In My Kitchen: The Thanksgiving Menu
It takes a few weeks, but after some brainstorming and recipe testing, I’ve planned out my Thanksgiving menu. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
The Menu
The goal was to create a meal that was seasonally inspired, flavorful, healthy and easy to prepare (especially important with the new baby). This may seem like wishful thinking, but with some pre-planning and organization, it’s actually possible.
My game plan is to have simple and light appetizers (so nobody gets too full before dinner) and some dishes that I can make well in advance to save time and kitchen space. I’m leaving the stuffing and desserts to my family, so that takes some of the load off of me. Drum roll, please……
- Appetizers
- Cheese Platter with Fresh Baguette, Sliced Pears, Olives & Marinated Sundried Tomatoes
- Butternut Squash Soup (shown above)
- Main Course
- Roasted Turkey – more on this next week
- Grilled ham basted with local honey and soy sauce
- Grandma White’s stuffing
- Stuffing from my mom
- Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Oil
- Herbed Butter Parsnips
- Sweet Potato Gratin with Smoked Chiles (to serve 8 instead of 4)
- Mini Sour Cream Lemon Honey Corn Muffins
- Cranberry Sauce
- Dessert
- Ginger Cookies
- Festive Apple Galette
- Beverages
- Local apple cider
- Red and white wine
- Sparkling water
- Coffee
- Tea
Next Steps
Now that my menu is all set, I can start to think about what I can make in advance.
2+ Weeks Ahead
- Make soup and corn muffins and store in the freezer
2-3 Days Ahead
- Buy turkey
- Wash and prep all veggies
- Make herb butter for parsnips
- Make cranberry sauce
The Night Before
- Make sweet potato gratin
I haven’t been able to find meyer lemon olive oil for the broccoli side dish at any of my local markets, but I do have a meyer lemon tree at home (that’s it below) and it’s sporting a lemon that should be ready in time (fingers crossed).
In addition to food, I’m thinking about some simple decorations. Ina Garten has great ideas for edible options in this video.
Next week’s report is all about the turkey!
- Still planning your menu? Check out our other seasonal spreads:
- Thanksgiving Menu #1: A Traditional Dinner
- Thanksgiving Menu #2: An Intimate Affair
- Thanksgiving Menu #3: Feed a Crowd Potluck-Style
For dessert, we love vegan pumpkin molasses cookies and crustless pumpkin pie!
How nice! Its always wonderful when someone makes your recipes and likes it…
When I was a child we used to have Apple Brown Betty for dessert at Thanksgiving. It's a little different from the usual apple desserts like apple pie and it's terrific.