Nonsense That Sort of Involves Pilgrims.

This year Todd and I hosted Thanksgiving for the third or fourth time in our adult lives.  I am not afraid of a fourteen-pound turkey that needs juniper berries in the brining liquid.  Bring it on.  I am, in fact, all about a holiday that centers around a overwhelming amount of sweet and savory deliciousness, and I mean sweet and savory.  My turkey was basted with maple syrup and my gravy was thinned with cider.  My dessert was a vanilla bread pudding with salted caramel sauce (Shout out to Liz).  And my drink was a, let's face it, bottle of sugary cranberry brandy (Shout out to Angie).  Sometimes straight up, and sometimes mixed with dry cider.  We also made garlic mashed potatoes, roasted peppery carrots, and brussel sprouts with apples and bacon.

In the days leading up to the feast, while I was writing shopping lists and arranging cooking and preparation schedules, I was also searching Pinterest for place card and centerpiece ideas.  Because I was going to do it right.  And that's why, the night before Thanksgiving, while a lot of people in my town, particularly the younger ones, were enjoying crowded reunions in local pubs and bars, I was using my glue gun to attach autumnal fabric to a corrugated cardboard Mayflower.  And then lining the boat with craft foam, filling it with mixed dried beans, and adding chopstick masts.  (As I mentioned earlier, my celebratory drinking happened the next day, so no regrets.)  So without too much trouble, the centerpiece was completed, Rudy's favorite fish, Twisty (also lately referred to as Twist Hounce) was safely swimming alongside it, and there were no real culinary disasters.  In the end, I'd say, a happy Thanksgiving.