Happy Black Friday!! My only plans involve working out – and I’m excited about that! Thanksgiving dinner was a big success, and we are all still digesting. (Actually compared to years past I didn’t eat thaaaat much but it was still a lot!)
We spent most of the day getting ready. I took an hour off for a turkey trot on my own, but most of the effort was spent setting the table and cooking.
We hosted my parents, Karen and Matt’s brother Andrew this year, so we set the table for 6 – plus a booster seat!
Setting this table was a dream come true because I partnered with Pottery Barn to make it extra special. We already had tons of Pottery Barn things since it’s one of my very favorite stores and was my favorite pick for our wedding registry. I picked up a few more festive pieces to join the bunch last week.
From our wedding we had:
The Luna flatware // white monogrammed Caterers napkins // 2 Malta lanterns // PB Classic Stemware
Over the years I have also purchased some of Pottery Barn’s flameless candles – these small 3×3 outdoor ones and these Birch ones, which are so chic and have really cool looking “flames.” I LOVE flameless candles! I let them burn all day and never worried about fires or dripping. Karen and Andrew were both totally fooled when I told them they weren’t real flames! They are great when you have small children at home too.
For this occasion, I bought a new table runner (this one) and some crystal candle holders. Plus these sparkly napkin rings! I didn’t own any napkin rings and loved the bling.
I’m a big fan of the contrast of rustic and modern, and this table had elements of both.
I tucked red berries from our yard into a big vintage jug of my mom’s and in the lanterns beside the candles. They were the only plant in bloom in our yard, but they were the perfect fit!
I finished off the table with hand-made place cards (I reuse the same ones every year!) and a silver gravy boat.
Around 2pm we all started to get hungry, so I made a snack platter with pickled green beans from the market, Everona dairy cheese, honey peanuts I bought from our neighbor’s school funraiser, carrots, Cava hummus, and Naturebox snack mix. It was devoured.
We also sipped on some beers throughout the afternoon – like this special stout from Black Bottle Brewery made with Count Chocula that General Mills sent me! I hear the rumor is that the brewery bought all the Count Chocula in Fort Collins in order to make it!
Matt, Karen and I split Thanksgiving dinner 3 ways – well, 4 of you count Great Harvest’s contributions!
Matt: turkey, beef, chipotle potatoes
Me: Kale gratin, cranberry sauce
Karen: Mushroom bread pudding, beet salad
Great Harvest: rolls, maple pumpkin pie, pecan pie, pumpkin oh
We decided to do half turkey, half beef this year for a change and got this big hunk of meat to grill from Free Union Grass Farm.
Matt bought a special blend of herbs and spices from The Spice Diva for the occasion, and it turned out perfect.
The sweet potatoes were smashed with a chopped chipotle (in adobo sauce) pepper and topped with goat cheese (plus the usual half and half and a little butter). They were awesome! The chipotle added such a nice kick.
I made this swiss chard gratin recipe using kale and it turned out great. A delicious way to get a green vegetable on the table! Definitely going to remake this.
Karen made a mushroom bread pudding in lieu of dressing this year – it was rich and tasty!
Plus a beet salad. Plants represent!
Cranberry sauce is a must for me! Mom helped me make it this morning.
And finally, rolls, of course. Great Harvest Virginia and Cheddar Garlic.
We served this special wine we were gifted from William Hill Estate in Sonoma – the Benchmark! Fancy enough to get decanted.
Let’s eat!
I didn’t go back for seconds on anything despite it all tasting amazing – crazy! We declared this one of our best Thanksgivings yet. During the meal I proposed a trivia question based on this list of the top 20 catchiest songs. I had the group guess #1 – can you!?
We waited a bit to have dessert, which I put out on the buffet. Both of the cake stands I already own are from Pottery Barn (see how perfect of a fit this challenge was!). The galvanized one is from the summer collection and the other is from our wedding – the Great White Cake Stand. We also used our Great White Traditional Cappuccino mugs + salad plates + sugar and creamer set.
The pies were delicious!
Matt made all 200+ pie crusts by hand last week.
We served our pies with the holiday Talenti gelato flavors – perfect match.
I regret that we were so busy we didn’t get any people shots – it was a fun day! But I did capture these sweet photos of Mazen with Pea.
Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, and that your leftovers are a’plenty!
I partnered with Pottery Barn to celebrate Thanksgiving this year because I love them lots. The included links are affiliate links. Mwah!
Eva says
stunning table decor kath!! love your style 🙂
glad to see you and your family had a lovely thanksgiving!
Kaila @healthyhelperblog! says
What a festive table! And all the food looks delicious as well! ESPECIALLY the sweet potatoes with goat cheese! That’s a great idea.
Julia says
So glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Your table is beautiful and the picture of Mazen laughing is so sweet.
Linda @ TheFitty says
Stunning table presentation. It’s always nice to have large groups over bring something homemade for thanksgiving.
Invite me over sometime! 😉
Gardener says
You might want to use the real name of the “red berries” and “plant from my backyard.” It’s Nandina, a very common landscaping plant.
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
That beer sounds amazing! My boyfriend is a major craft beer lover, so I’ll have to see if he has heard of it.
Rachel w says
Loved this post! Beautiful table decor! Did partnering with Pottery Barn mean that you got paid for this post or they allowed you to shop for free? I wasn’t clear after reading the post.
Kate says
I was a little confused too, would love to hear more about the partnership!
Elyse says
Good to see you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Your table is beautiful and the photos of Mazen were just the cutest!
SF-T says
You didn’t detail what the Benchmark wine was so I looked it up — it is a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. What wine did you pair with the turkey?
One more question — what was that cut of beef?
KathEats says
We also had a lighter Italian red – it went well with the turkey! I believe Matt said the meat was a chuck roast..but I’m not 100% sure
Alex @ get big, go to work says
Looks like a beautiful Thanksgiving! Love all of your Pottery Barn accessories. The table looks beautiful and kudos to Matt for 200 pie crusts by hand! That is crazy! Hopefully he able to relax yesterday!
Jessica says
Kath – something to be aware of is that Nandina is poisonous and an invasive exotic.
One of the best gifts my father-in-law (a landscape architect) ever gave me was a weekend of work in our yard where he he took out any of the especially-attractive toxic plants (nightshade, for example) or exotic invasives (barberry, honeysuckle, autumn olive). It has made our yard safer as well as more friendly to native plant species.
We’ve also taught our child to only forage what she has been taught about, and never to eat anything from someone who is not a trusted forager (us, grandparents, our botanist friends). I’m sure you’ve done the same with Mazen, but I would definitely stress this when he sees you harvesting berries to put on the table.
KathEats says
Good point. I didn’t think he’d be interested in them off the table but I didn’t consider from the yard. Thanks for the reminder
Jeanie says
And now I know what you got at Pottery Barn. Everything looks gorgeous including the food! Very classy.
Shel@PeachyPalate says
From the sweet potatos to the kale gratin to that hunk of beef…looks beautiful! What cut is it out of interest? Looks beautifully marbled! Table settings look incredible as always!
KathEats says
Chuck roast!
Shel@PeachyPalate says
Looks beautiful and still rare! On the bone? Would love Matt’s recipe/directions!
KathEats says
The first two photos are pre cooking. He just grilled it and temped until it was ready.
Shel@PeachyPalate says
Think I’ll give a pot roast a go, I have a beef longing for the week ahead!
Elizabeth says
Beautiful table setting! I followed the link to the flameless birch candles, planning to order for Christmas, but availability is low and they won’t be available to ship until the first of the year. I wish I had found theses sooner. 🙁
KathEats says
Oh no! Do you have a local store?
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves says
Beautiful table setting, delicious-looking food, and some really cool people! Looks like a fabulous Thanksgiving indeed. As much as I love stuffing, that mushroom bread pudding looks like a great dish!
Livi @ Eat, Pray, Work It Out says
Your table looks gorgeous, and those pies look scrumptious!
Kathy says
Those pictures of Mazen with your Dad are so sweet. Looks like a great time!
Emily @ Life on Food says
The table is beautiful. Happy Happy Thanksgiving!
Liz says
Everything looks delicious! Do you know what recipe your friend used for the Mushroom Bread Pudding? I’d like to try this out for Christmas and was curious which recipe she used. I’ve found quite a few online, but this one looks perfect!
KathEats says
I don’t know, but I’ll ask her
KathEats says
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Savory-Bread-Pudding-with-Mushrooms-and-Parmesan-Cheese-236494
Kate says
Thanks for sharing! I love anything mushroom, and was just coming to ask for the recipe! 🙂
Tonya says
Yessss that bread pudding looks so good! Karen always kills it with her dishes!
Tonya says
I will try that gratin for Christmas as well!
Kristine says
You are correct on the beer and emptying the grocery store for that cereal, which is only seasonal. They even showed it on the news here in Colorado.
Lisa @bitesforbabies says
LOVE that tablescape!! And WHERE did you get that framed chalkboard???
KathEats says
It’s from a local artisan
Alex Caspero says
What a gorgeous table! Sounds like you had a wonderful thanksgiving! That kale gratin and chipotle sweet potatoes sounds ah-mazing! Definitely going to be trying those soon.
Erin Shmidt says
Love all of the red berries in the photos and that galvanized cake stand. drool.. Are the kitchen blinds custom? I love them! Beer + pies are always a great combo.
KathEats says
Yes a burlap shade
Kristen says
Are you planning to post the recipe for the chipolte sweet potatoes?
KathEats says
No we just eyeballed them. I’ll ask matt for more details