5 Years of

Turkey

dinner 2

Lots of desserts

dessert table 4

Wine

bar 2

More meat

dinner 3

Delicious side dishes

P1020217

Too many desserts

dessert table 2

Friends

guests guests 2 lauren sara

guests newlyweds

hosts

Tradition

decor 2

decor 3

room 1

Much too many desserts

dessert table after

More food than one could imagine out of a NYC kitchen

apps

More people than you’d usually fit in a 1-bedroom apartment

getting food

5 Years of Thanksgiving with Friends

Five years ago, in what started out as a “dinner club” with two other couples, Matt and I hosted our first mock Thanksgiving dinner with friends.  Four friends came to Matt’s apartment at the time for a turkey, sweet potato casserole, and some other dishes that aren’t memorable enough to stand out in my mind.  It was a fun night and such a success that in the years that followed, our intimate dinner party of six has turned into an annual event with almost twenty friends.  It gives us an opportunity to be in the kitchen together, share an evening with many of our closest friends, and show them how thankful we are for them through delicious food.

matt lauren cooking

This year’s dinner was so much fun and full of many tasty traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving dishes: Turkey, Brisket, Turkey Meatloaf, Salad, String Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

dinner 1

And of course, as you surely already know, lots of desserts

dessert table 5

Cookie sandwiches: Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache and Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

sandwich cookies 2

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake bars

bars on plate 1

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

cooke dough brownies

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars

caramel bars

Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Bars

Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream and Mocha Ganache

I am excited about the recipes I have to share from the dinner party over the next few weeks!  There are definitely some new desserts that I know I’ll be making again

What is your favorite Thanksgiving-related tradition?

22 thoughts on “5 Years of”

  1. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love turkey, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes! I want to come to a Thanksgiving! Maybe next year!! I think it is worth the airfare :)

  2. I don’t think that there is such a thing as “too many desserts”!

    My favorite tradition is playing a board game with my family after the big meal. I’m a couple thousand miles away from them this year, though, so my husband and I will have to carry on the tradition ourselves!

  3. What a great tradition! I started making a mini-Thanksgiving dinner for my husband and me a couple weeks before the official day. We spend most of the day in the car traveling to both of our families – this way we get a great, relaxing Thanksgiving at home too! This year we invited another couple and it was a great night. It’s definitely a tradition that will stick!

  4. Wow, you had the most amazing spread there! But I think I would really like the pumpkin chocolate gingersnap cheesecake thingys too. Such a lovely but unexpected combo.

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