Friday, November 25, 2011

Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, Alex passed the New York Bar, I survived my first year of graduate school and this Thanksgiving I was thankful to have old and new friends around to celebrate. I had a lot of fun decorating for Thanksgiving this year. We ended up having eighteen people over. Everyone brought delicious food and it turned out to be a wonderful evening. 
For the flower arrangements my neighbor went out and picked some berry branches, sprayed them with lacquer and gave us some. I thought they were so beautiful and what a great way to make a cheap and seasonal arrangement. I also put some cranberries in some small vases with a floating candle and sprinkled some fall leaves on the table.
This pecan pie was pretty good. Alex loved it, but I have a family recipe for a chocolate coconut pecan pie that I am making this weekend...it is heavenly. Don't worry, I'll be sure to post it! For the crust I used this  recipe, but substituted 1/2 cup of butter for 1/2 cup of shortening, because I really like butter.  I want to try butter flavored Crisco and see if that adds the flavor I'm looking for.
This year I grew a pumpkin in my garden, actually the pumpkin grew itself.  I didn't plant any pumpkin seeds, it just magically appeared one day and before I knew it I had a beautiful pumpkin growing in my yard.  So, I decided to make use of this magic pumpkin and make pumpkin pie from scratch.  The only thing I changed about this recipe was that I added a little bit of nutmeg and it turned out delicious.
I love homemade cranberry sauce and isn't the color amazing!  I used 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar (instead of all white sugar). I also added 1/4 cup of maple syrup and a splash of vanilla...yummy.
My grandma stumbled upon this recipe for sweet potato soufflé while she was living in South Carolina.  It has been a family favorite since we started making it. I hope you guys enjoy it too!
Sweet Potato Soufflé
3 c boiled mashed sweet potatoes
1 c white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 c butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c coconut
Combine all ingredients and mix well, pour into 9x13

1 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1 c chipped pecans
1 stick butter
Combine (will be crumbly) and spread over potato mixture
Cook at 350 for 30-40 min