Holidays

Sometime in my twenties, Thanksgiving became my favorite holiday. I don't know how or why. Everyone else likes Christmas or Halloween, and they certainly have their high-points, but I really like Thanksgiving. I don't look forward to it, necessarily, and I tend to not make plans because of how busy this time of the semester is... but once I manage to figure it out, I'm really excited about it.

This year, I am cooking the whole thing. I've cooked before, but only for two, and that tended to be an abbreviated meal (game hens or chickens). I usually bring a dish to others' meals. I've made squash soup (from scratch), cornbread stuffing (also scratch), green beans, pumpkin pie (from pumpkins), and mashed potatoes.

I'm nervous, but excited. I'm not even sure who all is coming, but I bought several hundred dollars of ingredients today. My house was sort of designed to have limited guests, so I'm trying to figure out how to move furniture to maximize company. (It's hard enough to cook without help, but I can't figure out how to move furniture alone...)

Anyway, here is my menu:

Cheese and spinach pastry swirls
Squash soup
Green beans
Cranberry sauce
Wine gravy
Bleu cheese mashed potatoes
Roasted vegetables with garbanzo beans and sweet potatoes
Cornbread stuffing with sundried tomatoes
Herbed free-range turkey
Creamy pumpkin rice pudding

And if I have time,
Carmel apple upside down cornmeal cake.

I had to buy a roasting pan, a turkey baster, a carving board and a basting bag today. Also bought some extra plates and bowls for surprise guests, and a cheery burgundy and gold flowery table cloth. I found a couple cute serving bowls at the thrift shop too. (I inherited a crazy number of serving platters... they don't match, so I've never used them all, but I don't have very many serving bowls. I got a hold of some Wagner ones last year that I love... all contemporary bowls look boring now.)

The part I'm least excited about is cleaning the house. I have let it slide for a while, so it's not going to be pretty. SIGH.

++++Update++++

I've been cleaning! The house is starting to look great again! I dug out the table leaves and used them for the first time. Unfortunately, the table cloth I bought is actually a runner, so I'm returning it and using my grandma's old linens with some doilies or something to break it up. I wanted to buy matching place-mats, then decided a heavy-patterned table cloth would be more fun (and with place-mats $5 each, more economical!).