My Favorite Holiday

This is my Thanksgiving post!  I was the only child to make it home for Thanksgiving this year. One is off in Czech Republic doing newly wed things, the other is in New Jersey…errr.. Los Angeles..errr both, with his silly fiance. As you can tell I’m the only child to really care about my mom and dad #bestchild #imbeingsarcastic

My parents and I were invited over to the Willey’s, they are basically family so it was very fitting to spend this Thanksgiving with them. We were tasked to bring a salad and dessert so my momma obviously gave me the salad..because I love to chop vegetables. So there were many different styles of salads that came to my head, but I decided to tweet at a celebrity chef for inspiration. Alex Guarnaschelli , who is constantly on the Food Network and a judge on Chopped, she gave me something to run with.

I knew I wanted to do something with roasted beets and a creamy cheese, I also wanted to keep it somewhat simple because Mrs. Willey was going to make some amazing food like always. I ended up going with 2 types of lettuce, escarole and some other leafy green I forgot the name, also including some citrus and crunch. Ingredients: Oranges, Roasted Beets, Walnuts, Ricotta Cheese, Leafy Greens. I found a sesame Asian dressing, which turned out delicious. In all I don’t think I liked the pairing of the dressing with the salad mix, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t my favorite. I would definitely do a different salad if I had the chance to go back. Although the dressing is delicious and my dad and I have been using it on our salads this past week.

NOOWWWW I want to share with you our amazing meal. Prepared by the stunning Willey clan.

We started off with appetizers and drinks. Left: Apple, Chutney, Cheese Bruschetta – Middle: Escarole boat with pear, nut and blue cheese filling – Right: hmmhh Cranberry Margarita?the architect  Madelyn told me everything in it and I forgot, all I know is it had cranberries and tequilla and it made me feel good.

Next came dinner!! Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, roasted veggies with a lemony couscous(Penny is that right?), and mashed potatoes with sautéed shallots. Pictured below is Mr. Willey, not to be mistaken for George Clooney also the amazing Penny and Madelyn Willey makin the GRAVY..I like gravy.

       

Lastly was the dessert: Brownie Mint Pie:: Brownie crust with mint cream cheese filling topped with chocolate ganache. Then of course we have the pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. And FULL BELLY!!