11-26-09 The Main Spread with Fried Turkey and Ham

Friends:

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had a great turnout of about 50 people altogether for our Thanksgiving Feast. It has always been our tradition to host military singles and young military families to our family gathering and this year was no exception. Eliana and my nieces (Camrynn, Ashlynn & Jasmynn) began cooking on Tuesday. We started with all the desserts that could be refrigerated – Pineapple Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Eggnog Pie, Pumpkin Butterscotch Bundt Cake, and Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites.

11-24-09 Chef Eliana and her cousin, Camrynn, making the Sweet Potato Eggnog Pie

The desserts turned out delicious. Here is a picture of the Pumpkin Butterscotch Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle. Yum! So moist!

11-25-09 Pumpkin Butterscotch Bundt Cake

The girls worked tirelessly, cooking and keeping the kitchen clean. They were like Santa’s Elves!

11-24-09 Little kitchen helpers taking a pizza break

When guests came in, they wrote their blessings on a leaf for the “Giving Thanks Tree.” Before we ate, we said grace and read the blessings out loud. It was a wonderful beginning to a perfect party.

11-26-09 Giving Thanks Tree

Then they ate and drank to their heart’s content. We had five tables set up with food and one for drinks. The menu included thirty items! The cooking was done by me and the girls, my mom, my 19 year old daughter, Soleil, my mother-in-law, and some of our party guests also brought dishes. The main course included 2 Fried Turkeys, 2 Smoked Turkeys, a Honey Ham, and Mojo Roasted Pork. Appetizers included Lumpia (Filipino egg rolls), Asiago Parmesan Mushroom Purses, Mini Crab Cakes & Remoulade, Ornamental Turkey with Ham, and Cheese & Fruit Skewers. The sides were Cornbread, Bacon Cheddar Cornbread, Cornbread Stuffing, Cranberry Dressing, Roasted Garlic Gouda Smashed Potatoes, Green Bean & Artichoke Casserole, Homemade Macaroni & Cheese, Rice & Broccoli, Roasted Cauliflower, Carrots & Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Casserole, Smothered Greens, Black Beans, Shepherd’s Pie, Stuffed Mushrooms and Steamed Rice. We had 2 soups: Crawfish & Corn Bisque and Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. To complete the feast, we ended with these fabulous desserts: Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites, Pumpkin Bundt Cake w Cream Cheese Drizzle, Sweet Potato Eggnog Pie, Pineapple Pumpkin Pie, Leche Flan & Casava Flan. It was a spread to remember!

11-26-09 Yummy Side Dishes

Look at our beautiful drink fountain!

11-26-09 Sparkling Pomegranate Punch Fountain

We had a full house and it was wonderful seeing so many happy faces.

11-26-09 Thanksgiving Party People

The girls put on a show for us, we danced, and played games. Most of all, we had a blast!

11-26-09 Sisters dance

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you to all of our family and friends for making it a special day!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

11-19-09 Gobble up a Turkey Treat Display Board

Friends:

For Eliana’s class, I created a “Gobble Up a Turkey Treat” board. It’s so cute and easy to make.

Materials:
Cardboard display board
Cardboard cake tray
Candy canes
Construction paper
Googly eyes
Markers
Glue stick
Hot glue

11-17-09 Turkey Treat up Close

Directions:
Using a cardboard cake plate turned upside down so that you the brown (and not the silver or gold) is on top, glue a head, beak, wattle, and wings cut from construction paper. Glue the Googly eyes onto the turkey’s head. Glue candy canes in a “heart” shape as the feathers above the turkey’s body. Use hot glue for the heavy items such as the cardboard body and the candy cane wings and feathers. Using markers, color inside the “feathers.” Kids can just grab a turkey treat and pull. It’s a great way to welcome Thanksgiving. Gobble! Gobble!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

11-15-09 Giving Thanks Tree

TOGETHER TIME ACTIVITY: THE “GIVING THANKS” TREE
This year, I am creating a “Giving Thanks” tree. As thanksgiving guests walk in, they will be asked to write down, on a maple leaf, one thing they are thankful for. These leaves will be affixed to a large tree. When the tree is completed, everyone will be able to read all the blessings on the tree. It is a beautiful way to give thanks for our bounty.

Materials:
Science Display Board
Large paper bag or brown butcher block paper
Paper in autumn colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown
Maple leaf pattern http://familyfun.go.com/printables/turkey-maple-leaf-pattern-for-thanksgiving-703422/
Cardstock or poster board
Glue stick or school glue
Double stick tape

Instructions:
Freehand draw a large tree on a large paper bag or on butcher block paper. Glue it to the middle of the display board. Create a maple leaf traceable pattern on cardstock or poster board. Fold a sheet of “autumn” paper into four, trace the maple leaf. Cut it out. This will yield four maple leaves. You can also trace a small child’s hand and use that as a “leaf” pattern. Create leaves in various Autumn colors. Write the words “Giving Thanks” on each side of the display board or print them out and glue them to the board.

As guests come in, have them write one blessing on a leaf. Use double stick tape to affix the leaf to the tree. Soon, the tree will be full of blessings, things they are thankful for. May those leaves “fall,” fly away, and become someone else’s blessing.

To make the Giving Thanks Tree even more special, consider donating money in the amount of the leaves on the tree to a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, a battered women’s shelter, the Red Cross, or your favorite charitable organization.

Friends:

My mom called me less than a week before Thanksgiving and asked me to host. Being the dutiful daughter and one who loves to cook and entertain, I agreed.

Preparation began a couple days before with all the shopping, cooking, cleaning and decorating. Fortunately, I had great help. My brother’s three little girls (Camrynn – 9, Ashlynn – 7, and Jasmynn – 6) plus my daughter, Eliana – 8, all helped with the cleaning and the cooking.

Camrynn, Eliana, Ashlynn & Jasmynn making boudin cornbread - 11-26-08

Here is Eliana cooking the stuffing for the mirlitons (chayote squash).

Eliana making mirliton stuffing - 11-26-08

My little chef, Eliana, and I made a sweet potato eggnog pie.

Eliana spooning sweet potato eggnog mixture into pie shell - 11-26-08

This is what the pie looked like when it was done and it was yum! No, there isn’t a cookie cutter shape for a sweet potato so we used a pumpkin instead. In retrospect, I should have used a fall leaf so no one would mistake the pie for pumpkin!

Sweet potato eggnog pie - 11-26-08

Here is our wonderful Thanksgiving feast featuring Cajun fried turkey made by Clay, my cool stepdad. I had so much fun decorating the table. I just love throwing a party!

Thanksgiving Feast - 11-27-08

This is the other side of the table with the sides. We had 26 dishes in all. The main courses were Cajun fried turkey and rootbeer & Jack Daniels glazed ham. Appetizers included lumpia, a Filipino eggroll, stuffed roasted sweet peppers, ornamental turkey made of fruit & vegetables with ham, cheese & fruit skewers, and fruit dip. We had two soups – chicken & sausage gumbo and artichoke & spinach potato soup. Sides included boudin cornbread, balsamic vinegar & bacon brussel sprouts, black beans, cornbread stuffing, garlic cheese mashed potatoes, golden rice, green bean & artichoke casserole, macaroni & cheese, pineapple maple carrot souffle, roasted cauliflower, parsnips & mushrooms, stuffed mirlitons and sweet potato casserole with pecan crumble topping. As if that wasn’t enough, there were desserts – chocolate mousse cheesecake, Filipino fruit salad, strawberry jello cake, and sweet potato eggnog pie! Whew!

The Thanksgiving Feast sides - 11-27-08

Here is the second table with more food…

The Thanksgiving Feast second table with more food - 11-27-08

This is a close-up of the fruit and veggie turkey Eliana and I made.

Fruit & Veggie turkey with ham, cheese & fruit skewers - 11-27-08

We had a houseful of people. Every year since I can remember, my mother has always invited single military men to dine with us. This year was no exception. We even had our Christmas tree up and ready, complete with presents underneath. My only disappointment was that there was hardly any turkey left over and we fried two birds!

We played games, told stories, and laughed late into the night. It was wonderful to share Thanksgiving with family and friends, both old and new. I love the holidays!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Eliana & Turkey Wooden Spoon Puppet 11-12-08

Turkey Wooden Spoon Puppet
Supplies:
Large wooden spoon
Construction paper (for feathers, beak and wattle)
Scissors
Glue gun
Large googly eyes
Markers

Directions:
Color the flat side of a large wooden spoon with a brown marker. Color slightly down the handle for the turkey’s neck. On four different colored sheets of construction paper (yellow, orange, red, brown, cream, green… fall colors), trace a child’s hand. Cut out each hand and layer them on top of each other, creating feathers. Staple them together. Glue the feather to the wooden spoon (should be glued to the curved side of the spoon). Glue two googly eyes on the flat side of the wooden spoon. Underneath the eyes, glue an orange construction paper triangle for the beak. Beneath that, glue a red construction paper wattle. Cut a small 1/2 inch strip of yellow construction paper to create a collar (this will separate the turkey’s neck from the rest of the wooden handle of the spoon). Done! Now you have a simple Gobbler puppet that can be used for Thanksgivings to come. You can even have the children make their own turkeys and stick them in Styrofoam, in a vase or bowl, creating a Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Gobble! Gobble!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne