What's on the Menu

I love Thanksgiving.  I love planning the menu, the preparations, the baking, the food and the time we spend together as a family.  We make most everything from scratch and the children all make or help make their favorite dish.

Here's what's on the menu for Thanksgiving at our house:

Turkey, of course:  I'm going to try out this recipe I found on Pioneer Woman.

Bacon, Apple, Sage and Onion Dressing: I haven't "stuffed" a turkey since we began having children.  We try to avoid food poisoning around here as much as possible.  

Cranberry Sauce:  We make this from scratch too.  OJ is making it this year with a touch of orange juice, orange zest, and fresh grated ginger.

Mashed Potatoes:  Red bliss potatoes, lots of butter, and a dash of heavy cream.

Gravy made completely from scratch, yes siree bob!  I sear and then boil the turkey giblets add lots of chicken stock, onion and celery; simmer for two hours and strain.  I then make a roux, using equal parts butter and flour and cook until a nice nutty brown to which I add a touch of fresh ground pepper, the strained stock and all the turkey drippings I can collect from the roasting pan.   Skoshi A is making the gravy this year.

Sweet Potato Casserole:  This is the best recipe ever!  Stat Boy makes this side quite often during the fall and winter.

Oven Roasted Green Beans:  Fresh green beans, a little olive oil and salt, broiled on high for about 12 minutes. Yummy!

Pecan Pie: I've tried several different recipes over the years but none of them measure up to the one found on the Karo Syrup bottle.  Karate Girl is making the pie this year.

Pumpkin Pie:  We're having a single guy over for Thanksgiving this year and he asked to tackle the pumpkin pie.  Those who know me, know how hard it was for me to let that go ;-)

Does your family have any special dishes they dream of each Thanksgiving?