With only a week and a half before Thanksgiving I am already starting to prepare. This isn't because the traditional Thanksgiving dinner is that hard to prepare, we keep it pretty simple and don't eat until evening which saves me from having to get up at dawn to stick my hand up the rear of a partially thawed turkey. My early prep is not the result of anxiety (this is not my first Thanksgiving dinner by any means), but instead is caused by a mix of excitement and great grocery specials. After all, it's hard not to be excited when the evaporated milk needed to make the pumpkin pie is only $0.19/can and the flour for the rolls is $0.99 for a 5lb bag. Add to that the fact that my sister is coming from "The Frozen North" and that as soon as Thanksgiving is over I get to make Christmas cookies and fudge while gorging on leftovers and it is hard not to be excited. The only thing that I worry about is that my menu might not be up to par. Therefore, I ask all of you in the blog-o-sphere to let me know what you think. Am I missing anything?
Thanksgiving Dinner Menu:
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Cornbread Stuffing
Wild Rice Stuffing
Rolls
Green Salad
Steamed Veggie (specifics depend on what's in my Bountiful Basket or in season)
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream
Thoughts?
A huge favorite if mine is green-bean casserole
ReplyDeleteYou'll get a kick out of this. I'm going to allisons and so I asked her if we could make the meal as local and sustainable as possible, including turkey (which I don't eat anyways, but that's besides the point) and I'm interested in the outcome to see what is local to her.
We don't do a hugely traditional spread of food in my family, and my absolute favorite dish is my mom's butternut squash soup with butter dumplings. I look forward to it all year!
ReplyDeleteLooks great to me!! We always do a sweet potato casserole (I have the best recipe EVER from one of my friends that I'll pass on if you want to make it), but I have to admit that we're skipping it this year b/c I'll be the only one in attendance who will eat it....and I just don't need an ENTIRE casserole to myself (though I'd gladly take it!).
ReplyDeleteSweet Potato Souffle!
ReplyDeleteIt's my cousin's recipe, and so so good!
But your list looks tasty!
I concur with the sweet potato-lovers!! Candied/sugared/marshmallow topped sweet potatoes are always good, but you could also just substitute them for your mashed potatoes. You have all other bases covered :)
ReplyDeleteWow, so many great comments. I'll try to respond as best I can here.
ReplyDelete@Candie - We aren't doing a green-bean casserole because my sister had a bad experience once and I tend to prefer my green-beans barely steamed and still quite crisp. I've heard that they are quite good, but I'm not sure I'd like the texture. As for the local food, that sounds really interesting. Good thing they are in CA, that makes the local food thing easier. I hope you told her about Local Harvest.
@Aimee - That soup sounds wonderful. I love butternut squash soup and dumplings. I might need that recipe from you if your mom is willing to share it. (I know some people, including my grandma, are very exclusive with their recipes so if not I understand.)
@The Sweet Potato Lovers - I love sweet potatoes and am on the fence about adding them. No one at our house is a huge fan of the version with the marshmallows on top (too sweet), but I have another version with pecans and brown sugar that was a hit the last time I made it. However, we will only have 5-7 adults and a toddler eating so I worry that adding another dish (even a half-sized version) would be too much. The solution, of course, would be for everyone to promise to crash our place over the weekend and help us eat the leftovers. Any takers?
I'm planning on coming... since you invited me, and I'm planning on bringing the boy...
ReplyDeleteplease make sweet potatos. i like being able to eat something at thanksgiving!
so does that make it 7 or 9?
<3