Food and company were great. We had the usual friends here and it’s always a good time.
Not so good - I was oddly exhaused by about 6 PM. Also H, D and SIL were not happy about the Packer’s loss.
Oh and I missed S (he is in London).
Overall we had a great day. We always spend the weekend at our vacation home. This year we have 16 people here. So there was lots of food–coordinated by my foodie DH who had all the recipes assigned and timing for the ovens on spread sheets!
There is a Turkey Plunge in town–you jump into the Atlantic Ocean (at a harbor beach). It is a fundraiser for the lical library. It was warm this year–almost 60 degrees. All the 20-somethings do it and they convinced me and another friend to do it this year. OMG, it was cold! Never again!!!
My D has done the polar plunge on New Year’s Day in Asbury Park, NJ several times. brrrr!
After S2 missed his train from DC Wed morning and didn’t arrive til late Wed night, everything else went OK.
It was different not having S1 here, but he emailed and called for advice from Mom since he and DIL were doing their own first Thanksgving. Fortunately, it was just the two of them, so any mistakes weren’t evident to guests. They skyped after their dinner so we could see what they made. Now that S1 has roasted a turkey for the first time, he should be fine in the future. DIL is vegetarian, so, if he wanted turkey, he was on his own. She handled alot of the sides. He made my cranberry relish…it wouldn’t be Thansgiving to him without it.
We have tons of leftovers, but DH likes it that way, and S1 will still be home til Sun morning to help put a dent in them. The only disappointment food-wise was that my gravy came out too thick, so I kept adding chicken stock to it.
I didn’t feel particularly appreciated by DH for all the work I did, when all he could do was complain about how long it took him to do the dishes. He’s usually more appreciative.
I was just back from Asia on Tuesday - which was really my Wednesday. Only DH and I for T-day, Hubby would have been happy to have a restaurant meal, Boston Market or anything I suggested. I thought I was feeling great and would enjoy doing up the turkey and trimmings. Of course, the jet lag kicked in just as the meal was coming out of the oven.
First, I noticed that DH had set the table with the silver completely wrong - despite years of my attempts to teach him that the knife and spoon belong together on the right. I’m afraid I corrected him too harshly, complete with “Why after all these years can’t you get it right!”.
Then, I asked DH to carve and he promptly hacked into the beautiful turkey - attempting to slice the drumstick meat (who wants slices - the intact drumstick is part of the tradition!), making a hash out of the breast which was perfectly prepared and ready to be sliced attractively.
I’m afraid I lost it - one of those totally irrational reactions where I knew I was being irrational but couldn’t stop myself. I tried to keep my shrieking to a minimum and not ruin DH’s meal, but I couldn’t calm down myself and enjoy the mangled bird.
Went to bed about 6:00 PM and slept through until 7:30 AM. Luckily, DH is bright and cheery today and must not have taken my outbursts seriously.
Had a great time hosting 18 people. I had to get adjusted to having 6 people here int he house who also cooked during the day) gee, they wanted to eat lunch-- what a concept 
) so had to adjust a bit.
Now to clean up and put away…
Everything hit the table hot/warm. Timing everything, that’s always the biggest challenge for me! Plus the hapless Lions won so that made the football fans at the house happy.
“First, I noticed that DH had set the table with the silver completely wrong - despite years of my attempts to teach him that the knife and spoon belong together on the right”
If it makes you feel better @Momofadult, my H has trouble getting this right as well which I never understand.
Good: I met DS’s GF for the first time and really like her. She helped a lot in the kitchen that morning while my own D slept in. The dog did not growl at anyone. My new-recipe homemade rolls turned out ok, though could have stood more time to rise a little more. My budget centerpiece of dead leaves and acorns from my yard turned out quite cute, if I do say so myself.
Bad: I gained about three pounds. Have been on a low-carb diet all year long (lost over 40 pounds) and needless to say, none of our holiday fare is low carb. Also, had a little “disagreement” with my mother who has turned into a critical B in her old age when she reminded me for the second time that she doesn’t like my facebook picture and insulted D’s hair.
My cake tasted great…too bad 1/2 of it stuck in the pan. Emergency use of Gingerbread cookie packet from Walmart. DIL’s (her 1st hostessing) electricity to her oven and microwave went out. The bbq joint smoking her turkey called and said the win made them 45 minutes late. Some vehicle problems for folks.
All worked out by 3 p.m. and we had a crowd of about 20, much good food, and lots of fun. I’m really hoping my side can continue combining this holiday with DIL’s side in the future.
It was a nicer day than I anticipated. I love having big crowd, but sadly, due to losing MIL and FIL over the past few years and me being an only, there were only 7 of us at the table. Thankfully DS’s GF joined us so we had one “guest.”
My daughter has misophonia but she was able to sneak her plate up to her room and my parents didn’t really notice that she wasn’t at the table, what with everyone getting up for seconds and refilling plates etc.
The turkey and stuffing were great, the sides also came out okay, even the sauerkraut that I made in memory of my late MIL. We played a game after dinner that got us laughing. And the dishes are all finished.
Oh, I forgot to serve one of the appetizers and almost forgot the fresh fruit salad, but DH rescued that.
Good: S1 and DIL’s plane arrived when scheduled, S2’s 3 hr. 15 minute drive only turned into a 3 hr. 45 minute drive on Thanksgiving morning. We drove out to my B and SIL’s area without much traffic, went to a movie to “kill time” so that we did not arrive at their house 3 hours early :). Very relaxed, low key, fun meal with nieces and nephews, B and SIL. They are perfect hosts!
Ours was really lovely. We went to my cousins in Boston, since S lives there now, instead of going with rest of family to Long Island. My cousin is in a host program for international graduate students at Harvard and she invited the current couple from Bejing, last years couple from S. Korea, who came with there adorable - yr. old daughter., and the couple from the year before that are from India. It was the first Thanksgiving for all of them.
We had a lot of apps, 3 different cheeses I bought at the fancy cheese monger, humus, crackers, veggies - including watermelon radishes - which was a new one for me - and shrimp with dipping sauce. They kept drinks simple so choice was hard cider or prosecco. Cocktail hour lasted about a 1 1/2 hours and then we sat down for dinner. Pumpkin soup to start, then the main course (traditional) with the addition of Korean sushi that the Korean guests brought. Everything was made to perfection. They served a red wine with dinner. My cousin loves to bake so we had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and an apple cake served with her homemade ice cream. The Chinese couple contributed Chinese rice cookie balls that looked like mini pumpkins. They were good but very different than what we think of as a cookie.
Very interesting dinner conversation. The guy from S. Korea, who is a major in the S. Korean Air Force and the the one from China are both at the Kennedy School. The major is studying security and the guy from China is studying environmental air pollution. I expect he’ll be very employable when he goes back home. The women from India is at one of the top law firms in NYC and her H is getting MBA at Georgetown. They are here for good.
After dessert we played Balderdash - which was a hoot.
We left around 10 and didn’t get home until 12:30.
No traffice hassles either way.
S is still sleeping but later we are all going to take dogs on walk on our new rail trail. It’s going to be 60, and probably the last time until spring, so must take advantage. Then I’m coming home and cooking another t’giving dinner for the three of us.
Both S and I brought wine as hostess gifts. My cousin did not open either.
Posted this already in another thread, but this one is more appropriate:
Good: My smoked Turkey was delicious. Stuffing in the roasted turkey was amazing. Everyone behaved and got along very well.
Bad: My roasted turkey, after going to much trouble using a brining kit for the first time, was tough and dry. Gah…We will cube it and soak it in some broth today, then D2 will make her famous pot pie from scratch. I think we can salvage it…
No matter how I try to do things in advance, I still end up working way too hard. Lower back is very sore today after all the bending to retrieve/replace cookware, and our ovens are low, so much bending putting things in and out. BIL saved the day getting the heavy turkey out for me or I’d probably be flat on my back today.
Hope everyone had a wonderful day!
Aww, that’s too bad, @Momofadult! You realize that was probably 70% jet lag getting you, right? Yes, the table setting comment probably wasn’t the best, but after working so hard on the turkey, I can see how you’d be upset about it being mangled. If I didn’t have such a tasty smoked turkey, my roasted turkey bust would probably have had me in tears.
I didn’t go to Asia, but I still slept from 10:00 pm to 9:30 this morning! I NEVER do that!
Hope you are feeling more rested today!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, just our family of five. I picked up DS (23) from his group home on Tuesday. DS, 20, and DD, 17, were also here. It may be the last Thanksgiving for awhile that we’re all together, so I decided to make it special.
I am NOT domestic, but made everything but the pies from scratch (I ordered those from a local diner and they were awesome). Oldest DS helped me and did well. He felt a little overwhelmed at one point, but took a brief break and came back to assist me. I made the turkey and stuffing from my mom’s typed copy of her mother’s recipes, dated 1980. A lot of work, but worth it. I also made the cranberry sauce. Note to self: Since I am the only person in the family who LIKES cranberry sauce, I can probably get by next time with only one bag of cranberries instead of two!
The turkey took longer to cook than I expected, so my timing was off. The meat thermometer kept reading too low. But eventually it was done, and it came out perfect!
I had asked DH to set up the camera on the tripod to take our picture at the table. He had all day to do it, so of course he waits until I’m putting the food on the table! We almost had a mutiny on our hands before he managed to get everything rigged up. But we did get a good photograph, so it was worth it.
We all played ping pong earlier in the day. We also watched the Macy’s Parade on TV. We watched three football games, and “our” teams lost every one. Oh, well!
Husband cooked the turkey upside down. Served it upside down, too, until someone realized it was surprisingly hard to carve. (As you can tell my TG responsibilities do not include the turkey.)
@MaineLonghorn, lol your DH. I gave DH only ONE JOB, and that was to carve the turkeys. He kept putting it off because he couldn’t bear to tear himself away from football. Then he and BIL carved them together, but they were stealing bites faster than they were actually making any headway, so I got somewhat annoyed. Gave him the eyebrow, then counted to ten. 
And I also bought two bags of berries, when only 1/4 of one would have sufficed!
"Over the last few years, I’ve progressively given up the “I must personally make everything on the table from scratch” syndrome. "
All we made were the turkeys, broccoli and a zucchini casserole that is a family favorite. Relatives brought salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and desserts - 3 of which were homemade and 2 of which were store bought. I don’t get the fetishization of homemade food or why people think it tastes oh so much better. A good bakery makes stuff just as good as homemade.
For the wine thread we had sparkling apple cider and San Pellegrino and LaCroix favors, and a few people had soft drinks. I offered milk to have with the desserts, and half of my guests wanted it.