My Thanksgiving Foodie Love Tale

So I finally managed to climb out of my Thanksgiving coma to write this post!  I hope everyone gave thanks for all their blessings and enjoyed their time with family and friends.  I know I did!  I loved having my mom around to talk, cook, shop, watch movies together and hang out with the children.  My little girl was so sad to see her go...it's the cutest thing to hear your babies say, "I miss Gwaama" (with her little Jersey Shore accent)!  So endearing!

Well, I wanted to share how me and my family spent our Thanksgiving.  So our group consisted of my family of four, my mom, my cousin and her family of four, her husband's niece and the niece's husband.  So in total it was 11 of us, which turned out to be a great number.  Not too big and not too small.  The preparations began on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  If I had remembered (mommy brain) to defrost on Sunday night, I might have brined the turkey.  Nonetheless, hubby and I took the turkey out to defrost and soak (salt, vinegar and water)!  We washed and seasoned up that bad boy on Tuesday night (hubby's Caribbean green seasoning, sage, rosemary, parsley, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, chopped oranges).  It marinated all through Wednesday night.  Thursday morning, I rubbed it with some butter and we popped that sucker right in the oven (it cooked for 3.5 hours).


I decided to fry all the appetizers on Wednesday night so that I could get the smell of oil and fried foods out of the house before my guests arrived.  I boiled vanilla and mixed essence with water for about 10mins after I finished frying; the aroma spread throughout the house.  So mom and I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning frying saltfish cakes, fried shrimp, and chopping up peppers, onions, garlic, celery all for the sole purpose of prepping for the big day.  I made the tropical fruit punch, mom made ginger beer.  I prepped the potato salad for Hubby.  Hubby was on clean up duty! He passed out between 11pm and 1am, then got up all rejuvenated to clean.  Mom conked out on me a little after 2am.  Finally, I lost all my stamina at about 4am and slid into la-la land.

At about 8am, I jumped up when the children ran into the bedroom demanding breakfast.  So I got them breakfast and decided to preheat the oven.  I took the turkey out, which was in an oven bag.  I opened the bag and this amazing aroma of herbs and seasonings crept out!  It was time to pop the bird into the oven.  I went on to make the macaroni minis and the lasagna.  My mom made the collard greens, rice and fried the plantains (love her).  My hubby did the potato salad and left it in the fridge overnight.  We chilled the cranberry sauce.  All the drinks were chilled including the wine and apple cider.  My daughter happens to be in love with apple cider.  I think the fizz makes her feel grown!  That was her one request for Thanksgiving.  We all finally decided to get dressed and ready for our guests.

At long last, my lovely guests arrived with additional food - a Leg of Lamb, a Honey-glazed Ham, Teriyaki Salmon,  a colorful salad and bread pudding with a bourbon sauce.  We chatted for a bit, the men of course began watching football. The children played a little.  The women tended to the food and set everything up buffet style.  We arranged all the food and drinks on my kitchen island along with the plates and utensils.  Everyone would make their plate and then take it back to the extended dining table. Then finally, the women decided that it was time to eat.  We blessed the food and was able to dig in!  My plate was huge and I know I over-did it.  But oh well, I will get back on the wagon and begin my fitness routine soon enough!

Here are some pics of all the foods that me, my mom and our guests cooked that put us all into a coma!

Until my next foodie adventure...chao!