What a day! … Thanksgiving … an entire day to eat, drink, be with people you love with no interruptions … I L-O-V-E it. And indeed this year lived up to my hopes. Here are some notes in part two of my Thanksgiving report. Consult last week’s post for part one. Cheers!

: : :

FOOD

Success! I got the Sweet Potato Pie I have been wanting and I was not nearly as sick of it by the time Thanksgiving day rolled around … in fact I ate two servings with whipped cream (I do my whipped cream with a little maple syrup to sweeten and nothing else, so good). Here is what I ended up going with (nearly identical to what I said last week). This is one good pie (although not too sweet if sweet is your thing).

MAV’s Sweet Potato Pie

1-3/4 C mashed baked sweet potatoes
2 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/4 C maple syrup, at room temperature
2 T unsalted butter, melted
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
3/4 C + 1 T milk, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the sweet potatoes, egg yolks, sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg together. Blend in the milk and until well mixed. In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until foamy (but not firm). Fold them to the sweet potato mix and pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool the pie completely on a rack and serve with whipped cream (or cover overnight and serve the next day; no need for refrigeration.)

In other food notes I had great success with this stuffing recipe (although I used vegetarian stock since we had a few veggies coming to the party and it was just as delicious) and I made some mediocre corn muffins … note to self: have to work on that recipe before next Thanksgiving.

: : :

TABLE

I think the plate idea was a big hit with my friends as all but a few plates were taken (heaped with leftovers and wrapped in foil) and there was a mad dash to find the ‘perfect plate’ when I made the announcement. What I loved most was knowing that people have a random plate tucked into their cupboard and that it will always remind them of our day. You can see the plate I snagged in the very top photograph of this post.

As for linens I ended up using one of Stephanie’s lovely techniques to make my own. I went out and bought some really lovely fabric (the last of the bolt, nice!) and cut and frayed them. They were so sweet and since the plates were mis-matched I really wanted matching napkins. Good thing I made 14 because we had a last minute guest add on at about 10A on Thanksgiving morning and he could have a matching napkin too.

: : :

DETAILS

When it came down to it the details were all about keeping things simple. I put the rolls (we had 4 varieties!) right on the tablecloth, I trimmed berries for the centerpiece from a nearby woods, I picked up a few extra mis-matched drinking glasses from the Goodwill, I stocked up on simple cream candles so I could use them again for Christmastime. We had to skip the outdoor time since it was rainy outside but throughout the day I would not let stress enter into the picture and I really think it worked! And mostly, and most importantly at that, I savored every moment of my gathering. I love my friends and family and I love Thanksgiving … does it get any better than this?

—MAV

Save