Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving 2010 was different than any Thanksgiving we've celebrated since the conception of the Joe Pull household.  In year's past we've celebrated with just our immediate family or at a friend's home, and even one year with family when we lived in Minnesota.  This year we enjoyed the company of friends from church who not only joined us, but helped to prepare the meal.

The girls help with Thanksgiving by preparing something special for each place setting at the table.  This year Xandra also created and painted a big turkey for our centerpiece with the help of her teachers at Cubbies.

Once we made the turkey cups, we let them dry for a day or two and then on Thanksgiving morning the girls helped me put some Hershey's Kisses in them for our guests to enjoy throughout the evening.

Due to our stage in life and Trisha's penchant for disaster, we decided that a late afternoon meal would work best to avoid nap times and give us most of the day to prepare.

We ate in our newly rearranged front room.  The new arrangement allows for us to easily remove the futon to accommodate two long tables for feeding lots of people. 

One of the families that joined us, the Amans, came early.  This meant that Beth entertained the kids and set the table while Nancy helped me out in the kitchen.

Without their help, Thanksgiving dinner would have been delayed by at least two hours.

We also enjoyed the company of Doug Noble

and Jon, Julie, Ava and Andrew Lockard.  

Dinner included Brined and Roasted Turkey (This was my first attempt at brining a turkey and my second attempt at roasting, I was happy with the results.), Creamy Mashed Potatotes, Turkey Gravy (one of my first gravy attempts...it turned out great), Green Bean Casserole (I tried a recipe with a homemade white sauce and panko bread crumbs instead of french fried onions), Sweet Potatoes (thanks, Nancy!), Homemade Rolls, Roasted Carrots with Thyme (yum!), Cornbread Stuffing with Apples and Mushrooms (I'll look for a different recipe next time), and Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce (Joe liked this better than normal cranberry sauce).  I really enjoyed planning the menu and trying all of these new recipes.

Dessert was provided by Julie and Nancy and included Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Streusel Topping, Pumpkin Bread, Peanut Butter Pie, and Apple Pie.

After everyone was properly stuffed, James loaded the dishwasher for me (yes!) and we enjoyed a competitive match of Pumpkin Jeopardy (written and produced by Joe Pull) while relaxing in the living room.  The Aman parents and Doug were the winners with a come from behind victory in Final Jeopardy!

In the end we were full of good food, grateful for so many to share our lives with, and ready for a well-earned good night's rest. 

The girls assisted us in putting the front room back together on Friday (above) and Saturday we spent time on another Thanksgiving weekend tradition (more on that tomorrow).