Thanksgiving Traditions

 Family

Stone and I with Lucy

Speck, Delia, Malia with Albert, Jim, and Michael with Baloo.

 The frying of the turkey has been a tradition since 2008.

Jim looks on as Michael brings out the bird.

 Hmmm, I might have misjudged the size of bird we needed.

Malia spends time crocheting, while supervising the frying of the turkey.

 Ashlee from My So Called Crafty Life has a tutorial on how to make these adorable word search place cards for your dinner table.  

Jim provided our wine.  A red, produced by La Ferme Du Mont from France, which was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.

 This year I decided to do a dry brine, which gives you a crispier crust.  Although the men in my family were very skeptical, it turned out to be the best way to brine a turkey.

Jim works on his puzzle while waiting for Michael to carve the turkey.

Malia is determined to have all her words found before Michael puts the turkey on her plate.

Delia doing her word search.  This turned out to be not only a cute idea for place cards, but also a fun thing to do.  Everyone was so focused on finding all the words, trying to be the first one to finish.

 Michael always gets the job of carving of the turkey.

Classic Yellow Buttermilk Cake With Fudge Frosting

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs + 2 egg yolks

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Cake Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350'.  Prepare three 7" pans and set aside.   Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high until creamy.  Add in the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.  Turn the mixer down to medium-low and add in the eggs, one at a time.  Add in the vanilla.

Stop mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

With the mixer on low, add in half of the dry ingredients.  Mix until flour is just combined and then stream in the buttermilk.  Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 22 minutes or until golden.  Cool cakes on a wire rack.

Frosting Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-4 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

Frosting Instructions:

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and melted chocolate until creamy.  Carefully add in the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth and combined.  Add more or less milk until desired consistency is achieved.  Frost cake.  Recipe from:http://thecakeblog.com/2014/05/classic-yellow-cake-with-fudge-frosting.html