Holiday Memories: Thanksgiving at Skylands
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a very safe, healthy, and joyful holiday. Enjoy this weekend with close family and friends. Here is an encore post from November 2016.
Thanksgiving is among my favorite occasions, and this year, I enjoyed a quiet holiday with my family up at Skylands, my home in Maine.
We shared a lovely meal, complete with a traditional turkey, which came from Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. We also had many favorite side dishes, including those from our new Martha & Marley Spoon Thanksgiving meal kit - roasted Brussels sprouts with pomegranate salad, my classic stuffing with herbs and dried cherries, and of course, my mother’s delicious mashed potatoes.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- This is one of a pair of giant urns I had transferred to Maine from my Bedford, New York farm this summer. The two now flank the front entrance of Skylands. Each weighs several hundred pounds. For the holiday season, we filled them with festive evergreen branches and red winterberries.
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- We all went for a good walk around Little Long Pond before our feast. Here are Jude and Truman with my French Bulldog puppies, Creme Brûlée and Bete Noir – the children love their visits to Maine. This serene pond sits just outside Acadia National Park, on the south side of the island close to Seal Harbor.
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- Truman is a very athletic four and a half year old. He loves to run and explore. Bete Noir keeps up with him pretty well.
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- We set our table first with brass chargers and candlesticks, and faux bois candles. The winter hybrid butternut squash in the center came from my Bedford garden.
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- Kevin gave me this handsome taxidermy Bourbon Red turkey for my birthday one year. The Bourbon Red is named for its unique reddish plumage. The bird originated in Kentucky and Pennsylvania in the late 19th century, and was created by crossing Buff, Standard Bronze, and White Holland turkeys. It was first recognized as a turkey variety by the American Poultry Association in 1909.
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- Our finished table set for six looks so beautiful all lit up in front of the leaded window.
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- Here is a view from above – it’s a perfect setting for our feast.
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- The taxidermy Bourbon Red turkey looks so stately guarding our Thanksgiving table.
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- Truman made this paper headdress during a Mandarin class – complete with its own feathers, and the words “I’m thankful” in Mandarin.
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- This is a very special eight-piece hostess serving set. It was designed around the same time Skylands was, and the beautiful tray underneath was a gift from my dear friends Memrie Lewis and Charlotte Beers some years ago.
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- Both my grandchildren are great helpers in the kitchen. Truman loved to help taste test dishes as they were prepared.
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- Here is our heritage turkey from Stone Barns Center in Pocantico Hills, New York. I get turkeys from Stone Barns every year. These heritage birds have less fat, and are prized for their rich flavor. Choosing heritage birds helps to protect the cultural legacy of the old breeds and to preserve genetic diversity for the future.
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- We prepared many of our sides from the Martha & Marley Spoon Thanksgiving meal kit. Here is our Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pomegranate Salad. This recipe calls for both roasted and raw Brussels for a mix of texture and taste.
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- Here is my Classic Stuffing with Herbs and Dried Cherries that we also included in the Martha & Marley Spoon Thanksgiving meal box this season – it’s filled with onion, celery, sage, and dried cherries.
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- I also prepared delicious stuffed butternut squash.
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- And, everyone always loves potatoes.
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- Here is a bowl of classic cranberry sauce – another big favorite, especially with the turkey leftovers.
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- This is the finished turkey – roasted to perfection and golden brown, served on a bed of herbs.
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- This is a cranberry curd tart my daughter, Alexis, made for our dessert. I love its rich red color. These beautiful orange Fitzhugh-patterned dessert plates were perfect for our tart.
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- Here is a pretty top view of the cranberry curd tart – it was so delicious.
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- A scrumptious Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. The mashed potatoes were made using my mother’s recipe, which incorporates cream cheese for a rich and delicious taste. It’s the same recipe in our Martha & Marley Spoon Thanksgiving meal kit.
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- Here is my first plate – everyone had more than one. We enjoyed a most wonderful dinner.
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- This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family and close friends, especially my daughter, Alexis, and her beautiful children, Jude and Truman. I hope you all had a warm and memorable holiday with your loved ones.
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