Abigail Bassett is a Senior Producer with CNNMoney.com. She lives in New York with her husband and two very helpful dogs who clean up all her cooking messes. This is her second in a two-part series as Abigail reports back on her first joint family Christmas dinner. Read the first installment.

I wish I could say that Christmas dinner was a runaway success.

I wish I could say I handled it with grace and ease and wore heels and pearls à la a modern June Cleaver the whole way through.

I wish I could say my kitchen was none the worse for wear and that my husband and I have been enjoying copious leftovers oozing with homemade goodness.

I wish ... I could have found my meat thermometer.

Since I’d anticipated a long day, I woke up bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to tackle the seemingly insurmountable task at hand.
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Abigail Bassett is a Senior Producer with CNNMoney.com. She lives in New York with her husband and two very helpful dogs who clean up all her cooking messes. This is her first in a two-part series as Abigail tackles her first joint family Christmas dinner.

"And the lion shall lay down with the lamb..." - or in my case, the foodies shall cook for the conventional foodies, and none shall order pizza.

I've got a confession to make: I've been dreading Christmas since Thanksgiving. Well actually, Christmas dinner to be exact.

I know, I know, bah-freaking-humbug - but hosting my first combined family holiday has sent me rummaging through cabinets and family recipes for days. Upending plans for a mellow holiday and sending me (and my poor husband) into a tizzy.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about family holidays and tradition. In fact, I really like my family’s Christmas tradition: A big turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and stuffing is like a dream Thanksgiving do-over. My husband’s Italian family however, does things very differently - and that’s where the issue arises.
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