Thanksgiving menus

Who was here and what did we eat?

We had a gathering of my nuclear family--being single with no kids that means my brothers and their families. Younger brother's family is, of course, "the folks next door" as I refer to them here, though the nieces are now in college and not living at home. Older niece arrived the Sunday before T'giving, her sister on Wednesday, as did the rest of the crowd. Older brother drove down from North Carolina with his younger son who's in med school in NC. Sister-in-law flew up from Florida, and their older son flew down from Rochester, NY. Not a large gathering, but better than we do some years. We incorporated favorite foods from all comers.

Wednesday night was the first full gathering. Sister-in-law did most of the meal:
Low country boil (shrimp, sausages, corn)
Grilled salmon
Crusty bread
Tossed salad
BB: Luscious apple pie (made by me and youngest nephew)

Breakfast on Thanksgiving:
The NC contingent's "Christmas breakfast", an overnight omelet
BB: Kouigns amann
Citrus

Noshing during the preparation of the big meal:
BB: Swedish Apricot Walnut (well, Pecan) Bread
Mole and fennel sausages from Pine Street Market
Sausage piccante from Publix
smoked gouda
gruyere

Thanksgiving dinner:
Smoked turkey from the local taqueria/barbeque place
Token amount of gravy from Whole Foods
Pecan dressing
Jambalaya stuffing (with half andouille, half tasso--both from Pine Street Market)
Sweet potato casserole
Roasted broccoli with buttered almond topping
Peas and pancetta (skipped the mint)
Cranberry-orange relish
Whole-wheat angel biscuits
Wine
Pie! Pumpkin, black bottom, chocolate chess, and BB: frozen pecan tart

Friday:
Lunch was at Pizza Antico, then dessert next door at the gelateria and pastry shop before we went to the early performance of Cirque du Soleil's Amaluna. Afterwards we came home for:
Whole-wheat challah with dried cherriesTurkey chowder (wonderful with stock from the smoked turkey)
Leftovers
Beer was procured from the nearby growler spot

Saturday:
Younger nephew from the NC contingent had to leave to make a shower for a wedding he'll be a groomsman in, and the rest of us settled in to watch the Georgia-Georgia Tech football game on TV, it being in Athens this year. And yay! Georgia Tech won in overtime--it's been a number of years since they've managed a win against the usually stronger Georgia. Older brother went to Tech for 2 years, younger brother and his wife both graduated from Tech, and my father was a Tech grad--we started as Tech fans early.

Football-watching food:
 Sriracha wings
Hoison-honey riblets
"Crack bread" (Cheddar bacon ranch pulls...though I used real bacon)

Older brother's family then went to visit friends, leaving me and the folks next door with a large Costco chicken pie that hadn't worked into the menus earlier, more leftovers, and a huge pan of cider vinaigrette roasted root vegetables as requested (and largely prepared) by younger niece, who is finding herself veggie-deprived at college. As does her sister, who used the veggie prep time to interview me for an assignment for her “Women, Food, and Culture” class.

And that was about it, as all but younger niece headed out early Sunday morning.