Thanksgiving 2010

I mentioned a Thanksgiving dinner in a previous post and have been running around for the past week preparing menus, decorating additions and last minute invites. Today, with a full belly and an exhausted mind, I eat leftovers and look at the photos of a successful evening complete with lovely people and delicious dishes. Lots to be thankful for (I often forget that there is actually a point to this holiday other than stuffing my face!).

Around the house, pumpkins, gourds and flowers...

A Thanksgiving Table

Much to my HUUUUUUGE disappointment, those lovely napkins by Emerson Made were ordered (a million years ago) but not delivered on time. I curse Canada Post on a regular basis but have now added United States Postal Service at the top of my worst enemy list. I hate them both so much, I could throw rocks at my poor postman and literally shoot the messenger. What is the point of paying priority mail prices???!!! Rookie mistake. Next time, FEDEX! On the bright side, these lovely pumpkins stuffed with beautiful floral arrangements were a last minute addition and gift from my father and they made up for the USPS failure by making my table look like it was decorated by the staff of Martha Stewart magazine. I also added name cards to each plate, a gift from a friend last year. They looked great and some people actually took them home as souvenirs!

A Thanksgiving Menu

Dinner:

-Turkey, of course. Wrapped in Bacon, stuffed with citrus and herbs

-Vegetarian Stuffing with Apples, Walnuts, Raisins and Olives

-Vegetarian Cashew Gravy and Turkey Gravy

-Mashed Potatoes with Chives

-Thomas Keller's Vegetable Casserole from Ad Hoc Cookbook

-Mario Batali's Eggplant Parmigiana

-John Bishop's Braised Lentils from Fresh Cookbook

-Truffled Mushrooms

- Georgio Locatelli's Butternut Squash Ravioli from Made in Italy Cookbook (took fooooreeever to make but worth the trouble. Well...almost) with Butter Sage Sauce

-Beet Salad with Chard and Hazelnuts

Cheese Course:

Stilton, Machego and Chateau de Bourgogne

Quince Jelly, Peach Butter, Blueberry/Cherry Jam

White Truffle Honey and Honeycomb

Maple Spiced Nuts

Desserts:

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Aphrodite's Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Throughout Dinner: Way too much wine...

This is Year four of hosting Thanksgiving for 12-20 people for us. Always fun, always sooo much work. When will we learn?! Seriously, lots of fun and worth it every year! Many more to come...