I spend several hours every November excitedly researching Thanksgiving recipes and then pretty much revert to the same menu every year. The desserts may change, pre-meal coffee table fare can be innovative, veggie sides may be dropped from the roster and replaced with something new, but there must be sage and onion stuffing with the turkey and my mother must make her sweet potato dish.
I truly feel very strongly about this. I once was invited to a Thanksgiving party where the turkey was served with the most delicious cornbread and sausage stuffing. I stuffed myself with so much of it that I started to feel self-conscious vis a vis the other guests. It was truly a glorious stuffing, redolent of spices, with homemade cornbread and little pockets of andouille sausage and fried onion. None the less, the next day I felt obligated to stuff a chicken with sage and onion stuffing and have it for dinner. And, since I was doing that, I went ahead and made the sweet potatoes as well. Thanksgiving and the world as I knew it did not feel right until I did.
My advice for Thanksgiving post #1 is simple. Plan your menu. Plan it well in advance so that you have time to think it through, and perhaps modify a few dishes here and there. The more you think about it, the easier it will be on the day. (This also gives you time to rope in others to make some of the dishes, if you so wish).
A reminder: while allergies and the dietary restrictions of your guests need - of course - to be taken into account, this is not the day to plan a meal around low fat or no carb dishes. Thanksgiving is one of the few times in the year for guilt-free, unbridled use of butter and cream. Take advantage of it and enjoy. Be thankful for that as well. And I don't even like Thanksgiving as a holiday.
My family will be having:
Polenta Chips with Goat's Milk Ricotta,
Red Wine Mulled Dried Cranberries and Spiced Honey
Wild Arugula Salad with Pomegranate Arils,
Pickled Red Onion, Walnuts and a Walnut Oil-Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette
Turkey with Sage and Onion Stuffing and Giblet Gravy
My Mother’s Sweet Potato Purée with Bourbon and Cream
Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Shallots
Cranberry - Orange Relish with Candied Ginger
Eggnog Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Pumpkin Panna Cotta
Please consider donating a Thanksgiving meal so that others can celebrate the holiday. FeedingNYC's Adopt A Box is working to hand-deliver a complete meal to a family in need.