My heavy workload did not let up until late Wednesday afternoon, which didn’t leave me a lot of time to prepare and cook for thirteen on Thanksgiving. I did manage to run out at lunchtime on Tuesday to get the grocery shopping done, but would have liked to have more prep time.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who chips in a great deal with household chores and cleaning, so I had one less thing to worry about.

I tried some new recipes this year along with the old standbys (mom’s stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, buttermilk mashed potatoes, creamed spinach).

I wanted to try a cornbread-based stuffing this year and found a yummy recipe on Epicurious. The mixture of cornbread, cranberries, leeks, pecans and Italian sausage looked so good in the bowl, I had to take a photo.

The flower bouquet from Trader Joe’s gave the table a nice shot of autumn color.

And, the first attempt in the convection oven, with the help of another delicious Epicurious recipe, was a moist, delicious success.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tags: celebrations, cooking, family, holiday