Thanksgiving.

Joseph and I spent our first Thanksgiving completely alone, away from our families, for the first time. Since it was going to be my first Thanksgiving cooking everything by myself, I knew that I had to go all out!

I seriously had to have gone to Williams-Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, and Great News at least (5) times each, within a two-week period trying to find more things to buy that I could use for cooking. I finally settled on these items:

Roaster: All-Clad

Turkey Lifters: All-Clad
Baster: Crate & Barrel
Gravy Boat: Crate & Barrel
Digital Thermometer: All-Clad

Once I had all my cooking utensils and recipes, I had to get to work:

I had to start a few things a couple of days early, such as this Champagne Salad. Joseph's mom has been making it for years (it is Joseph's favorite) so I had to make it! It is pretty much a mixture of: crushed up fresh pineapple, pureed fresh strawberries, cream cheese, and cool whip. After it is all mixed together, you freeze it.

The day before Thanksgiving, I went out to Bread & Cie (which makes only the best bread in all of San Diego)and bought a big loaf of crusty french bread for the stuffing. I cut the whole thing into small cubes and let it sit out all day and night so that they could get nice and hard.

It was a lot of stuffing... which was totally okay because who doesn't love left overs! Plus, I still had to stuff the cavity of the turkey. I didn't get a picture of the before but I added: chicken broth, fresh thyme, parsley, rosemary, and sage. So yummy!

Since I had to work the morning of Thanksgiving, I left very detailed instructions for Joseph to do while I was gone. He buttered the turkey, stuffed the cavity, seasoned it just right, and stuck it in the oven until I got home. I am pretty sure he is traumatized by all having to touch all of its lady parts.

Note: I originally ordered a (12) pound turkey but with a growing guest list, opted for a (20) pounder... thank goodness for that roaster!

Joseph put together all of the tables we have in our apartment to make room for the (7) guests that we were having over for our family Thanksgiving dinner. I set the table and got everything ready while the turkey roasted, potatoes boiled, and stuffing baked.

For some reason we didn't get any pictures of the beautifully finished dinner but it was so good. It could have been all of the wine we drank or quite possibly the fact that we were all starving by the time I finished cooking. Either way, it was a success and I completely passed out for the night on the couch, on top of everyone right after we ate :)