Sunday, November 25, 2012

Savoring the Season



Thanksgiving 2012


Still savoring the warm colors of autumn 
for the remainder of November before 
embracing the transition into the Christmas Season.

Our Thanksgiving Table was 
a bounty of delicious, healthy delights.

The centerpiece was a melange of bittersweet,
 oversized ceramic acorns, a variety of real pumpkins, 
and a small turkey tureen all gathered together 
on an antique Chinese kitchen tray.  


Served buffet style, Thanksgiving Dinner was a 
casual evening shared with good friends.

Mild temperatures allowed for dining out on the terrace.  
The tables were simply dressed in autumn colors.

As has become tradition in our home, 
we pardoned the turkey!

Smoked pheasant was the 
main course and star of our table.

But no southern Thanksgiving would 
be complete without a side of cornbread dressing.

Mushroom risotto was a favorite offering.
Click here for the recipe.

 Brussel Sprouts

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Black-eyed Peas

 Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad

Sweet Potato Pone

~ Dessert ~
A Medley of Mini Pies, 
Toffee Bites, and French Chocolate Truffles


Mary @ Home is Where the Boat Is
recently featured her beautiful mini pumpkin pies here.
She inspired me to make these 
and others for our Thanksgiving dinner.


Mini Apple Pies topped with a lattice crust 
were inspired from a post at Knit and Bake here.


Mini Pecan Pie Tarts
Recipe available here.


Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
Mini pies are a great idea for serving a large group.
Guests can easily serve themselves and can 
also indulge their taste buds with just a bite of different flavors.

Joining

Sunny Simple Sunday @ Sunny Simple Life
On the Menu Monday @ Stone Gable
Mosaic Monday @ Little Red House
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House
Tuesday Treasures My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
You're Gonna Love it Tuesday @ Kathe with an E
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Cowgirl Up @ Cedar Hill Ranch
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Let's Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen
Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
House and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life
Open house Friday @ Bernideen's Tea Time
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Vintage Inspiration @ Common Ground
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

69 comments:

  1. Sarah~ Your bountiful harvest on your Thanksgiving table looks delicious~ so colorful and healthy too! I love your splashes orange from your pumpkins and flowers and your tray is a thing of beauty! I'm struggling with December on its way what to do with all my pumpkins and gourds that are still in good shape.

    Our temperatures were mild for Thanksgiving too, we were giving thanks to be outdoors frying our turkey, no pardon from us. :D

    Your miniature pies are the perfect ending to your meal! An assortment of little sweet bites are the note we like to end on too!

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  3. Beautiful table. Your roasted beet and arugula salad looks fantastic. I must try this!

    Big Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  4. So special..everything..the attention to detail..And the FOOD:)

    What a rich array of delicacies Sarah..I have never had pheasant..it even sounds so old fashioned and celebratory.
    Your pies are perfect!

    1 more month and we start our new calendars:)

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  5. Yummy! Looks absolutely delicious and very beautiful!

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  6. Sarah your table was bountiful for sure! Love the presentation! I had Thanksgiving at a friends house and the dressing was awful. I missed the cornbread dressing and will be making a batch soon! Love the mini pies!
    hugs, Linda

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  7. I love to see what people prepare for holiday dinners - thank you for the lovely photos and complete explanation. Many of your dishes were familiar, but things like 'pone' are really unknown up here. I like to make wee tarts for the holidays, preferring my treats bite-sized!

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  8. It all looks so wonderful, dear Sarah The mini pies are a great idea. I bought a mini pie maker a few months ago and love it, did you use one?
    Will be checking out some of those recipes to try at Christmas time when for the first time ever we shall be having roast beef instead of a turkey!

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  9. Wow, what a feast....love your menu!!! You must have been cooking for days!!! An awesome spread....

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  10. Oh my, but your table surely was a feast, Sarah! It all looks so wonderfully delicious. I'm certain you enjoyed it immensely. I' going to start readying our home for the holidays today. Lot of work and I hope to simplify things this year. Only four trees is the plan. nd not all large ones, so it shouldn't be quite as hectic. Take care. Sue

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  11. A beautiful, bountiful feast! I can hardly wait to try some of the recipes...especially the risotto. Glad that you had a blessed Thanksgiving. Cherry Kay

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  12. Sarah you really out did yourself, not only is it beautiful to look at it is so delicious looking! I love your tray centerpiece and the menu selection was fantastic! Now that was a Thanksgiving feast and I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend!
    Miss Bloomers

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  13. Mon Dieu Sarah! You run a five-star operation on Thanksgiving day. What a feast, and you are right, quite a healthy one at that! Love your [pardoned] turkey and am very jealous you got to celebrate outdoors. :-) Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  14. Oh Sarah, what a bountiful feast! I've never had pheasant. They have a nice color on the platter. Our temperatures were mild for Thanksgiving too, so we enjoyed a glass of wine on the deck. Love your pardoned turkey!

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  15. WOW! That is a feast for sure! You were very busy and everything looks wonderful!
    I have never had pheasant. I had one in our cottage once, they are all over the place here, and one flew in and broke our window. My neighbor didn't realize it was still in the house, and he boarded the window up. It lived in there a full week, what a mess. I would have gladly wrung its neck! :)
    You guests must have been delighted, you are such a gracious hostess!

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  16. I enjoyed your foodie photos so much! What a feast for the senses. You've inspired me to keep my pumpkins and gourds around a bit longer. I'd planned to put up a tree this weekend, but I just can't get going--a sign to let go and relax. XX00

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  17. What a bountiful feast and the table decoration is so welcoming.

    Hope you had a lovely thanksgiving.

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  18. Ooops - please excuse me drooling here over all that delish food!
    xo
    Cathy

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  19. Hi Sarah,

    Your Thanksgiving table is indeed beautiful and bountiful!! What a creative centerpiece! All the food looks delicious, and those mini pies and tarts look like the stars of the show. :)

    Thanks for sharing your beautiful table and recipes -- visiting from Seasonal Sundays.

    Denise

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  20. Your table looked just beautiful. Those mini apple pies look so yummy, I need to pop over there for the how to. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Laura

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  21. Sarah,
    Oh! Pardoning the Turkey is just too cute!!!
    I adore how you set up your buffet table...making note of that for hosting Thanksgiving On Crooked Creek next year, dear friend! "Mr. Ed" and I were just talking this morning about making small individual pies for our family gatherings!!! Each of us prefers a different type...so I've been thinking this one over very seriously!!!
    Thanks for sharing your abundant Thanksgiving with us!
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  22. What a lot of wonderful photos! Loving the flowers a lot.

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  23. You also have beautiful photos/mosaic of your Thanksgiving. The food looks delicious! I will have to check out the rice recipe.

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  24. Wow, your wonderful menu is making me hungry, Sarah!

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  25. Your autumn colors are still looking lovely...our bittersweet has blown away and the pumpkins have frozen. Guess that might make the difference between enjoying autumn fully and turning one's attention to "the next thing." I really like the idea of mini pies. That would make perfect sense and they're so cute!

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  26. As always, your centerpieces are wonderful. And the mini-pies -- so yummy looking! Sally

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  27. Wow! Your table looks beautiful and all of the beautiful dishes are making me hungry again. I need to learn to roast sweet potatoes! They look amazing! Hugs!

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  28. Your Thanksgiving meal looks spectacular, Sarah! I've never dined on pheasant --it looks delicious as do all your side accompaniments. The mini pie selection for dessert was such a wonderful idea!

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  29. Hi Sarah,

    What a fabulous feast! I'm sure it was delicious! Thank you for stopping by my blog - happy holidays!
    Rhonda

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  30. Thank you Sarah to stop by.It's always nice to hear from you.your table is an example for Thanks giving setting with all those delicious preparations.the green and white plates with the gold rim is so beautiful.thank you.

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  31. Sarah, what a lovely Thanksgiving table. The settings, turkey and flowers are all beautiful. Your dinner looks delicious! Yummy on the mini pies ! Have a happy week ahead.

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  32. This is a banquet! What a wonderful offering of delicious foods and beautiful fall decor!!! This is why I love Thanksgiving so so much! Your guest must have felt like kings and queens!!!!
    I would love to sit at your Thanksgiving table!!!

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  33. well....I know where I am spending next Thanksgiving.....what a beautiful table Sarah! I have never had pheasant. What does it taste like? Where do you buy it or does your husband hunt? I am glad you savored the season. It seemed so many were rushing it and heading right into Christmas. Have a wonderful wonderful week xo

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  34. What a fabulous looking Thanksgiving buffet! I think I would have parked my chair right by those amazing desserts, though! I love the idea of several small desserts -- makes it easier to justify trying more than one!

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  35. a beautifully dressed table and wonderful food to share with your family and friends.
    Thank you for sharing and for stopping by my blog today. Have a wonderful week.

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  36. That's like wow Sarah, the food and table are amazing!
    Your an amazing hostess and cook!
    Cindy

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  37. Hi Sarah! Oh, it just must have been such a pleasure to be at your home for Thanksgiving! Your table looks great and all of your food - delicious! Thanks for popping in to see me.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia;)

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  38. Sarah, my mouth is watering. Your Thanksgiving buffet table looks beautiful - the food and that gathering of Fall on that pretty wooden tray. How nice that you were able to eat outside, and I love your sunflowers combined with other flowers, and those Fall colored plaid tablecloths. It looks like a wonderful celebration. laurie

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  39. Hi Sarah,
    oh my, what an abundance on fine food and nice decorations. I guess, you were busy for weeks with all that. But it looks so superyummy! I think you and all your guests ahd a great Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing and for your kind comment on my cat.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  40. Hi Sarah,
    that me again. I got confused. I meant: Thank you for the comment about the doll post. LOL

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  41. Beautiful, love the look with everything so visible on the table. Pheasants looks delish and so does the rest of your feast.

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  42. What a delicious feast you enjoyed. It's all so beautiful, too. I'm glad you had warm weather and could enjoy being outdoors.

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  43. Hi Sarah, Your Thanksgiving table is beautiful and the food looks delicious. I love all the sides and of course the cornbread dressing is a must for us too. Love the centerpiece and bittersweet makes everything perfect for Thanksgiving. Great photos in the header........

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  44. Everything looks so Delicious!! Love how you have captured the setting!!

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  45. Look at all that food! So yummy! Your set up is so beautiful ltoo, Sarah. I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving....Christine

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  46. What a lovely feast. We are all so very blessed. Everything also looked so pretty~

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  47. Such a beautiful centerpiece, Sarah. I thought the roasted sweet potatoes looked sooo good and the risotto and beet salad. A nice change from the usual turkey.

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  48. I'm ready to eat all over again! What a spread! Love the colors. We don't have bittersweet here, but I love the look of it. My family in Dallas said it was real warm there too. Looks like yor holiday was wonderful!

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  49. Wow your Thanksgiving table looks BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS!!!!!!

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  50. Oh my goodness, food glorious food, and to think I wasn't there :-)

    They all looked dilicious!

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  51. Good GRIEF this just made me hungry...: ) Looks wonderful! :)

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  52. Sarah, Everything looks delicious! Sounds like a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  53. It's almost a week later and I am drooling over your spread. What beautiful food and a beautiful table. I love all of your southern dishes. Your desserts of course catch my eye. I would be dead asleep on the couch after this meal. Sounds wonderful.

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  54. What a feast! Everything looks amazing. The sides even look yummy! I'd be happy just with those.
    "Mini" desserts, does that mean I can have "many" choices?
    Thanks for sharing the recipes, I'm going to be giving these a try!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  55. Your images are so bright, colorful, and cheery! The food looks great, and the menu so much different than ours in the north. I enjoyed seeing it!

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  56. What a bountiful feast!

    I guess I didn't realize you are Southern. I have not seen that "grated sweet potato pone" since I lived in NC years ago -- it was really good!

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  57. What a wonderful feast, Sarah! Everything sounds perfect. I especially love the assortment of mini pies. Aren't they the cutest? You did a superb job and I'll bet they were tasty, too.

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  58. So I admit, it's my second visit today.. I don't know what i'm more enamored with - the scrumptious food or the lovely urn on the tables decked in plaid. Your buffet set up is so inviting. just love it.. as a by, no cornbread stuffing on our table.. I didn't grow up with it, so my husband has done without... LOL. xo marlis

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  59. Sarah, a fest fit for a king or queen. Everything looks so yummy and beautiful. I am full, by just looking at these fabulous dishes.

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  60. What a bountiful feast, Sarah! Everything from the food to the table setting is simply scrumptious! Thank you for sharing and have a beautiful weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  61. What a beautiful table and feast!...I have not had pheasant since I was a child living in Iowa...I remember all of the men going out hunting for pheasant and bringing them back....my aunt cooked them and was so wonderful....Glad you had a great Thanksgiving!...Loved Mary's mini pies too!

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  62. Wow Sarah, I cannot believe your table and feast! Everything looks absolutely delicious! Smoked pheasant? I can see why it was the star of the table. And the beet and arugula salad looks fantastic as well as colorful! ~Delores

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  63. Sarah,
    Your menu made my mouth water! Smoke pheasant is a wonderful choice. I love your tray with all the Bittersweet. You are lucky to have it. I saw some at a market in Atlanta for $10 for tiny bunch. Dianne

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  64. I'm with you when it comes to hanging on to the richness of fall for as long as you can. I tried to throw away my gourds and decided they could stay around a while longer. Wonder if I could spray paint them for Christmas. Your food, all of it, looks fabulous.

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  65. I'm so glad you added this recipe to Foodie Friday. You bring such grace and beauty to your table. Have a splendid weekend. XXOO

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  66. Hi Sarah! I'm popping back in to savor your gorgeous snaps and to thank you for coming to see my Christmas tree.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  67. Hi, Sarah! SO great that the weather allowed you to dine out on the terrace! That had to have been a super plus for the day!!! I am just marveling at all those sinfully rich little desserts! I guess they don't seem so sinful when they come in little bites! I'm sure I'd eat 20 of them, though! :-) Smoked pheasant...that's something I have never had. I need to be more adventurous when it comes to eating! I've never had sweet potato pone, either. I'll have to Google that. You had a gorgeous spread for your Thanksgiving feast!!!!!!!!

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Thank you to each of you who take the time to leave a comment. I read and appreciate each and every one and will respond to any questions. Your notes are the only way I know who has stopped in for a visit.