Cooked up a storm

This year we stayed home in Brooklyn for Thanksgiving and I made grand plans to create a Thanksgiving feast for 4 - us and our friends who just had a gorgeous new baby (see below). Admittedly, I got in a little bit over my head. And it was exhausting but I had a lot of help and I loved every minute, from shopping at the Union Square Green Market on Wednesday morning to pulling that turkey out of the oven on Thursday afternoon. I turned to Saveur, Epicurious, Martha, and Smitten for inspiration and I found it. That table displays cauliflower soup, roasted brussel sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, Mike's famous mashed potatoes with caramelized onions, an insane dressing whose ingredients included oysters and bacon, gravy, and a sage & thyme brined turkey. (Not pictured: Shaker lemon pie.)



The Green Market was amazing - I even got my cranberries there... Thank you farmers!



Feeling lucky to be able to create this meal, I laid out the bounty on the dining room table.



I taped all of my recipes to the cabinet doors and got to work.



Cauliflower soup with roasted garlic, parmesan, and thyme.



Mike's mashed with caramelized onions and chives.



The makings of Shaker lemon pie.



Cranberries swimming in Ruby Port.



The dressing, after many steps with about 15 ingredients prepped by all 4 of us, was ready to go in the oven...



As the bird came out...



Our plates runneth over.



One of the day's cozier moments.



And to top it all off, it was Heidi's birthday - an amazing celebration.

So much to be thankful for - most of all loved ones from coast to coast, our health, new babies, and food on the table.