Thanksgiving this year was very special. We were fortunate to have our sons, daughters-in-law, and 16 month old adorable grandson at our table.
For the past two years Thanksgivings have been very different for so many of us due to the Pandemic.
With the current vaccines and boosters available to most of us we are not the only ones who celebrated together with family and friends this year.
Being able to share this favorite holiday of mine with our loved ones is at the top of my gratitude list, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that.
The hope for next Thanksgiving is to have even more of us around the table, coming from further distances to be together.
But now for this year’s menu…If you’ve been following me on this blog you probably could name the food yourself, since when it comes to thanksgiving the menu is pretty traditional with a few changes each year.
We always start off with an array of appetizers, including shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce, cheeses, charcuterie with crackers and accoutrements such as fresh pear, grapes or apple, dried cherries, honey, roasted almonds and cashews, and my own toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), which are so easy to make ahead.
This year I added a dish of grilled artichoke hearts (they come in a jar), and also made ahead some citrus herb olives.
And then comes the feast…
My husband was so anxious, excited, hungry, he began carving the turkey before we were able to take a photo, but believe me it was golden brown and beautiful!
The menu includes Roast turkey and gravy, Mom’s challah stuffing, Mom’s mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, cranberry fruit mold, a medley of roasted vegetables including carrots, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and fennel, and a new recipe for candied sweet potatoes (I’ll post it soon…so delicious!)
And believe it or not, there was still room for dessert,,,
pumpkin pie... (served with freshly whipped cream)
…and ever since our younger son was born in early December we have had a birthday cake for him at Thanksgiving since the extended family were always with us.
It has become another tradition, so I made my mom’s chocolate cake, which everyone loves, and frosted it with my favorite chocolate icing . You can find the recipe for both here.
Best I could do was a pic looking down on it, but who would look down on chocolate cake???
Hope everyone had a wonderfully satisfying Thanksgiving !