The Fab Five

Harry, Mom, Mark, Mariel, Dad

This was our Thanksgiving family photo, the first since 2011. Harry lives 1.5 hours away; Mark lives in Austin, TX, and one never knows where Mariel will be on any given holiday or family event. For the past two Thanksgivings, she's been in Peru.

I love having my children with me, and watching their grown-up interactions. I made the traditional Thanksgiving feast, with a couple of changes (baked sweet potatoes and a butternut squash/red onion recipe Mark found in the NYTimes, minus mashed white potatoes, which seem to have fallen on hard times). The turkey was huge (19 lbs.) which meant I couldn't lift it. I bought it on an organic poultry farm in the area. I took the minimalist approach to cooking the turkey, brining it for 24 hours, brushing it with olive oil and sprinkling it with salt, pepper, sage and thyme. It was delicious. I won't bore you with the other yummy dishes and superlative desserts.

Eleven of us shared this meal, including my mother-, sister-, and brother in-laws. My friend Doug came from his place in the Poconos with friends Alex and Andrew who also joined us last year.

Tonight we'll have Thanksgiving redux, and since it's Hanukah, we'll have latkes. If I get the urge, I'll make sufgoniyot, donuts filled with jam.