Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving has come once more, and as usual, passed by much too quickly. Yesterday was overflowing with reasons to be thankful and was so inspiring to live life to it's fullest, never wasting one precious moment. We had two families over to share in our feast, and shortly following, some more friends arrived for dessert. We had a fabulous time cooking some of our traditional Thanksgiving favorites, such as our Cajun Dressing (a recipe that goes back a few generations in my mom's family), Cranberry Sauce, Wassail, Turkey with gravy (but that goes without saying ;)) and Sweet Potato Casserole.

This time around, we decided to make this Thanksgiving memorable...soooooo, we caught the Sweet Potato Casserole on fire, in the oven (yes there is a photo below)! The men were able to successfully place a cookie sheet over the top and before long, the fire was out, the excitement was over (well, that bit of it, anyway) and dinner was served! Okay, so I'll stop rambling now and let the pictures speak for themselves...

Here stands mom, on the day before Thanksgiving, trying to decide what she's going to put in her pralines. :)

This year was Melissa's year to dress the turkey. Here she is, thoroughly disgusted with that turkey neck...but, honestly, I don't blame her.

Mother's unbeatable Pralines...scrumptious!

The first roasted turkey.

Sugar coated cranberries...they almost look like a centerpiece.

It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it. ~Alistair Cooke

So, you see my dear friends, who also happened to be partakers in our feast yesterday (You know who you are... ;)) you can eat turkey with cranberry sauce poured over it...especially when it's warm and homemade. :)

Melissa with her finished place cards...she looks pretty satisfied to me.

Mother and daughter.

Singing our traditional song, "Five Kernels of Corn."

William had a place set for him at a different table, but he insisted on sitting with Peter.

Sisters.

My sisters.

Oh yes, and here is the little bit of evidence that we caught the sweet potato casseroles on fire just as we were getting ready to eat! They wouldn't open the oven again for me to get a "better" picture, so this will have to suffice. :)

Now, I was told that the burned marshmallows were quite tasty...I'm not too keen on S'mores, nor marshmallows, so I didn't take the adventurous route and try them.

D1 racing to the food line.

One of the tables of hungry friends.

Dad and his Turkey Carving Class of '08! If you'd like to register for next year, sign on the dotted line... :)

Mom surveying the carving of the main dish...probably thinking of how good it will taste smothered in cranberry sauce (yup, that was just for y'all...again, you know who you are. ;)).

Ahhh...such a beautiful sight that comes but once a year.

Little girls.

Auntie Em and her leaf.

The dessert table. I believe there were well over a dozen pies...and then there were the pralines!

Another GF Apple Pie. This time without the caramel, but it did get some leaves.

A close-up of our place cards. A tradition that's been carried down through the years.

The table is set.

O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare

Jessica named the turkey Theodore Roosevelt.

The finished pumpkin pie.

More leaves.

William is looking awfully sneaky. :)

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

After eating for some time, I looked down at my plate which contained a few more bites of mashed potatoes, a wee bit of cranberry sauce and one sliver of turkey. I said something about being full, whereupon my dear friend, Melinda said, "Make your plate happy!" So, taking her advice, I did.



9 comments:

  1. What LOVELY pictures!
    I always enjoy looking at your blog.

    Tiffany, it's funny I feel like I know you even though we have never met. It is such a blessing to see a young Christian woman living to the glory of God!
    You are a great inspiration in my life.
    I'm just a fellow blogger wanting you to know how much I greatly appreciate your blog and what a blessing it is to have a sister-in-Christ (via the blogging world).

    Many Blessings in Christ,
    Miss Jen
    www.blessedfemina.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jen,

    Thanks for your sweet comment! It is so humbling to hear that the Lord is using imperfect creatures for His glory.

    It's fun to "meet" people online and hope one day to meet them in person. It's also a wonderful thing to know that the body of Christ isn't only in our local churches, but across the world! Your blog is lovely...thanks for commenting!

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  3. Anonymous9:21 PM

    Hey, your turkey looks SO, SO, good! I got a free turkey this year, but didn't need to use it for Thanksgiving because we were eating someone else's turkey that day. :) Can you pass on your recipe? I've never cooked a turkey before. Also, can Melissa come over and dress it for me? :) Hmmm, not sure what I'm going to do about that part!
    alishaeades (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  4. Tiffy,

    I love your Thanksgiving post! I love all the photos! Your meal looks so delicious!

    Love,
    Sarah

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  5. Alright, this is bad, I just ate dinner, I am full, but now my mouth is watering again. I blame you... Do you think cranberries mail well?

    BFH

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  6. Alisha,

    Thanks...we love to prepare a wonderful turkey. :) We just rub it over with sun-tan lotion (er, light olive oil), fresh pepper, garlic, salt, herbs and then stuff him with fresh chopped onion, carrots, and celery...then we roast him for a few hours. :) We don't really measure anything, so I couldn't tell you how much of anything we use... Oh, and unfortunately, Melissa doesn't come with the recipe. :)

    Sarah,

    Thanks, it was scrumptious. :)

    Ben,

    lol...food, glorious food! Blame me all you want, I relish in making people hungry, but would rather feed them. :) Cranberries...I don't know how'd they mail...I suppose you'll just have to come back to get some! ;)

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  7. Tiffany,
    I really enjoy looking at your blog - I also LOVE photography, and your photos inspire me! What kind of camera do you use?

    Thank you!
    ~Camille S.
    annacamille96.wordpress.com

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  8. Hey Camille!

    Thanks, it's still a work in progress, always learning the more pictures I take. :) Our family owns a Canon Rebel Xt. We purchased it on our move up here to IL and I met the photographers for the Peoria Ballet and he was kind enough to give me a few pointers. I just wish we could still get together so I could get some more tips from him! :) Love to hear from you, and looking forward to seeing y'all in May! :)

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  9. Thanks SOOOO much, Tiffany! I'm really looking forward to seeing y'all too.

    ~Camille

    ReplyDelete

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