thanksgiving dinner

the brining heritage blend turkey ready to be taken out and herb-roasted in the oven

the rub ingredients for the inside and outside of the turkey

negroni cocktails and kale, collard greens and red swiss chard ready for the creamed greens with chestnuts recipe

swiss chard stems, garlic, and shallots sauteing for the creamed greens recipe

the resting turkey

the girls decorated the branch in the white vase with little tags. they drew designs and pictures of what they were thankful for.

we collected orangey rocks and seashells at the beach during our hike and then put them on the thanksgiving table.

our thanksgiving day table without all the food

lots of candles and indian corn

i hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving weekend. this was the first year we did our own little thanksgiving celebration with our family of four. josh and i really enjoyed the process of making the feast with no pressure. the colors and cooking process mesmerized me so i took lots of pictures. we had been collecting recipes and stocking the refrigerator with all the ingredients for the past week. and we picked up our first turkey we have ever cooked at simmons organic farm on monday afternoon. we opted for a heritage blend. here's a link to read more about this type of turkey. we concocted the brine on tuesday morning so it would be full of flavor on thursday.

we got outside for a hike at second beach in middletown, rhode island on thanksgiving morning once the turkey was in the oven. we collected orangish rocks and shells so the girls could put them on the thanksgiving dinner table. the girls also decorated little tags with designs and pictures on what they were thankful for this year. it really made the day enjoyable because the girls felt special being a part of the preparation for the day. i'm definitely going to repeat this little project because it kept the girls entertained and happy while the meal was being prepared.

here are the recipes we used for thanksgiving. feel free to skip on over this. i'm mostly doing this so i have some documentation for future years.

a simple turkey brine 

herb-roasted turkey

whipped potatoes with horseradish 

creamed greens with chestnuts 

fresh cranberry relish

buttermilk cornbread for the cornbread dressing

cornbread dressing (in honor of my grandmother, mar)

corn (for the girls)

greek yogurt cheesecake with pomegranate syrup 

grandma's pumpkin pie