Homekeeping: Pre-pressing Table Linens

Thanksgiving week is our biggest time for

entertaining in the entire year.  Our guests 

start arriving on Saturday and we will have 

a house filled with people we love.  We are

all cooks and that means most meals will be 

at home.  I love to set a pretty table and use

the many linens and dishes I collect.  To save

time I iron all my linens ahead of time.  I use

skirt hangers to keep them neat and hang 

them out of the way on a rod in my laundry

room.  

I keep a little weekly planning list so

if I'm busy I can send one of the kids 

to gather the correct items to set the 

table.

After all, it's much more fun to spend 

time with your loved ones than to be 

off alone ironing when everyone else

is having fun.  A little planning can

 make entertaining a breeze.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

 

It is Thanksgiving Day in the United States!

A day to gather with your loved ones and feast

on turkey and all the trimmings ~ and then there

is pie.

 

 

From our American Homestead, Avalon, to

wherever you may call home, we wish you

good health and happiness and all the best

for you and those you love.

Thanksgiving Tradition

 

Here at the American Homestead we

have a very traditional Thanksgiving

dinner.  And a tradition at our table

is for each person to tell a story of a

memorable meal in the past year.

 

 

The Turkey

 

 

Creamed Onions ~ on our table

since we were kids.

 

Mick told a story of a meal he recently

had in Cappadocia.  His guide took him

to a restaurant run by a family he knew.

The family filled the table with mezza

dishes and everyone feasted... then they

brought the lunch.  Everyone had to stuff

themselves a bit more.

 

 

Cornbread Stuffing

 

 

Corn Pudding

 

Brennan told a story of a dinner in

Copenhagen where there was no menu,

the chef decided what everyone would eat.

Included in the group was a Danish family

with their children and grandparents. 

Brennan especially liked walking the Mom

home with the kids so the kids could be put

to bed, he said walking through the quiet

old streets was wonderful.

 

 

Butternut Squash

 

 

Mashed Potatoes

 

Kasey told us all about a Hawaian

Luau and all the foods and preparation

involved.  Kasey lives on the beach in

Hawaii and I'm sure she is counting down

the days until she can fly away from the

grey skies of Indiana and spend her Christmas

break with her family on the beach ~ maybe

they'll have a luau!

 

 

Haricot Verts with Lemon Zest and Pine Nuts

 

Uncle Jamie told us about a dinner

he had in Turkey where the entire

meal was cooked in a sealed clay pot,

you then hit the pot and cracked the top

off so you could eat the meal.

 

 

Cranberry Apple Relish

 

Mr. Wonderful told a story of a

delicious breakfast buffet in Istanbul.

There were so many selections he had

to make 2 trips just so he could taste

everything. 

 

 

Pickled Beets

 

Hard working Katie Rose is a

student at Purdue and when she

has breaks from school she is always

working.  Sadly, she only got to spend

one night out of state last year so she

told us about her tomato and mozzarella

salad on a trip to Michigan last summer.

 

 

Pecan and Pumpkin Pie

 

My favorite meal of the year was my first

night in Athens.  We arrived late in the day

and checked into our hotel and headed to

Plaka to find a restaurant.  As we were looking

down the side streets we saw the Acropolis lit

up at night.  That's the street we went down.

We ate in an outdoor cafe, I had moussaka

and Wonderful had stuffed tomato and pepper.

And we enjoyed the beautiful view of the Acropolis.

 

I hope everyone is thankful for every meal we

get to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Thanksgiving Week

 

Thanksgiving at our American Homestead,

Avalon, is quite traditional.

But with the house filled with people for

the week we have been having an

International Festival in our dining room.

 

At this meal all four of us had been to

Istanbul and/or Greece within the past

6 months.  When traveling we always

collect dishware and small items to use

in our homes.  I bought these candles

from a guy on Divan Yolu, just across

from the Blue Mosque.  This dinner is

moussaka and a Greek salad like the

one I had for lunch after exploring the

Acropolis in Athens.

 

 

When traveling or when we have a

crowd at home we always have a

Dutch Breakfast.  Cheese and meat,

hard-boiled eggs, yogurt and breads.

 

 

This was a rather typical American

Sunday dinner of Brown Sugar/ Balsamic

Pork Loin and Carrots but it did have a

Hot German Potato Salad to give it and

international flavor.

 

 

A delicious Japanese Curry.

 

 

Holy Guacamole!  There was enough

to feed an army!  We put quite a dent

in this and then...

 

 

... followed by a build your own tostada feast.

 

 

Last night we celebrated India with

the street foods of Mumbai.

 

 

Ragda Patties

 

 

Pani-puri and Papadum

 

 

Diwali Sweets.

 

Someone said last night that life at our

house is all about eating and talking,

hmmm ~ not a bad thing.

And I'm thankful for that...

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gathering For Winter

 

I love to decorate my Thanksgiving table

with natural items ~ gourds and pumpkins

from the garden, Indian corn from the farm

stands and acorns I have gathered on my hikes.

 

 

Now is the perfect time to start gathering,

the acorns are beginning to fall and you

must get them early if you want them in

good condition with the caps still on.

The squirrels are busy at this time of year too.

 

 

Thanksgiving is only 11 weeks away!

 

 

American Homestead's Thanksgiving

We Cooked, We Ate, We Collapsed...

We had a traditional American Thanksgiving

 at our American Homestead yesterday.

Mashed potatoes

Creamed onions

The turkey

Cornbread stuffing

Corn pudding

Butternut squash

And then we had the pies!



Happy Thanksgiving

An Irish Blessing

Wishing you always ~

Walls for the wind

And a roof for the rain

And tea beside the fire.

Laughter to cheer you

And those you love near you

And all that your heart might desire!

It is Thanksgiving Day here in the

United States.  It is a day when family

and friends gather to give thanks

for all we have and to feast on turkey,

cranberry, stuffing and all the harvest

of the season.

Here at Avalon, our American Homestead,

we are cooking up a storm in the kitchen,

the table is set and we are waiting to feast

later in the day.

Wherever you may be in the world,

I wish you a

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shower the People You Love with Love

We are preparing for our out-of-town

guests that are arriving this weekend to

spend Thanksgiving week with us.

We are planning centerpieces, going over menus,

 sprucing up the house, choosing the right dishes

to go with the meal, & polishing the silver.  It's

a lot of work, but none of it is a chore.  We are

thrilled to have our company come each year and

want everything to be as nice as possible.

It will be a busy week of hikes through the

woods with the dogs, wandering through

antique shops, eating lots of ethnic food,

watching good old movies, talking of our

adventures around the world and ending

with the big feast on Thanksgiving.

 

 

So remember to surround yourself with

happy, interesting people and that is the

recipe for a happy life.