Thanksgiving: Put Your Game Face On
When you're coordinating a Thanksgiving meal with many chefs, it's important to plan ahead. And nothing helps me plan like a little yellow legal pad and my favorite pen.
I'm primarily on side dish duty, with a dessert thrown in for good measure, and because we're traveling, I've chosen food I can make ahead or requires minimal on-site preparation. (We're descending on the home of this lovely lady.)
Rumor has it one of the guests is bringing a baby for me to hold. There will be wine and coffee and really good cheese, and this menu, which was the result of many, many "reply-all" emails and years of tradition along with some new dishes. Old standbyes are great, but so are fresh ideas.
Thanksgiving 2012:
Fancy cheese plate
Apple-bourbon turkey and gravy
Kate's stuffing
Dad's stuffing
Cranberry-orange relish
Cranberry sauce
Molly's cranberry-horseradish thing
Butternut squash souffle
Potato-fennel gratin
Roasted cauliflower w/breadcrumbs
Spicy broccoli
Sweet potatoes w/bourbon and maple
Mashed potatoes
Mixed greens salad
Molly's root vegetable dish
Rolls
Apple, pumpkin, and coconut pie
Pecan-shortbread bars
Bourbon-y cocktails
What are your favorite, can't-live-without Thanksgiving dishes? What are you trying that's new and exciting? What will you be discreetly hiding under a napkin, so as not to hurt Great-Aunt Margie's feelings?
