Here Joss is hanging out in the backyard on Thanksgiving morning. He liked rolling around in the leaves better than the great and terrible meal. He was feeling most put out that he didn't get to eat much (we've been taking the whole allergy thing more seriously since he Rob gave him a biscuit and he subsequently had a big red rash on his cheeks). This was the first year that we put on Thanksgiving entirely by ourselves and we learned a lot (a 'building year' you could call it) about menu and timing.
Sharing a toast in the midst of their cheers of "T-O-K-I! Toki! Toki!" Maddie, Will and Sebi celebrate the joy of the season: Martinelli's apple juice. As happens too often, Sebi is too young/small/short of arm to make either the picture or the toast. Rob did an upside down turkey with sage. We had mashed potatoes and gravy, but I slashed the yams from the menu for the anti-mush vote. We had an artichoke/parmesan/sourdough stuffing from Sunset and spicy kale with green beans from O magazine. There was also a fantastic spinach and persimmon salad from Sunset and Maddie made cranberry relish from Joy of Cooking (those two are both keepers for sure).
In the evening we had pie with Rob's sisters and family. They had gone to Mimi's Cafe for dinner, which not only sounded like a lot less work, but turned out to be a bargain too! I think our family could have eaten there (or gotten takeout) for about half the price of our dinner. I'm telling myself that it was still a good learning experience. The dessert menu: apple, mince, banana cream, and pumpkin pies with a sweet potato cheesecake in the middle. Uncle Ron made the famous banana cream pie from his family's secret recipe which only he, his mother, and his grandmother are allowed to make. He nearly skinned his grandmother alive when she put it in the ward cookbook. Then she had to break it to him that it was from Betty Crocker. Having now tweaked it a little so that it really
is a secret family recipe, his sense of self is pretty much restored.
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