Our thanksgiving meal, the first I've actually really helped prepare

Menu

Pissaladieres [anchovies, olives, and carmelised onions on puff pastry]
Gougers [puffs made from Gruyère cheese]
Pumpkin Soup
Tilapia in Wine Sauce
Herbed Haricots Vert [green beans]
Roasted Radishes [we chose some from Good Foods that have a lot of different colours; roasted radishes taste nothing like raw ones]
Gallete de Pome de Terre [a potato dish with parsley and garlic]
Roasted Kabocha Squash [good, but I'm so thankful I didn't have to peel these]
Quorn 'Turk'y' Roast [surprisingly delicious; in all the time I haven't eaten meat, I had never tried it. It is mostly made from protein derived from mushrooms]
Cranberries with Port [excellent; normal cranberry sauce pales in comparison]
Fennel, Sunchoke, and Apple Salad
Yeast rolls
French Pumpkin Pie [done with puff pastry, kabocha squash (I did have to peel and cube those--it was an adventure], topped with vanilla ice cream; it's not as sweet as an American pie, but was very flavourful].

We spread purchasing over four weeks, spent three hours on Wednesday getting last minute stuff together, worked and cooked thirteen hours over two days, ate for almost two hours, took an hour and a half to clean up, and the cook was asleep before that was finished, and I barely managed to drive home, put my purse down, and went straight to bed, after turning off all five alarms on my cell phone, but my, it was worth it. I'd never had a Thanksgiving dinner with others away from my family before, unless it was when I was married, but even then, I think I went home, but then my friends are also my family, and they had asked me to come back in August when it became clear that their normal Thanksgiving plans weren't going to work. Everything but the Quorn and rolls were done from scratch, and the food processor was only used for a couple of things.

My cell phone went off this morning and I thought I'd missed turning off an alarm. I was so asleep I didn't realise it was a call. My mom called back again a little later and I was a bit more with it, and we made plans for me to visit tomorrow. That was about 8:30 this morning. I finally woke up about 11 and got up aouut 11:30. I guess I went to bed around 10 last night.

I need to do a few things here, get properly ready. But it was nice to have some recoup time. I didn't realise just what went into Thanksgiving preparations. I have a great deal more respect for the women in my family who have done so for years. I think the most I'd ever really done before was peel potatoes a couple of time. This was very hands-on; for most of yesterday my hands were green from peeling the squash, for example. :)

And it was a far cry from last year, where Thanksgiving was just another day, alone in my apartment recuperating from a broken ankle and foot, although one of my co-workers brought me food from her dinner, which was sweet. Anyway, I'm thankful I have a few days to spend with friends and family, that I'm able to get around and visit, and that things went so well yesterday.