Thanksgiving Success

Well, Thanksgiving was a success - sort of...

Appetizers were out just as the guests arrived and my in-laws brought a delightful selection of wine.  Dinner went on the table only 20 minutes after I intended and it was still warm.  The turkey looked gorgeous, there was plenty of food (and leftovers) and we had a great conversation.  A friend joined the party for dessert and we had a blast!  I managed to keep the mess to a minimum while cooking and our dinner guests graciously helped us with dishes after the meal so there was basically nothing to do but relax and have fun after dinner and dessert.

For my first Thanksgiving hosting, I only had a couple of breakdowns and none were on the day of dinner... this was a major accomplishment for me (see Rule #3 in my Rules to Baking).  I had planned out a schedule and finished everything without any major rushing or panicking.  Honestly, this was one of my best parties ever.

So why did I add a "sort of" on to my success?  Well as I baked in the days leading up to the meal, I was able to take pictures and lots of notes.  The day of the meal... not so much.  Not a big deal - unless you blog about cooking.  I didn't even get a picture of the turkey, something that made me cry later in the evening.  It really was pretty and even my father-in-law, the official turkey carver, commented on how nice it looked.

So let's recap... 

As a chef, baker and party thrower - success

As a cooking blogger - epic fail

I'm going to try to get up some of the recipes I made with the limited pictures I have over the next month, but I can't promise too much... Christmas cookie season is upon us.

Happy cooking!!!