Thanksgiving this year was full of friends and cooking at home. I’m going to NYC this weekend so I stayed home for Thanksgiving this year and invited friends to spend their Thanksgiving with me. Or at least stop by my house after they celebrated with their family. Angela and I cooked a bit on Wednesday night and then a little bit more on Thursday morning before she went to her family’s gathering and I took a nap before the big dinner.

I discovered a new-to-me cooking blog, The Pioneer Woman, and used a few of her recipes, including the turkey brine, turkey roast, and the butternut squash puree. I have to say, the turkey this year was one of my best turnouts. Here’s the proof:

The butternut squash puree was absolutely delicious and I think I’ll make it again at Christmas time for my family.

Of course we had dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy (Angela gets all the props on that one), salad, bread, desserts…and more! About 8 people actually ate dinner with me, and then a few others stopped by after their family gatherings. Overall it was a great dinner!