Another Thanksgiving come and gone? And Advent upon us this Sunday? How time is flying ...
I hope you all had a lovely day yesterday! We had a very nice holiday with our family - we hosted* an afternoon dinner here at our home. The day was clear and cold, just right for a New England Thanksgiving. The Patriots played (and won!) so we had a TV set up down in the playroom for those who didn't want to miss the big game. We moved the Wii into the older boys' bedroom (much to their dismay, lol). Food was served buffet-style from the kitchen island, and dinner seating was set up in the living room, dining room and family room. It all worked out very nicely. :)
Our Thanksgiving menu this year included ...
~Appetizers~
Baked artichoke dip with French bread
A variety of cheeses, red grapes, fig jam and crackers
Mango salsa with tortilla chips
***
~Beverages~
Red and white wine (including apple and pear wine from a local orchard)
Beer, cider and soda
***
~Dinner~
Roast turkey (a free range bird from a local farm)
Herbed Sausage stuffing
Gravy
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping
Roasted autumn vegetables
Cranberry-apple relish
(as well as good ole canned cranberry sauce!)
Maple carrots
Baked macaroni and cheese
Crusty sourdough rolls
***
~Dessert~
Apple pies (traditional and crumb)
Pumpkin pie
Lemon meringue pie
Spice cake served with whipped cream (for my mum's birthday)
Pecan bars
Triple layer brownies
Gingersnap cookies
Freshly brewed coffee (we like Jim's Organic these days)
*Note: I would never have been able to pull off even a TENTH of this day were it not for my mum. She planned with me, shopped with me, cleaned with me and cooked with me! Working together made it all so doable - not to mention all the more fun. :)
Here are a few pics I took before the day really got underway ...
Seating for eight in the dining room ...
The kids' table in the family room ...
Seating for five in the living room ...
The desserts in their "holding" zone; beverages keeping cold on the deck ...
Some of the appetizers (and the turkey behind in the bottom oven!) ...
As you can probably guess, there were lots of leftovers! Today was spent putting chairs and china away and running the dishwasher a time or two. Bill worked a half day and now we're winding down, glad to have a (relatively) quiet weekend before us.
I hope you all had a nice week, wherever you live and however you celebrate. Thanks for stopping by today ~ hope to see you again soon. :)
