turkey — All Posts — Kayiu Carlson

I love planning a big meal, cooking, and sharing good food with good company. What more can one ask for on Turkey Day? Last year, I did this. This year, I fed 7 people including myself, and I was really happy with what I came up with :) Thanks Adam for handling the turkey from start to finish - it was one of the best I've ever had. And thanks everyone for bringing dessert - they were all so amazing!

Now, feast your eyes!

It's a Thanksgiving tradition for us to start with some cheese and crackers, some good Italian cured meats and olives from Alleva which is our favorite Italian store in the city.

(The lighting was pretty bad where we set up the serving table so the photos turned out pretty sad - sorry about that! I also didn't want to fuss around with my photos while my guests were waiting to dig in!)

Alex was so creative and made these amazing cupcakes in jars! She really went all out with the packaging too! DEE-LISH!

There was also the Crack Pie from Momofuka Milk Bar, and Petra's homemade apple pie!

Our landlord upstairs was so kind and gave us a homemade cheesecake that everyone enjoyed.

After dessert, we all sat on the couch and needed a rest from consuming all the good food. While a few decided that it was time to head home, other stayed and we played a couple of games and had a few more drinks before the night ended. It was a great Thanksgiving, and I was so blessed and happy that I was able to celebrate this day with some of my favorite people. Hope your Thanksgiving was just as amazing as mine was :)

Until next time!

After weeks of preparation, I had successfully hosted a Thanksgiving dinner party! That should go on my resume as a skill. Even though it was a lot of work, I really did enjoy every bit of it – from picking table cloths to hunting for the perfect recipes. The food was absolutely delicious and it was an perfect evening to spend with family and friends.

We had a snack table set up shortly after breakfast with cheese and crackers, cured meats from Little Italy, olives, and grapes. And then, of course, there was the booze (a lot of it). Our friend Ian brought over a great bottle of bourbon – brewed right here in Brooklyn – called Widow Jane. He also brought another malt scotch whisky called Ardbeg from the Isle of Islay in Scotland. On the table, there was also this really good hard cider that Adam bought from the Fort Greene market called Bad Seed, which is a local cider from the Hudson Valley. And then... there was the Hennessy.

While Adam mastered the turkey I was busy cooking all the trimmings. Our 10 pound turkey ended up taking a little longer than we thought but that was a-okay because it gave us more time to enjoy watching football. Check out the fancy little menu and the amazing line-up :) Also check out these recipes you can try to make next year – Italian Sausage Stuffing, Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette, Corn Bread Pudding, Sweet-and-Tart Cranberry Sauce.

So happy that we got to finish off our meal with a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie from Baked in Brooklyn, and the famous (blueberry) crumb cake from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, thanks to Ian and Petra!