Thanksgiving this year began the day before with Grandma Busardo arriving to help with the preparations. This was my second year hosting the family affair & I tried to make my meal entirely from organic or locally grown ingredients. The Turkey (19.5 lbs this time) was from a free range, all organic farm in Pennsylvania. I'd say the menu was 95% organic, down to the graham cracker crumbs for the cheesecake.
The side dishes - mushroom & sausage stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, creamed corn, apple pie & new york style cheesecake were prepared on Wednesday. Our oven was in use all day! Grandma Busardo helped watch the kids, while I worked on the food. I couldn't have done it without her this year. When John & Kathryn are quiet something is being broken. By the end of the day we were pooped! Cleaning & cooking makes for a labor intensive day.
I awoke early Thursday morning to prepare Tom. I had him brining in a brown sugar, citrus, and salt bath for over 24hrs. He was thawed and ready for the roaster. Six hrs later we had one delicious bird. While the day past, the weather went from a humid 90 degrees (for which we had to turn the a/c one because of the oven) to afternoon thunderstorms and drop to 50 degrees w/ strong winds. The twins watched the Macy's parade while we finished tiding up the house.
The twins were treated to a 'kiddy table' which was decorated for the season. They each had a turkey place mat, a turkey plate & a turkey cup (thank you Pottery Barn kids!). Too bad they slept through the entire main course & only joined the family for dessert. I think we're going to keep the table in the kitchen for the next few weeks while the house is decorated for Christmas.
The rest of the Busardo clan (Grandpa & Aunt Kitty) joined us mid-afternoon for a delicious, relaxing family meal. We watched the Dallas Cowboys beat the NY Jets, making them 10-1 in franchise history. I was asleep by 6:30pm. What a day. Please enjoy these pictures celebrating our Thanksgiving. We missed Great Grandma Ferrandina this year. She's still recuperating from broken hips and wasn't able to make the trip. We look forwarding to celebrating Christmas with her.
I'll be pulling out the tree & decorations tomorrow. I hope to have the house decorated, with the help of my little elves, by the end of this weekend.
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