A "Frolland" Thanksgiving

A plate with all of the trimmings.

This was the first year that AJ's family and my family came together to celebrate thanksgiving. Our families get along very well - AJ's dad even took to calling this event the Frolland Thanksgiving, merging our two families surnames together. Frolland does have somewhat of a whimsical sound to it - and this holiday couldn't have been merrier, what with all of the wonderful people and food.

AJ made us some cookies, but he eated them!

(Malia and V aren't pleased that I am photographing them)

AJ's family was in charge of butternut squash soup, salad, sweet potatoes casserole, the turkey, gravy, and chocolate cake. My family brought all the rest: cranberry sauce, biscuits, brussel sprouts, herb and bacon cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, lemon cranberry bread, apple pie, pecan pie, and pumpkin cheesecake. We certainly weren't lacking at this table.

AJ's dad carved this brined beauty.

The turkey was brined and seasoned with lots of garlic! This is probably the best turkey I have ever had at Thanksgiving. It was so juicy and flavorful. It reminded me why turkey is the centerpiece on so many tables this holiday.

Of course one cannot have turkey without stuffing. Everyone (the four coworkers, five friends, and four family members I polled) seems to favor their mother's stuffing recipe. And my family certainly agrees. We love my mom's cornbread stuffing with bacon and herbs. The cornbread gives the stuffing such a traditional feel. The bacon and herbs pack in a ton of flavor. When I was in college, I would pack up my mom's stuffing and live off of it for a week.

The dessert spread (from the left, clockwise): pecan pie, chocolate cake, lemon cranberry bread, apple pie, and pumpkin cheesecake.

We had to save room for dessert - we had five different items from which to choose! The only way to go on Thanksgiving is to sample everything that is offered. I mean how many other occasions are you going to have five desserts to sample for free? They were all delicious. My mom made lemon cranberry bread for V (my Thanksgiving averse sister). V also sampled some other desserts as well and gave the chocolate cake a two thumbs up - which is a lot coming from someone who doesn't usually go for chocolate desserts.

The pumpkin cheesecake has been a tradition in our family for years - I tweaked the recipe a tad by going with an oreo crust instead of our usual gingersnap one. AJ said it was better than cheesecake factory. :) Which of course I knew, because everything is better when its made from scratch. And in the company of those you love. My mom taught me that much.

Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving as well!

What was your favorite dish?