Kellen and I survived our first Thanksgiving! We managed to cook a full, delicious Thanksgiving feast for my in-laws without any major hitches. The biggest problem was finishing the turkey about an hour and a half early, and that problem was easily solved by covering it in tinfoil and a towel.
I mentioned in a previous post that we were planning to draw extensively from Real Simple‘s holiday menu. Boy, did it ever save our bacon. Not only were the recipes delicious and extremely complimentary, but the full list of details on what needed to be prepped/cooked and when was super helpful.
We started gathering ingredients over the weekend, and slowly but surely started getting food prepped over the course of the week. We started with the cider glaze and gravy base on Monday night, and by Wednesday night had a fridge full of goodies that, for the most part, pretty much just needed to be put in the oven. (See the picture.) Thanksgiving itself actually required very little cooking. The hardest part was the turkey and even that was pretty much a breeze.
It was so easy. I mean, obviously it was a lot of hard work (by Wednesday night, I could barely stand up), but it was so nice not to have to run around trying to figure out what to cook when and how to make everything end up ready and still hot just in time for the guests to show up. Real Simple made it, well, real simple. (As hard as it may be to believe, I’m not on Real Simple’s payroll. I just think it’s the most awesome, and most useful, magazine I’ve ever subscribed to, and am constantly raving about it to anyone who will listen.)
The in-laws loved the dinner and were so impressed. I’m so proud of us for how well we handled everything, and pleased as punch my guests went home (or, rather, back to their hotel for the night) full and happy. I’m a lucky girl to have a husband who is a whizz in the kitchen and did half the work, no nagging required. He made my job so very easy.
It was good to see Kellen’s parents. I got to show off our new baby set-up (coming in another post) and some of the things we’ve amassed. My MIL is over the moon about being a grandma. 🙂 I wish they could have stayed longer. Hopefully we’ll get to see them again in a few weeks…
Anyhow. We had a wonderful, food-filled Thanksgiving. I’m full and exhausted, and right now, Kellen and I are watching (well, I’m only sort of watching) the Longhorn game. Can’t believe this is going to be the last A&M game for the foreseeable future! All the more reason to beat the tar out of them. 😉
I hope everyone else had a lovely day with good food and good company. Happy, happy holidays!
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