One of the "joys" of my present time-off from work is that I have a lot of time on my hands. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I made napkin roses for Thanksgiving. Just wait until Christmas when I make festive Christmas tree napkins...We also used my parents' china from my dad's embassy days - only brought out for the holidays (and probably more appropriate for Christmas, with a red tablecloth).
Thanksgiving went well (recap: we had it at my sister's, I cooked and she cleaned up bless her) and, despite the polenta chips which didn't do what they were supposed to and the salad which I did not like, everything was very good and family and friends assembled chatted away and laughed a lot. As you can tell from this post, the giddiness of the occasion (AKA wine consumption) kept me from taking nice photos.
Though I am in a pissy, horrid, self-involved funk of unhappiness with the state of my life right now, I did find it in my heart to be self-aware enough to know that I am exceedingly lucky compared to many, thankful for friends and family and for the fact that - for the first time ever - there was enough stuffing for leftovers.
Polenta Chips with Goat's Milk Ricotta,
Red Wine Mulled Dried Cranberries and Spiced Honey
Wild Arugula Salad with Pomegranate Arils, Pickled Red Onion,
Walnuts and a Walnut Oil-Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette
Turkey with Sage and Onion Stuffing and Giblet Gravy
My Mother’s Sweet Potato Purée with Bourbon and Cream
Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots
Cranberry - Orange Relish with Candied Ginger
Eggnog Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Pumpkin Panna Cotta (to which my mother added whipped cream
and homemade gingersnaps at the last minute to jazz the dessert up)
We ended up the day stuffed, happy and, since my sister and her boyfriend had a plane to catch and we did Thanksgiving lunch instead of dinner, home by 4pm - just in time for a nap before turkey sandwiches. Gobble gobble.