A Diverse Thanksgiving

This year we were Thanksgiving 'orphans' again. We knew that we would not be traveling because of Ryan's tonsilectomy, so at least we were prepared to be staying home. As it turned out, there were three other families in our neighborhood who were also going to be orphaned this year for various reasons (new baby, recent family reunions, travel at Christmas, etc.), so we decided to celebrate turkey day together. We all have different family backgrounds and traditions, so we each decided that we would bring several of our favorite traditional foods to the table.

It turned out to be quite a feast! The Shraga family always gets a fresh turkey which is prepared in a brine soak and then cooked with an apple brandy glaze. Wow. It was delicious! The Shragas also typically have asparagus with a parmesan breadcrumb topping that was also quite tasty and homemade cranberry sauce (I'll never eat canned again!). The Sedgleys brought their family's broccoli & rice casserole and bacon wrapped scallops--both delicious! The Kennedys always have a sausage stuffing, but it is not the kind of sausage stuffing I grew up with--it is made with sweet Italian sausage, golden raisins, apples and bread, and it was a taste sensation that was incredible. I brought our family's traditional cranberry apple bake and sweet potato casserole. It was quite a feast, to say the least.
For dessert we had pumpkin cheesecake, mile-high apple pie with crumb topping, homemade fudge, and bourbon chocolate pecan pie. And the kids had turkey cupcakes.

We had 11 children eating grown-up food (plus 2 more that were too young to partake), so Barbara set up a kid's table in the kitchen complete with brown paper covering the top as a tablecloth and crayons to decorate the paper. The kids loved that part. And the 9 adults ate together in the dining room on real china. We all took a moment to go around the tables and say what we were thankful for over the past year. And this was the very first Thanksgiving ever celebrated by one of the adults, Alma, who is the Kennedy family's au pair from Panama. She really seemed to enjoy the experience.

So, the food was wonderful. The company was enjoyable. The atmosphere was spot on. And yet, there was still something missing.... our extended family. It's just not the same without YOU! We're looking forward to seeing everyone in December!