 |
| Thanksgiving |
Click here for the fullscreen slideshow
This year we did Thanksgiving here in Gurnee with just our crew. Just because attendance was smaller in comparison to previous years we saw no reason for the menu to suffer in diversity or quantity. We studied our Food Network favorites for yummy and kid-help friendly ideas, picked one here, one there to create our Thanksgiving masterpiece. I am now happy to describe it in all it's glory being separated from the event, leftovers and their accompanying "all turkey-out stage" by a few weeks.
The main event was of course a turkey. A 22-pounder stuffed with garlic-herb butter medallions under the skin and smeared all around it to make for crispy, brown skin. Lemon wedges, garlic cloves and stalks of rosemary, thyme and sage stuffed the interior to capacity. Roasting kept it moist and also allowed for puffs of deliciousness to permeate our afternoon in the kitchen. The kids all had a part in the remainder of the menu. We presented the cranberry walnut cocktail in individual glasses but left the orange vodka out of the recipe. Wine and Kiddy cocktails started mid-afternoon and continued well into the night. You know that last glass you don't have because you have to drive home? We DRANK it! Perennial classics of green-bean casserole and fruit salad neared perfection. A decadent cheesy twist on mashed potatoes left little reason for salt or butter but was not without a wonderful gravy. Jen's famous bacon brussel sprouts were as spectacular as always (and I HATE brussel sprouts FYI). Pumpkin pie made from scratch for dessert and a couple cups of coffee as we sat around the table and went around the table to declare what we were thankful for. Nobody was in a hurry to leave (since bath and bed followed) and hearing one another's blessings recounted reminded us each of another thing we had left out of our thanks list and required additional circles around the table. What followed was a week of yummy leftovers and frequent happy reflections to our first Thanksgiving on our own.
Posts
4 Comments:
Looks like your Thanksgiving at home was filled with lots of good food and great family time! That turkey looked pretty darn awesome! Just want to let you know that I thank you all for sharing your lives via the internet with me! You all are very special to me and I love ya all :) Love ya, Natalie aka "Noodle" :)
Ok, I know that you enjoyed doing the family thing alone, but PLEASE next time, invite Camp Chaos. Ok, I take that back, that would not be enjoyable for anyone...just invite me! Everything sounded and looked WONDERFUL!!! I wish I had just a little of that ability to, you know, cook! Someday! It's on my list of things to learn to do. ANy simple recipes to get me started, please feel free to forward:)!
Just so you know, my mouth is still watering!!!
We missed you but it looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love that the kids had a hand in the preparation. They'll always remember that involvement. See you soon!
...say you had a Christmas ham and this would've been straight out of the pages of Dickens "A Christmas Carole." "...God bless us, everyone!" Wow, what an amazing family memory for your children to recall. Glad you had a wonderful holiday.
Post a Comment