the belated Thanksgiving post

Alright. I know it has been more than a week.

And I know that the longer I wait to talk about Thanksgiving, the weirder it will be when I finally get around to it.

And I really do want to talk about Thanksgiving because it was a wonderful day.

A cold day. A day perfect for spending indoors with a roaring fire and a kitchen full of things to make and enjoy. 
We started our morning with a special breakfast: pumpkin muffins and bacon. And coffee for me. Yum. The muffins are Pumpkin Donut Muffins from the November 2010 issue of Everyday Food Magazine, but with dairy-free substitutions. The muffins are baked light and fluffy and then the tops are dunked in "butter" and cinnamon sugar. Decadent and delicious.

 
I kept the menu simple, taking it directly from the holiday plan in Everyday Food with just a few substitutions:

• Turkey seasoned with Lemon-Rosemary Oil
• Walnut and Mushroom Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes and Gravy
• Maple-whipped Sweet Potatoes
• Lemony roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Whole Wheat Country Bread
• Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

Liam was excited about the turkey, and he'd been talking about it for several weeks leading up to the big day. He was really happy to help me get it ready to go into the oven.
While I spent the morning in the kitchen, the boys played by the fire. Liam is super into puzzles lately, and River likes watching whatever Liam is doing. It's a good arrangement.
After a while, Grammie came over. She helped Liam get dressed for the day, and this is the stylish look he wanted. He loves accesories.
And here he is with the finished bird. Did he eat a single bite of it? No. The only thing he ate off of his plate was the cranberry sauce. By the spoonful. 

Linda joined us for the big meal, but of course by the time we all sat down together, River was napping. Here's almost everyone. 
 
Dessert was amazing and dairy-free. We had a delicious pumpkin pie (recipe here) and a chocolate truffle pie (from this book).

I made coconut whipped cream to garnish both pies, and I can't get over how amazingly well it works. All I did was take a can of coconut milk set in the refrigerator overnight, skim off the cream at the top, and whip it with a bit of powdered sugar until it was light and fluffy. It was firm enough to pipe from a bag, and as tasty as it looked with only the barest hint of coconut flavor. Thanks again, Leah and Jennie for the recipes! 

And when I wasn't looking, Grammie snuck a beater of the freshly whipped cream. Needless to say, he enjoyed it.

It was a simple day. Good food. Good people. So much to be thankful for. 

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