The Worthen's Thanksgiving 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful, gut busting Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I know I sure did. I tried some new recipes this year. Some successful, and some not so much. I even got inspired to try some crafting. Overall it was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Baking, crafts, DIY projects, beauty and shopping is what I love! This Thanksgiving I thankfully found time to do it all . Last year I wanted to do a fall reef, bought all the necessary items to make one and I never did it. This year I was determined to put up my reef, but was inspired into another direction. Taking notes from Craftaholics Anonymous I made my fall reef out of burlap, which by the way is a very messy sometimes difficult fabric to work with. But I got great tips from Linda, the creator of Craftaholics and the final project came out great. 

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I walk out of my home and am in awe of natures beauty. Once green fruitful trees, turn to shades of red, yellows and browns dressing the streets and pave ways. Ever want to jump or dive into a big pile of autumn leaves. I have, but most likely never will, because I'm afraid of bugs getting in my hair...Anyways, I used the pictures I took around my neighborhood as creative inspiration for my Brown Sugar cookies and Carrot Cake cupcakes

Desserts I made this Thanksgiving is of course my tasty Apple Pie. I absolutely love this pie. Tart green apples with a caramelized sauce inside. The best part is the homemade buttery crust. I could just eat the crust by itself. 

Classic Pound Cake. I got this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. Great cake, except I forgot the vanilla. It came out a bit bland for me so I spiced it up with a brown butter glaze on top. It gave the cake the perfect amount of sweetness. Yum.

The final dessert I made for the night was a double layer pumpkin cheese cake. It was soooo delicious, but you know what, no one else ate it but me! I couldn't believe it. I believe my family is so used to eating more traditional soul food, that they were slightly intimidated, possible even put off by a pumpkin dessert. I won't speak for all African American households, but I don't know many black people that grew up eating pumpkin pie for the holiday. I know my family didn't, and the pumpkin pies I tasted just weren't good. But as a baker I ventured into trying different pumpkin recipes and have had some great success. That's okay. I will convert them one at a time.  

 The grand finally of the night was of course was the turkey. I've made the turkey for the past two years and was asked to make it again. I use a brine recipe that works every time. Juicy and flavorful.
Hopefully, I'll have a turkey tutorial ready before Christmas. 

 

Below is the man of the household cutting the bird. My hubby is a natural. Now it's time to bust open the Christmas lights!