Thanksgiving With Friends, and a Bailey's Cheesecake

Grant and I just celebrated our first Thanksgiving together. This was our first Thanksgiving spent together because last year he went home to celebrate with his family. It's a very important holiday in his family. It was the first time in 10 years Grant hasn't cooked with his dad, so he was feeling a little homesick. To make him feel a little better we made something he's always made with his dad for the holidays, a Bailey's Cheesecake. YUM! This is probably the best cheesecake dessert I've ever eaten.

He "frosted" it with whipped cream, and dusted it with chocolate shavings.

I know I skipped right to dessert, but that was what we made for the meal. The rest of the meal was made by our friends. We started with snacks, some of my favorites were the baked brie and the goat cheese logs. Have you ever had baked brie? It is one of the easiest, most delicious snacks you can make. And perfect for a party!

Goat Cheese Logs. From left to right-
Dill and Lemon Zest
Chocolate Ganache with Hazelnuts
Pistachios & Cranberries with Honey

The baked brie is puffed pastry, brie, fig and raspberry preserves. You bake it and out comes deliciousness! You can serve it by itself or with crackers.

Our friends brined the turkey for 3 days before smoking it on Thursday morning. This bird came out beautifully! It had great flavor, and I think it was better than the roast turkey we also had.

Along with the turkey were all the fixings. It was a great meal and I can't thank our friends enough for having us over! When we finally sat down the table was beautifully set.

We all had a great time. I feel bad that Grant and I didn't stay very long after the meal to help with clean up, but we were asleep on the couch by 8:00. I had to work in the morning from 7-3, but I made it in time to see my friends and eat some good food, which is what counts. We had a terrific holiday, and I hope everyone else did too!