stinkerpants design

Hi Everybody!  I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This year we hosted Thanksgiving, which was our first major family event.  I have to say, it was a big success!!  I created a heavy-duty Google Doc that kept us super organized (including timing for when dishes went in the oven, etc), and all of our dishes were served warm and tasty.

I made most of the side dishes, and Y was responsible for the mashed potatoes and the turkey.  If you follow me on Twitter, you might already know that we have a turkey fryer, which we tested a few weeks ago.  It was a little crispy the last time, but this time it was totally perfect.

Y spent a pretty penny on a Heritage Turkey from Marin Sun Farms.  I wasn’t morally opposed to eating him because he had such a wonderful life, so I tasted a little bit of turkey–and I have to say, it was delicious.

And of course, with the responsibility of hosting comes the responsibility of decorating.  I drew us a little turkey to be our mascot.  He held up a sign to identify each of the dishes:

I think my turkey’s name is Fred–and as you can see, he is also a Heritage Turkey.

Below is a photo of the Chestnut and Apple Stuffing I made (I changed the recipe a bit so it was vegetarian).  I also made a Vegetarian Strudel, Green Bean & Artichoke Casserole and pumpkin and vanilla ice cream sandwiches (I just put ice cream and pumpkin pie filling between two graham crackers).  Everyone said things were delicious!  I am proud of us.  :)

In addition to our turkey mascot, I decorated with orchids and decorative gourds:

and I used chalkboard paint on glasses I bought at World Market to create useful place cards:

I have to say, it really was an awesome Thanksgiving, and we had a great time hosting it for our seven guests (from both my side and Y’s!).  I wouldn’t mind hosting it next year, too!

How was your Thanksgiving?  Are you guys ready for Chrismukkah/Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/The Holidays?