Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

What a happy, warm, and tasty day.

When it's all said and done, the best possible thing is to be able to sit and reflect over the food that was eaten, the wine that was drunk, and the sweetness of knowing so many terrific people. It's the ultimate vote of love and approval: your family and friends set aside whatever other plans they may have had the opportunity to make, and decide your house is worth spending the holiday at. They're confident in your abilities to provide comfort and warmth, laughter and a whole tableful of food. They trust you. They trust you to make it a good one.

(I'm pretty sure their trust has nothing to do with clean baseboards, but let me tell you, Saturday morning my baseboards were gleaming.)

On the menu this year:

Rosemary Walnut Rolls
Cranberry Mustard Relish
Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts
Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Platter Salad with Maple-Cider dressing
Roast Mixed Vegetables with mustard sauce (from The Vegetarian Hearth)
Old-Fashioned Bread Stuffing (from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)
Mushroom Coulibiac (from The Vegetarian Hearth)
Spiced Pumpkin Phyllo Pie
Cranberry Chocolate Tart (from Moosewood Celebrates)
Ginger Mousse (from Bon Appetit, October 2009)

Despite forgetting to put the water on the table, despite tripling the salt in the rolls, despite the mushroom coulibiac splitting open and spilling its creamy and delicious guts... well, everything was okay anyway. Thank goodness.

It was nice to spend time with this gal again. The first Thanksgiving we spent together was our sophomore year of college, when we sat around my aunt's table drinking Bully Hill or watered-down Mudslides or some other godawful thing, sashaying into bookshelves on our way to the bathroom. There have been minor interruptions in the tradition since then (Japan, grad school, menfolk) but happily she made her return this year. It just isn't a proper Thanksgiving without Alexis.

Pete, as usual, was the life of the party.

Finally, dinner was on the table.
(Good lord, are we really gonna eat all that?)

A happy sight.

The requisite Dad-Diesel picture.

The dessert buffet.

The happy (and tuckered) hosts.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was happy, warm, and tasty, too.


6 comments:

Ashley M. [at] (never home)maker said...

Looks like it was a splendid time! :)

Jen said...

Is it weird that reading what you had made me hungry? Yum. Looks like you had a lovely one!

Becky said...

Wow! It looked marvelous. I know you were breaking all land-speed records to get your house ready too. The chairs you covered look nice. Love the Dad/Diesel picture!

katherine mary said...

i feel like that last picture is one your grandkids will have on their mantle someday. you guys look adorable... and the food looks yummy as always

Karen said...

awww, you look adorable! glad it went well for you! i love that apron. didja make it?

Madsilence the Younger said...

hey you! that recipe list is making my tummy growl - we had a big japanese dinner that night (seeing as we were at a 2 day conference at the time)... sashimi is all well and good, but it doesn't really replace turkey XD I'm headed to Australia for Xmas, maybe I"ll throw together some summer salads for dinner, summer sure turns Christmas head-over-heels! Alexis looks great, what's she up to these days?

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