A Happy Thanksgiving!

It was a lot of work, but it was exciting work! In the end it all came together to be a very happy Thanksgiving with the family. I'd bought a bunch of food with the intention on making a very elaborate and extensive menu. I love to cook, but with working extra hours and also trying to get things done around the house, it made things a little harried. Sure enough, as the day progressed, I started eliminating things off the list that I knew I just wouldn't be able to get to.

Despite how overwhelming it was feeling, it was still fun. All the activity and smells! I roasted one Turkey (using the "Good Eats Turkey" recipe!) and I grill-smoked the other (a Hickory-Smoked Bourbon-Maple Turkey). They turned out delicious! And while I made a lot less than I originally planned, I still made quite a few dishes: mashed potatoes, yellow squash, rutabegas, gravy, giblet stuffing, apple-maple bacon stuffing, southern cornbread dressing, cranberry-tangerine sauce and 2 sweet potato pies. My Mom brought homemade knot rolls, candied sweet potatoes, green beans, and 2 pies: apple and blueberry. So we had quite a feast!!

I also stepped out of character and purchased a couple lighter white wines that I would perceive as being "sweeter". I'd always paired turkey with chardonnay for a white wine and pinot noir for a red. But I saw this past week on the Food Network a suggestion to pair Thanksgiving dinner with a Gewurtraminer or Reisling for a white (and they still suggested a pinot noir for the red option). I was intrigued! I'd tried a German riesling a few months ago and was pleasantly suprised that I didn't find it to be sweet....just very light and refreshing. So I decided to give it a shot for the holiday! I purchased a lovely Fetzer Gewurztraminer and Yellow Tail Riesling. I am happy to say that I tried them both and I really do enjoy them! I think the "stigma" I placed on these types of wines is finally lifting! I think I might even try a Moscato next.

The riesling has lovely fruit notes, but it's hard for me to pick out exactly what I'm smelling...maybe apricot? I immediately smelled green apples when I swirled the Gewurtztraminer....lovely! On the back label it suggests apricots and peaches. At any rate, it was very delicious, and I'd highly recommend it.

Despite how rushed we felt, I wanted to do a special project that I thought would be fun for the whole family, especially the kids. We taped white butcher paper to our dining room wall and my husband cut out a trunk (for a tree) and taped it to the paper, then he cut out a bunch of leaves. The idea was for everyone to write on the leaves what they were thankful for, then tape them above the trunk to form our "Thanksgiving Tree". Everyone enjoyed the idea, and our tree turned out so nice! It helped to remember that this was a day to give THANKS.

It truly was an enjoyable Thanksgiving this year. I hope that all of you had a very happy Thanksgiving, too!! - Kathy