Happy Thanksgiving (best laid plans...)

Sometimes the best laid plans don't work out the way they're supposed to... but things still turn out ok. My Thanksgiving was like that. The kids were a bit sick, nothing serious, just stuffy noses, but bad enough to ruin the night before Thanksgiving so that I hardly got much sleep, and was in no shape to get up and get everyone ready for the parade..



Our Thanksgiving menu:

Roasted turkey (brined in rosemary broth)
Lemony roasted yams
Brussel sprouts with caramelized onions and bacon bits
Mashed potatoes with garlic
Field greens with pears and gorgonzola
Waldorf salad
Stuffing with sausage and prunes

My Thanksgiving program:

Wake up at dawn, cuddle with the girls.
Drink strong coffee.
Have a sturdy breakfast of bagels with cream cheese and lox.
Get everyone in the car (not an easy task with 3 kids).
Drive to Manhattan to see Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Enjoy my daughters' joy in seeing the big parade balloons.
Get sore arms holding up the baby so she can see.
Drive back home.
Start cooking like a madwoman. First things first, i.e. put the turkey in the oven first, then tackle other menu items.
Sip white wine while cooking, put on mellow music like Andrea Bocelli or Norah Jones. Ask the 9-year old to be the DJ.
Clean up kitchen and freshen up, put on the hostess outfit (something festive, yet comfortable, probably my new Missoni poncho)
Welcome guests and sip more wine, light the candles.
Make sure turkey is done.
Serve food on good china (the table has been set nicely the night before).
Sit at Thanksgiving dinner for a good long time.
Take turns telling everyone what you are thankful for, and try to come up with at least one surprising thing.
Recruit everyone to help cleaning up the dinner table.
Light a fire in the fireplace. Notice that fireplace does not work and chimney needs a cleaning.
Serve desserts: cheesecake banana cream pie and pumpkin pie.
Enjoy kid's presentations: piano, violin and dance performances.
See guests out and give them leftovers to take home.
Put kids to bed.
Sip some more wine and re-hash the day with hubby.
Go to sleep exhausted but happy.