11/27/10 Giving Thanks

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday (those that celebrate Thanksgiving)! We had a great week with DS1 home. He's back at school now (at the football game today). It's snowing big flakes here...just a dusting, but so pretty.

We did the usual things;
- Picked out a Christmas tree with the kids (a week earlier than normal since DS1 had to go back early). This one's a beauty...a Frazier Fir, almost 11'...it's up in the foyer and the lights go on today.

- Watched lots of movies together. Went to see 'Harry Potter' (very good).

- Spent lots of time cooking...yes, me...just because I don't like to cook, doesn't mean I can't (although I always have my 'epic fails', usually due to creativity, and this year was no exception). I'm most thankful for having the family all together, so I went all out cooking this year. Here's my Thanksgiving food porn...

----- We make heavy appetizers and treats for lunch so we'll be hungry for dinner (no appetizer's before); Shrimp, Texas Caviar (Bean, Corn Dip- I added chick peas this year, yum), hot Dried Beef Spread, Pumpkin Roll, and Apple Coffee Cake (all homemade).

----- Here's my Thanksgiving spread (there's the acorn trees I made to the right, I blogged about another past Thanksgiving).

----- This year's 'Martha Moment'...I made my own centerpiece this year from the gourds that DS2 grew (stuck them with some bamboo skewers) and some mums I had on the front porch (just put the oasis in a foam pumpkin).

----- This year's menu: Turkey (used a new butter basting recipe, yum), Sage Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy (new recipe with white wine and chicken stock, yum), cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, variety of fancy olives, and rolls (the one thing that wasn't homemade this year). I made spiced mulled cider...new recipe with floating oranges, or I used the little tangerines and youstick the cloves in them all over (OMG, if you want your house to smell great, you put 10 of these into the oven to bake before you float them in the cider). And I served the one bottle of wine we brought back from Paris...it just seemed like the right time to have it...from the place where I had my LB 'moment' and now my first holidays after goal...I have a lot to be thankful for!

For dessert; pumpkin pie with whipped cream (DS2 loves the canned stuff LOL), candied jack-be-little pumpkins stuffed with vanilla ice cream and carmel sauce. New recipe...and my epic fail. I went all the way to an orchard to find the little pumpkins. I wasn't watching them closely enough while they were in the simple sugar bath cooking for a long time and they went from not done to burnt on the bottoms in a minute. They actually were pretty yummy though with the ice cream as long as you didn't eat the bottom LOL...and they looked beautiful...almost translucent with a shiny glaze.

We're spending a lazy day in front of the TV and eating leftovers (DH is making lentil soup with some leftover ham we had) after wearing ourselves out at the Black Friday sales yesterday. Off to watch the big OSU football game on TV (my youngest sis/husband are going this year...brrr...I think I like my seats better today LOL) and I need to make the fire in the fireplace (nothing like a wood fire)...stay warm all!