Thanksgiving vacation came and went in a flash! I spent all day Friday with my mom, Kath, and my best friend, Erin, preparing for the Autumnal Extravaganza. We hit the grocery store around 9am, and continued cooking all the way until 6pm! It was a long day of cooking, but so much fun! We didn’t get to take pictures of everything, but we took as many as we could (Thanks to Erin for many of these pictures!).

The Menu
(click for recipes)

Hot Spiced Sangria
Mulled Apple Cider*
Sweet Onion Dip
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Ham and Cheese Rugelach (click here for Dorie’s dough recipe, put whatever you want inside!)
Panko-Crusted Chicken Bites
Turkey Meatballs in Homemade Barbecue Sauce (with some secret ingredients- comment if you want the details!)
Pumpkin Mousse**
Thanksgiving Twofer Mini Pies
Mini Caramel Cupcakes with Caramelized Butter Frosting
Mini Fruit Tarts (click here for the dough recipe)

The sweet onion dip, chicken bites, rugelach, barbecue sauce and caramel cakes were the hits of the party. I will be making the onion dip again and again, I’m sure! Check out the pictures below -I wish I had more!

The Sangria was super tasty and super easy!

*Quick steps to mulled cider: Pour the cider into a stockpot or crockpot. Add mulling spices, wrapped in cheesecloth (I recommend Williams Sonoma Mulling Spices, of course). Simmer for a few hours. Add applejack brandy to mugs (if desired) and pour cider on top.

Mini fruit tarts! These pie shells were meant for the Twofer pie, but they were too tiny! My quick fix: fill them with pie filling and throw them back into the oven for a few minutes to set up.

**Pumpkin Mousse Recipe (straight from the Williams Sonoma files!)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
8oz cream cheese, room temperature, softened
12oz cool whip
1 jar Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter (found at WS – on sale now!)

Mix milk and sugar until well blended. Add cream cheese and pecan pumpkin butter and mix well again. Fold in Cool Whip. Chill 20 minutes and serve.