Friends, Food, and Fun

A French Thanksgiving?  

Yes, I know the French don't celebrate Thanksgiving, 

but one of our dinner guests is French. 

 This was in her honor!

Designs by Gollum: Foodie Friday is also labeled, Friends, Food, and Fun. That pretty well sums up our Thanksgiving evening. We definitely had a delightfully fun evening with friends as we enjoyed a delicious meal, so I decided to link some of the photos of our meal to Foodie Friday. It's the first time I'm participating in this weekly party, though I'm a faithful visitor each week.

We started our evening by popping a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and nibbling on appetizers.

Liver Paté 

with Herbed Crostini

More Paté. . . Paté with 

Truffles and Paté de Campagne

Artichoke Spread 

with Cayenne

Served on 

Heart Shaped Lahvosh

We started dinner with a salad of baby spinach 

with fresh grapefruit and blue cheese crumbles.

The main meal was served from the sideboard.

My husband is the chef in our home, and he likes to march to his own drum. Though he has roasted a turkey for Thanksgiving at times, he often likes to cook a different bird for our Thanksgiving meal. We've had pheasant, quail, cornish game hens, and this year he selected to serve duck. He actually bought it smoked, and it was delicious!

Smoked Duck

Garnished with 

Cherry Tomatoes

Wild Rice with Dried Sour Cherries 

and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Haricots Verts 

with Bacon and Onions

Country Bread

Sweet Cream Butter

A nice Chardonnay from Chateau St. Michelle

A Cru Du Beaujolais. . . 

Perfect Pairing for the Duck!

After dinner we moved into the living room 

around the cozy fire to enjoy coffee and dessert.

Expresso with a Touch of Irish Whisky 

and a Topping of Whipped Cream

A Bite of Chocolate

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Just so you don't think 

I'm totally worthless in the kitchen, 

this little birdie wanted me to tell you 

that I get the credit for baking the pies.

Pumpkin Pie Topped with Fresh Whipped Cream 

and Honey Glazed Pecans

Thank you for joining me for Foodie Friday. You can view the table setting for this meal here . It was posted for Tablescape Thursday this week.

Please leave a comment below. I always enjoying hearing from each of you who stop by for a visit. Then click here to visit Designs by Gollum to see a list of others participating in today's Foodie Friday.

Give Thanks - Thanksgiving 2009

We celebrate Thanksgiving with thankful hearts 

for the bountiful blessings of our life.

Our table is set awaiting the arrival of our guests.

Salad plates in 
Olde Avesbury by Royal Crown Derby.

Dinner plates in 
Palerimo Brown by Richard Ginori.

Italian Pewter chargers by Cosi Tabellini and 

Talisman enameled silver flatware by Christophe.

Crystal stems in rich amber by Denby.

Antique sterling French napkin rings 
collected through the years.

Some are monogramed 
in beautiful scripts.

The heirloom napkins were a gift from my mother-in-law. 

Each have been monogramed by hand and were

stitched by my husband's grandmother.

The table cloth is by Yves Delorme 
in shades of green and subdued teal blue.

My Tuesday Morning acorns have 

been pulled into service as place card holders. 

Fallen leaves from a Red Oak are inscribed 

with each guest's name using a silver paint pen.

Small initialed treat boxes 
are favors to be taken home.

Inside are 
honey glazed Texas pecans.

The center piece is a single pillar within 

a crystal hurricane lantern, a recent thrift find. 

It is flanked on either side by small white pumpkins, 

and all sits on a pewter tray.

Dinner will be served from the nearby 

sideboard in white French porcelain dishes. 

The antique silver and mother of pearl serving pieces 

are all individual pieces that I've purchased piece by piece.

A simple glazed container holds a bouquet of tulips, 

gerber daisies, hypericum berries, and golden thryallis.

Red ware pottery, acorns,

squirrels, horn votives,

candles, an amber glass 
turkey container,

vintage candy containers,

pumpkins, gourds, and more turkeys 
set the mood for Thanksgiving.

After dinner. . .

dessert will be served 
in the adjoining sun room.

A lemon cyprus topiary and 
pumpkin shaped gourds are the centerpiece.

Coffee and dessert will be 
served on Richard Ginori china.

Come back tomorrow to see what the chef prepared for our dinner. I'll be joining Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday. But for now, click here to go over to Susan's @ Between Naps on the Porch for a peek at her delightful whimsical Christmas setting.

Enjoy Your Day!

Thanksgiving Blessings to All!