Thanksgiving is next week! Of course I love gathering in the kitchen and around the table with my friends and fam and being all thankful and all that... but I really, really love the menu planning leading up to the event. We went way overboard last year with a trillion different side dishes, which was fun and tasty but overwhelming, so this year we’re cutting it way back and keeping it pretty simple (but still delicious, obv). We're not even doing yams/sweet potatoes! My sister and I both eat various forms of sweet potatoes weekly, so we axed them from the Thanksgiving menu! Controversial! We’ll have a dry-brined, herb-buttered spatchcock turkey cooked by my brother-in-law in the Traeger, my mom’s perfect classic mashed potatoes and gravy, kale and caramelized onion stuffing, homemade green bean casserole (my fave), honey roasted carrots with dukkha (one of last year's sides that made the cut again!), and a fresh arugula salad, plus rolls, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, and marinated olives (see below). For dessert: pecan pie (with a gluten free version of this best-ever all-butter crust), Sister Pie's salted maple pie, and a GF pumpkin roll (which is a better pumpkin dessert than classic pumpkin pie... I said it and I'll never take it back).
If you still have space on your menu, here are a few more Thanksgiving options from the Loves Food, Loves to Eat archives:
Spiced apple bourbon sparklers (start this one now—the apple peel bourbon needs a good week to soak up all the flavors!)
Papa’s olives (Evan’s grandpa’s quick recipe for tasty marinated olives)
Savory pumpkin and mushroom bread pudding (like a gooey cheesy stuffing)
Date & chorizo kale salad (Thanksgiving flavors with that missing touch of green your table needs!)
Corn pudding with caramelized onions and goat cheese (Creamy and cheesy and so good!)
Pumpkin cream pie with chocolate crust and bourbon maple whip (did you see I said bourbon maple whip!?)
