Nov 30 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
Matt and I just conquered our first Thanksgiving as a married couple! My friend Brittany joined us for the week, and we had a great time.
We started the week with a drive to Newman, CA, to see Brittany’s show. She tours with a children’s theatre, directing and acting in this season’s show, “The Princess and the Pea.” Brittany plays a leprochaun, narrating the show in a fun Irish accent. The show was great, and Brittany looked cute in her costume. We had mexican food at a local restaurant, and headed home.
Brittany arrived at our place on Sunday night, and we started making the grocery list for the week. Matt and I had to work on Monday and Tuesday, so Brittany entertained herself in the city. She also prepared two wonderful dinners for us 
I am definitely stealing her chicken picatta recipe!
On Wednesday, Brittany and I went shopping on Santana Row. It was gross and rainy, but we managed to have a great day! We also started cooking Wednesday night, but luck was NOT on our side. First, we had the ill-fated pecan pie. The recipe was flawed, so we ended up having pecan sauce over ice cream for desert that night. Several other mis-haps ensued, but what can you expect…. we’ve never prepared for Thanksgiving unsupervised!
Thursday was a great day of cooking. Brittany and I were up early to brine the turkey and make my great-grandmother’s stuffing. We ended up with garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dill carrots, sweet potato casserole, homemade stuffing and rolls, and an AMAZING turkey. I also made homemade candied pecans and olive salad, which turned out to be excellent. We hosted several of Matt’s co-workers, and they brought over hors ‘d oeuvres and deserts as well. After dinner, we played Taboo and Scattergories, and finally headed to bed around 1:00 am.
We spent Friday in San Francisco, hitting Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown and Ghiradelli Square. We had an AMAZING hot fudge sundae in Ghiradelli Square. We came back for their tree-lighting, which was woefully disappointing, so we left early. We finished the night with In-and-Out Burger, and sent Brittany back to work on Saturday morning. My first Thanksgiving was a success, and I am excited to continue the holiday festivities!
I am touched you made olive salad. I made it for the family and thought of you! Misshaps happen! It is what great holiday stories are made of.
I’m so proud of you, Matt and Brittany for tackling the day with such a wonderful menu!
The turkey looked delicious and your table was beautiful! It looks like you used the new candlesticks we brought you, I’ll have to let the Hines know!
I’m glad you have a great first turkey day away from the family, we missed ya’ll.
Love, Mom