thanksgiving recap

Not only was 2010 the first year that Ryan and I celebrated Thanksgiving as the "Chalmers", but it was also our first thanksgiving in Charlotte.  With the high cost of travel to Florida for the Christmas holiday we knew that we wouldn't be able to travel to see our family for Thanksgiving.  We were fortunate that our friends were in the same boat and were available to spend the holiday with us.  

Brandon bought a ham, broccoli casserole, and pecan pie from Honeybaked Ham.  Pablo slaved away in his kitchen and made 2 pans of macaroni and cheese (one with bacon and the other with jalapenos and red peppers) and a gigantic vat of bacon mashed potatoes.  

I was in charge of the turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.  Ryan helped me do prep work the night before and we got a lot of chopping and peeling out of the way.  Thursday morning we woke up and prepped the turkey and finished up the rest of the dishes.  By the afternoon the boys had arrived and the wine drinking had begun.  I made some deviled eggs and cut up some white cheddar cheese to snack on with some crackers.  

right out of the fridge

washing the bird 

quartered onions, halved lemons, and fresh rosemary inside with butter and salt/pepper on the outside

deviled eggs with finely chopped fresh jalapenos

Claire Robinson's Spicy Cranberry Chutney

the finished bird

pumpkin pie with homemade graham cracker crust and whipped cream

Sausage and herb stuffing (with added sage)

Whipped sweet potatoes with Brown sugar/pecan topping

my plate

We were ready to eat around 5:30pm and enjoyed all of the food we had prepared.  We sat around the table in silence, rapidly shoveling food into our mouths.  It was definitely not our classiest moment.