Monday, October 11, 2010

Thanksgiving...many ways.


Last week I was probably more excited about having Noah home for four whole days than I was about Thanksgiving. For some crazy reason, I had decided not to cook my own turkey dinner, perhaps because an entire week (OK, make that a month) of functioning on five or six hours of sleep had taken it's toll.

Besides, I knew we would have turkey dinner with all the trimmings at my in-laws, so it wasn't like I was skipping Thanksgiving entirely.


Then I developed this recipe for Whole Wheat Buttermilk Rolls and invented their adorable presentation...and got all excited about cooking again. And setting a fine table. And hosting. There was no way I could not cook a Thanksgiving dinner, I mean, just look at this festive inspiration outside my patio doors.


So I was pumped; I found a fresh local turkey, TONS of brussels sprouts - which Mateo helped carry - and proceeded to spend half of Saturday in the kitchen.


Turns out that was just what I needed. It no joke that cooking is my therapy of choice, and I relaxed, rejoiced, and found rejuvenation in preparing a simple turkey dinner for my family and a few close loved ones.


You've seen a few of these recipes before...Fruit & Herb Stuffing, Perfect Mashed Potatoes, and a few more are coming soon on Simple Bites. One in particular, the butternut squash gratin (Wednesday), was a huge hit, leaving me with zero leftovers. I should probably be happy about that, but dang, I wanted some for the reheat!

So that was Saturday. Sunday was the wonderfully homey traditional dinner with my in-laws. There were pies, Maple, Pumpkin and Cherry. I had some of all three, then we beetled off home because I had an early morning date with these guys:


The folks from Daybreak had invited me to come talk turkey in studio at 8 AM. So I drove downtown and tried to put cohesive sentences together on only one cup of coffee.
You decide if I succeeded or not; you can listen to the radio clip HERE.

I did discover, however, that I have a lot to say on the subject of turkey and could probably go on all day. Mercifully, the news had to be shared eventually and I got shut down.

Our afternoon today was lazily spent, well, eating. Friends came over and we shared a most excellent Turkey Shepherd's Pie (loosely based on this one, but with sauteed leeks and cheese curd in the mashed potatoes), with more brussels sprouts.


Then we headed outside, went for a walk, hung around the campfire and toasted cinnamon marshmallows, and enjoyed the very best weather of the season.

Late afternoon brought tea on the patio as well as this beautiful pie that my friend brought over.


Yes, there was even homemade vanilla bean ice cream to top it off with. Now you see why my Thanksgiving weekend is shaping up to be one of the best ever.


Incidentally, this pie was also my late dinner, and now that I'm writing about it...I'm thinking I need a snack. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to enjoy the last few hours of my Thanksgiving - with a slice of apple pie.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers....

15 comments:

Julie said...

What a blissful weekend! Sigh. Reminiscing about it already. Thanks for sharing! what better way to celebrate having your whole family at home?

mlindley said...

This stuffing recipe, what can I say? I have been thinking about it for months, dreaming of today. Naturally it was the only choice for us this year, and everyone loved it. Some were skeptical at first, but who could resist that smell? : ) Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.

islandgirl4ever2 said...

BEAUTIFUL pics, comme d'hab! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your lovely family... We're celebrating here in France a few days after the U.S. date-- but only b/c we don't have the day off in the week to celebrate at home...
I can't wait to have a HUGE Thanksgiving Day dinner here in France (I skipped last year's).. I'll post the pics on my blog...

I have a lot of new recipes lined up for this year!

Ciao... Leesa

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

What better way to celebrate than to be surrounded by your whole family. A really special Thanksgiving Aimee, thanks for sharing it with us.

FishMama said...

I love this peek into your life! Are brussels sprouts really that good? And what is Maple Pie?! This US girl is dying to know!

Paula said...

Your weekend and your meal looked amazing and inviting. Glad that your enjoyed it all with family and friends.

Melissa said...

What a wonderful weekend! Glad you had a good one.

Michelle @ RoastedMontreal.com said...

This looks wonderful! I love the little selection of pumpkin/gourds outside. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here in the UK but as Canadians we managed to get a group of family and friends together to celebrate anyway.

Jenerationx said...

This looks and sounds wonderful! That apple pie looks amazing, as do the rolls. Yum. Do you have a recipe for the maple pie? Love, love, love all things maple.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheryl Arkison said...

It all sounds lovely. That's why Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday. It is about food, family, and friends and that's it. Relaxing and comforting, even in the midst of the work.

Jan @ Family Bites said...

It sounds so fun! The photo of your boy with the sprouts is awesome and I'm glad you had a good time.

Miranda said...

Wow, great pics! Thanks for including us in yet another great thanksgiving feast!

Tawny said...

Do you have the recipe for that apple pie?

arun said...


kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

arun said...


kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

kanchipuram silk sarees Manufacturers

ShareThis

Blog Widget by LinkWithin