Thankful... Mmm...

Grilled turkey, balsamic-glazed onions (made by Ro), sauteed green beans with caramelized onions, green beans with toasted hazelnuts (made by Ro), brussel sprouts with pancetta, mashed sweet potatoes (made by my mom) and mashed baby reds, gravy, cornbread apple cranberry giblet stuffing, cranberries, red chile (made by Ro, um or Vince?), lime Jello with pineapple, rosemary rolls, a rainbow platter of fresh veggies... bottles of red, white and cranberry wine, and spiced cider. Really? Yes. Really. And, six pies to choose from, plus pumpkin cookies and cute little turkeys.

Bounty from Elk Camp...

The kids are expert mushroom cleaners!

Those tiny fingers, attention to detail, and fascination with new things made them my perfect partners in crime tonight to clean up the fabulous Chanterelle mushrooms that Joel brought home from Elk Camp this year. John, Joel and Matthew foraged for the tasty 'shrooms and got three gallons between them.
With the help of the kiddos (armed with small paint brushes), we cleaned up all but about eight of the mushrooms, and I think they'll want to do the rest tomorrow.
Now for my turn to hunt... the perfect recipes to prepare these tasty morsels! No doubt they'll be the perfect accompaniment to Joel's birthday dinner tonight.

A Rafter of Turkeys

Did you know that a group of turkeys is called a rafter? That's nearly as good as a "smack" of jellyfish. The Fab Four did great things with their rafter of beautiful birds today. I think they're so charming (the turkeys) because the little charmers themselves made them.
I had the kids use child safety scissors to cut the Stretch Island Fruit Leather (it's thick and can be poked right into the frosted cupcake), then they frosted, arranged feathers and chose wattle and eye color for their birds. The wattles are red-candy coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

E was the first one finished — decorating (his is in the top right corner of pic) and eating. Solomon and Madeline's are the two in the vertical pic on the left, and Mad saved hers until we got back from the playground. G's turkey is the green-eyed beauty in the bottom center, and Solomon is pictured (enjoying his treat) with my demo-bird. Ro made one too, but I was too busy savoring my Toffee Turkey Cupcake to snap a snap. They were tasty and fun!

Flashback: Last year, I did the prep for them... cut out tail feathers from fruit leather and waddles, etc. And, apparently, they rounded out the afternoon with a viewing of The Backyardigans.

Fairy Tale Pumpkins for Ella...

Funny, but I only made the connection to Cinderella pumpkins tonight while decorating these pretty little fairy cakes. Mary-Claire's baby shower is Autumn-themed because of her love of the season, so sparkly pumpkin cupcakes seemed to suit the occasion...I don't think these wee treats will turn into magic carriages (even with the help of a fairy godmother) — and I'm a godmother, so I should know. They are, however, tasty! I know because I split one with Joel.

Looking forward to reading lots of fairy tales my little pumpkin niece, Ella, once she arrives in December.

PB&J Pancake Man bento...

Mini pancake PB&J sammies (organic natural PB with strawberry jam), Honey Crisp smile (double layer), and grape Stretch Island Fruit Leather accents cut out with my oval fondant cutters. Lunch made in 5-minutes, max.