Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

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This morning I'm blogging from my sister Kimberly's apartment. Last night we went to a cupcake making class at NYC's Butter Lane and I slept over her place afterwards. She had gifted me with this for last year's Christmas, but due to scheduling, we only just got around to going. It was so much fun (and super gluttonous!)! I'll have a full roundup for you once I get my photos uploaded, but just know this: I'm sugared and buttered out this morning :)

So this Saturday, I'm hosting a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment for a few friends. I started the tradition of making a mini Thanksgiving dinner for Shaun and I in advance of the big event so that we could enjoy delicious turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing for more than just one day (don't you hate that? We wait all year for Thanksgiving food!).

We are also always traveling all over the great state of NJ on Thanksgiving, and so I always like to have a calmer mock Turkey Day for the two of us. Of course, the first year I did this, I'm pretty sure I used boxed stuffing, turkey cutlets and maybe even boxed mashed potatoes (yikes!). My, how my repetoire has grown.

Last year, we celebrated with our great friends Lindsey and Eric. Lindsey and I cooked the entire dinner...the turkey, buttery, creamy mashed potatoes (the real kind), sausage laced stuffing (no boxed version here), sweet potato casserole and pumpkin cheesecake. It was quite the feast!

the brined & roasted bird, ready for eating

creamy & wonderful mashed potatoes; my mom's no-fail recipe!maple mashed sweet potatoesI used Ina Garten's herb stuffing and fell in lovePaula Deen's pumpkin cheesecake recipe. oooooh my.This year, we've expanded the group to 8 people and set it up as more of a pot luck dinner so that everyone can join in the fun! I'm making turkey (and 18 pounder...help!), gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I can't wait to see what everyone else brings to the party! Tonight I'm going to start setting up the apartment (and cleaning up the joint since we've had a painter in alllll week...and side note, it looks amazing!) and will start getting my cook and bake on tomorrow! Meanwhile, if you want any of the recipes above for your own dinner, simply click on the photos. I can't wait to hear about what you all are cooking up for this holiday. I can't wait to share the recipes and roundup with you next week!

Questions of the Day:

How do you spend Thanksgiving?

Do you wish it was more than just one day, if only to enjoy the food longer?

for even more Thanksgiving recipes and ideas, check out our Recipes page, under the Holiday section!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm writing to you in daylight this morning! I am so happy that it's quite a bit lighter when I woke up this morning. I was finding it soooooooo difficult to get my booty out of bed when it was still pitch black out over the last few weeks. I have to admit...I don't hate Daylight Savings like a lot of people do. I actually don't mind that after the clocks go back, it's dark out at 4:30PM. In fact, I kind of enjoy it for a couple of months. It reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas, snuggling under a blanket in flannel pajamas, eating hearty soup and drinking hot chai tea lattes, swirled with a cinnamon stick.

I might feel differently come February. But for now? I'm happy with dark, cozy evenings, and cool, bright, sunny mornings.

Last week I made pumpkin bars for the Halloween party in our building. I had made these bars years ago for Thanksgiving and have been looking for another occasion to make them for a while now. They are so easy, so pumpkiny and so moist. Topped with lucious cream cheese frosting, these pumpkin bars are definitely in my permanent recipe collection.

Though I made these for Halloween (as you can tell by my Halloween napkin tray :)), I think these are perfect for any autumn occasion, including Thanksgiving. You can even use the same orange, yellow and black imperials that I used here. They are also gorgeous with plain old white sprinkles...or no sprinkles at all! (Though in my opinion, everything is better with sprinkles).

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
*from Paula Deen, adapted slightly
for the bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 C granulated sugar
1 C vegetable oil
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
for the frosting:
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 C confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
colored sprinkles or imperials, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the bars:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin together until light and fluffy.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until completely combined.

Pour batter into a greased 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely and remove from pan.

To make the frosting:

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix until combined. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Spread on cooled pumpkin cake, top with sprinkles and cut into bars.

Try to eat just one. I dare you.

I seriously love these bars. They are even better if you cool them in the refrigerator. Devour with a fork. Or your hands. Either way.

So there you have it. Easy, delicious bars that are just about perfect for the season! I hope you all have a fantastic week!!

Questions of the Day:

What do you think about Daylight Savings? Love it or hate it? I kind of love it!

What's your favorite Thanksgiving-type dessert? I love pumpkin & apple anything!

psst...I'm writing all about my favorite beauty products on The Peach & The Pit today! Check it out!

Lots To Be Thankful For

After I read about Julie @ Savvy Eats' idea for 25 Days of the Little Things, I was completely inspired. Julie's idea was to keep a list of all the little things that she is thankful for, adding one more thing to her list for each day in November. Though I was hesitant to proclaim that I'd also be participating in this (what if my life spun out of control and I forgot to keep track, after all?), I'm happy to report that I kept a simple list in my pink notebook that I carry with me everywhere, jotting down one tiny thing that made me happy for each day in November. Though I am constantly thankful for my amazing husband, our wonderful families and friends, our new home and all of the other ways that we are blessed each and every day, sometimes just remembering the little things that make you smile each day (be it something major or trivial) can be very uplifting! Today I'm happy to share with you my 25 Days of the Little Things!

The Little Things
1. Every time Shaun packs my lunch for me (which is often)
2. All of the new commenters on my blog - you really have no idea how this has me perma-smiling for days!
3. Found $1 delish coffee at 92Y, I'm pretty sure the best coffee deal in Manhattan
4. That I was bright enough to finally order my rainboots and my feet are dry today!
5. My apartment is clean...and it's Friday!

6. My mom and her seamstress skills (she made our living & bedroom curtains and they are gorgeous!)
7. Party leftovers + football = perfection

8. My wrist MRI came back clean - no ligament tears! Hurrah!
9. Gap has restocked my favorite legging jeans on their website. I may or may not have been stalking said website for the last 6 weeks.
10. Pumpkin spice syrup in my coffee on a gorgeous Fall day!
11. Surprise visit from my favorite West Coaster, Catherine

12. Having friends over and ordering dinner.
13. Celebrating early Turkey Day with Lindsey & Eric, hopefully the first of many!

14. My apartment smells like Thanksgiving. And I like it.
15. Purchased my first Christmas presents of the season. Whew.
16. Ray LaMontagne Pandora station - need I say more?
17. Shaun did all of the dishes before I got home from work (before I caught him taking a whiff of our Thanksgiving poultry blend herb package). God, I love that man.

18. My new green nail polish
19. Our building concierge stopped the shuttle bus for me as I ran wildly down the hall to catch it.
20. Girls day in NYC with my mom and sisters

21. Robert Downey Jr. 'Nuff said.
22. Kiehl's Tinted Moisturizer makes me look alive. Instead of like the undead.
23. All of my blog readers (!!!!!)
24. Tom Hanks. Meg Ryan. Getting mail and stuff.
25. My husband who makes me happy everyday and our families who are just the best ever!! (ok, not a little thing, but today I am feeling so blessed to have this in my life!)

The man and me being silly...

Both sides of the fam at our civil service in Aruba...

So there you have it. A roundup of all the things that made me smile this month. So what I'm dying to know is: What is making you smile on this Thanksgiving day?