I'm most of the way done, ready to grab lunch and a nap. Its 12:20 here, people arriving 430ish for 5:00 dinner. In the fridge are two cranberry sauces (regular and Jezebel), a sweet potato 'casserole' that will have to be baked, and green beans/mushrooms. Stuffing will be assembled right before serving. Broccoli will be steamed, plain, right before we sit down. DH has the bird on the smoker and he'll make 'smashed potatoes' later.

Two guests are bringing desserts, so I'm covered there.

BTW lpink, we love Silver Palate's Jeweled Wild Rice salad. I forgot about it, it would have been great for today. Next year!

Jeweled Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients
1 Cup Raw wild rice
5 1/2 C Water or low-salt chicken broth
1 C Pecan halves
1 C Golden raisins (plumped for 1/2 hour in hot water)
zest From 1 large orange
2 TB Finely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 each Green onions, thinly sliced white portion and 1/2" of green part
1/4 C Olive oil
1/3 C Fresh orange juice
1 1/2 t Salt
to taste Freshly ground pepper

Instructions
Rinse the rice throughly in cold water. Let it drain in a fine strainer.

Put the rice in a medium sauce pan and add the broth or water. Bring to a rapid boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 45 minutes. After 30 minutes start checking for doneness. You want the rice done but not mushy. Drain the rice in a fine sieve or in a collander lined with a thin towel.

Add remaining ingredients to the rice and fold gently. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Let the salad sit for at least 2 hours for flavors to meld.

Serve at room temperature.

lpinkmountain, check your directions. My instructions say the foil goes on the outside of the pan. Your cheesecake shouldn't touch the foil this way.

I slept until nine, then had coffee and read the pa[er, went outside and raked leaves (baa baa black sheep, three bags full), cleaned my bedroom, took a shower and washed my hair. Now I am heading over to Mom's, who has done everything herself, despite of a thousand offers of help from me. If that's what she wants, so be it.

So I will eat and eat and eat and then wash dishes. One of these years she will let me do something!!

oops! forgot the progress report. My son & dil are doing most of the dinner, thank goodness. I've finally lived long enough that the next generation has taken over. I was assigned desserts of my choice and the ham. I also made a cheesecake but chose the recipe without the water bath. It's now in the fridge per instructions for a min of 4 hours. I never get to not do a pumpkin pie. Son's favorite. The ham has about 8 degrees left to go on the thermometer and then will be resting until I'm called for dinner.

Next.

Since it is just DH, Son, Me, and the dog of course, we are not eating till 6-6:30 Pacific time which is our usual time. We vetoed a salad since we have so much other food. The cranberry sauce and rolls were made ahead of time. The pumpkin pie is done and baked. So are the sweet potatoes. I will make candied sweet potatoes right before we eat. I am going to do the mashed potatoes and dressing in the next hour, then reheat them for a couple of minutes in the microwave.

We will put the turkey in the oven in one of those cooking bags around 4PM. I have used them for years and have had great success. I will steam the fresh green beans in the microwave about 6 minutes before we sit down. At the same time DH will make the gravy.

I think that is everything. We usually don't eat the pie till about an hour after the dinner so that the food can settle a little. Just have to whip the cream when we serve it and then another Thanksgiving is history.

So been doing the usual things, watching TV, listening to music, surfing the web, house chores, talking long distance to relatives etc. DH was out checking over the property, we have 2.5 acres, and setting gopher traps. They have been really bad this year. He only has the weekend to get things done. Rainy and cold today so staying inside. DH built a fire in the fireplace and I was enjoying a cup of chai. He made himself an espresso. Just taking it easy and not running around the kitchen like a headless chicken like I use when I was young. The secret is make things ahead of time and reheat them in the microwave.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
Clare

DH and I had a nice dinner with the GKs last weekend, so tonight we're having fried Bass and oven fries. Pretty festive, huh? It's the way we like it. The last turkey I made us just went on and on, even with freezing leftovers. We were really sick of it. We'll be giving thanks for our fishing licenses, our little Jon boat, and that we live next to a lake. DH doesn't like pumpkin, so I think if we want dessert, it'll be maybe frozen strawberries w/whipped cream...or brownies.

Make Ahead Turkey worked very well. Slow cooker dressing would have been fine if I hadn't had to hold it 2 hours beyond my plans (see "Plans" thread). The green beans with caramelized shallots were a hit, as was the sweet potato souffle. Dinner is finished , the dishwasher is running. My feet are up and there is a glass of wine beside me. Ahhhhhh

Well, just like Bbstx said, Lpink plans, G-d laughs! (Or something like that). I had a flare up of my IC in the middle of the afternoon, so between that and all the drugs I took trying to control it, I got slowed down.

Noinwi, that sounds like my kind of meal!! Oh and thanks for the tip Pris! I am such a kitchen klutz. As Homer would say--DOH! The pumpkin cheesecake looks just OK, the springform pan did leak water a bit with my parchment paper set up so the crust is probably soggy. The recipe was for a 9 inch pan and mine was 10, so the cheesecake looks a little flat. If I make it again I'm going to use a round cake pan, I don't think a springform is necessary, I never seem to have any trouble getting a cheesecake out of the pan, knock wood. Oh, and it cracked like crazy, so much for the bain marie. We'll see later how it tastes.

The new dressing was good tasting, the mix of bread and wild rice was good, the wild rice gave it a nice nutty flavor, but not overpowering. It was too soggy IMHO, so I'm not any better at dressing than I am at kugel. I think it had something to do with my baking it in a covered casserole, since I was afraid of it drying out. Plus the bread wasn't uniformly dry to start. I seem to either make my dressing too dry, or too wet.

Turkey breast and thigh cutlets, on the grill, marinated overnight in a yougurt and Moroccan spice mix. It was good, but I didn't like the dark meat. Next time I'm just getting breast meat if I do it this way. We might even have this on a weeknight, lol!

The best two dishes, IMHO were the salad and roasted vegetables. The salad was basically a chopped salad made from red pepper, radishes and pickling cucumbers, in a raspberry vinagrette dressing with some poppy seeds and topped with toasted walnuts. I sprung for gourment lettuce which was the thing that made it nice for me. BF thought it was just OK, since he does not like sweet and sour tastes. The roasted vegetables were great, I did a new combo for me, including fennel which I splurged on, and beets. No potatoes, which I usually do but didn't miss. It tasted good and looked really beautiful, all burgundy tinged.

I never got to the green beans that I had, much to BF's chagrin. The guacamole and chips that I was going to put out in the afternoon will have to wait, BF wasn't here anyway. His team won though!

I'll jump over from the other thread and give a progress report.

Turkey (sister bringing to finish here, the Nesco roaster is pre-heated for her)
Gravy (sister making it here)
Crispy roast duck w/ orange brandy glaze (dad making, is in the oven, at 127F and we're targeting 140F to take it out)
Prime rib, roasted in rock salt (got to 90F in oven, took it out, rose to 100F and stayed there for awhile, will go back in to 110F, then I'll break it out of the salt and sear) plus Amaretto sauce (mostly done, holding to finish)
Mashed potatoes (SWMBO making now)
Creamed corn w/ Baileys Irish Cream (mostly done, holding to warm and finish)
Green bean casserole (SWMBO just put it in the oven)
Sweet potato (sister bringing)
PLUS potato leek soup w/ wasabi and cranberry garnish (done, awaiting adjustment)
Garlic-gorgonzola cake and bruschetta (SWMBO making) (done, being nibbled on)
Dinner rolls
Various pies (SWMBO has made) (done, on the sideboard, will get popped in the oven during dinner)
Veggies and hummus (out on the table)
Wine, cocktails, etc

4:45 pm, everything is under control, turkey and people should be arriving soon.

{{gwi:1753228}}

The ballroom was the setting at local hotel

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Soft music for dining

{{gwi:1783995}}
A great friend to enjoy !

We were told to say MONEY as we were holding our bill

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I had my share of desserts: bananas foster, Grenache pie, pumpkin cheesecake, sweet potato pie
I DID NOT EAT ALL, but I sampled each, well most of each

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These were the cakes, the other side were the pies

Our day is done, all the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher have been hand washed, all the leftovers spread around, and everyone safely back home or on to where they were going for the long weekend.

The niece's boyfriend seemed to fit right in and our two vegetarians had a nice selection to choose from. They both seemed to like my acorn squash stuffed with couscous - they both finished it down to the outer skin.

The only real miss was the brussels sprouts, apple, blue cheese and walnut salad. It was just strange in a bad way. Mom thought the orange cake recipe from Giada on the Food Network was crumbly, but it did taste good and Mom learned how to make cream fraiche.

I'm in my jammies and ready to put my feet up. I started at 6:00 AM this morning and didn't stop until about 6 PM. The whole family stayed over 4 hours, so I think they were enjoying themselves.

Teresa

We had our Thanksgiving at 1:00 p.m. I sent most of the left overs home with MIL, her son and family. My DS and DD and their families are having Thanksgiving tonight with their Dad.
It was very good, smoked turkey, ham, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, broccoli casserole, sweet potatoes, cream corn, potato casserole, deviled eggs, stuffed celery, cranberry salad, green salad, rolls, buttermilk pecan pie, pumpkin pie and italian cream cake.
I'm tired!!

I think this was my most successful Thanksgiving dinner--ever! No guests, just DH, cousin Peter, and me, so there was no pressure and no schedule.

And this year, I really paced myself, so there was no fatigue and no backache, either. On Monday, I made cranberry/orange sauce; on Tuesday, I baked sweet potatoes, acorn squash, and cornbread; on Wednesday, I made gravy and finished preparing the cornbread stuffing; this morning, I made a pumpkin mousse. So this afternoon, I only had to roast the turkey. When it came out of the oven, I put in the previously prepared sweet potato casserole and stuffing, cooked some green beans, and finished the gravy. Other than my broken-glass mishap yesterday (had to throw away a pan of stuffing because it got dusted with glass fragments), it all went smoothly.

This was the first time--in many years--that I've roasted a whole turkey. None of us really like drumsticks or wings, so I normally get only a turkey breast. But this year, I thought I'd like more leftovers for use in casseroles, curry, etc. This turkey was *amazingly* juicy and succulent! I never realized that using a whole bird could make such a difference. Now, I'm a convert!

Sue

Well I just finished eating a poached egg on a slice of toasted French bread. I was starving. DH had cereal.

My dear BIL hosted Tgiving and when I describe our meal I know you will all understand. The turkey: I didn't want to interfere but when I saw he had a thermopen I suggested a temp of 165 and I also told him the temp of the bird will rise upon resting. Oh no, said BIL, he likes his turkey well done -- the white meat should be at least 185 and it doesn't make sense that a bird out of the oven would get hotter. Of course, I couldn't prove it because once he took the 185 turkey out it rested in a 200 degree Nesco for at least 4 hours.

Rather than carve the bird in the kitchen he carved at the table while all the sides were cooling off. He really didn't need a knife, turkey was so "tender" it was falling apart. This was a stuffed bird but it was so flat it kind of reminded me of the way a chicken looks after I've made stock for 8 hours. Even though this poor thing was cooked forever, it's skin looked anemic. His stuffing was seasoned with lots and lots of lemon and cinnamon and it was quite brown and quite ugly. The mashed potatoes were pressure cooked and, instead of cream, the water remaining in the pot (with all the "vitamins") was used along with a half of stick of butter for about 6 pounds of potatoes.

The best item on the table were the sweet potatoes and apples which another SIL brought. The orange jello with pineapple and carrot, which I normally skip, was eaten with joy.

He has been hosting Thanksgiving for the past four years. We are normally in FL for the holiday so this is the first time we were able to go. Two sisters who are good cooks help him but he honestly feels his way is the best way and listens to no one. He's the oldest brother which in the hierarchy of their family gives him status.

I'm hoping to find a small turkey at the grocery store tomorrow -- I don't feel like I got my turkey and dressing fix at all.

The upside was being with many of DH's family and they are really sweet and loving people and the reality is it is just a meal and family is more important. (I also finished an entire bottle of Santa Margarita pinot grigio myself so that could be why I'm so mellow.)

We had a lovely family dinner for 31 prepared mostly by my niece who is a caterer. One room was appetizers, another main meal, and another was the dessert room. Each was decorated beautifully. I brought biscotti (Lou's recipe); spinach brownies (Sheshebop); and stuffed sweet peppers.

I think the most interesting part of the dinner was the departure of the vegans right before dinner was announced. I asked the hostess if they (the vegans) thought we were disgusting; she said yes. Prior to their departure I had joined their discussion/pontificating about raw food and even surprised them with a critique of my visit to two raw food restaurants in our area. Of course all four of them are thin and healthy and the rest of us are not.

Our Thanksgiving dinner went okay. SWMBO's table was pretty.

A 95 y/o friend of SWMBO's mother recently gave us her china, which originally belonged to this lady's own mother, and is thus is probably over a century old. It is lovely old china, a complete 12 piece setting, far fancier than our own china. We set each place with charger, two plates, and soup bowl. The soup was a very plain potato leek with each person's initial in a cranberry-scotch-sugar pur�e, just for fun.

And here is the buffet line with the Lego Eiffel Tower in the background.

In the spirit of honesty, I will say that the food was unspectacular. The turkey was good but my sister mistook our confectioner's sugar bin for flour so her gravy was a bit unusual. My dad's roast duck was tasty but not as crisp as it should have been. My prime rib was okay - I got it to 100 F internal and held it at 100-110 F for almost two hours before a last blast to 120 F and searing. But the Amaretto sauce was interesting, not great. Etc. The dinner still was fine, more via quantity than quality. Oh well, everything was pretty at least.

Thanksgiving was GREAT! Not because of my cooking, but because I had my loved ones around my table.

My feet, legs and bones in general were hurting so badly by dinner time that I forgot to up the oven temp when I took the turkey out and put the biscuits in and it took an extra 10-12 minutes to get them done. OOOPS!

We were all starving so I finally had everyone go ahead and help their plates and I brought the biscuits to the table when they were FINALLY done.

An elderly couple (who we are all crazy about) came to dinner. She brought her famous coleslaw (yum) and the best sweet potato pie I've ever tasted. I've never liked sweet potato pie, but took a small slice so her feelings wouldn't be hurt and it was DELISH! Mmmmmm! I love sweet potato pie if Jenny makes it!

Of course, she didn't go by a recipe. I will be going to her house to watch her prepare it and write everything down, because I have to learn how to make that! She is in her 70s and this recipe MUST be preserved.

Nobody likes cranberry sauce but me,(DD only likes the slime out of the can), so I tried Cranberry Jezebel just for me. I only put the horseradish and mustard in half of it in case I didn't like it. I love it both ways. I will never eat store bought again. So simple and so good.

Can I freeze them until Christmas? They are so good and I really don't want any to be wasted. DH even tried it,(the one with H & M),and said he liked it better than the canned stuff from the store.

The hit of the dinner was the "Pecan Pie" mini muffins that Rusty posted the recipe for a while back. OMG!! They will be on my dessert table from now on. I will have to double the recipe because they don't last but a minute! They are so good right out of the oven that I will try to have them ready to go in the oven when we sit down to dinner so they will still be warm at dessert time. It will be soooo worth it. YUMMY!

The only change I made was to cut the baking time from 20 mins back to 14-16 mins because my oven cooks so much hotter than normal.

When I had to take a pain pill and lay on the heating pad last night, I finally accepted the fact that I won't be cooking any large meal, all in one day, again.

I miss my strong body.

Lpink, what is IC? Sorry you were in pain.

Thanks, Johnliu, for posting the pictures. I love SHMBO's table. Beautiful! How Blessed she is to receive such beautiful china. I love the initial soup! What a neat "placecard"! I will have to try that.

I usually take a picture of my table, but was aching so badly that I forgot to.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm glad we have a special day to give thanks because I have so much to be thankful for.

Betty

Sounds as if things were eventful for Thanksgiving! LOL

John, your wife's table is gorgeous. I love the china and the initials in the soup is genius!

John, thanks for the gorgeous visual report!

Vegetarians and vegans are challenging to include in many dinner parties, but on Thanksgiving there are so many side dishes that I think they are well cared for.

I have to correct myself, after looking up the china pattern, it is not as old as I thought. Here's what I found out. Castleton china can be traced back to the Shenango China company of New Castle, PA, founded in 1901. In 1939 the Rosenthal China company of Germany licensed its patterns to Shenango. The "Castleton" brand was created for this line of china, and the Castleton company was formed in 1940 as a subsidiary of Shenango. Around 1950, Castleton began creating its own designs. As a leading American china maker, it supplied many of the White House's china services during the Eisenhower and Johson administrations. Shenango ceased making the Castleton brand in 1974. According to Replacements, the Castleton "Laurel" pattern was made from 1958 to 1974. Which means, I guess, that Charlotte's mother acquired this china when she was well on into middle age, and Charlotte likely received it when she was in middle age, and may explain why the set appears to have had so little use.

I'm glad you like this new-to-us china. These traditional patterns, in this case with gold edge and a inner pattern of gold laurels, used to look so very frumpy and old-lady-ish to me. When we picked a china pattern for our wedding, we deliberately went for a completely white, rather plain pattern (Wedgewood "Candlelight", 1983-2006).

Now I rather like the older, more decorated patterns. Apparently middle-age frumpiness has caught up to us.

I have to say that the china rather intimidates me. I know you're supposed to use your "nice" china, but I don't want to be around when the first plate gets broken. Then again, we've never broken a piece of our original china in almost 20 years.

I'm late to the party for this, but after reading others' posts I thought I'd share. Power went out 1 hr before $75 heritage turkey, which had been dry brined, was to go in the oven...1 hr after the artisan bread chantrelle mushroom had gone in the crockpot. So I scooped out the hot dressing into lots of small containers for maximum cooling and put them on ice in the ice chest. Notified guests who hadn't arrive yet that there might not be dinner. Drove to the store and got more ice so I could preserve the uncooked bird another day. Power came on 2 hours later. I had read instructions for cooking the bird hot and quickly, but the internet connection was fried in the power outage and I couldn't read any recipes for the method. So I put the bird (14 lbs) in at 400 degrees and thought, either it will be edible or not. After 2 hours I tested and temp was good in both breast and thigh...I could use the food processor for the brussels sprouts (no hand shredding for me) roasted them quickly and heated up the now cooled stuffing. The pie had been baked, as had the other desserts and side dishes, so it turned out okay. Not the best turkey ever, but okay. The breast meat was succulent, the dark meat was tough, but the flavors were good. Ah, the PNW in the fall. When we moved to this house in 1983 or 84...same thing happened and I cooked it all on a woodstove.

John, I used to feel the same way about my bubbe's china--who would want all that fussiness. But now that she's gone, I want the old table settings back! I have what remains of her china, cracks and all. It doesn't go with anything I have, and it's in terrible shape. I use a piece or two occasionally and everyone waxes nostalgic over it! It mostly decorates the shelves of my china cabinets. My other grandma's china is a little plainer, that gets hauled out more often. The problem with that china is it is cream colored and all my own stuff is white so they don't mix very well. Both grandmas' china mixes well though, even though they couldn't have been more different women, (or more alike).

Olychick, you certainly earned your memorable Thanksgiving dinner. Your guests should have awarded you a medal. I'm guessing you live in or around Olympia? I didn't know power outages were common there. I'm in urban Portland, I think we've only had one or two outages in five years.

Lpink, yes, "fussy" is the term I always associated with traditional china. As we get older, our house is turning into more of an old-lady's house, by which I intend no disrespect to old ladies, but instead mean a cluttered space full of sentimental items and old curios. The traditional china just sort of blends in. I've always wanted to have a dramatic, spartan, boldly colored space with just a few focal items, but unfortunately SWMBA and I are both too disorganized for that - and then we had kids which put that ambition, and more, out of reach.

Breakfast is the traditional post-Thanksgiving dish of duck fried rice. We've chopped up the turkey remains and will make turkey dumpling soup with the veggie crudities. Not sure what the duck stock is going to be.

Sounds like everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

John, beautiful table setting and wonderful food.

I like the candle holder.

dcarch

Wow John. Your setting is spectacular! I love the bells and window-coverings. It's too bad your food didn't taste quite as good as it looks because it looks stunning.

I mostly lurk here but parikash...LOL It so reminded me of a Thanksgiving at my SIL's. I always had the family Thanksgiving and Christmas but this one year my SIL decided to have it. She doesn't really cook. This was back in the 70's. I offered to bring anything. Side dishes, pies, whatever. She said no at first but then decided since it was a nephews birthday and FIL's also, I could bring a birthday cake. I should have told her to order one and I would pay for it. Instead, I held a sheet cake on my lap for a four hour drive. She said she had so much food she didn't know where she was going to put it all. Probably on the ping pong table. When I tell you it could have fit on a small bridge table and still have half the table left over, I'm not kidding. There were 18 people. We ate off those thin white paper plates, no turkey because then you would have to make stuffing, so we had ham, a tiny baked potato wrapped in foil that BIL threw a spoon of sour cream on as we passed by, two tiny crock pots (like what Wispride cheese use to come in) one filled with green beans, the other with creamed onions and for dessert, Mrs. Smiths pumpkin pie. We had all driven four hours to get there (other BIL and his family) and were starving. Back in those days, unbeknown to us, nothing was opened on Thanksgiving day. We had planned on stopping at McD's for the kids on the way there. We were looking forward to cocktail hour and appetizers at this point. No appetizers (they didn't want us spoiling our appetites) and when asked what I would like to drink I said I would have a whiskey sour...the drink of the day in the 70's...no sour mix. Okay, I'm not much of a drinker anyway so I said I'll just have a glass of soda (pop). No soda. Okay, I'll have a glass of water. After dinner the lady guests did the clean up. Not much to do since we ate off of paper plates. SIL had to go to bed because she was exhausted! LOL I should mention that what cooking that was done, was done by BIL so I'm not sure why she was exhausted. Maybe from having to buy paper plates? There's more but it's too long a story already. A memorable Thanksgiving, indeed.

georgysmom, did she (SIL) ever get better?

The turkey dumpling soup is very popular tonight. Turkey stock, strained, then celery, carrot, scallions, squash, and other veg that I forget. Then orzo pasta, not too much (like 1/2 cup for 4 qts of soup). Chop leftover turkey, mix in butter, gelatin, scallions, salt, pepper, a little stock. Simple dough from water and flour, make turkey dumpling balls, simmer in the soup. Add a handful of chopped turkey, salt, pepper.

johnliu, nope....and that was the one and only Holiday meal she ever hosted, thank God.

Loved those initials in the soup. Thought it looked beautiful as did the table!

Thanks for the wild rice recipe Jessy! I made wild rice pilaf one year but the family was unimpressed. I think it was because as per my usual cooking style, I dolled it up with too many veggies for their taste, (my uber picky dad and bro that is). Yours sounds really good and I'm gonna try making it for BF, I think he might like it. I now have a whole box of wild rice to use up. What a treat!

GlendaAl so nice to hear from you!! Your Thanksgiving looks so nice, actually my kinda celebration! I especially liked all the desserts to choose from, and music while you eat--wonderful! And so elegant. BF suggestd we go out for Thanksgiving dinner but since we're both on the road so much we nixed that idea. Frankly, if I had known I was going to get sick I would have done it. I did enjoy spending the whole day cooking though!

The pumpkin cheesecake tasted very good, IMHO, other than the crust being less cookie-like than it was probably supposed to be. But BF didn't much care for it and since I made it for him I don't think I will be fussing with that kind of thing again. That's the main reason I don't make cheesecake, it will take me forever to eat a whole one, long past the point where it is enjoyable. I might try another one for Christmas for my dad who likes cheesecake, only a more traditional kind.

Lpink,

Cheesecake freezes beautifully. After it's thoroughly cooled, slice, wrap, & freeze individual pieces. Let them thaw & always serve room temperature. No waste & always something ready in the freezer when you have unexpected company and/or just want something for dessert.

Our T-Day went smoothly. We made "Make Ahead" gravy last week & prepared most of the meal on Wednesday. On Thursday, just had to make pumpkin pies (chocolate pecan were already made & in the freezer), roast the bird & make the mashed potatoes and finished by roasting off the veggies.

Wonderful feast & since we're both football fans we spent the day watching all 3 games. :)

This morning, we topped our preserved lemons for gifts with additional fresh organic lemon juice (they smell heavenly!) & are getting ready to put up our Christmas tree.

If there's time, we're going to take a look at the Electrolux Induction Range this afternoon at our local appliance store. We're thinking it might be our joint Christmas present.

/tricia

Thanks for the tip Tricia! I was wondering if it would freeze, that's good to know. Your weekend sounds fun!

Our gathering this year initiated by me. With 6 children among 3 moms living in the southern portion of California it made sense to meet in Hollywood for Thanksgiving. I recommended much of the menu according to the tastes and traditions of my friends. We had turkey wrapped in bacon, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, two kinds of sweet potatoes, green beans almondine, a lovely salad brought by guests, corn bread with bacon stuffing, apricot sausage bread stuffing, a raspberry-cream cheese jello, three kinds of cranberry sauces, homemade pumpkin pies and cheese cake, purchased cherry and pecan pies, ice creams, and whipped cream. It was all quite traditional fare.

I made stuffings and gravy at home and traveled with those. Pie filling and crust pastry dough were made at home and assembled there. My crust discs didn't have enough moisture and fought me. Thankfully pumpkin pies only have bottom crusts that were well covered by filling. They were not pretty! But the taste and texture were good. I cooked the turkey and a spare breast there. The turkey went into a roaster. I cooked it 450 for an hour and then turned it down to 325 for the rest of the cooking and held it at warm while everything else finished. It was quite fine. It was an organic 19 pound tom. My friends made the sweet potatoes, cheesecake, jello dish, and cranberries. We also had canned cranberry jell. The young'uns love that stuff.

Alice and Haley made guacamole to snack on before the meal. Our hostess Lisa made hot cider and coffee.

Though I asked and my emails were forwarded to all guests, no one told me that the two daughters of my friend's friends are vegetarian. :( They ate around the heavily meaty offerings. I would happily have made something for them and some veggie stuffing had I known.

I had many sous chefs among the young adults who wandered in and out and helped. Everyone pitched in with everything that needed to be done. Though I am perfectly capable of turkey carving, I was also really ready to abdicate the duty due to tiredness by the time the bird emerged. I asked my son to carve. He stuttered in a panic and left the kitchen. :) I asked the super social husband of the friend's friend to carve. He also blanched at the request but manned up on the spot and did the job. Bless his heart.

All of the young folks took over at dessert time and set everything out after we cleaned up the main event.

We were supposed to be 15 but the elderly momma was unable to attend so we were 14. I packed up a boxed meal for her.

Things I would do differently next time: have a Silpat on which to roll pie crusts, make a vegetarian side that can work as entree for the vegetarians. Make sure we don't buy 2 hams and twenty pounds of potatoes. Lisa and I accidentally doubled up on a few things. I sent my starving student children home with two bags of potatoes. Otherwise, I would not change much. If we do this next year I will suggest that the adult children make some of the sides as well.

Thankfully other people took photos!

The youngsters gathered in the patio before dinner. Left to right: Lisa, Alice and Alice, Noelle, Haley, Daniel, Aimee, and Gina.

Daniel and Alice amusing themselves while waiting to eat.

Serving ourselves.

Alice and Aimee with their plates.

Someone's plate.

The kids' table. ;)

Candace, the ham thief. She was banished to the patio until dessert after helping herself to a portion of ham from the buffet. She is very tall and will counter surf if not watched carefully.

The oldsters. Lisa, our hostess, is third from the left. Tom, the turkey carver is pretending to steal a kiss.

Alice and Haley with desserts.

Post orgy, um...meal.

Beautiful people! Gorgeous food! Looks like a good time was had by all.

Boy do I feel older than dirt - I remember your wonderful Alice and Daniel when they were pre-teens?

Teresa

Wow, I reread the recaps of everyone's day. Many amazing meals and adventurous dishes. I recall the days when I could shop at 10 pm on Wednesday night for the Thanksgiving meal the next day. And cook it and serve it all in one day. Both my standards and my stamina have changed. It now takes me fully a week or more to get it all managed. I joke about making reservations. It's only half joking!

My menu was very safe. Intentionally so. I think it worked out okay. Other people made their own contributions that are traditional and expected at their own holiday meals so no one missed anything as far as I know. Except those overlooked vegetarians. There was more than ample food.

John, your table and food are beautiful to behold. Laurie, your meal sounds so interesting. Jessy, I like the sound of your wild rice salad. I like almost anything Silver Palate. Clare, I like small gatherings, too. Paprikash, the turkey seasoning sounds...um...interesting. ;) Cathy, you make me grateful to not have had raw food vegans at the table! Glenda, your celebration looks festive and delicious. I confess to really enjoying my past Thanksgiving meals in restaurants. Georgysmom, I have a vague memory of a meal like the one you describe. I think I've blocked the details! Tricia, I very much appreciate cooking ahead those things that do not suffer from being made ahead and that travel well.

Well done, everyone!

Eileen