I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and that you are continuing to gorge yourself on holiday food.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, if not my all time fave.  As you might remember from last year, RD mom always makes a huge spread with all kinds of traditional foods in our family.  Then, the day after Thanksgiving, we get together with RD Husband’s family.  This year, I hosted again, which I love to do.  Since it’s the day after, and every one has already been turkeyed out, I usually make whatever I want.  Which I did.

But first: preschool festivities!  Every year, the boys’ preschool (where the seven year old went once upon a time and where the four year old now attends) has a fun feast with American Indian dancers.  This group called the Eagle Spirit Dancers comes and teaches the kids a little about Native American culture, dance, music and traditions.  It’s one of the highlights for me.

The kids lined up and got ready for the performance:

the boys wait anxiously with everyone for the show to begin

a traditional female dance

mesmerized

The male dancer did a few traditional dances.  First, the Eagle Dance:

Then, the Horse Dance, which was fun because he got close to the kids and whipped them in the face with his “tail,” which they all thought was hilarious.  And he played the reed flute, too.

Then, he played a bigger reed flute and explained its significance:

And finally, the hoop dance, which is way cooler than I can represent here with still photos.  He uses seven different hoops and makes all kinds of cool formations with them and his body.  Like this:

And this:

So, it was fun and cool and we all had a great time.

At RD Mom’s house, there was much eating and drinking and chatting.  And, since they just got a new Weimaraner puppy who is just about the cutest thing ever, there was much frolicking amongst the five dogs present and the kids.  Witness:

That’s the seven year old, laying in a dog bed and getting mauled by the Weimaraner (the feet on his head) and the previous addition, which RD Dad rescued and was sure was a Viszla but is really probably a Dachsund mix.  You can see Caesar the RD Dog’s little mug looking on on the left.

Do not be fooled by the look on the seven-year-old’s face; he LOVED it.  Even when the Weim was eating his hair.  Also, Caesar just got his schnoz in this photo.

So, back at the homestead on Friday, we ate post-Thanksgiving dinner.  I made Butternut Squash and Mushroom lasagna, which is to die for, as the main dish.  Sides were: roasted beets and red onion, spinach salad with persimmons and pecans, homemade bread (!), and green beans.

part of the spread

The boys were psyched because they got to sit at the “kids’” table, which consisted of them and four of their teenage cousins.  So they were in heaven.

sweet, sweet little boy smiles

the four-year-old and one of his cousins

Possibly the biggest culinary hit was, of course, the homemade bread.  I used my trusty Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day technique, and it was lovely.

Four of those loaves went in no time.

For dessert, I made Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Butter Pears and Brookies.  If you are unfamiliar with Brookies, what is wrong with you?  They are brownies on the outside with a chocolate chip cookie baked in the middle.  Get on it!

By the time I got to the Brookies to photograph them, they were almost gone.

pumpkin cheesecake

So, that’s what we did over here.  I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

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