Sunday, November 05, 2006

Thanksgiving Countdown - 17 days to go

What!? 17. I'm feeling a little panicked. Up till now, it's been fun to daydream about the food I'd serve, how beautiful my house will look, how yummy everything will taste. But now it's really time to get down to major planning, making decisions about things and organizing the shopping and preparation. I haven't mentioned what a fabulous guest list I have, but it is super fabulous. Just to name drop a little, DesignMom, Jordan, Mom in Mendon and Liz will be spending Thanksgiving with us, not to mention the very cool people they hang out with. I'm so excited (and a lot relieved) to delegate all things table (place settings, linens, centerpieces) to Design Mom and Jordan. No doubt it will be beautiful and cool and functional. Mom in Mendon is a great cook and makes a stunning deep dish apple pie. Liz has great taste in all things and can cook anything.

So desserts. Ben had the great idea of having lots of desserts. At first I thought it sounded a little crazy, but now I really like the idea. I'm thinking the day will go something like this: In the morning I'll send a group off to the Macy's Day Parade. Then I can cook and watch the parade on tv with whomever stays behind. We'll start hors de oeuvres early, maybe 1 or 2. Roughly 45-60 minutes after hors de oeuvres have begun we'll sit down to dinner: first soup, then salad, then the rest. Hopefully the babies will nap during most of the meal. The tricky part will be keeping the other kids happy, so we may have to adjust the time accordingly. By eating early we can make time for a nice fall walk at Rockwood Hall or Pepsico Gardens, and the kids can run and blow off some steam. Last we'll convene in the evening for desserts (lots of desserts) and visiting and maybe a little family home evening. What do you think? (Really, is this a crazy plan? What are the flaws in it?)

Desserts that will be present:
pumpkin pie
apple pie
birthday cake (Josh will order this from Lulu's or Riviera)
pecan pie

Desserts that may be present:
pumpkin cheesecake
milky way tart
chocolate bread pudding
cherry pie
cheesecake with cranberry/cherry compote

What other desserts do you like to have on Thanksgiving?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some people HAVE to have pecan pie for TG. I can take it or leave it.

Liz Stanley said...

so erin i think i'm going to make either a layered pumpkin cheesecake or a nutella pumpkin pie that i saw on hogie wogie blog. they both look delish and i can't decide. what do you think?

Anonymous said...

I can't wait! Everything sounds wonderful. You've got all my favorites on your list. xoxo

Erin said...

ohh, they both sound so good. I'd vote for the layered pumpkin cheesecake.

Anonymous said...

I don't see any chocolate. . .

Allysha said...

yum. I do like pumpkin cheesecake.

steve u. said...

mmm, pecan pie

Gabrielle of Design Mom said...

Every thing sounds so good. I'm freaking excited. I like berry things. Like a cherry pie or mixed berry pie. But I also want to try that layered Nutella pie that Liz is making and I love cheesecake and of course apple pie. . .

Anonymous said...

We were invited over to Tania's when I tole her about the whipped lemon curd ginger tart I make every year. It's a winner. A real winner.

Graham cracker crust with crystallized ginger, lemon curd with cream cheese and whipped cream folded in, topped with the extra cream cheese/whipped cream mixture and more crystallized ginger.

Jenni said...

ok, lindsey give me that recipe asap, and have you ordered your turkey yet, erin??? i vote for the milky way tart, i made it last week and it really is something

Erin said...

rachel, of course there is chocolate. The chocolate bread pudding is rich, rich and so is the milky way tart.
lindsey, make one of those for my Thanksgiving too.
jenni, I'm not going to order a turkey. That's why we live by Stews.

Jenni said...

ok so, i just realized that your birthday falls on thanksgiving this year, do i have that right? you are a good woman to cook a feast for your birthday, what a fun birthday party it will be to have lots of family there to celebrate. enjoy.

Anonymous said...

I'm making that Milky Way Tart today for our 4th Anniversary. I was going to do something else, but then it keeps calling to me. I have to make the voices stop and make the dang tart already!!!