Thanksgiving, round two

Well, kind of...
Mom and Randall had done Thanksgiving with friends, and Brenda, Tom and Bean had gone up to see Tom's family; Mom, Brenda and I couldn't let a holiday go by without getting together to pig out and see each other, so we arranged to do a dinner on Saturday.

Mom got here nice and early (the boys were still in pj's!), so she could cook and we could visit. It was so nice, to have Mom here all day and not be in a hurry. The boys were of course very, very, VERY excited to have Nana here, not to mention ALL day! We watched some Food Network (just like old times!), discussed the merits of several recipes in my new cookbook (we didn't know what we were cooking--but we'd planned on winging it the day of, and seeing what sounded good), played with kids/dog/cats, drank lattes, and finally, did cook. Well, Mom did most of the cooking, I was more sous chef and just plain getting in the way! We had decided on Puebla chicken and potato stew, from the new cookbook (Gourmet Today); it had chorizo and chipotle peppers in adobo, and was served with queso fresco, avocado, sour cream and baked corn tortillas...it was delicious. Mom is such a good cook--she's the one who taught me everything I know! I can't think how many times I've called her to ask for culinary help. Then we'd made a chocolate cake for dessert; we did the cake and frosting with coconut oil (in place of butter, of course) and it was SO good. I just finished my extra piece :) Mom was evil and left her and Randall's extra pieces here!

Brenda, Tom and Bean came over a little before dinner; Brenda hadn't been feeling good, so she missed out on cooking with us. That was a bummer, we always like cooking together. Except poor Brenda can't drink with us while we cook now...;)

And now, some pictures:

Guess who got to lick the chocolate frosting beaters?

 

The sit and spin was the popular item to fight over this night :) Danny and Bean did a very good job with the sharing once we set a timer though.

Brenda and her new best friend, Oscar. I'm trying to convince her to adopt him! The offer still stands...

Danny and "Ribbity"

 Danny's--and the rest of the family's--opinion on the outcome of the '09 Apple Cup. We still love you Cougs, even if you couldn't score a single point.

And now...on to Christmas.