Thanksgiving Cheesecake

Last year, I went all out for Thanksgiving, and I hosted it myself. This year, I was a bit more kind on myself, and we had dinner at mom's! The turkey was fabulous. I don't know what my mom did, but the turkey breast, which is the kind of meat that is usually bland, was deeeelicious. My mom brought in the huge turkey and we all went, 'ooooh!' We were joined by some lovely visitors from London, and of course there was my crazy Russian family. Most of the night we were shoo'ing our cockerspaniel, Max, from jumping on the table and eating the entire spread. He was persistent... and managed to get in a blini and half a tub of whipped cream. He looked longingly at the turkey, but was not successful in getting a piece. Poor Max!

I brought challah and Nigella's chocolate cheesecake from a book I haven't used in ages, How to be a Domestic Goddess. I actually made three loaves of challah (usual King Arthur Flour recipe) about a couple of weeks ago, but froze two of them, so brought one of the loaves I had frozen to dinner. It was, as usual, really well received. There is something about bringing homemade bread that makes people really impressed with you. I mean, every single time I bring challah, people are like, 'wow', but I want to say, 'enough already! I get it. You like it!'. LOL. Just kidding. I'm glad it was so well liked.


The cheesecake was devoured. It's a really great cheesecake recipe. :) Our guests also brought a pumpkin cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, and also a sweet potato pie. I was psyched about having some diversity at dinner, as usually our dinners involve the main course (which may or may not be symbolic of whatever it is we are celebrating) and a thousand Russian salads and appetizers. This dinner it was the turkey surrounded by a thousand Russian salads and appetizers. I was 'thankful!' for the Thanksgiving touches brought by our friends.

A lovely night all in all. Happy Thanksgiving!!! :)