Los Angeles, California: Tablescapes are all I have to show for our Thanksgiving celebration. After the guests arrived - including 4 additional children - all heck broke loose and my camera never made another appearance.
As usual, Our Girl really knows how to set a table for a holiday.
The kiddie table:
The kitchen table was turned into a kid-friendly (carpet-free) space for the five older (age 3-6; a visiting baby ate in the dining room in a high chair) kids to enjoy an adult-free Thanksgiving dinner. The placemats were ready to be colored with crayons and the little turkey "cracker" favors held miniature Pilgrims, Native Americans and gold paper crowns.
Things were a little fancier at the grown-up table.
Lisa used a natural colored tablecloth and placed greens and white pumpkins down the center. Gold highlights were found in the cutlery, stemware, candles, and a large antique brass wishbone at the center of the table.
The only thing missing from this Thanksgiving table was a turkey. Lisa's family are vegetarian. She made wishbones from air-dry clay so each guest could make a wish.I wished for a roasted turkey.
Just kidding. I will roast one next week in Indio.
And a guest appearance by Lucy:
The party started with Bloody Mary's or champagne cocktails and a cheese platter. And there was another Dip-Off: Lenny's Lipton Onion Soup Mix dip versus my Caramelized Onion Dip. The first time Lenny and I had a Dip-Off, he won. (Lisa says it's the MSG that reels-in the votes.) This year it was a tie, but one person had yet to vote. That person was DT. He refused to vote. DT is a very smart man.
Next time, Lenny, you are going DOWN!
For the main course, Lisa roasted rings of acorn squash and stuffed the centers with mounds of traditional stuffing - one for every adult. We also had mushroom bread pudding, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, tossed green salad, green beans with crispy shallots and hazelnuts, pumpkin rolls, corn bread, collard greens, spinach gratin, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pecan pie. There were a lot of guests and everyone brought several dishes. We forgot to put the cranberry sauce on the table.
The icing on the cake... or the whipped cream on the pie... Lenny's Redskins won!
We learned our lesson - no driving back to Indio the weekend after Thanksgiving... which requires driving past one of the largest outlet malls in America on Black Friday. The first time we stupidly attempted the usual two-hour drive, it took us six hours. And that means FOUR HOURS sitting on I-10. Never again.
Until my next update, I remain, your stuffed correspondent.