I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Friday, November 24, 2017

Thanksgiving ~ The Food! The Wines!



Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I usually tell all about my food and table settings but this year I went to my friends' house to share their wonderful celebration. I didn't take a lot of pictures, to respect their privacy, and no recipes because I was not the chef. I'll mix in photos of how Mo and I shared the day, glorious though cold, with walks around the neighborhood.


The hosts were my friends I often mention, of the minimalist grey home decor and tropical garden. Over the years they have picked up some of my design ideas, changing things like throw pillows throughout the seasons. Instead of bright orange for Fall they used oatmeal linen with burlap piping and wool tapestry the color of dried yellow corn for pillows,with  hints of tarnished copper for the festive day.


Table setting.



These friends are healthy eaters, so the food was wheat free, mostly; dairy free, mostly; soy free. Post-Paleo/ semi vegan [because there was, after all, a turkey!]. Everything except my contributions and the wines, was from Trader Joe's.

MENU

 starters/ hors d'oeuvres

an exquisite cheese platter [we call this antipasto, even if it's not classic Italian antipasto]. Goat milk brie, dried cherries, interesting crackers, hot pickles, and spreads. Classic salami, provolone, Swiss/ Jarlsburg, and for me, a favorite, white cheddar with dried cranberries.


And also these delicious small savory ''pizzas": cauliflower crusts [ordered online?], one with fig chutney and goat cheese , the second with a caramelized onion spread, the third added to the cheese board for the spreads, like carrot and squash and others. These little hot ''pizzas''were amazing! Light but so flavorful!



Wine for this course was a rose, no info or sauvignon blanc here  Featherstone Vineyards. 


Main course:

Free Range Turkey with gravy

Whipped mashed parsnips

Roasted, caramelized Brussels sprouts with apple wood smoked bacon

Stuffed mushrooms [spinach, goat cheese.]

My stuffing [ cornbread/ sausage/ apples/ chestnuts]

my Creamed onions, because I love them.

Wine was Etude pinot noir  here

Dessert

Vegan Pumpkin Pie with coconut milk  whipped ''cream'' topping.

This is an exceptional dessert, very light and sweet, with light pumpkin flavor and cinnamon. 
Nicer than classic!

I had hoped to go back today for leftovers! I always love Thanksgiving leftovers. But my friends were off to the city for the weekend---what is more exciting than NYC at Christmas. Yes, I was a tad envious but so grateful to have have shared the holiday with my children and good friends.


More Thanksgiving walks with Mo. Thanksgiving is the height of autumn here, what leaves we have are finally starting to change. Note how green the grass is!





























One favorite moment was walking down the again wind blown and barren  beach path and smelling fresh cranberry sauce simmering on someone's stove. Mmmm.









Even though I was not the host/ hostess this year, I was tired! Haha, all that lovely wine. Today I walked on the beach, then Mo and I had a sunny if chilly hour on the deck, as I sewed on Muddy Water's / Parmateer Point's binding.



I have a big etsy order to fill! Yay! But after car shopping this week then the holiday, I needed a quiet day. How about you?



love,

lizzy

gone to the beach.....































6 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun and yummy day! Does Mo play with the fallen leaves? My younger kitty tries to 'catch' them through the glass door, lol - we hear the occasional loud THUD when she forgets there's glass there. The beach 'ally' looks kind of forlorn without all the flowers peeking, but I see someone hung a wreath! Nice!

    Glad to hear about the etsy order - good luck and happy sewing!

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  2. Happy to hear that you had such a good day.

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  3. It sounds and looks like a lovely meal!! The blue skies are sure pretty too!!

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  4. Your dinner looked and sounded really good!! My mother made mashed parsnips one time...my brother bit into them (thinking they were potatoes) and threw a fit...poor mom, I don't think she ever made them again. (Actually I thought they were pretty good!) Mo looked busy...checking out those leaves. I love the holly!! What a beautiful plant!

    Blessings
    Gert

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  5. Glad you enjoyed the day. The table looks pretty, and good Lord, the antipasto, yum! I could have been totally happy with just that. Gorgeous food pic too. Oh, if you get the vegan pie recipe, please share?

    It is looking like Fall there. Softer light, beautiful colors. Have to agree with Mel, the pathway has looked more inviting.

    Big Etsy order...do tell :)

    Lol, Gert's story about parsnip mash. Have to confess that I recently made a combo mash of potatoes & cauliflower...I might have reacted similarly to Gert's brother ;) They were fine, but I REALLY LOVE mashed potatoes, and on this particular day, that's what I needed!

    Thanks for sharing your day with us,

    Kel

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    1. Hi! Yes, I said the antipasto was a meal in itself too. Deeeelish!
      I will ask about the pie recipe. Parsnips were excellent. It's the expectation of potatoes that disappoints, but we knew these were parsnips and had tasted the recipe a few weeks ago.
      I guess the alley won't look pretty until Xmas lights or a snow day now, too bad.

      I ll show a peek at my etsy project maybe tomorrow, but I usually do not show custom orders in detail, for privacy of my clients.

      hope your Thanksgiving was good!

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