Ahhh....Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving, done in style. We went to two different homes:

One home for dinner: Great conversation from friends also transplanted from the Bay Area, comfortable, homey, cozy, delicious food! Amazing cranberry sauce with Grand Marnier.

Intermezzo Movie: Happy Feet. Pretty cute at first, but the concensus with the group we were with was that there some very adult enviromental messages that turned the movie into a bit weird and a little inappropriate for younger audiences.

Different home for dessert: Fantastic selection of at least 30 homemade desserts(highlights for me were peppermint-chocolate trifle, fudgy oreo cream pie, Red Velvet cake with coconut-pecan frosting,and CG's famous pumpkin pie from his Grandma's 50 year old recipe book). Fun games, friendly houseful stuffed with gads of people, and literally tons of kids.

So, this was our first Thanksgiving without extended family in a very long time. While we missed family, it felt good to be included in a group of friends. The kids got to run wild with packs of kids just like would happen at a normal gathering for my extended family. It was very satisfying.

Generally, we had very little clean up. I am traditionally a very messy cook and it showed with my Stinking Rose recipe of garlic mashed potatoes and my own carmelized, maple-y sweet potatoes everywhere in our kitchen. Beau used his gadgets to time a Roasted Butternut Squash and pancetta risotto and said Grandma's Pumpkin pie. Not too much damage in the kitchen considering the ungodly mess we (mostly me) make when we take the whole meal on.

After cleaning, there was even time to tuck in one last "snack" plateful of turkey and fixings while watching CSI and falling asleep in front of the fire.

Ahh Thanksgiving...

'lisciously scribed by Scout's Honor @ 12:31 PM