Thanksgiving night....

What a nice, nice day.... with a delicious dinner. There were 8 of us for dinner late this afternoon... M and his daughter M, friends J and J,  G and her friend J, and my husband and myself. The weather was glorious... a little cool this morning but warm and sunny this afternoon.

The turkey breast was beyond perfect, following the instructions on the food network to rotate the bird half-way through the cooking time. (It cooked very evenly and browned nicely because each side of the bone-in breast got a chance to be top-side in the roasting pan.)  Into the breast cavity, I put half an apple, a whole cinnamon stick, and a large sprig of rosemary. All those flavors cooked into the turkey.... and when the turkey came out of the oven, I put the apple and cinnamon stick into the pot of gravy and let those flavors simmer into the gravy as it heated up. Delicious gravy (for a change).

My husband made oyster dressing and mashed potatoes, I made sweet potatoes and baked apples, J and J brought asparagus and fresh-baked bread and home-made cranberry sauce, and J brought a huge bowl of Caesar salad.  For dessert, I baked a pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream, and J and J came with a pecan pie.

We all just had a nice relaxing dinner, lots of conversations and laughs, and everyone seemed very much at home and comfortable, which is how it should be.  I had made little place card packages of chocolates covered in Thanksgiving-ish wrapping paper, tied up with raffia, with each name on a little card which sat on top of the package. They came out really cute, and everyone is always surprised to find that the place card is more than just a place card.

My husband said the entire afternoon seemed effortless, and that's just how it appeared, which is a good thing. Last thing guests need to see is someone running from one end of a kitchen to the other with a frazzled to-do list that isn't quite done by the time everyone takes their seats.

That sense of effortless-ness was achieved by three days of cooking and baking. By this morning, all that had to be done was to put the turkey into the oven and then pop all the pans of side-dishes into the oven while the turkey was resting and then being sliced. I had set the table yesterday, took my time with Thanksgiving decorations and it looked just beautiful... and when everyone sits down to a pretty table, I think it really does set the mood for the dinner.

Another Thanksgiving in this big old wonderful house. Now it's time to get ready for our Christmas party, and the Waldorf Wednesday Ornament Exchange... and then Christmas Eve and Christmas. And, in case you're wondering... just 29 more days till Christmas Day.