How to Host a Thanksgiving Dinner for 12 in 401 Easy Steps!

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for 12, and I'm determined to make it as stress-free as possible! Am I deluded, you ask? Maybe slightly, but by hosting the dinner it means we get to sit back and enjoy some wine and a crackling fire after the kiddos go to bed at 8pm, instead of either frantically dining and dashing to get them in bed at a decent hour, or trying to wrangle tired, cranky kids if we decide to keep them out late.

Plus, it means we can both roll our wine-soaked bodies only metres to bed, rather than have to designate a driver! The truth emerges...

Anyways, in order to actually enjoy myself on Sunday, I'm trying to outsource as much as possible and spread the cooking out over the week. Grammelina's ordering and dropping off the turkey and making pumpkin pie tarts and breads, Paul's bringing appies... I actually really like making use of the 'big half' of my oven for large turkeys and doing the stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. A little intimidating to cook for this crowd, as Paul and his wife own a well-known Fort Langley restaurant and both Paul and Grammelina are amazing artists in the kitchen! But I'm confident I can hold my own...

Today Carmen and I were roasting veggies for the first course - Roasted Butternut Squash and Parsnip soup. It was really fun to get her dirty in the garden digging out the super stubborn parsnips, and to let her practice her knife-wielding skills. She is really good with her small-motor skills and I like to see her have fun and confidence in the kitchen!




Tomorrow we will actually puree the soup, as running the Cuisinart will wake Keira up from her nap!

Jason's also been doing some prep - he went out to a secret spot close to Squamish to buck some already-felled trees for firewood. There's nothing sexier than your man splitting wood!



Boo hoo, there are only 2 squashes left from the garden! I will have to plant more next year...