In the Company of Good Friends

Dave and I decided this year to celebrate Thanksgiving at home, our way of establishing ourselves as 'newlyweds' and keeping it fair for both sets of families considering the fact that we wouldn't make it out to see his family this year.

A few of Dave's friends from work had nowhere to go, and our guest list quickly grew to 6 + a toddler.  To prepare for serving such an elaborate and important meal I started cooking the day before.  Making the cranberry sauce and desserts in advance really cut down on the work I had to do on Thanksgiving, and having the turkey 'oven-ready' made it easy to sleep in a bit.

On the menu:

Turkey, heavily seasoned and then stuffed with fresh onions, carrots, and celery
Stuffing with celery and fresh sausage
Mashed red potatoes
Homemade cranberry sauce
Homemade dinner rolls

Green Beans with Bacon and almonds


My first turkey!  I used the leftover bones to make soup stock, which I boiled on the stove for several hours with a heavy dose of sea salt and some fresh thyme.  The stock will be frozen into bricks and then vacuum sealed (we got a Food Saver as one of our wedding gifts) for those nights when we want some Turkey soup!

Homemade Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts with fresh cream cheese icing.  I doubled the recipe *thinking* it looked small, and ended up with 100 of these things all layered by hand (graham crust, pumpkin filling, piped cream cheese).

Ooooops.

A place setting, using as much of our new table linens, silverware, and leftover wedding centerpieces as I could!

The vase, mirrors, and candles. . .nobody has to know they are wedding leftovers. . .!

All of the place settings together

A Martha Stewart inspired centerpiece, using fresh cranberries.  Inexpensive, simple, and easy to make!











Dave and I enjoyed every second of the holiday - even the last minutes of preparation as the gravy thickened and we worked together to put everything on the table at the same time.  I love the company of good friends and family (hence my love for entertaining), and would love the opportunity to host another Thanksgiving.