The Whole Hog

Wheeewwwwwwwww what a meal…what a NIGHT! I might just live in stretchy elastic waist pants for the rest of my life. Mmhmmm

Yep, we had a blast all right. There were 17 of us in total and couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful setting. I mean, seriously.

There was champagne, obviously.

And a beautiful pre-dinner spread that I snacked on for pretty much all afternoon….

I just couldn’t get over how BEAUTIFUL the view was!!!!! Yep, yep…I’m thankful for that

We all sipped champagne and watched a beautiful California sunset before heading inside to EAT!

These brussels sprouts with figs and bacon deserve some special photo lovin’….mmmmmmm

As does this crazy guy right here:

For food we had quite possibly the biggest and best spread that I’ve EVER seen. I mean, I wouldn’t have expected anything less though because I was with the most passionate foodies in Sonoma County. It.was.insane. So was my PLATE!

So you don’t see turkey here! One of the guys actually made these (get ready for it….) pork belly “sandwiches” by sandwiching together the pork belly, butt and skin and then searing them on all sides. Sorry if that grosses anyone out but it was probably the most delicious thing ever. So there.

I also had mashed sweet potatoes, celery root gratin, a wee bit of stuffing, a taste of Hardy’s mac & cheese, brussels, green beans, mushroom gravy and homemade white bread from a popular bakery in town. Holy moly is right!

I can’t even get into the wines because it was all too crazy.

Yum:

Although I have to say that my favorite wine of the night was the sparkling rose that I had at the beginning. It was made from Pinot Noir grapes and was pretttttty much crack in a glass. Yep yep.

Desserts!

BACON BRITTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a bit of pecan pie. tarte tatin and a taste of three homemade gelatos that were brought: rosemary, caramel balsamic and pomegranate. By the end, I physically couldn’t move but was very, very happy indeed.

So there you have it. Thanksgiving 09. If you would have told me last Thanksgiving I would be where I am today, I would never in a million years have believed you. Just goes to show how crazy life is and we think we have a plan for ourselves, but really, we have no idea. I am very thankful….so very thankful!

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