The Walsh Cookbook

I know what you may be thinking; I know I have heard of rutabagas, but I wouldn't recognize one if it danced naked in front of me. Up until a couple of years ago, I felt the exact same way. But now that I am older and wiser, I have learned that a rutabaga is a really ugly root vegetable that makes a delicious mashed side dish for Thanksgiving. I would have never learned this important information about rutabagas and probably would have never tried one if it weren't for the Kestles. In Canada, Mashed Rutabaga Gratin is a common Thanksgiving side dish so Lynn would bring a dish to our Thanksgiving dinner. I always avoided the dish because a rutabaga sounds like a scary vegetable that a kid probably shouldn't eat. Then a couple of years ago, I finally decided to try this mysterious dish and I realized what I have been missing out on. Yum! I did a bit of light research about what exactly a rutabaga is and found it is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage. This would ex...

  This will be the first year I won't be spending Thanksgiving at home in Utah and I am a little bummed. I will miss being woken up early in the morning by Molly jumping on my bed and sitting on my chest, I will miss snacking on Sugared Cranberries while my mom and Lynn repeatedly tell everyone to get out of the kitchen, I will miss my mom sneakily calling me into the kitchen to taste the crispy, salty turkey skin without my dad knowing because if he knew he would tell us how much cholesterol and sodium we are consuming. Most of all I will miss sitting down around the gigantic makeshift table(s) with the Kestle family, enjoying the fantastic food and being together with my whole family.  And of course I will miss the point where Erin feeds Molly from her fork while Molly sits at the table!  But then I remember how lucky I am to have my Portland family and how blessed I am to have such wonderful people to celebrate with. This year, I am especially lucky becaus...