We hosted Thanksgiving in our own home for the first time in our married lives last week (!!). It's a really nice thing to spend a holiday at home, & I think we're going to do it more often - especially now that we have the space to accomodate visitors, without requiring that they sleep in our living room. We convinced Mike's entire family + Kylie to come to Houston this year, & were happy to get to show everyone a little part of our new life here.
Of course, a major component to hosting such a big group of people is planning meals. I'm a planner by nature, & I really love great food, so I took this seriously! I made a plan, I got organized, & I assembled a notebook. Of course! I'm sure that there were a few people who confirmed to themselves that I'm a complete nutcase, but I'm seriously holding on to my Thanksgiving Meals.doc file for many years to come. It was a tremendous amount of work doing the planning & the shopping (especially with Costco evacuations, etc), but I was really pleased with everything that we put on the table. Here's what we did:
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Tuesday
D: Tortellini w. Lemon Dill Sauce + Spinach Salad
Wednesday
B: Mom's Blueberry Muffins + scrambled eggs w. cheese & chives
L: Out
D: Rustic Fall Vegetable Soup w. Rotisserie chicken, biscuits & spinach salad
Thursday
B: Crepes w. peaches & yogurt + OJ
L: Snacks – Veggie tray, spiced pecans, Chex Lemon Buddies, goat cheese & rosemary stuffed peppers, apples & almond butter
D: Thanksgiving!
Citrus Roast Turkey
Cranberry Sauce (Costco!)
Gravy (Costco! Simmered all day w. the turkey neck - poor turkey)
Martinellis & San Pelligrino
Friday
B: Mom's Buttermilk Pancakes w. homemade dressing + sausage & OJ
L: Leftovers
D: Hawaiian Haystacks (I retired from cooking after breakfast & put Cara & Jeanne in charge!)
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I have a new appreciation for all of the work my mother did feeding a family of 9 growing up (& she always cooked from scratch!), not to mention all of the planning she & my sister Tara have primarily handled for the weeks spent at Priest Lake over the past decade or so. It is so. much. work. but I think that making a yummy meal is most often really rewarding & I really like to do it.
(But I was so exhausted come Saturday morning!)
Photos! I didn't take nearly as many I should have, but I at least captured our improvised Thanksgiving table (we had to put two together in our currently-empty dining room / music room) & my first experience up close & personal with a turkey. We had a really nice time with everyone in Texas, Quinn took a break from teething for a few days & ate up all of the constant attention & focus on him, & I loved having friend Kylie around, too! My careful scheming of trying to get a friend (& photographer!) married into the family will hopefully be successful - & seeing them together for just a few days had me convinced that they're the happiest lovebirds of 2011.
Also: I'm not allowed to buy any more navy & white striped shirts.
And of course, the view I often get when I pull out my camera.
*Also: I feel I should mention that I'm currently sitting in the Cafe at the gym with my laptop & a Diet Coke (lie: it's Pepsi, & I hate Pepsi). My new plan with dealing with Q's recent + serious attachment issues is to bring him to the gym twice a day, just for a little bit, so that he can get used to his friends in VillaKids & eventually let me work out for longer than 25 minutes before he has a nervous breakdown (e.g. yesterday).
*Also: I feel I should mention that I'm currently sitting in the Cafe at the gym with my laptop & a Diet Coke (lie: it's Pepsi, & I hate Pepsi). My new plan with dealing with Q's recent + serious attachment issues is to bring him to the gym twice a day, just for a little bit, so that he can get used to his friends in VillaKids & eventually let me work out for longer than 25 minutes before he has a nervous breakdown (e.g. yesterday).
7 comments:
I can't get over that menu. And the table! It just looks so so pretty. I want all your place mats, napkins + napkin holders and table cloth. Oh, and your center piece? Nice work. You are so crafty.
And did you go with the ombre? Your hair is looking lovely. Jeez. So many things to talk about. I should just call you.
Everything sounds delicious. I think we'll come to your house for Thanksgiving next year!
Amazing, Kathryn. Your table settings are so fresh & unexpected, I love how they all came together. And that menu! Your house is going to be FILLING UP with guests before you know it. :)
Wow, everything looked beautiful and the food sounds divine! We had a house full of people too (Including six kids ages 5 and under) for 9 days. Are you still recovering? I am! Congrats on a job well done :)
I love your table settings too, although I think my favourite part of your post was where you said, 'I am sure there were some people who confirmed I am a complete nutcase'!! It made me laugh out loud! For the record, I am so impressed with your menu and planning - you have inspired me for when we have company! Beautiful job, as always!
you are wonder woman. my kids seriously just told me they want you to be their mom. incredible, beautiful, and i bet the food was out of this world. you should be very, very proud of yourself. especially because you managed to write an amazing talk for church, too. i bow to you.
I can't get over that menu. Incredible!
(That last photo might be my very very favorite with his dimples and tiny teeth poking through)
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