Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm busy baking and cooking and making a mess...so I'll post later today about all the fun..complete with pictures. Thank God I had some help with this, or it might not have come off.

Let me just say that in yesterday's preparations for today, I: spilled a martini all over a countertop with important paperwork on it; forgot to double the number of eggs in my baked chocolate custard when I doubled the rest of the ingredients, and it refused to set when baked; burned my hand on the handle of the deep pan that I baked the custard in because I absent-mindedly forgot that I had recently taken it out of a 350-degree oven; went to the store early to beat the crowds and then remembered later in the day that I hadn't picked up brown sugar and a couple of other things I needed, so I had to wait in long lines with the riff-raff anyway. Oh, there were some other blunders, but nothing monumental. At least we got a lot done for today's meal yesterday.

But anyway...here's the menu: turkey, of course, brined and baked to golden perfection; delicious potato-bread stuffing; my signature sweet potatoes with pears and apples; rosemary-and-chive potatoes with home-made gravy; our good friend Jeff's famous squash casserole; green beans; homemade dinner rolls; and for dessert, Jeff's apple crisp, and baked chocolate custard (ala Veselka).

I am a traditionalist when it comes to Thanksgiving; I don't go far outside the box when it comes to the menu. But it always tastes fabulous, so who cares? Good food is good food! (Yes, I know, I'm so prolific.)

What am I most thankful for? I have a wonderful partner whom I love and whom I live with in a beautiful home; we have three healthy dogs who are like children to us; we have a terrific yet small circle of family and friends who are very near and dear to us and for whom we would do about anything, knowing they would do the same for us; we live just a short train ride from the most terrific city in the world; and I have a new job to go to in just 10 days that I am soooo happy to be leaving the old one for!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May you be filled with the gift of a good meal, the warmth of friends and family, and a spirit of generosity for those less fortunate than you this holiday season.