Thanksgiving

So a little recap: Thanksgiving was at our place this year (I pretty much sequester holidays and hold them captive, so it's not like my family has much choice), but unlike last year, we had a whole year under our belt of living in the house and being settled. Which can I tell you - it just felt ohsoverynice! I took off Wednesday too, which meant FIVE whole days off of work in a row.

People. Newsflash --- THIS WAS AMAZING! I don't think I even really realized how tired I've been, but holy mashed potatoes, it was awesome! I haven't had that many days off in a row to just be at home in...ummm...never. Remind me to take vacations at home from now on, they are where it's at!

Long story short, all this time off resulted in my feeling brave enough to take on the turkey. I don't know why, but with how much I love to cook, I've just never felt like I could take on the bird. But this year was different, this year - I was empowered!

But then - SO MANY CHOICES. Do you deep-fry? We are in the South now, wouldn't that be appropriate? Do you brine? And with what brine? Do you glaze? I amassed more Thanksgiving-menu related magazines than I thought possible trying to exhaust all options. I went a bit overboard - at first I was going to butterfly it and stuff it with ricotta, fennel, and sausage. That was till I learned I needed to find an actual butcher from whom I could purchase such a turkey, your regular grocery deli will not butterfly your turkeys. Trust me. I tried. In the end leave it up to a blog to make my mind for me, and I took La Dolce Vita's advice and made her favorite recipe. And she was right - I will never make another turkey. It was the BEST.

I wish I had more pictures, but honestly, I was cooking the whole time, which really didn't allow for much picture taking! However, we managed a few:

Becky drove up late the night before to pitch in:

Recipes/Magazines on parade:

Some people opted for games instead of cooking:

Mom made pie...hahahaha. Becky and I were in tears after I took this picture...
Sorry, mom - couldn't resist!

The green beans were a hit - I'll include the link to the recipe below, so easy!

There she is - my pride and joy - about 1/3 of the way cooked:

We all gathered together to pray before dinner...ALL of us:

The Thanksgiving table...

I took a cue from good ol' Martha and walnuts served as our placecard holders:

Then we ate and we thanked and we ate and thanked some more. The End.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

For more on green beans go here:http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/11/green_beans_with_toasted_walnuts_and_dried_cherry_vinaigrette