Thanksgiving, soup, and a new website!!

Exciting news! After many months work, and amazing patience from the fantastic guys at Project A, in Ashland, Oregon, my newly designed website has just launched! I hope you'll find time to check it out, especially the Shelter Bay photos, many of which I took during our recent trip to the Oregon coast, where my upcoming series is set. Also cool is that the NAL art department actually used my photo of Sax Douchett's house as a model for the one on The Homecoming's cover!

I love Thanksgiving! Mostly because it's all about tradition and hasn't become overly commercialized like so many other holidays. It's a time to pause, reflect, and be grateful for all our blessings. This year, of course, our thoughts will be with our deployed troops, especially our nephews Kyle and Patrick, who are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of our traditions is to use an ivory lace tablecloth my Aunt Toni, who's no longer with us, gave us for a wedding present. We only use it on Thanksgiving, so every year, as I iron it and set the table, I remember her with great fondness. I also think about Fig Newtons, because she was the first person I knew who had them in her kitchen, and, being mostly a chocolate chip girl, I was amazed at how tasty they were. Or maybe they were so good because she was the one who shared them.

Our dinner has always been pretty much the same. We go with a fresh turkey and link sausage dressing I learned to make from my mother. It's made with whole wheat toast, instead of stale bread because it's a bit crunchier. I long ago quit caramelizing the sweet potatoes, and for a while went with the ones with the marshmallows on top, but in recent years we've gone a healthier route, whipping them with orange juice and cinnamon. Mashed potatoes and gravy are a must and I blogged here on the perfect, no-fail gravy recipe that amazingly works with both turkey and beef last December. Peas and pearl onions, rolls, and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream, because you've just got to splurge every once in a while. It's also the first day of the holiday season eggnog makes an appearance at our house.

We always make the dressing the night before, so Wednesday night supper is sausage sandwiches. Some things have gone by the wayside over the years -- the shrimp cocktail starter, the fruit salad and coconut ambrosia our son, Patrick, would insist on when he was growing up and still prepares for his kids, along with the creamed carrots and the mince pie only my sweetie ate.

I also set the table with our Friendly Village china and glasses, which depict scenes of autumn mists, a covered bridge, hay field, lily pond, school house, Sugar maples, and a village green. They create such a warm and welcoming feeling to the table and personify that old song about over the river and through the woods.

This year, I'm bringing back the carrots, but in a different way. I've decided that instead of having both mashed and sweet potatoes on the same plate, I'm making a carrot and sweet potato soup from Cooking Light magazine.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

3 Tbsp butter, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 3/4 cups cubed peeled sweet potatoes (1 1/2#)
3 1/2 cups water
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I make my own and freeze, but canned works)
3 cups chopped carrots (about 1#)
1/4 cup half and half
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Move onion mixture to side of pan (actually, I'm going to take them out for this part); add remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter to open space in pan. Increase heat to medium high; cook 1 minute or until butter begins to brown. Add sweet potatoes, water, broth, and carrots (I'm putting the onion back in) and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Place half of soup mixture in a blender. Remove the center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape. Secure blender lid on blender, but place a clean towel over the opening in lid to avoid splatters. Blend until smooth.

Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining soup mixture. Stir in half and half, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 2 teaspoons of sour cream and 3/4 teaspoon parsley.

Enjoy!

So, what are your family's MUST HAVE traditional Thanksgiving dinner items? And do you have something you always do? Such as go to a movie? Watch football? This year I'll be making Christmas cards for troops while watching the games. Fortunately, with a gazillion replays, I'm not in any danger of missing a vital, game-changing play.

For those who'd also like to send cards to show your appreciation to our military men and women there's still time and you don't have to actually make a card (bought cards are hugely welcome!), you just need to make sure it gets to the Maryland sorting site by Monday, December 7th. For more information, check out the Holiday Mail for Heroes website.

Three visitors, chosen at random, who share a Thanksgiving tradition, or even comment, will received an autographed backlist book of their choice. Winners will be announced on next Tuesday's blog and on my website.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, however you spend it!