Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Family, friends, football, and FOOD. What's not to like about that? It's a day we pause to give thanks for all we are blessed with. I think if we spent more days being thankful the world would be a gentler place. Even in bad times there is always something to be thankful for.

We are expecting 18 today. It bothers me when people are alone on the holidays so we have a hodge-podge mix of family and friends arriving for our early evening meal. It makes for a lively time.

It feels like I've been planning, prepping, baking, and cooking for days! Thanksgiving dinner is one of those occasions where you try to include everyone's favorite food, even if it's not the cook's favorite. My Hubbers will get his canned cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. Mom will bring her cornbread dressing, which is what I always look forward to.  There will be a bowl of olives for the kids, some of which inevitably end up on the end of fingers! The menu doesn't change much from year-to-year, people expect the traditional items. We all look forward to the meal, then complain afterwards about how full we are!  Our menu:

Roast turkey (dry-brined)
Dressing (cornbread and sourdough)
Sweet potato soufflé
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Orange-glazed carrots
Cranberry sauce (homemade & canned)
Strawberry pretzel jello salad
Yeast rolls (homemade)

My family prefers pies so I've tried to make everyone's favorites such as pumpkin pie, Dutch apple pie and chocolate cream. The dessert station is ready for all the sugary goodness!

I went with a natural look on my tables this year; fresh fruits, pumpkins, squash, a few candles. I didn't have enough transferware plates for the crowd so splurged and bought some Spode Woodland turkey plates.  They blend in well with my existing dishes.

Thank you for visiting my little blog. Your comments always brighten my day!