The office Thanksgiving luncheon

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a brief tour of what Thanksgiving looks like at the offices of The Times-Herald and Newnan-Coweta Magazine!

You know a luncheon is coming when the counters in the break room begin to fill up with plastic cups and gallons of tea and lemonade from Publix.

We love to eat at my workplace, and all throughout the year we have events such as a chili cook-off, soup fest, and quite a few hot dog and hamburger lunches in the summer where all we have to do is show up and eat! Thanksgiving and Christmas mean potlucks. Thanksgiving is the one time of year that, instead of gathering together in one location, we set up foods by department. At the entry to the news department yesterday, the offerings included some beautiful savory pinwheels and yummy looking pies.

Pork loin and other crockpot meats were simmering on this table. We have often said it is hard to work when you're salivating over the food fragrances wafting through the air at 10 a.m.!

Downstairs in graphics and advertising, I was hearing lots of oohs and aahs over the turnip greens and sweet potato casserole and macaroni and cheese.

One of the most festive displays was by my co-workers in graphics. Isn't this pretty? I assumed it was a group effort but soon learned my friend Debby is the owner of *all* that lovely Thanksgiving decor.


I was particularly impressed by the very honest signage our Jonathan, a young single guy, included next to the gorgeous and yummy cake made by his mom.

In classifieds, I found the delicious crockpot meatballs made by my friend Rhonda! She makes hers with pineapple and they are dee-lish. Wish I'd saved room for the cheese dip and strawberry cake, which I hear were great!

In circulation there were even more delicious foods and yet another lovely presentation. (Clearly, I am going to have to work on the newsroom folks getting a little more spirited with our presentation next year.)

I was so full from lunch I had to set aside my saucer of desserts to take home and enjoy later (here it looks like a platter but it's the angle of the photo!). My friend Deberah's Caramel Apple Cupcakes were getting great reviews, so I stopped mid-meal to go nab one before they all got gone. (The rule around here is, if you snooze, you lose.) I also got a slice of Jonathon's mom's cake and the sweet potato casserole with coconut milk made by Christine.

And that concludes our tour, ladies and gentlemen! My own contribution, by the way, was a totally made-up recipe, Cheesy Squash Corn Muffins. You know those Cheese and Broccoli Muffins I wrote about recently? I was craving some the other night but had no broccoli. I wondered if squash and onions could be substituted, and I loved the results! The folks who tried them yesterday were kind with their reviews (Sarah said it tasted "like a squash casserole, but in a muffin"), so here's the recipe in case you need another Thanksgiving bread/veggie for your own menu!

Cheesy Squash Corn Muffins

1 (8.5-ounce) box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 large squash, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an iron skillet with cooking spray and add chopped squash, onion and garlic. Cook on high for about five minutes or until onions have started to become translucent. Turn off heat.

Mix butter and eggs in a medium bowl, then add cheese and vegetables. Blend well. Stir in milk, add cornbread mix and stir just until combined. Use an ice cream scoop to fill paper baking cups nearly to the brim. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tops are just starting to brown. Cool in pans. Yields 12 corn muffins.