First Thanksgiving Away from Home...

Thanksgiving is a HUGE deal in the Pham Family.  It is a holiday that has traditionally been hosted by my family for many years and each year we have about 30+ guests at my parents' home.  This was the first year I spent it away from Portland.  I was extremely bummed about the thought of it and kept trying to secretly plan a mini getaway (that we could drive to of course).  I was in complete denial.  But after all my brainstorming and wishful thinking, in the end we decided to spend Thanksgiving with our friends here in Santa Barbara. I am happy to say we had an amazing time!

THANKSGIVING MENU

Starters & Salads
- Crab Wontons
- Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad
- Tomato Pasta Salad
- Homemade Rolls

Main Entrees
- Turkey
- Beer Ham

Sides
- Gluten-Free Mac n' Cheese
- Cheesy Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole

Desserts
- Banana Cream Pie
- Pecan Bourbon Pie
- Pumpkin Pie

Yes...the menu was quite extensive for a party of only 8 people.  Our Santa Barbara Thanksgiving was held at Brian and Michelle's place.  They are the sweetest couple you will find, both to their friends and seriously to each other!  The late lunch/early dinner feast was done pot-luck style.  B & M were in charge of the main entrees - Turkey and Ham along with some sides and a pie.

Michelle's ham was so delicious.  The recipe belongs to her mother and all I know is that the darn ham took 3 days of marinating in beer. I was never a huge fan of this cut of pork but this recipe seriously turned me onto ham.

All other guests either brought sides or desserts.  I signed up for more than I could handle for side dishes.  Luckily, Dao (sis-in-law) drove up from LA to spend the long holiday weekend with me and the husband.  She was also my right hand gal in the kitchen!  I could not have done it without her.  We started off prepping crab wontons.  One of our friends at the feast was gluten-free.  Of  course I love a kitchen challenge and hate leaving people out,  so I made gluten free mac n' cheese.  I also contributed my Phamous (among the Pham's) sun-dried tomato basil bow-tie pasta salad (recipe in next posting).  I also made a gluten version by using corn pasta from Trader Joe's.

I knew there would be many rich dishes so I made a kale and brussels salad recipe I found from bon appetit magazine.  So fresh and simple!

We had sooooooooo much food!

After dinner we immediately fell into deep food comas.  We napped, snacked, watched a movie and went home bellies full with tons of left-overs in hand!