Thankful

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day and enjoyed wonderful foods with your wonderful family and wonderful friends. We did! I snapped so many photos of our pretty table and pretty foods and then I forgot to pick up my camera again. I blame it on the champagne.

I set the table Wednesday afternoon. No plates, as we had a buffet.

Due to so much advance prep, we had a pretty relaxing day. Lucy helped DT do the New York Times crossword puzzle and Leo played with his new set of Frozen characters (Elsa, Anna and Olaf dolls). We watched a parade and then the TV somehow switched to football and seemed to stay there for quite a while.

Our guests began to arrive early afternoon. The salmon rillettes was served with sliced baguettes and a chunk of brie. Leo took a whiff of the cheese and said it smelled like farts. Fart cheese.

I had dry-brined the (15-pound, butterflied) turkey since Tuesday. We removed the turkey from refrigeration two hours before it went on the grill, so it would warm-up a bit. With the lid closed on DT's fancy gas grill, it becomes basically an oven.

In just around two hours the turkey turned a rich brown color and was cooked to perfection. No basting. No flipping. No nothing.

I often butterfly chickens. They roast quickly and DT finds it easier to carve. This turkey was delicious - good job, DT!

Photo of the cooks - by my sister, Renee

The candles in the chandelier were lit, water goblets were filled. Wine glasses were filled.

The feast was placed on a buffet and we had dinner.

Lenny gives the thumbs-up to his favorite Mother-in-Law.

Grilled turkey and roasted Delicata Squash, herb and mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, shaved Brussels Sprout salad, rolls and butter, and cranberry sauce (on the table). Dave ended up pouring Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir - remember we visited the vineyard in Napa on October 28th.

Not only was it Thanksgiving, but Lisa's godmother, Nancy, was celebrating a birthday. We sang happy birthday and had birthday cake... and pumpkin pie... and salted pumpkin caramels... and chocolate pecan shortbread bars... and cookies.

With a roaring fire to keep us warm from the nasty Oregon wind and rain, we just had a wonderful day. Everyone held Lucy and cooed over her. Leo kept us entertained and he was so well behaved during dinner!

I think we ran the dishwasher three times.

Until my next update, I remain, your thankful correspondent.