Greetings from St. Louis! This week’s Friday Five is all about our lovely Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house yesterday.

1. Beautiful Centerpiece: my mom picked out this colorful, cheery centerpiece for the dinner table.

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2. Fancy Old Wines: every Thanksgiving my dad busts out some really old bottles of wine that he’s been hoarding for decades. When the bottles are moldy, you know the wine is gonna be good! This year we had a 1974 Rutherford Hill Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley and a 1979 Premier Grand Cru Château Latour (also a Cab Sauv). Both were incredibly smooth and delicious. If I had to pick one over the other I think I’d say the Chateau Latour.

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3. Vinegary Root Ribbon Salad with Fresh Herbs and Toasted Walnuts: I helped make this salad by chopping parsley and peeling the veggies. You can’t see the root ribbons underneath all the herbs and walnuts, but I promise they are there! We sautéed the veggie ribbons in olive oil to take out the raw bite and served them on top of mixed greens.  The champagne vinegar dressing (which my mom made) was amazing!

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4. Gardein Holiday Roast: my mom got this faux meat for the two of us to eat because neither of us are into meat. I forgot to take a photo of the cooked loaf, but it looked like a gigantic, fat mozzarella stick! It tasted great, especially topped with the vegetarian gravy that came with it, along with some cranberry chutney that my mom had made.

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5. Bourbon-Caramel Pumpkin Tart: my mom has made this gorgeous dessert for the past few years running. It’s apparently quite a labor of love, but it’s totally worth it because it tastes so damn good! This year she went next-level by sprinkling edible gold stars over the top (unfortunately, I didn’t get a pic of the untouched tart).  Well done, Mom!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones!