thanksgiving - one week later

i kind of hate the fact

that it has been so long

since my last post. and really,

there's no good excuse, except

that over the past

two weeks i've been sick,

with two separate illnesses -

neither dire, but both enough

to pin me to the couch

for several days at a time.

and most of fall at my

job is spent preparing

for the week of thanksgiving.

but it's been too long.

so while i'm gathering the

strength to tell you about

the dessert i make every

thanksgiving (but can also

be made all fall and winter

long), here is some of our

food from last thursday.

the dining room table, with only about half the food on it.

my mom's stuffing, which she makes every year. it is a very basic, no-frills side dish with nothing more than soft onions to chew on, but we love it and thanksgiving would not be the same without it. so, she makes it, but every year - in effort to turn us to a different dish, she tries her hand at a new one. this year...

...it was taken from the food52 contest for best stuffing. my mom made the challah, mushroom and celery from mrs. wheelbarrow's kitchen. she added roast chestnuts and it was lovely.

rosemary and brown butter applesauce via codfish and caviar, via bon appetit magazine. i was skeptical about this recipe, but still, i wanted to make it. i'm so glad i did. it is truly a savory and unique applesauce that will not be found on every table.

blair's sweet potatoes. blair has made this dish for as long as both of us can remember. it is a traditional sweet potato casserole, with pineapples. this year, she added a crumb topping, along with the marshmallows.

wine...well needed to help me unwind from the week i had had. unfortunately, i was very tired and i don't even think i finished my one glass.

still, we had port with dessert.

this is another dish from the it's-been-at-every-thanksgiving files. my mom has been making her bourbon pecan pie for forever. i have distinct memories of one bottle of bourbon sitting on the top shelf, pulled down only once a year to make this pie.