Our first married Thanksgiving is now over (thank goodness) and I think it was mostly a success. As usual, I stressed far more than actually necessary. Should our families allow us to host again, there are definitely some things I’d do differently. Like get a bigger dining room. Because I am an eternal optimist (ha!) I’ll cover our hits first.

Hits

• These Crab and Chive Puffs. Crab was ridiculously cheap down at our local market and my husband was kind enough to crack and pick the crab for me. Once that part is done, these are super easy to make. I will admit, I have a bit of a fear of puff pastry, but just like my internet bosom friend Crist says, “You put it in the oven and it puffs right up!” These are yummy and you will love them. But, maybe add some salt to the crab mixture, I forgot this step.
• PW’s French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms. Not really the prettiest things I’ve ever made, but really, really tasty.
• Giada’s Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus. This is the 3rd time I’ve made this turkey (4th if you count last year, when I altered the recipe for a turkey breast). It’s super easy and makes a really moist and flavorful turkey. We had a bit of a hiccup as the turkey we ordered from New Seasons (our local fancy market) was 14-16 pounds and they turkey they gave me was 22 pounds. I adjusted the cooking time a bit and still came out with a cooked bird. One thing I was disappointed in is that rather than including the neck in with the turkey, New Seasons apparently prefers to sell them separately. So, I didn’t have a neck for my gravy. Boo.
• My brother-in-law’s whipped potatoes. I believe he used Tom Collichio’s recipe. They were delicious and I ate them for dinner last night (and the three nights before that).

Misses

• Mark my words, I will never make another recipe from Real Simple again. These sweet potatoes where quite possibly the worst thing I’ve ever prepared in my life. I was excited to be able to use my new food processor to grate the potatoes and that is the only good thing about this recipe. Perhaps the worst part of it is that I have not fulfilled my seasonal sweet potato craving. (Please note: this marks the third recipe in a row from Real Simple that has been completely awful. Shaking my fist at you, Real Simple)
• My table. It was not pretty. I had grand plans for a Sandra Lee-inspired Harvest Tablescape and I just ran out of time. Luckily, my dad sent a lovely centerpiece which at least brought some color to my Fred Meyer tablecloth and mismatched napkins.
• The day after Thanksgiving, I felt really rotten. At first, I chalked it up to the three or so glasses of  the”Thank God It’s Over” Gewurztraminer I had after everyone left, but it soon became clear that something else was going on. I went to the Immediate Care on Saturday and learned that I had a bladder infection that had spread to my kidneys. Yuck, but something I deal with often. I was prescribed an antibiotic which guess what? I was allergic to. So, rather than eating a fancy dinner at Wildwood with a wedding gift certificate, we spent the evening in the ER where my tongue was swollen so much that I could barely speak. I’m fine now, thank goodness. So glad our ER is so close to our house.

How was your holiday? Do you have a good sweet potato recipe to share with me?