This year my daughter Emily, her husband Ingmar and their two daughters were the hosts for a delicious and thankful dinner. Clara made a poster of a turkey and supplied blank feathers on which each of us could write a few things for which we were thankful. And after our delectable feast we played a game of guessing who had written each feather. One of them had the word “books” written on it, but not by me! Clara also made place cards for each person with a different illustration for each one.
There were twelve of us gathered together: my children and grandchildren and I and Paul’s youngest sister Alice and her husband Barney. They usually join us for holidays since their children live in the states of Washington and Alaska, a far trek to northeast Ohio. But their daughter Poppy visited recently and I think one of their sons will be here over the Christmas holidays.
Ingmar roasted two turkeys! Everyone had their choice of white or dark meat! Such juicy and flavorful meat it was! And Andy, our vegetarian, roasted his traditional Field Roast en Croute. It is also delicious and many non-vegetarians had a taste of it. http://fieldroast.com/product/hazelnut-cranberry-roast-en-croute/
My dd Alice made fabulous Smitten Kitchen stuffing with leeks, apples and chestnuts and some of the bread in it was from Ingmar’s pretzels. She also brought a spinach dish and dilly beans and olives. Alice made a beautiful flower arrangement which she used my mother’s copper planter to hold….
Her oldest son, Nathan – about to become a teenager in less than a month – came to our house early in the morning to help Andy make the potatoes. This is the third year he has enjoyed doing this….And the day before, Andy made the green bean casserole, all except the thin fried onions on top which he finished while he and Nathan peeled potatoes. All so comforting and satisfying. Ingmar made a gravy which was vegetarian. Emily made cranberry relish and two magnificent pumpkin cheese cakes in pie plates. We had every good thing you can imagine to drink, including several non-Alcoholic sparkling fruit juices. And Alice and Barney brought two enormous bowls of cut up fruit which was so very refreshing. We keep our menu rather simple and traditional and satisfying and potluck, and no one gets terribly stressed out. And their is always a surprising amount left over!
In between the main meal and dessert, most of the diners went for a hike in Emily’s yard, down to the river and into the National Park which their land adjoins. It was a beautiful day with a fair amount of sunshine.
