Before 2012, I had never missed a Thanksgiving with my family. I would look forward to the holiday season for weeks, heralded by Turkey Day. Mom and Dad would be up bright and early in the kitchen, prepping the turkey and tasty side dishes. The morning would progress with all of us gathered around the TV watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, sharing appetizers and enjoying one another's company. I looked forward to the Dog Show in the afternoon (and anxiously awaited the appearance of the year's winning Cavalier King Charles Spaniel). When Tony and I began dating, we enjoyed discovering one another's family traditions. I joined in on the Thanksgiving football games and that fantastic green bean casseroles at the Murek's household. I had a chance to savor Tony's dad's fantastic pies. The food was always delicious and the house warm in NY's cold November weather. But, the greatest part was being surrounded by loved ones, knowing that we had each other regardless of the year's challenges or tribulations.
When Tony and I moved to Texas, the saddest part was knowing this year would be different. I can see why the holidays can sometimes be a time of sadness for people. Losing loved ones, busy work schedules, failing health, military deployments... times of challenge and change only become more pronounced when the holidays arrive. Tony and I felt some heaviness of heart as the holiday season approached.
However, I have realized that many others around us are sharing in that same adjustment. Working in a hospital, many of us are faced with the prospect of working holiday shifts. Most of our fellow service members also are many miles from home, missing family as well. There is a comfort in knowing we are not alone. Over the last several months, I have discovered so much to be thankful for; particularly, the blessing of newly found friends.
2012 marked Tony and my first opportunity to put on our own holiday celebrations. Thankfully, Tony and I both had the day off... as did many of our friends! This Thanksgiving represented the union of old traditions and the formation of new ones. We had a blast co-hosting with our dear friends, Mamie and Jon. We all put put on a fun get-together for our San Antonio friends, fusing bits and pieces of our individual Thanksgiving experiences from years past.
Thanksgiving Day started with a full breakfast, just the four of us, to gain some strength for the long day of cooking ahead! Mamie and Jon cooked their fabulous blueberry pancakes, with sides of sausages and eggs.
Mimosas (and sparkling orange juice for me) were a special treat. As always, the day started with plenty of laughter... mostly secondary to "food faces" (of course, instigated by my husband).
Butters also put on his best food (begging) face, perching from his favorite spot on the love seat. The Macy's Day Parade played on the TV in the background, making me feel a little closer to home.
For the main event, we decided on 2 turkeys... my family's traditional baked turkey recipe and Jon's cajun fried turkey. Tony and I worked together on the oven-roasted bird. We even had a chance to "cook together" with my parents through Face Time, as we in TX and they in NY both prepared the traditional Lyman stuffing and turkey. The distance didn't feel quite so far, as we all chopped celery, sautéed sausage, cut up the bread, and added spices to our turkeys.
Meanwhile, Mamie and Jon tackled the fried turkey.
I had never had fried turkey before (probably, because it is too chilly in the north to tolerate anything outdoors for long in November), and enjoyed watching the set-up process for the frier.
We ladies carefully looked after the roasting bird. Mamie and I were sure to frequently baste to give our turkey that perfect golden tan!
Tony and Jon took on the daunting task of peeling the mountain of potatoes.
The Dog Show came on midway through. The guys (ehhhem...Tony) seemed a little too excited about the start of the show. Butters, on the other hand, was more interested in finding scraps on the table from breakfast than cheering on his fellow Cavalier on TV.
By noon, other friends started to arrive. I met Sean and Sarah, motorcycle friends of Jon and Mamie's, for the first time. We had a chance to see our friend, Michelle, whom is certainly Mamie's Surgery Residency partner in crime. Dorian and Jess joined in as well, a couple that Tony and I have enjoyed numerous double dates with since moving. Everyone brought drinks and dishes to pass, and we all had a chance to socialize while dinner simmered.
We prepared a selection of tasty appetizers to hold us all over until dinner. Mamie made the fried pickles, and Jon put out his crab dip.
Butters made his rounds too... he offered guests numerous kisses in exchange for (all of) their appetizers. I did find a sizable amount of dip on those little legs by the end of the night
In the meantime, Tony and I teamed up to make the special cranberry garnish.
It is a recipe that my mom introduced the year that Tony and I started dating... it now is a permanent staple to the Lyman family Thanksgiving menu, as Tony has been such a big fan of it since! Together, we chopped up the celery, cranberries, and oranges. I added the messy (but necessary) pomegranates. I think Baby Bean wanted to help. I could feel him kicking as Daddy and I worked.
I'd say we made a pretty great team!
As dinner drew closer, the guys handled the very manly task of frying the turkey.
It was seasoned to perfection...
...and pretty neat to watch the whole process.
Jon and Mamie really did an awesome job of prepping that turkey for the big dip!
Mamie and I returned to the kitchen to finish the final dishes: garlic mashed potatoes and green bean casserole (one of my favorite recipes from the Murek household).
And, by the time we were done, the turkeys were ready to be carved.
From our large shopping trip earlier in the week, Tony and I had collected a few too many cranberries. Tony had thought 3 bags of cranberries meant PRODUCE BAGS full... not the small pre-packaged ones I had in mind. I attempted to creatively use the (many, many) extra cranberries to decorate the oven-roasted turkey. It made for a great picture...
...but did happen to make quite a mess when we went to serve the turkeys.
Of course, there was my little "helper," ready to eat up the stray cranberries... a big NO NO for little doggies
Thankfully, Jon was also there... and much faster than Butters.
With all of the food finally lined up, the buffet style method worked out really well...
... and, luckily, Tony and I had the foresight to set the table up the night before
The attempt at getting a decent photo was pretty much a fail... multiple times.
But, it really didn't matter. As we sat down to our meal, I felt so thankful to be surrounded by such a great group of friends with laughter and good food to fill our bodies.
Although we all (not just Baby Bean) felt pretty much ready to pop by the end of the night, we had to make room for the desserts! Sarah made a great selection of pies, all with pretty decorations to include dough leaves and braids. Dorian and Jess added the great key lime pie. Tony and I had made some apple and pumpkin pies as well, with Tony's dad in mind (AKA, the master pie baker). It was hard to choose from such a great spread!
Overall, Tony and my first Thanksgiving away from home turned out to be a great success. We missed our families so much, but had reminders of them throughout the day as we shared family traditions with others. Being surrounded by great friends made the day special, and gives Tony and I so much to be thankful for.
