GIVING THANKS

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

Our Thanksgiving Table

I do hope everyone had a memorable Thanksgiving Day.  It is an American holiday when we are reminded to give thanks for all the things that make our life worth living.  We celebrate with lots of food and sit around with family and friends and of course, our faithful furry companions.  It's great to have one day dedicated to being grateful.  I try to live by that every day and take the time to look around, appreciate the beauty and whisper some words of thanks for my good fortune.

It was only me and Brian and the boys around the Thanksgiving table this year, but still, I made a traditional Thanksgiving feast with the anticipation of leftovers and some creative meals to follow.  Enclosed are some photos of my Thanksgiving creations which were lovingly and happily prepared.

As we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on television, I prepared some appetizers:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Brie cheese with Kahlua and Roasted Pecans

I prepared an organic turkey which I stuffed with crusty french bread, celery, onions, cranberries, apples and pecans and seasoned with sage, thyme and rosemary.

Before

After

For the sides, I made traditional mashed potatoes and gravy, sauteed green beans with garlic and sliced almonds, raspberry dill carrots and yams with brown sugar and pecans.

Here you have a glimpse of my dinner plate, packed with a sample of everything on the table:

And last but not least, I made some homemade pies.  The banana creme pie is made with a cream cheese crust and filled with a lovely vanilla creme custard and organic bananas topped with freshly made whipped cream and sprinkled with organic coconut flakes and shaved Ghirardelli dark chocolate.  I forgot to take a photo before we cut into it but you can get a glimpse of it in the photo of the full table at the top of this post.

I did take some photos of the apple pie.  This crust was made with lots of cold butter and finely grated Gruyere cheese.  What a fantastic crust this was!  It was flaky and light from the butter and savory from the Gruyere cheese which incredibly complimented the sweet honey crisp apples that were baked with butter, brown and white sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. I brushed egg whites on the crust to make it shine a beautiful golden brown.  Delicious!

Apple Pie BEFORE

Apple Pie AFTER!

Well, that's does it for this year's Thanksgiving Dinner.  I hope you all ate heartily and are as thankful as I am for the bounty in our lives!  Thanksgiving Day is only a remembrance of what should be in our hearts every day.

P.S.  The boys had a nice walk and some skinless turkey on top of their crunchies which made them very happy, too!