I remember an older post about how I felt like I was always planning. {I thought this post was maybe a year old. Turns out its a little older than that. I've been blogging for that long??!!} Well, it's that time again. We will be hosting Thanksgiving this year, followed by Sebastian's first birthday, followed by, of course, Christmas and New Year's. This post will feature my Thanksgiving planning, followed by posts to detail the other two events.
First I chose the time. 3 pm for dinner. It may seem a little early to some, but I have a few guests who drive 2 hours to get here, so I wanted to be sensitive to their return time. Next up, menu. I only have a rough outline so far. I plan on doing many of my old familiar recipes, along with some newer ones. I'm getting more and more untraditional as far as Thanksgiving goes, but of course I don't want to freak out my die-hard old-fashioned guests. My menu in progress:
Turkey: Rosemary Breasts & Smoked (?) LegsThanksgiving, for me, is like the World Series, Super Bowl & World Cup all rolled into one. I am willing to include lots of touching details since it is just once a year. {Of course, to see how well I work under stress, I HAD to have a baby - birthday - the week after Thanksgiving.....} I plan to send out Thanksgiving invitations, but haven't been successful in finding inspiration for those. Still need to decide if I want to do buffet or family-style. I kind of enjoy the Norman Rockwell appeal of family-style, but buffet style would mean more room at the table. Now for the Thanksgiving table eye candy for our viewing pleasure:
Potato Dish: Potato & Leek Gratin
Sweet Potato Dish: Spiced Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Green Veg: Green Beans with fried Shallots (?)
Stuffing: Crock-pot Stuffing with Sausage, Mushroom & Apple
Bread: probably rolls of some sort with a loaf of some sort
Condiments: store bought gravy & Cranberry Zinfandel Sauce
Dessert #1: Rustic Pumpkin Pie
Dessert #2: Pecan Pie (?)
:: first six images are Country Living - last three are Martha Stewart ::The Martha Stewart images are all clickable for project directions! The kids could easily be involved with assembling some of these table decorations. I love the gratitude sayings wrapped around the glasses. Those will definitely be part of my tablescape this year! I have always like the idea of setting 5 kernels of corn at each placesetting, as a reminder that some days, that was all the Pilgrims had to eat. Another idea that will on my table!
So, there ya have it. My preliminary plan for the best food-related holiday of the year.
Thoughts?
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4 comments:
Menu sounds yummy! I love the smell of all the different foods that go along with thanksgiving! And Christmas too! ;0) I really like the first pic of the table setting!
Oh, breaded fried shallots are sooo much better on green beans than the usual storebought fried onions! I did that last year and they were incredible, although the sauce I made for the green beans wasn't that good. This year I'm thinking of sauteing the green beans with garlic, but can't decide if I will top with fried shallots or just toss them in to saute with the rest....
@Alicia: I love the smells too. Can we just bottle that stuff up somehow? 0 calories!
@Laura: The time I made fried shallots, they weren't breaded. Just plain deep fried til crispy! I think the green beans will taste "fresher" than with some sort of sauce, especially since everything else is so rich at this time of year! I *love* garlic with green beans!!
Love the blog..when I grow up, I want to be you!! :)
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