Thanksgiving Part One

First, a few images of my beautiful table. I have been collecting my china since I was a little girl. It is Adrienne by Noritake. It is discontinued so it is hard to find, and when you do find it it is expensive. A few good ebay finds have helped me almost complete my quest for a table setting for 12. I found gold rimed wine and beverage glasses from Ross. Each were a set of 12 for $10!

You can't tell but I bought mini leaf cookie cutters, spray painted them gold and used them for napkin rings. The silver was passed down to me from my grandmother. I had never polished silver before and never want to again! Mini pumpkins and gourds finished off my table decor.

I gave each of my guests a favor box with a home made cinnamon scented candle inside. The favors also doubled as a place card. A friend of mine teased me about this saying it was like I was planning a wedding. Well, I am a wedding planner!

A few more shots of my table. It was so long that we had to eat in the living room!

Ok, and now on to the food. As to not make this the longest post ever I will break it up into several posts. I am going to do the appetizer and salad first. Both were amazing.

Hot Artichoke Dip (from Allrecipes):

2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped pimento peppers

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Blend together the cheese, mayonnaise and whipping cream. Stir in the artichokes, green onions and pimentos. Mix well, and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

Harvest Salad (from Allrecipes):

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 bunch spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons red raspberry jam (with seeds)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup walnut oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 5 minutes, or until nuts begin to brown. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, walnuts, cranberries, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and red onion. In a small bowl, whisk together jam, vinegar, walnut oil, pepper, and salt. Pour over the salad just before serving, and toss to coat.