Chestnut Pie

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Hope you had wonderful days with your families, and ate yourselves stuffed!

We had an interesting day. It was my first time hosting, and I was excited to do that. Until I woke up that morning only to discover That Kid had found my lipgloss in the middle of the night and decided to finger paint while That Dad and I (sort of) slept. Wednesday night/Thursday morning was not good sleep time. We were up coughing half the night. I seriously have no idea how That Kid found time to fingerpaint on my dresser (and ruin a shirt That Grandma gave him)! I'm just thankful that he didn't decide to go fingerpaint on Mama's new slipcovers in the living room. I would have been eating turkey from the county jail had that happened!

That Mother-in-Law arrived to help me with the turkey about 8:30, and we set the dining room table. After the turkey was done, she left to get herself ready, and came back around noon; bringing That Step-Father-In-Law with him (That Dad still can't remember that he has a STEP FATHER and keeps calling his Step Father "My Father-in-Law". When he tells people that his mother lives with his Father-in-Law I'm sure people think our family is a special sort of crazy. Every time he says Father-in-Law in reference to his Step Father I tell him, "Leave my Daddy out of it!" ;) ).

We finished getting appetizers set out for our first round, and That Dad's cousin brought his wife and their family. Had a nice time visiting with the "Thanksgiving Family" (because that's pretty much the only time we see them...unless there's a funeral or wedding, or we need our house refinanced; That Dad's cousin is a mortgage broker.), and after they left That Mother-in-Law and I got dinner ready and set out. Except for the green salad, which I totally forgot to make; and the fruit salad, which I did make but forgot to uncover. Next year I'm making a list. And when That Dad said the Thanksgiving prayer, he made sure to be thankful for the fact that That Kid fell asleep before dinner and we could eat in peace! :)

About 9PM, That Mother-in-Law and That Step-Father-in-Law took off, leaving us pie. Delicious pie with a butter crust That Step-Father-in-Law made from scratch. Pumpkin Chiffon, and Pecan (which is my most favorite pie!!! Especially with a butter crust that tastes just like butter cookies!). As we're enjoying our Pecan Pie, That Dad looks at me and says, "I wonder how this pie would taste with chestnuts instead of pecans? Use the same filling, but substitute chestnuts!" and I told him I wasn't sure, I'd never had a chestnut before. Then, That Dad made the best statement of all time. He said, "You haven't had any of the chestnuts yet?" And it hit me. The bowl of nuts that we have out on the table...the bowl of nuts that each evening, because I love him, I take a few nuts out and crack them for him, the PECANS his mother and step-father brought back from Georgia, are the CHESTNUTS of which he was speaking. Poor guy...he still won't know what chestnut pie tastes like. And he won't be able to roast the chestnuts on an open fire like he was planning on doing...because they're pecans. :)