header

header

Friday, November 23, 2012

Thanksgiving Dinner



Did you have a lovely day?
We did...fun conversation, yummy food and
surrounded by people that we love.
And of course, we are grateful!


The high heat roast did very well!  In fact, next time I will
 check it sooner as I think it would have been done in less than
 an hour for an 11 lb bird!
Nice brown, crispy skin and juicy meat.
Remember when our mom's put the turkey in the oven at 5:00 AM?  ha.


Last year Taylor went to Lauren's home in Pennsylvania. 
 It was the first real sign that something serious was going on there. ha.
  We were really happy to have her around our table today!


I bought a box of chocolate truffles and put them
 in gold take out containers for little favors.  
I'll show you more about them this week.
My now infamous crab apples that you see our my windows all the
time got to come in and help create the centerpiece.
And I froze some of those ginormous blackberries to use instead
of ice cubes in our drinks.  I think they were prettier, too!


It's become a tradition for one of my brother-in-laws to join us!


I made four loaves of Braided Butter Bread.
  Two for dinner, and two with pecans, cinnamon and drizzle for breakfast.


The stuffing is probably my favorite part of the meal. 
 I made a cornbread stuffing with onion, celery, sage and apples.  Yum.


After dinner, some of us flopped on the couches to watch football.
Some of us slept in a tryptophan coma.
And some of us did dishes while sneaking an extra slice of pie. :)

Hope you had a lovely day!



42 comments:

  1. such beautiful beautiful photos, Happy Thanksgiving!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! I did try to make the table beautiful...that's my favorite part! :)

      Delete
  2. Let me be the FIRST to say....
    That meal looks fabulous...
    Love the centerpiece...
    Love the frozen berries in the drinks...
    Love the gold gift boxes...
    Love the stuffing...
    Love that you had a great , great day...
    Is that the Mr. with the moustache? for Movember??

    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. stuffing is my favorite. yum. And I'm going to do the berries again...very festive!

      That's the mister in the striped sweater. He has a full beard..it's just so short and grey that it's hard to see! ha.

      Delete
  3. all look beautidul, delicious and amazing !!x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! Tomorrow is actually the more restful day....I don't do that crazy shopping like some do! We just relax and eat leftovers!

      tomorrow is your big day! Are the kids ready? Got your email...I'll answer it later ok?

      Delete
    2. the best is eat leftovers and all this look amazing!
      yes tomorrow night Betsy and have a cold ha!
      well maybe tomorrow Will be better.
      xo

      Delete
    3. oh dear...hope the cold goes away!

      Delete
  4. You have such a talent for hostessing! The table and settings look beautiful. Great idea to use those frozen berries. Glad you had good company and a good meal too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mari. We had a nice day....tomorrow is my favorite, though...easier! ha.

      Delete
  5. Sounds like a wonderful day to me. I'll have to try baking a turkey that way sometime. I still want a peacan bar! lol
    Love the photos! Love those Blackberries!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will be making the turkey that way again.!I think I over did it this time, even though I followed the instructions. I forgot that those free range turkeys cook faster and I should have shortened the cooking time even more. It did turn out a lovely color and crispness, though! Like everything, you have to tweak it a few times to get it perfect. ha. I took photos of all the steps, so I'll have to post about it some time soon.

      I should send you the rest of the pecan bars so I stay out of them! lol.

      Hope your day was wonderful!

      Delete
    2. we had a lovely day. plenty of food, a beautiful sunny day, good company, and a brisk walk this afternoon. now if I could get them (the boys and their Dad) to quit wrestling and go to bed... LOL :)

      Delete
    3. haha...everyone here is pretty wound up, too. I don't think bed will be coming for a while. :)

      Delete
  6. haha i feel a bit like that cat right now...thanksgiving at my parents....just got back from thanksgiving at grammas...i am done...yours looks like an amazing spread....i hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. one of my favorite parts of today was reading about you shopping for canned pumpkin for gramma. So cute. haha. Hope you had a big slice when it was finally done! lol.....

      Delete
  7. Wow as always at your sea
    Quite the spread to feed an army
    Sure there will be leftovers galore
    There at your shore
    LMAO at the last pic
    Looks like he doesn't miss a trick
    Letting it all hang out
    Too bad snip snip came about haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cats sleep in the funniest ways!
      Rolled in a ball or stretched out for all to gaze.
      Sometimes with their heads upside down,
      they sure can snooze when nap time comes around!

      Delete
    2. Esperanza said when she look this picture she wanna a cat!!! OMY
      she think he is adorable!

      Delete
  8. What a beautiful table, and family. The food looks so good. My cornbread dressing was the hit of our dinner today too. Glad I made two pans, lots of leftovers to send home with everyone. Will have a piece of pecan pie with whipped cream for breakfast tomorrow. I can be thankful all over again.

    Curious...what do Alex, Spencer and Harry eat for Thanksgiving?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I had made two pans! ha. Ours is almost gone!

      Alex is the only one that will try my cooking. He loves mashed potatoes, stuffing, and corn, so he ate those. Harry and Spencer ate their same old meal they eat every day. :) Oh dear. haha.

      Pie for breakfast...can't beat that! yum!

      Delete
    2. and...Harry and Spencer gag if they have to sit with us and look at our plates, so we miss having them around the table at dinner...and especially on holidays! But we're used to that and make it all work.

      Delete
    3. My grandson Marc just devoures stuffing...(he's 21) I said, Marc when move out on your own, I'll teach you to make stuffing since you love it so much.... NO grandma... I'll just keep coming here! HaHa So I sent a big portion home with him.

      I made a "watergate" salad, and I think I'm the only one that touch it!! So I'm going to enjoy it all next week. I think it's because it has pineapple and coconut..and most of the kids don't like either.

      Delete
    4. haha...now there's a smart boy. Why learn to make it when Grandma makes it just fine? :)

      My mom used to make watergate salad...I haven't had that in probably 35 years. It's good... I love coconut and pineapple!

      Delete
    5. I wasn't planning on making the watergate salad, but it was something my mom made every thanksgiving, and I was feeling a little nostalgic and missing her. I do love pineapple and coconut too.

      I haven't stopped since early this morning....the back yard looked lovely as the weather was so warm we ate outside buffet style.

      Gonna sleep good tonight...

      Delete
    6. I didn't make my great aunt winnie's chicken and noodles or her cranberry salad this year for the first time. I love them both and like you feel nostalgic having them like she always did. But I scaled back a lot of this this year and those two things didn't make the cut..mainly because they are both time consuming to make. Maybe we'll have them for Christmas. :)

      I'm pooped, too...going to bed early and sleeping late! ha.

      Delete
  9. Sounds like you had a fabulous day!! Your table and all the trimmings looks great....

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a gorgeous table you had!!! Magazine worthy! I also love the photo of the kitty...looks a lot like my Olive. :) Happy thanksgiving...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that name Olive! :) Happy day to you, too! xo

      Delete
  11. Great meal, lovely table... and marvelous cat !!!
    Best regards from Paris,

    Pierre

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, Pierre...that cat is very entertaining! :)

      Delete
  12. Hi Betsy - loved the photos .. the turkey looks amazing - so pleased it worked! I love the thought of the stuffing ... and those crab apples centres look fabulous ... and the desert. Now that putty-tat - oh how I love them when the collapse like that .. so pleased you had such a wonderful time .. and great to see Lauren and Taylor together .. cheers and enjoy the rest of the weekend - Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you hilary. You are so sweet. We're enjoying the relaxing weekend and being together..and the food, of course! :)

      Delete
  13. Happy Thanksgiving my ever-creative, ever-cheerful, ever-triumphant friend.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Betsy read what answer you in the comment (is about birds) lol
    talk you tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did! I didn't know the cherries were from your yard! How fun! And the birds....lol...you are so funny!

      Delete
  15. I put a cherries picture in my sidebar!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Your Thanksgiving feast looks beautifully delicious, Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had to peek in and see how Thanksgiving was at your house, Betsy, as I knew it would be wonderful --and it was! I love Susan Branch's blog and her recipes. Your stuffung and turkey looked delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Betsy, you really go all out. Besides all the yummy food, I really like the crab apple centerpiece. Nice touch! So glad that you had a wonderful day.

    ReplyDelete

I'm serving coffee! Stay and chat!
And no awards, please! Your comments are my awards!