Nov 29 2009
Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Thanksgiving Potluck & Contest
We have been hosting a Thanksgiving potluck at our house with our friends for the past 2 years, so it was customary that we’d have our 3rd annual dinner this year. I submitted my proposal to Foodbuzz about our traditional event, and to our surprise (*jumping up and down*), we were chosen as one of the 24 bloggers to be a part of November’s Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24. Although we were ecstatic about being chosen, we knew that we had to go above and beyond to make this event spectacular – and that means creating a beautiful Thanksgiving ambiance in our home by using a ton of fall leaves, making centerpieces and place settings, mixing up fancy cocktails, and of course, having the ultimate Thanksgiving menu surrounding the center-of-attention: our deep-fried turkey.
Nonetheless, our Thanksgiving dinner would not have been successful without the help of our friends who all contributed to the menu by bringing homemade side dishes and desserts. We made the potluck more interesting by implementing a contest for the best side dish and the best dessert – and we were blown away by the creativity and expertise that our friends put in to their dishes. Wow, talk about competitive! All in all, everyone enjoyed each others’ dishes and most importantly, each others’ company. This was hands-down the best Thanksgivings ever! Thank you, everyone!!
A week before the event, we came up with the idea to design a fall foliage in our dining room which would sit above the tables, creating a luminous Thanksgiving feel.
As you can see, we decked the dining room with as much fall leaves as we possibly could. It was like we were all dining outdoors.
Our friend Cecille graciously helped us with many creative elements for the party (thank you so much!). Our Thanksgiving was complete with her beautifully crafted Cornucopia.
We thought it would be cute to have turkey place settings for all our guests. We were inspired by procrastistamper's version (which we googled), so we made our own with what we had. We cut out circles using scallop-shaped scissors and leftover scrapbook paper.
We trimmed and taped the tail feathers together, then taped a Hershey's Nugget to it. Finally, we added the heads, little orange beaks, and best of all, googlie eyes! The final masterpiece is a turkey place setting with the guests' name written on it.
To complete the table setting, we tied a flower to everyone's dinner napkin and made a pretty candlelit centerpiece.
Our friends had the option of 2 different cocktails - a Raspberry Bellini made with raspberry puree and champagne, or a Holiday Sangria.
On to the side dishes! Here we have the ever-so-popular Green Bean Casserole and Stuffing, both made from scratch by Andy. Impressive!
I kept it simple by making Balsamic-Glazed Pearl Onions and Chunky Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with bacon, chives, and roasted garlic.
Daniel made Mini Jalapeno Cornbread and Ham with Pomegranate and Port Glaze.
Cecille wowed everyone with her Pumpkin-Spiced Bread with Whipped Honey Cinnamon Butter and Spicy Crab Stuffed Mushrooms.
Aaron made a hearty Crab Mac-n-Cheese as his side dish, and even had time to make an awesome Creme Brulee for dessert.
Kat & Tim brought their famous Pasta with Creamy Clam Sauce (yum!). Sarah & Mark made Candied Yams for the very first time, and it was delicious!
Jen made a fantastic Waldorf Salad, which is a sweet and tangy fruit salad. Nate brought his special cranberry sauce again, which we've enjoyed the past couple of years.
Our friend Rich shocked everyone with his culinary skills by making a succulent Rack of Lamb flavored with herbs and a wine reduction sauce. Let's just say people who didn't like lamb had a change of heart! This dish ended up taking 1st Place - so congrats to Rich for a job well-done. Yes, ladies, he is single.
Sandy made a refreshing mango pudding that almost won 1st Place in the dessert category! Ben brought a nice helping of potato salad.
I made sure people had some room for dessert! Aki made his semi-homemade Peanut Butter Cookies with Vanilla Sugar and a Hershey's Kiss. Huong made a really scrumptious Pumpkin Pie that was perfect for our Thanksgiving dessert.
Our 15-lb turkey went into 4 gallons of vegetable oil and fried until it was perfect. What makes a fried turkey so tasty is because the oil seals in the moisture and doesn't allow the texture of the turkey to get greasy.
The night before, Daniel had injected the turkey with a liquid marinade which consisted of: butter, Newcastle beer, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. On the outside, he rubbed the turkey with a blend of brown sugar, mustard powder, and salt & pepper. This turkey could not have been better!! Everyone loved it and nearly ate the bones too!
It was definitely a very happy Thanksgiving, in more ways than one.
The gift baskets went to Rich for the Rack of Lamb and to Joyce for her creamy Cheesecake. Unfortunately I was too busy eating it that I didn't get a picture of it! Congrats to both of you!
Do I have to reiterate that this was by far the best Thanksgiving ever? After our unbelievably delicious feast, we all played Cranium, Taboo, and Charades until the wee hours of the morning. It was the Battle of the Sexes, and needless to say, the girls won in every single game. It was definitely the cherry on top of our very fulfilling evening. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and a warm thank you to Foodbuzz for sponsoring our grandiose event!
[...] Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck & Contest | The … [...]
Your meal looks SO good, it’s not even funny. Wow, I’m impressed with everything!
Nice job with the 24,24,24!
Wow! The dining room looks gorgeous, the food looks delicious. What a wonderful tradition!
Sounds like a wonderful meal! We deep-fried one of our two turkeys this year (my first time deep-frying a turkey) and it was delicious. Great decorations and great 24,24,24 post!
What a feast!!! You have such a beautiful home, and it’s just so wonderful the way you decorated the house for this fine event!
wow! congrats on the 24.24.24 to you too!!! wasn’ it fun?!
i love your deco…and all the place settings… very creative! and that crab mac and cheese looks amazing!!!!
good job on throwing a thanksgiving event to remember, foodaddicts!! it was hands down the best turkey i’ve had to date!
Such a beautiful & festive setting to what looks like a fantastic meal!
Wow, love the fall foliage! The rack of lamb looks so good….any chance to get the recipe?
Good job on hosting the potluck guys! Everything looked amazing that night!
I’m bummed that I didn’t win the dessert category this year, but I will definitely up my game next year!
This looks absolutely incredible. How much fun!! I love deep fryed turkey. I did not have it this year and it was missed.
Wow, I’m impressed! You guys took hosting to a new level…
Oh my gosh…..all the beautiful layout and decoration with such a lovely personal touch. I wish I was there. So much good food there too. I’m sure all of you had a great time of fun and food.
Love the entire presentation and the food looks awesome!
Well done
great job guys! seems like every year, your thanksgiving potluck just gets even better… Man I am missing out~!
fantastic….your photos are just brilliant…
beautiful thank you for sharing
everything looks amazing!! sounds like you all had a blast!! & nice job with the 24,24,24!! =D
Wow! What an amazing spread! You did a great job decorating, too. Great post!
Thanks for your comments, everyone! Our hard work definitely paid off
what a great time – and the fall foliage is a nice touch
Oh my gosh what a fabulous Thanksgiving!! Everything is so beautiful. What a creative holiday decor! You are so fortunate to have friends such as this. It reminds me of when I first moved to Florida. It was so lonely with no family here; quite different from what I was used to back home. We celebrated many holidays with friends, and I was so thankful to have them.
What a great thanksgiving meal with every type of dish imagineable! The decorations and ambiance really got everyone in a turkey gobbling mood. Thanks again for having me over!
Congrats and wow beautiful!
what an awesome thanksgiving party!!! everything looks so awesome, esp the decorations, let alone the delicious food!
What a fun time! Great party and the food looks incredible!
That was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. There was not one single dish to leave to waste. I’d be glad to come back soon and help out with leftovers.
This was one of my best Thanksgiving dinner. The decoration was festive, the food was delicious, and most importantly, great company. It was fun cooking with everyone, even when we had to compromise on the oven temperature to accommodate everyone’s dishes.
I couldn’t have asked for a better Thanksgiving dinner. Much thanks to Daniel and Krissy for inviting me over for this special occasion.
Lucky me…it was nice winning first place…Lol. But I think we all came out winners…
What a fantastic Thanksgiving. Everything is festive from the table setting to the food. Great job.
Everything looks great! The food looks delicious and the decoration simple and creative. I loe the colors!
Great job on this 24,24,24! Might I invite myself over next year?
This is outstanding times ten! What a fantastic meal that totally exemplifies the spirit of the holiday — amazing food, and more importantly, spending a day with loved ones and truly giving thanks!
wow everything looks great! The name holders are so cute!
You guys went all out! No doubt everyone gobbled it all up. Pun intended. Also: Those peanut butter kiss cookies are so classic. So good.
Wow – quite the holiday feast! Looks wonderful… I especially love the little turkey place holders.
everything looks amazingly delicious! I love how you decorated your home too
everything looks amazing and your decorations are too cute! how did you keep from bursting with so much good food around to try?! Looks like you had lot of fun and a lot of good food
[...] Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Thanksgiving Potluck & Contest | The Food … [...]
What cute place cards for all your guests! And I love the idea of a contest
That’s a really groaning board of food – so many choices. Looks like everyone had a good time and your house and table looked very in keeping with the holiday.
What a great job you did! The table looks gorgeous. The food looks so delicious. Congrats to you! Next year, will you invite me?!
Thank you both for hosting a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving dinner party. We were very fortunate to be invited to the dinner. It was like going to a fancy 4 start hotel ballroom banquet with the warm but chic fall decors. Delicious and mouth watering turkey and wonderful side dishes did not leave us much room for desserts. I ate the most turkey and mash potatoes as I never have before, and Mark couldn’t have stuffed himself more with our favorites: stuffed mushroom and lamb dishes.
Great job on the decoration btw. Our Turkey name plates are sitting on the family Christmas trees – so cute!
Thank you again!!
Sarah
What a party with so many thoughtful and lovely details. Thanks for sharing.
aww..looked like i missed a great one…you even had creme brulee…my favorite!
Your feast looked amazing! I’ve always wanted to try deep fried turkey and the Newcastle with Tabasco sauce marinade sounds out of this world! How do I get an invite for next year’s dinner
???
I’ve been following your blog for quite a while and enjoying your wealth of good recipes. When Foodista announced that they are going to publish the best food blogs in a full color book that will be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing Fall 2010, I naturally thought of you. This recipe would be a good submission! You can enter here: http://www.foodista.com/blogbook/submit
Cheers,
Melissa
melissa@foodista.com
Editor and Community Developer
Foodista.com — The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit
Food looks amazing! I’ve been reading your blog for a while now but doing a double take… that is my uncle Richard! Pretty random! Just thought I’d share that factoid. =) Best Regards!
Hey Kathy – thanks for being an avid reader! That’s so awesome that you recognized Rich on this post! Your uncle is a great cook! We are going to be featuring his rack of lamb recipe on here soon. Keep on reading!