HAPPY (BELATED) THANKSGIVING!

Things have finally calmed around here and I'm getting on my computer for the first time in several days. I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was relaxing, enjoyable, and filled with good food, family, and friends!

Steve, Caroline, and I hosted our families for Thanksgiving this year. We usually have to split our time between the two (luckily everyone lives in the area) - having dinner with Steve's family and then dessert with mine. As Steve observed, this year was the first in fifteen years (we dated for 8 and have been married for over 6) that we haven't had to drive from house to house. I have to say, hosting almost 40 people while having the luxury of staying put in our own home was well worth the effort!

Our menu was pretty extensive, as we were so lucky that so many people brought delicious contributions to the table. In addition to the standard fare of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy, we had a buffet that included marinated filet, different vegetable casseroles, eggplant parmesean, cornbread, homemade cranberry sauce, steamed asparagus, and butternut squash, to name just a few of the dishes - all of which came after some fabulous appetizers and preceded some amazing desserts.

For the first time ever, Steve and I brined, rubbed, and cooked the main turkey. I used a basic brining recipe of sugar, salt, and water, as well as The Barefoot Contessa's turkey breast rub (I doubled it to compensate for the whole turkey) prior to cooking. Although the cooking time lasted for about 45 minutes pasted my estimations (I'm still getting to know the oven at my new house and have decided I am DEFINITELY a fan of my old house's gas oven rather than my new home's electric one...), we had dinner on the table by 6:15. My cousins Mike and Bill marinated and fried two more in a deep fryer out back - I know it sounds like a heart attack on a plate, but trust me, they were DEVINE.

We also used the holiday as an excuse to get our butts in gear and finish up as much of the house and decorating as we will be doing for a bit (aside from the new baby's room), so that occupied our time too. I have always been a proponent of planning an event in order to motivate myself to hang up more pictures and pull another room together. Add to that a stubborn-double-ear-infected toddler and we had the makings of a busy week! It all came together though and we had a wonderful time. Hopefully, our guests did, too! The one regret I have is that I didn't really take any pictures of the event, as I was too busy hovering over the unmotivated turkey to get any really good shots. Oh well - mental note for next time, right? Now on to the next phase of the holiday season... :)