In a cliche to end all cliches, thanksgiving came early for us this year.
Our little Adi was born Saturday before the holiday. She came into the world with a super-alert gaze, a chill, lovely disposition, and a full head of hair. Needless to say, we're over the moon.
We've spent the past few weeks offline, adjusting to the rhythms of parenthood. I keep thinking back to the Friday night dinner we hosted back in early November, where I made Peking duck, and that last apple pie I made the week before I went into labor. Both feel like they happened eons ago. Now there's a tiny human in our house, and we're responsible for her. It's all quite surreal.
To our great fortune, my brother- and sister-in-law also ensured that we had Thanksgiving of the more traditional variety. There was turkey, stuffing, kale, green beans, brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole, gravygravygravy, cranberry sauce, and more pies and cakes than I had time to inventory. Loving, eager hands held and passed Adi all night; she cooperated perfectly. And when we had to leave rather abruptly, our wonderful family sent us home with a huge bag of leftovers to sustain us through the weekend. I even managed to secure a piece of gingerbread chocolate cake for the road.
Friends, I have so many recipes to share with you. If you'll be patient, I'll try to work through them over the next few weeks. The days (and nights!) are rather unpredictable, but they're growing less so. And to my great surprise, my desire to cook hasn't really faded since I gave birth. Time is in shorter supply and comes in small spurts, but I've managed to squeeze in a bit of cooking and baking between feeds and burps and whatnot. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, happiest of holidays to all of you. Enjoy this lovely time of family and friends. See you back here in a bit with a recipe or two. xo.