Happy Thanksgiving (better late than never!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not only was this Alessia's first, but also our first time hosting Thanksgiving. Since both my brother and sister are out of the country, I had my parents over along with mark's, his brother wife and kids. I think it was a success. Of course I continued my mom's tradition of making entirely too much food, but now we have lots of yummy leftovers. For those of you who enjoy cooking, here's two yummy recipes we made: Porcini mushroom turkey and Cauliflower and brussels sprout gratin with Pine nut breadcrumb topping from Bon Appetit magazine. In addition, the menu featured 8 other sides (yes I'm crazy): roasted artichokes, rice stuffing (a tradition in my family), broccoli rabe, cranberry sauce (made fresh), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted squash and parsnip medley, and corn bread. Oh and we started with a few appetizers: bruschetta, mixed antipasto and cheese and crackers. Thankfully, my in-laws made dessert: apple and pumpkin pies and my sisterinlaw made cookies. Can't wait to see the gas bill after having the oven and stove on all day, but it was well worth it. The turkey came out delicious; I splurged and got an all-natural free range turkey from the local butcher, and I swear you can taste a difference.
Alessia was sooo well behaved and sat at the table through the whole long dinner, mostly in her high chair, then passed around like a hot potato. She enjoyed some sweet potatoes (actually ate all of mine) and some turkey. It was so exciting to see Alessia enjoy her own little thanksgiving dinner. I pureed some of our turkey and added some sweet potato. She sucked it down like there was no tomorrow!


This Thanksgiving, I was so thankful for my beautiful little girl and my wonderful husband (as well as the rest of the family and all our friends).

And now the holiday season has officially begun! We're off to the mall to visit Santa, people watch and get some presents. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!