Los Angeles, California: Happy Thanksgiving to you! And you! And you! And YOU too! Dave and I hope you all had a great time celebrating with family and friends.
As usual, Our Girl, put on a fabulous spread of wonderful foods. Her menu:
APPETIZERS:
Seed crackers (Renee) with Cashew Cheese
Rosemary Marcona Almonds and Olives
Deviled Eggs
Cheese Plate (Kylee)
DINNER:
Kale Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Mushroom Turnovers
Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Squashducken with Pesto
Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Tart
Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes & Mushroom Gravy
Cranberry Sauce
Cloverleaf Rolls
DESSERTS:
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Tart
Pecan Pie
Turkey cookies
The only thing missing from the traditional menu was a turkey. Lisa and Lenny served a vegetarian Thanksgiving. No one missed the bird.
(Yet to be roasted) Squashducken. Four different varieties of peeled squash, squashed inside each other, with a hazelnut-sage pesto rubbed between each squash! Who thinks of this? Lisa made a very small version of the recipe she semi-followed from Food52.
Caramelized Onion and Gruyere tart (no recipe, she just winged it)
I made a pumpkin pie
A local bakery made a pecan pie...
..and cute little turkey cookies for the kidsLisa set a gorgeous table and decorated the mantle with flowers and squash. Flowers for the table were placed inside hollowed-out mini-pumpkins (DT's chore).
Rina and Leo enjoying Lenny's famous dipLenny made his famous dip. It is required at all family gatherings and football games. On Thanksgiving, it is served in a chip-and-dip set my parents received as a wedding gift in 1953.
Rina is Leo's best friend, and she stopped by with her family to say hello. When Leo saw Rina, he ran up to her, gave her a big hug and declared, "I am thankful for you, Rina." Could not find a dry eye in the house after that line. They are just so cute together.
Angela (Leo's godmother) made the "signature cocktail" for the evening - a champagne punch with a fig-and-vanilla mélange. Oh, and vodka. Lots of vodka. This went down very easy.
More family friends, Kylee and Colman, contributed a gorgeous cheese platter as an appetizer.
Kids table!
Decor by Lisa
Ryan (went to college with Lisa) and Angela (Leo's godmother) with Leo
The pretty table - unladen v laden.Wine from our neighbor, Ponzi, in Oregon
Our niece, Carla, is looking a bit over-whelmed by that platter of stuffing.Meanwhile, Lucy has probably already started chowing-down.
The Squashducken is a bit blurry, but it roasted perfectly and was so good with the sage-hazelnut pesto combination. Lisa topped the squash creation with parmesan cheese.
Lisa used puff pastry for the mushroom turnovers.We had three ladies in animal print shoes!
Not that I am comparing my sister with the Wicked Witch of the West or anything, but the pointy toe heels on the far left are the only photographic proof Renee was even at the party.Big adventure planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Until my next update, I remain, your thankful correspondent.