Thanksgiving 2023 was very different. It was the first one spent without Alexander. He chose to stay in LA. He said that the trip was too short and that many of his friends would still be in town. Unfortunately, almost all his friends left town. He spent the day editing and had a non Thanksgiving dinner with two friends. He'll be going to a Friendsgiving on Saturday with a friend and her family. Friendsgiving is a new tradition where friends gather to have thanksgiving dinner together.
We really looked forward to Christopher's visit. He arrived on Wednesday. Next year we'll book him an earlier flight because his classes were cancelled last minute on Tuesday. I remember the same thing happening with Alexander in a previous year.
We had dinner on Wednesday night at a burger place (C's choice). I don't cook the day before Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day was spent cooking and watching football. There were three NFL games on that day, including a Seahawks game. I spent a long time making a very complicated (but delicious) green bean casserole and wore myself out. Next year I'll make that in advance.
Here's what we had
Martinelli's Cider
Brined Turkey
Premade gravy from Costco
Homemade cranberry sauce
Stuffing/Dressing (Christopher loves this)
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Pumpkin Pie from Costco
Our turkey was 15 pounds. Of course, we have plenty of leftovers. I plan to give some to a couple who lives nearby that we drive to church. Christopher might take some back to LA with him.
For making the turkey, I followed a recipe from Joy of Cooking. The Seattle Times did a taste test of three different methods of cooking a turkey. This recipe won. We brined the turkey for almost 24 hours. We cooked the turkey upside down for the first portion of time, then flipped it over for the last portion.
I didn't take a family photo because it seemed sad without Alexander.
I love setting a fancy table. I got a new table runner which I really like. I made the napkin "rings" a few years ago.
I have a lot of things for which to be thankful.
One funny thing about American Thanksgiving is that once it is over, bam! the Christmas stuff starts happening. I prefer to wait until December 1st.
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