Turner Family Chronicles: A Turner Thanksgiving

I always get in a little over my head on projects. This Thanksgiving was no exception. We decided to invite the Turner family (Martin's parents and sister with her husband and daughter) to stay with us for a week and enjoy Thanksgiving in our new Austin home. I grew up with tons of people always around, especially at holiday time, so this was not a new situation for me. It did, however, remind me how small our house really is. 6 adults, 2 toddlers and 2 dogs... All in all, it went well and everyone got along without any casualties. And to make it a memorable and special Thanksgiving, I wanted to cook the entire meal. I've never made a full Thanksgiving dinner by myself so I was excited and eager to give it a shot. This was my moment to start my own family's yearly traditions and I wanted to make it wonderful. The menu included: Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, fennel with garlic, green beans with almonds, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, dinner rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and apple pie. And I did it all from scratch including my pie crusts! I did buy my rolls but I think that's acceptable. The dinner was fantastic! My turkey was a bit dry but still delicious. The dishes that got the most compliments included the sweet potatoes, pecan pie, gravy and cranberries. I have to admit, I was completely impressed with myself. I love entertaining and this meal put my skills to the test. Still, I missed my mom's cooking. Nothing I did can compare to what she can do and I missed my family immensely. But it was so awesome to have my in laws here and especially to have the little cousins together - Amelia and Tildyn.

Here are some photos from that week.