A Thanksgiving Win!

Hosting our first Thanksgiving ever was a big time success. We actually hosted on Saturday since we were up at M's cabin on Thursday. And technically we used my mom and dad's home, because 14 people simply wouldn't fit in our house.

Here's a recap of the menu with recipe links. My sister and I made pretty much everything, with a little help from our dinner guests and M.

• Cranberry Brie Bites (appetizer)
  
• Italian meats, cheeses and crackers (appetizer)
• Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Brushetta with Black Lentils (appetizer)
• Cinnamon Apple Squash soup (actually a crock pot recipe, but I used my immersion blender before serving)
• Caesar Salad -- thanks, Mom
  
• Corn Bread Muffins
• Apple Pecan Stuffing
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
  
• Corn (heated up frozen corn and added butter)
  
• Turkey -- M. handled this entirely
• Gravy -- I actually forgot about this, buy my mom was thankfully prepared.
  
• Cranberry sauce
• Butternut Squash Risotto -- thanks, Aunt M
  
• Broccoli and pine nuts -- thanks, Aunt M
  
• Pumpkin Log -- We used my Aunt T's famous recipe, but this one is really close.
  
• Apple Pie -- thanks to my mom (she made it with the apples M and I picked on our annual Shenandoah trip)
  
• Peanut Butter Pie -- thanks, Aunt P.

At the last minute, my sister was able to come home from college for the entire Thanksgiving break. Thank goodness, because she and I did most of the cooking at my house on Friday. Of course we had the Christmas tunes blaring and the wine flowing -- the perfect day!

While we were cooking my mom brought our grandma over to hang out for a bit. She has Dementia, so she's easily confused. While she had no idea where she was, she did know she was with her grand daughters and she was having a great time commenting on our cooking.

Grandma also looked at our wedding guest book notes and pictures for three hours. Front to back. Back to front. When she'd get to an end she'd close it for a minute. Then look down, see the book in her lap and say, "Oh boy, I haven't seen these pictures yet." And the cycle continued.

She also heckled us when we set the fire alarm off. She actually thought it was hilarious. She insisted she never did that while cooking. (Question: Did they even have smoke detectors back in those days?) She may have never caught the kitchen on fire, but she did have a few secrets of her own. Allow me to share one with you.

My Italian grandma made her own homemade tomato sauce -- always. She'd make huge batches of it and freeze it. For my Pap-pap, no other sauce was acceptable. Well a few years ago, she had a heart attack that landed her in the hospital for a few days.

After she was stable, Pap-pap was still pacing around the room. We told him to relax; she was going to be fine. He just looked up and said, "Yeah but she probably won't be able to cook for a while and we're out of tomato sauce!"

What Pap-pap didn't know was that Grandma was tired of making sauce all the time. It's really a long, time consuming process. So a while back she started mixing her homemade sauce with Ragu to make it last longer. Of course she always hid the the evidence and claimed it was her recipe. Overtime, she stopped making sauce completely. She was just freezing Ragu so it looked homemade. Smart lady.

When we dropped that bomb on my Pap, he was beside himself. Frankly, I'm surprised we didn't end up with two grandparents in the hospital, both recovering from heart attacks.

Speaking of our Pap-pap (a.k.a. "Snoop" b/c he's ridiculously nosy), he also stopped by unannounced on Friday. He walked in, snooped around, flipped on the TV, made himself comfortable and proceeded to take a nap on our couch. Typical.

Then on Saturday, Sister and I finished cooking and lugged everything over to my parents' house for dinner. With 14 people at the table -- most loud-mouthed Italians -- it was all the chaos and commotion I was missing on the real Thanksgiving.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my in-laws. Without a lot of extended family in town, Thanksgiving with them was a much-needed, perfectly peaceful and relaxing day at their cabin. Thanksgiving, Part II with my extended family was pretty much the opposite -- and in my opinion an excellent way to round out the weekend. Truly the best of both worlds.

Apparently Pap-pap wasn't the only only one who was tired.

The turkey. Good thing M. handled this, because it kind of grosses me out.

My favorite -- the cranberry brie bites.

Corn bread muffins made with my new tea cake pan. So cute!

The soup.

The stuffing, half way there.

Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple.

Thanksgiving, Take II

Guess who's cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year? Yup, that would be me.

Remember last year? First my family tried to keep me from cooking anything. Then after much protesting, they put me in charge of heating up frozen corn. And I screwed it up.

Well, my kitchen skills have improved considerably since then. I'm not completely Domestically Deficient, but I'm still a far cry from a Domestic Goddess. Maybe a Domestic Diva? My friends did get me an apron to prove it (Love!). However, since it is the holiday season, I'll be sporting my Cooking Claus apron on Thanksgiving. I digress...

On Thursday we'll be at the cabin with M's family. Then on Saturday it will be Thanksgiving, part II with my family and I'm hosting!

The Menu:

• Cranberry Brie Bites (appetizer)
• Italian meats, cheeses and crackers (appetizer)
• Cinnamon Apple Squash soup
• Salad -- my mom's contribution
• Corn Bread Muffins
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch (a hit last year!)
  
• Corn (would stink if I screwed this up... again...)
• Turkey -- M. is in charge of this!
• Cranberry sauce
• Vegetables -- my aunt will be bringing the veggies
• Pumpkin Log
  
• Apple Pie -- another mom contribution
• Alcohol -- my sister claimed this responsibility. Shocking! (not)

Am I missing anything?! Have any of you hosted a holiday before? When I cook dinner for four, I struggle to get everything out on time and at the same time. I'm a bit worried about preparing such an extensive meal for 10-12 people. Any advice?

Also, I want to do a little table favor for everybody. Have you seen any cute ideas this year? The Dining Diva recommended Hostess with the Mostess. Lots of cool ideas.

Hope you all have fun holiday plans! Can't wait to read about them.

If at first you don't succeed...

I never did tell you how my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner went. It certainly wasn't anything to brag about.

As it turned out, we had too many cooks in the kitchen on and I ended up only being in charge of (more like only being allowed to make) the corn. Without any supplies to "doctor it up," I put two bags of frozen corn in the microwave with a bit of water, set it to 5 minutes and hit start.

Actually, I then forgot about it for 15 minutes. When I finally checked the corn, it was already cold – or never warm enough. Sigh... Another 5 minutes and a generous portion of butter later the corn was ready.

At first I was quite pleased to receive a few compliments, but days later when my "famous corn"(as it had been dubbed) was still a hot topic of conversation, it was apparent the fam was mocking my cooking skills (or lack there of).

My Type-A, slightly obsessive, definitely competitive side kicked in and I set a new goal for myself: must get family seal of approval on something I make.

Fast-forward to last Sunday. We had an early Christmas celebration at my aunt and uncle's house. I decided I'd go all out and bring a side dish, a few Christmas cookies and a hostess gift.

For my side dish I made Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch. And (drum roll, please) they were a big hit! There was suspicion that I bought them or Fiancé made them, but by the end of the night it was all praise (and not mocking kind).

I also made two dozen of my very own cookie surprise. There's no recipe for this, I simply wrap a piece of bite-sized candy in sugar cookie dough and bake for 10-12 minutes. I use a variety, so when you eat a cookie, surprise! It might be a peanut butter cup, butterfingers, crunch bar, chocolate mint, etc.

Now I'm already plotting what I can make for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As always, suggestions are appreciated!

Calling all Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. This year we’re breaking tradition and the whole family is headed to Florida for some much needed vitamin D!

Last week during one of our regular big fat Italian family dinners, we started talking about our upcoming trip. If you’ve ever sat in on an Italian family gathering, you know how it goes -- everybody speaks at once and the loudest person with the most extreme hang gestures gets noticed.

Winner: my mom (always). She and my aunt decided that since my cousin, sister and fiancé are all experts in the kitchen, the “kids” could handle preparing Thanksgiving dinner while they go to the beach.

“Wait a minute! I’m sitting right here! (arms fly into the air well above my head) AM I NOT CONSIDERED A KID ANYMORE!?”

(Truthfully I should have thought before I spoke – why would I want to be sentenced to the kitchen when I could have been laying on the beach. But another fact about Italians: we rarely think before each outburst.)

So my aunt took pity on me and decided that I can be in charge of something. She suggested maybe the salad or the corn. Clearly my family has little faith in my ability to cook and I don’t blame them. In this case, my reputation is unfortunately based on their real experiences.

But this year is going to be different. I’ve come to terms with my sacrificed beach hours and am now determined to make the best darn something this family has ever had on Thanksgiving.

Of course I need some help. Please share your best Thanksgiving recipes with me. I’ll give one or two a whirl and report back.

Happy Thanksgiving!