackers, or chips. May also be served in a hollowed sourdough loaf, wrapped in foil and baked at 350° for 30 minutes. Serves 10-12.