Turkey Day is almost here! And I have the lengthy grocery shopping list to prove it. I spent a day last week researching recipes, and, to be honest, several days debating what kind of stuffing to make-- none seemed quite right!-- before forcing myself yesterday to just pick one already damn it. In case you are in need of some recipes as well, I thought I'd share our Thanksgiving menu.
Here's what we'll be making and eating for our first Thanksgiving together, as a married couple:
(We'll be using onions, carrots and apples cut in large chunks, instead of rack, to keep the turkey lifted out of its juices. Bonus: we get roasted veggies!)
(Dressing, not stuffing, since it is cooked outside the bird. Store-bought cornbread will make this recipe extra easy and I'll mix in some crusty artisan bread for varying flavors and texture. We're also planning to use spicy sausage for some heat.)
(With a large dollop or two of sour cream mixed in because, well, just because. I'm a little obsessed with sour cream, especially on potatoes.)
(My mom has made this every Thanksgiving for years. It's a Laura Bush recipe that she pulled from Redbook, or some similar magazine, long ago. Sweet and delicious, it's almost dessert. The image above is not of the exact recipe, it's actually from a lightened-up sweet potato mash, but it looks similar to the puree my mom makes.)
(G and I both love green bean casserole, and while we grew up on the Campbell's condensed soup kind, and it is homey and comforting in its familiarity, this recipe was recommended to me highly by a foodie friend. I'm excited to try a from-scratch version.)
(I'm going to watch the sugar since some reviewers commented that this recipe was too sweet, but I was drawn by the use of fall spices as well as orange juice and zest. The plan is to make this Wednesday, to relieve a bit of cooking pressure on Thursday.)
(My mom always bakes tons of pies to suit our family's varied tastes: pumpkin, apple, pecan, mincemeat... G's fave is pumpkin while I'm more of an apple girl. With this recipe, we get a little bit of everything, without actually baking a pie per person. It looks a little labor intensive, but I'll be using a prepared pie crust-- gasp!-- to keep my sanity.)
Since it's just the two of us, we are clearly going to have lots (and LOTS) of leftovers. I see turkey sandwiches, turkey enchiladas, turkey soup, stuffing fritters, mashed potato cakes, etc., in our future... Yep. The best thing about Thanksgiving, in my humble opinion, is the sides, but the second best thing is leftovers for days.
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