Its that time of year again and you’re debating continuously whether or not to put up the Christmas tree.

For the English, I believe they start celebrating and prepping for Christmas the day after Halloween…well at least the retail world does.

But hey wait…Thanksgiving is first for us Americans!

I am not sure that the British will ever fully get it, no matter how many episodes of Friends they watch.

Doing Thanksgiving over here has made me and my husband realize how big Americans really like to celebrate the holidays. This year I decided that I wanted to make a proper Thanksgiving meal for my family since of course we now have a child and ever holiday HAS to be a celebration.

GOBBLES TIL YOU WOBBLE: The TURKEY

Mortons Traditional Taste has sent me in the post a lovely large Turkey crown perfect for my family…and for days of leftovers…in the traditional Thanksgiving way of course.

The bird came in its own box, along with instructions for preparation.

Morton’s Traditional Taste has lovely Norfolk free-range turkeys that are Himalayan salt aged perfectly for a tender delicious melt in your mouth Thanksgiving staple and centrepiece.

I prepared mine using classic American vintage Pineapple Sage turkey recipe my father gave me.

While the turkey was cooking and preparing the many trimmings (essential) I set the table to reflect a nice autumnal theme with elements of the home including my handmade wood gift from my father last summer, which is a handmade wood cut out of my home state Wisconsin.

Okay, table set and prepared I’m now going to reveal my fathers ever so juicy and tender…

SAGE AND PINEAPPLE TURKEY – DOWNLOAD

Now we need the important trimmings,

This can vary greatly depending on what your family and your part of the US usually do. Where I’m from (the Mid-West) the usuals include stuffing, sweet potato casserole, buttered rolls, and green bean casserole. Most recipes and their ingredients will be easy enough to get hold of.

I had quite the adventure at my local ASDA * Walmart equivalent. I found everything relatively easy except smaller marshmallow (only jumbo available) and fried onions..and settled for dried and it did the trick.

So for the trimmings I made…

I made my Green Bean Casserole in a Slow Cooker using this recipe from Lecreme del Crumb, adding dried onions instead of fried.

http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2015/10/slow-cooker-green-bean-casserole.html

Here is where I found the recipe for these earthy and salty treats 🙂

https://fitfoodiefinds.com/2014/11/bacon-wrapped-brussels-sprouts/

Recipe found here:

https://thecafesucrefarine.com/honey-maple-roasted-carrots/

My girl Martha’s recipe can be found here:https://www.marthastewart.com/863002/smoked-oyster-and-bacon-stuffing?czone=food/thanksgiving-center/thanksgiving-center-dishes&gallery

Forgot to take a picture of the Sweet Potato Casserole- But this might help give you an idea of what it all looked like on my plate.

Also, I made Turkey gravy with the leftover juices and a bit of cornflour (super simple).

But let’s pour the champagne and carve the turkey!

You can see the sweet potato casserole with a giant toasted marshmallow on top in the front of my plate.

Sweet Potato Casserole recipe :

http://flavormosaic.com/sweet-potato-casserole-marshmallows

The tricky thing was the mini marshmallows. I just cut the jumbos in half and baked 🙂

THE DESSERT:

If you’re like me and not every other British person I don’t classify Sweet Potato Casserole as desert…yes marshmallow is traditionally a sweet…but when on sweet potato casserole…it is nothing but acting like a seasoning of sorts.

Crazy right?

Wrong.

Leave us Americans to eating dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

But really, I did make a proper dessert. A Pecan Pie Cheesecake

A good ooh yummy nutty PERFECT autumn dessert.
Husband adds custard like a brit and I add ice cream like it should be enjoyed.

I merged a normal cheesecake and added the traditional Pecan Pie topping.

https://omgchocolatedesserts.com/pecan-pie-cheesecake

I kept my pecans chopped and left some whole as well for a nicer look…in my opinion.

And of course, we couldn’t just leave Weston out on the fun! So since we beginning weaning him using Baby Led Weaning practices he got to enjoy his very own little Thanksgiving dinner as well.

Our bellies are full so we all took a nice little nap together and watched The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

We all had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving for the first time as a family and had leftovers all week of turkey dinners. I am so thankful for having a wonderful, healthy and happy family.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all 🙂

MAMA CATES X