My First Thanksgiving

I had the pleasure of hosting my very first Thanksgiving. Brian's mom came down from Redding, so it was just the three of us. I figured that I couldn't really screw up Thanksgiving with just the three of us.... It actually wasn't as bad as I had thought.

Although I did break three things. They say things happen in threes, so I knew after the third, I was done for the evening. The first was a wooden spoon. I was trying to make an olive Tapenaude and the blender wasn't doing it's job - blending. So I decided to use a wooden spoon to get things moving. I guess I put the spoon too far down and it got blended in with the olives. So I guess it really was doing it's job. So, enter broken item #1. I had to throw the entire concoction down the drain - it just seemed to be too much added fiber. But don't worry, we made a second batch and decided to chop everything instead of blend. It actually turned out pretty good...See? But unfortunately, shortly after this photo was taken two of the white serving plates you see in the photo fell on the floor and broke - also dropping half of the appetizer. So what is the lesson to be learned? Amber is not allowed to make this ever again.....

Moving on. The turkey however turned out spectacular! It was nice and juicy and we had plenty of leftovers. In fact, we just finished off the stuffing and yams last night. We still have a few turkey sandwiches worth of turkey and cake and pie left as well. Look at my beautiful bird!

Oh, and the cake I made! YUMMY! I found a recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine (yes, buying a house has fully domesticated me....). It was for a Spiced Carrot-Apple cake. It's a three-layer cake and quite possibly the best cake I've ever made! I also made a Pumpkin Pie, but the cake over-ruled the pie. In fact, it still has yet to be eaten - but at this point it probably won't ever get eaten.

So, here we are, enjoying our very first Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time and I hope that you also had a great Thanksgiving!