Egg-in-a-hole

Here it comes . . . turkey lurkey day!

I am gearing up for Thanksgiving. I am hosting for the first time . . . EVER! As much as I love to cook, I am deathly afraid of putting on a big holiday meal for others. I think it's as much to do with cleaning my house as it is making a meal to please. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to stuff like this that I'm also so afraid of the timing. How the heck am I supposed to have everything warm and ready at the same time? Here's my menu, so far (recipes to come later):

Gyros at home

One of my favorite things to eat at festivals is a gyro. I love that yummy spicy meat, in a nice warm pita wrap, with the cool tzatziki slathered throughout. At the beginning of October every year, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral near our house puts on the awesome Atlanta Greek Festival. It's usually a 4-day extravaganza. One of my favorite parts is their drive-thru. As soon as the festival opens (on a Thursday), I swing through on the way home and pick up gyros and spanakopita. Once the weekend end hits, we all climb aboard the big tour bus that takes you from the parking lot and head to the festival. In addition to more gyros, we always get these greek potatos which are sort of like steak cut fries with awesome spices and more yummy sauce. (They're also smart enough to have some good ol' fashioned pizza and hot dogs for the pickier of kids, like mine.)

Another Birthday Cake

Big George's Rockin' Spaghetti Sauce (The Best Veggie Sauce Ever!!)

When I try something yummy, I'm not afraid to beg and plead to get the recipe. And when people ask me for a recipe, I always willingly pass along my secrets. (Duh, I have a blog.) Well, a long time ago, up in Highlands, North Carolina, I began begging for the recipe for the yummiest spaghetti sauce I have ever had.

Making concessions for others

Have you ever changed a recipe for the sake of another person only to find you regret it. When I was in college, I was new at making meals for others, and being the people pleaser that I am, I always tried to make everyone happy. I offered to make spaghetti one night for a small crowd (4 or 5 people), but one person was a vegetarian. Well, back then, the only way I knew to make spaghetti was using the spaghetti sauce spice packet. Brown the meat, add the spice packet, some water, and a can of tomato paste.

The BEST 1st Day of School Cookies

Sausage Tomato Spinach Pasta

Once again, the dinner doldrums hit. That's why I love my google reader. I subscribe to a slew of food blogs and every so often one of them hits me with something that sounds yummy. This one came from epicurious. I always pay attention to the reviews listed as "most helpful" there because people often add good tips. 

Chocolate Eclairs

Tacos don't have to be awful

(note: my photographer, Frances, disappeared to take pictures of her American Girls in the middle of this project, so I had to take my own photos on my iPhone. You be the judge as to which ones were with a real camera.)