It is hard to believe I am sitting here at the computer and Thanksgiving Day 2006 is nearing its end! It all went so fast! I just uploaded all my pictures from our day, and, naturally I felt compelled to post. :)
First off, we started the day, like many of you I'm sure, oh-so-bright and early. My mum came over around 6:30 (luckily she and my dad live but a mile away) and after a cup of coffee, we got the 23 lb. turkey (Godzilla Bird as the boys called it, LOL) into the oven. Then, while Bill supervised the boys' baths, I got the pies in the oven. Here is how my pumpkin pie looked just before baking. (I got the idea for the little leaves and acorns on the edges from Jennifer!)
Earlybird helped me with cutting the shapes out of the extra dough. (True confession - this was not homemade crust!) I used Wilton Mini Harvest cookie cutters.
Next I began the cranberry-pineapple relish. I loved the way all the ingredients looked in the pan - I called it my Ina moment. ;)
Here's a link to the recipe, which was very easy to make, and smelled soooo delicious, filling the kitchen with the mingled fragrance of cranberries, pineapple and clove. It smelled liked Christmas itself! Here is how it looked finished:
And here's a quick tour of our family tables (there were 21 of us in all):
We set up two tables in the dining room (one being the round table from the deck). At this table we have my grandmother, my Aunt Marcia, my cousin Kara, my Uncle Karl, my cousin Kate and her boyfriend, Kenny.
At this table we have my cousin Caitlin, my cousin Colin and his wife, Tina.
And here is the rest of our crowd in the living room! My Uncle George, Bill's Aunt Ann, my Mum and Dad, Bill's Mum and Dad, and my brother, Matthew. Bill and I sat in shifts, LOL, tending to the kids and the dinner in turn. And where are the boys you might wonder? Well, the original plan was to seat them around the kitchen island as it is open to both living and dining rooms, but we ended up using that space for the buffet. So instead they ate in the family room with TV trays! (But this room is also open to the rest of the space so they were in full view and earshot of the dining room group.) Dinner was delicious (thanks to my mum's brilliant cooking and supervision) and Bookworm did a very nice job saying grace.
Here is how the dessert buffet looked:
Above: apple pie, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies and coffee ...
And above, we have Indian Pudding, pecan and raspberry tartlets, peanut butter fudge, meringue cookies, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, penuche fudge (foreground), and assorted chocolates ...
AND ... (remember we were a big group!) ... homemade whipped cream, mince pie, triple layer brownies and vanilla ice cream! Gosh, it was it all so yummy! I only provided a few of these treats - my family brought all the rest!
I couldn't resist these Hammond All-Natural Candy Canes I found at Wild Oats. (It's hard to find candy that Earlybird can eat.) I loved the autumnal colors - and the natural flavors - orange, lemon and mint. The boys absolutely relished these treats as the grown-ups sat around and enjoyed coffee and pie.
I also can't resist posting this adorable picture of my cousin Caitlin and Sophie, one of two sweet little pups owned by Colin and Tina. I think this is a good way to end Thanksgiving Day - full and sleepy! (Sophie and her older sister Lily were so well behaved and a huge hit with the boys, as I'm sure you can imagine.)
So at long last, here I am at 8 p.m., the house has quieted down and we are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade recorded from this morning. (I hate to miss this time-honored tradition, and yet I knew we would not have a chance to sit down and watch it this morning.) Even in the rain, that parade looked like fun! We love all the musicals and the marching bands, not to mention all the fun balloons. Actually, we also love seeing all the Christmas commercials! (I try to avoid them till Thanksgiving night!) We saw the new Hess truck ad and I see Dunkin Donuts is making a Gingerbread Latte this year ... (Is Dunkin Donuts regional or nationwide? They serve a good cup of joe.)
Speaking of a good cup of joe, here is my parting shot - my end of the day coffee - sweetened with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and made a bit more interesting with a drop of Frangelico! ;)
This was such a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I am so grateful for my family and for another year all together. I am grateful, too, for each and every reader who stops by my blog. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts - this has been such a fun hobby for me these past eight months! I hope you and yours also had a wonderful day ...
And now ... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! :)
