{thanksgiving twenty-eleven}

Hello again!

This Turkey Holiday was especially wonderful, full of delicious meals, lots of games, and The Muppets Movie! The whole time I felt so blessed and thankful to be surrounded by such a fun and loving family. Even in reflection about what we’re thankful for, family floats to the top of the list for Jesse and me. We are so lucky to have not just our own families, but as of October 22, officially we have each other’s. What else could you want?

{turkey day prep}

The morning started out full of energy and hustle and bustle in the kitchen. As usual, I awoke to the wonderful smells of Mom Ellis’ stuffing and freshly fried goetta---a German-American breakfast sausage that is almost a staple in Cincinnati. I had actually thought I slept in really late but when I looked at the clock, it was only about 9:30 am. We had a really delicious breakfast which gave us enough fuel to get straight to work.

Everyone pitched in this Turkey Day to make sure that our meal was spectacular. Even Jesse, who is notorious for ducking out during meal prep, helped out by buttering the toasts for our breakfast and assisting Eric with turkey carving.

Eric, Emily’s hubster took on the very important task of making the turkey. He used special tricks and got so into his cooking that he sliced his finger. Unfortunately the Ellis children did not let him get away with whining about it and made him “suck it up.” Luckily his lovely wife Emily patched him up really well and he could resume to making culinary magic.

{dinnertime!}

When we finally sat down for dinner it was almost impossible not to dig in immediately.

We had:

Turkey a la Eric

Cranberry Sauce (canned and the real stuff)

Steamed Broccoli

Mashed Potatoes w/the option of the most amazing caramelized onions or sautéed bell peppers

Mom Ellis’ Amazing Stuffing

& for dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Lemon Chess Pie

yum!

Oh my! I stuffed my belly way beyond its limit and I could barely move from my spot when I was done. And though it was painful afterwards, I would surely do it again! I’ll just make sure I keep my indulgence to once a year.

{turkey day cornhole}

After dinner to work off some of our gut we played some very competitive cornhole. It was quite fun, especially because Emily and I were undefeated! We even beat the husbands despite all of their tough guy talk.

Eventually we had to take to the indoors as the weather was slipping slowly into the chill zone. We still maintained our competitive spirit by joining in on some intense games of Farkle---a dice game. There is a little skill involved, however the majority of your success in the game depends on how lucky your dice rolls are. Unfortunately for Eric, the Farkle Gods were not favoring him at all. Maybe the next holiday will be his time to shine.

What a great Turkey Day! I hope you all had a very happy holiday full of memorable moments.

Good night!

The Mrs.

{pre-turkey day!}

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We definitely did at Casa de Ellis as we celebrated our first Pre-Turkey Day! It was so great to be surrounded by family and friends as it brought a lot of warmth to our new home. The weekend was packed with yummy food, a very competitive cornhole game (Jesse & Dad Henry vs. Derek & Dad Ellis), and some good times and marshmallow roasting around the fire pit. It was tons of fun and a good warm-up for Thanksgiving Day.

{a lovely spread}

On our menu we had:

Starters:

Baked Brie en Croute w/Raspberry Jam

Double Tomato Bruschetta (a delicious recipe I will share later :))

Sides:

Sausage Stuffing

Smoked Gouda & Bacon Mashed Potatoes w/Gravy

Spinach Holiday Salad

Baked Asparagus w/Smoked Gouda

Main Course:

Slow cooker Rosemary Turkey Breast

Honey Glazed Ham

Drinks:

My famous Raspberry Cham-Punch

{hard at work}

{fruits of my labor}

Although I spent most of the day cooking, I took pleasure in watching everyone enjoy my hard work. Plates were licked clean, seconds were had, and everyone chipped in to clean-up the kitchen while I sat back and roasted marshmallows; the best compliments to the chef!

{mark & derek digging in}

{anna & her mommy waiting patiently for dinner}

What a lovely weekend! I can’t wait for what the rest of this holiday has in store for us.

{Mom & Dad Henry taming our pups…hehe}

Much love to everyone! We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

{it’s beginning to look a lot like…thanksgiving!}

{photo by Ginnerobot}

Hello! Hello!

So I’m taking a little break from our wedding mini-series because tonight I’m thinking about Turkey Day. Our holidays will be hectic as usual as multiple families are involved. Luckily, Jesse and I have been together for so long that we have come up with a good system. We’ve had our bumps (the year we had three thanksgivings back-to-back…crazy!), but we’ve ironed out a good holiday plan. I’m sure when we start having kids (a looooong time from now), it will change again, but for now this works very well for us. This year belongs to Jesse’s mom (each year we alternate between our families). We are very excited because 1) Jesse’s sister Emily, new hubby Eric, and possibly my favorite of Jesse's uncles, Jack & Paul will be in town and 2) Jesse’s mom makes the most amazing stuffing ever! I remember when I first had it; I couldn’t get enough! She gets up really early in the morning while everyone is still asleep, turns on the Macy’s Day parade, and goes straight to work. The smells waft all through the house and before you know it, you’re wide awake and craving a spoonful of that yummy stuffing. What’s your favorite turkey day item?

It is pretty crazy how early everyone gets up to start the turkey day meal. My own mom gets up at 4 a.m. (naturally…isn’t that insane!). She also makes sure to serenade the whole house promptly at 7 a.m. with Christmas tunes. It’s a good thing that her meals are always amazing otherwise her sound system might “disappear.” (Don’t worry mom!).

Since we won’t be spending Thanksgiving Day with some of our family and friends, we’ve decided to host a pre-Turkey Day, Turkey Day in our new home the weekend before. It won’t be as large as the actual Turkey Day meal, but it will have plenty of fancy appetizers (my favorite) and some traditional turkey day items (i.e. stuffing, and of course turkey!). While I don’t regularly make huge meals, I’m not nervous as last year I took on Christmas Eve dinner (which was a huge success) and Easter dinner (another success). Those were my first times making large meals and minus a few bumps, seemed to be enjoyed by all our guests.

I really love entertaining so I’m getting very excited about place settings and menu items. My best lady Giselle will also be joining us for Pre-Turkey Day, Turkey Day and is completely in charge of desserts. She is a master dessert chef and I cannot wait to see what she has planned! As for the main menu, one thing’s for sure…Smoked Gouda (the best of all fancy cheeses) will definitely making an appearance. We may have to have a post completely devoted to that…

Well goodnight for now. If you have any good recipes you’re willing to share, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message!

Love,

The Mrs.(hehe)