The Holidays are Upon Us!

Of all the email newsletters I subscribe to regarding food, I find it amazing that more than 75% of them are already sending posts about Thanksgiving Day leftovers, when the actual meal hasn't even been shopped for yet! I spent my weekend planning the menu for my own Thanksgiving dinner, without a thought yet to how I will use the leftovers. I'll let the emails do the thinking for me: I've seen suggestions for Turkey Pho (a Vietnamese noodle soup), turkey chili, and the inevitable Gobbler (put all the leftovers on bread and make it into a sandwich). Once Thanksgiving has actually taken place, I'll give the leftovers some thought, but for now, let's focus on the day at hand, shall we?

Not only are people talking about leftovers, but while running errands this weekend, my ears were forced to endure Christmas carols. Christmas carols! On November 20th! It gets earlier every year, and this year is no exception. I saw signs for 1am openings on Black Friday too! All of this is forced upon us so early, when really, we should be enjoying family and friends and being thankful for all that we have to celebrate this year. I'm not going to think about "the holidays," or even Black Friday this week. I'm going to concentrate on enjoying the company of my family, and on hosting Thanksgiving for the first time! I'm looking forward to my menu, because I think it will please all of my guests, and that's a hard feat to master.

from Flickr - by Betty Crocker Recipes

I've made my list, and I'm checking it twice (sorry, darn holiday references!) and plan to do my food shopping tomorrow night after work. I'm hoping its a bit less crowded than Sunday afternoons at the grocery store! Of course, the main idea behind Thanksgiving is eating, right? Well, there will be no shortage of food on my table - as you all know from past events that I've hosted! My goal, though, is to keep it simple, so that I can spend my time with family, not slaving over a hot stove. Thanksgiving is probably one of the most straightforward meals to prepare for, so there's no reason to be stressed!

For hors d'ouvres, I've planned on an antipasto platter of parmesan, and another kind of cheese to be determined when standing in front of the display at the store, as well as some italian meats, and of course, mixed olives. I'm also going to make a crostini with an artichoke, lemon and parmesan spread. I'll also include some staples such as guacamole and hummus, as well...which of course, I'll make from scratch. All of these things will look great on the table, but really don't consume a lot of time, which is exactly what I was looking for!

My parents are going to be bringing the stuffing and the sweet potatoes, so that takes a large burden off of me. Their stuffing is the best, and I could never think of having anything but that stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner! I took some notes from them on the turkey, but I'm going to throw some more aromatics into my version, and put some onions, marjoram, parsley, sage, thyme and rosemary in the cavity of the turkey before cooking it. I'm going to do two vegetable sides: Brussels Sprouts Two-ways, and Sauteed Green Beans. The brussels sprouts will be pan-roasted, and also made into a bright salad with red onion, lemon and Pecorino cheese. My dad loves his roasted brussels sprouts, so I couldn't leave those out, but I really wanted to try this new way as well, so two-ways it is! I chose these recipes because they can be done on the stove, which will save me the hassle of trying to get the veggies done at the last minute, once there's room in the oven after the turkey has been taken out. I've also got a simple cranberry sauce on deck that I'm thinking of making the night before to save some time.

from Flickr - by Cookthinker

You all know I'm not a baker, so my mom placed an order for some bakery-made pies for dessert. I'll get some ice cream, and make sure there's coffee in the house, and we'll be set for dessert. It's not really the most important part of the meal, to me anyway, so I'm totally fine with ending the meal this way! The pies we have each year are delicious, and in addition, this year, my mother-in-law will be bringing some homemade apple pie.

Of course, no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without some mulled cider in front of the fireplace while the turkey is cooking. We'll sit back, watch the parade, sip mulled cider, and enjoy the day! So, forget about carols, and midnight sales. Forget about leftovers, and decorating the tree. Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Whether you spend it with family or friends, be thankful for good company, and good food!

from Flickr - by BarbaraCZ

(I'll let you know how the shopping trip goes tomorrow evening!)