Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a fun get together with friends here in Omaha. It was my second year making a full-fledged turkey, and I am learning each time. I followed Alton Brown's recipe (from the Food Network show "Good Eats.) He bases everything on food science and explains how to do things to get flavor, moisture, etc. I love that show! Anyway, I brined it the night before and then instead of stuffing I used aromatic herbs and vegetables in the cavity to give it a nice flavor. This is the roasting pan I used last year...and figured out it was too deep and took 2-3 hours longer than it should have then! So I got a V-rack and a low pan this year...trying to avoid all my mistakes last year (including turning the turkey the right side up this time!) The meat was done great, if I do say so myself. I also made homemade stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. (Because those are my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner!) Whew! I am glad for the event and now glad it is over!

Since Thanksgiving is a lot of cooking, I wanted to take a picture to pay tribute to of all of us ladies that made such a nice meal. Jennette, me, Bobi, Shauna, Kim, Hannah, and Jenny.

Lexie insisted that she have a drumstick. (Yes, she left most of it on her plate!) She loves holding the bone and gnawing it off. Gavin does too, but I gave him a wing that was a bit smaller.
The kids ate for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then ran off.

We brought the highchair so Nicholas could sit at the table with us. It was his first time sitting in it, and he loved it! He talked so excitedly to be up with us and played there. No feast for him this year, but I'm sure he enjoyed his turkey-flavored milk later on.

After dinner we made these cute turkey hats for the kids. Family Fun always has the cutest ideas. The kids loved making them and wore them the rest of the night!
We reserved the Institute building here in Omaha to have our celebration. There are lots of fun activities and a room for the kids to run around, as well as some fun games like pool, foosball, and ping pong. Here's Danny in his pool-game mode. It was nice that everyone just wanted to stay and hang out instead of rushing off! We had a nice leisurely meal and downtime.

Here is my friend Shauna and me. Shauna and I fussed over and planned this shindig! Shauna planned more than I did, but it's funny how much alike we are... We chalk it up to being oldest children in our families! But all the planning and setting up made for a nice day. And I think we had some fun putting it all together, too!

Gavin with his favorite part of the dinner: pie! He had a couple of different kinds. Here he is eating the chocolate cream pie that Lexie made at her cooking class. (It was polished off, too! Everyone liked her pie the best!) I must say that my friend Kim's pumpkin pie was awesome!

These picture-pose boards were at the Institute, and we thought we should set them up since they were made for Thanksgiving! Here are Danny and I as pilgrims...the only time we will ever be the same height.

Lexie and her friend Savannah playing bean bags. Lexie said her favorite part of Thanksgiving was the food and playing with friends.

After we cleaned up and went home, we relaxed and watched Charlie Brown's Thankgiving on TV. Lexie and Gavin laughed their heads off. Danny and I just laughed at them because they thought it was so funny! Here are all three kids taking it easy. It was nice to sit back and relax...and that was about all I could do, anyway, because I was worn out! Happy Turkey Day!