I usually spend Thanksgiving with my grandparents in Florida and enjoy the warm weather and relaxation. This year, a cold front delivered the most fridged temperatures in Atlanta in 100 years and pushed cool air into the normally balmy Florida coast. It was certainly warmer there than in Atlanta so we were happy with that and to spend quality time with our families as a newly engaged couple.

 Our first stop was in Melbourne, Florida on the east coast where we stayed with Sean’s mom and stepdad. Sean and I went by the beautiful beach on our first day.

 After a yummy dinner of empanadas that Sean’s mom made, I had my first experience at Del’s Freeze. Peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter cups and chocolate sauce was extremely decadent and quite a treat. So glad to share that fun and special place with Sean and his family.

 On Thanksgiving day, we drove over to a family friend’s house in Orlando for dinner. They lived on a private lake and had lovely grounds with great views.

 The weather was warm and sunny – perfect for an afternoon stroll before a big dinner!

 The dinner was great – all the Thanksgiving staples. My pimento cheese was a huge hit – I’ll be sharing the recipe soon. We visited for awhile longer, had some chess pie for dessert then hit the road again to Dade City and Sean’s dad’s house in the western part of the state.

Dade City is only 15 minutes from Zephyrhills, where my grandparents live. My mom was visiting them this year and so Sean and I decided to spend a day with all of them. My grandparents and great aunt had never met Sean.

My mom came up to Dade City to meet Sean’s dad and stepmom. We all had a nice visit and great breakfast complete with blood orange mimosas. Stella was so excited to spend the day with her grandma that she jumped into the trunk of the car! Silly girl!

 We had a nice, leisurely day – we visited, played with Stella, did some shopping, and had dinner. My mom made my favorite pie – rhubarb custard – and a pear pie and both were fantastic. After dinner, we played Hand and Foot, a fun card game that you play in teams. It was a good time!

 We spent Saturday with Sean’s dad and stepmom and they had planned a very special day of gourmet foods with wine pairings. We sat outside for most of the day and enjoyed a total of eight courses of food over 7 hours. The first course was Krug champagne and popcorn with truffle salt – a very, very nice toast! The second course was fried veal balls with dijon mustard, the third was french toast with foie gras and a caramel sauce (the sauce and bread were homemade) with a sweet white wine, and the fourth course was raw oysters with a minionette sauce and a crisp, clean white wine. Amazing!

 Moving into the evening, we had a soup course where we sampled a tomato bisque, a carrot soup, a potato and leek soup (my favorite!) and a black bean soup. Following that, we had a gourmet-style TurDucken complete with crispy turkey skin and cajun seasonings for a little kick. I had mentioned to Sean’s dad previously that I’d never had venison, so our seventh course was venison (cooked perfectly), with goat cheese mashed potatoes. We taught his parents how to play Hand and Foot while we finished our wine and let our food settle before having the eighth course which was dessert – a homemade apple pie. It was an indulgent day, but it was such a special treat and let us all spend time together.

 We left on Sunday to head home and we thought we were tired – but sweet Stella was beyond exhausted from all the play time. She slept like this for over half of the ride home. What a cutie!