Thanksgiving Menu Planning

This is the first year ever that I am hosting Thanksgiving at my own house. Yes, it's going to be a small Thanksgiving, since the whole extended family is going to be in Minnesota but my immediate family didn't want to go. And yes even my own sister won't be here because she is spending the holiday with her fiance's family. But still. It will be a wonderful, intimate family Thanksgiving with my parents! And who knows, maybe we'll find a few other guests to join us. We'll obviously invite The Mr's mother, even though since their not American they don't generally really celebrate Thanksgiving so I don't know if she'll even care to come. Small details! This year the first night of Hanukkah also falls on the same day which is exciting. It means that the next day, instead of detoxing from all the Thanksgiving food, we'll have to have latkes!

Anyway, I need to begin thinking about the menu so I can be sure what I want to make and what I should buy beforehand etc. I also need to not go too crazy, since as I said, there won't be the usual tons of people for the meal like I'm used to.

Main: I think we may just do a whole chicken, since let's face it- chicken is way better than turkey anyway. Since there aren't too many of us a chicken should be large enough to feed us all and we can make it more delicious. I am not going to get too into how exactly to prepare the chicken, since I happen to live with a pro whole chicken cooker and I think this will be his course to prepare.

Apps: I found this great looking recipe for how to make your own fresh buttermilk cheese. It looks pretty easy, although I can't see how this could be the case. Either way, it looks delicious and amazing and I think I'm going to try it one day this week or next to practice and see if it works and if so, make it as an appetizer for the big day. This would go over well with my cheese loving family. Serve with fresh french bread and olives.

Sides: I used to make this great carrot side, with a balsamic glaze. I totally forgot about it until very recently, but it was so good and so easy. It made people who didn't like carrots (especially cooked) like them. These carrots are a must.

I think some kind of scalloped potatoes or potato gratin would be a great alternative to the traditional mashed. As much as everyone loves mashed potatoes, especially with a little cheese and garlic and a lot of cream, I love scalloped potatoes. But I've never made them.

I made these amazing cheese stuffed dinner rolls last winter. Those are a must. I've been meaning to make them ever since and this would be a great time. Bonus if I can make them with a gluten free flour so grandma can have some. Wait, is that too much bread and cheese with this meal?

I feel as though we have to have butternut squash in here somewhere. My mother makes a pureed-like squash that is delicious and is The Mr's favorite.

For a salad, I think I may go with this Jicama salad that my aunt gave me the recipe for. It's so fresh and crisp and has so much in it that there's flavor that everyone loves. It would go well with a heavy meal and also makes a lot and is great the next day for leftovers! I'll have to dig that recipe up. Otherwise I would probably go for a quinoa salad with tomatoes and avocado etc.

And of course you need the cranberry sauce, which honestly I don't really care much about, but my dad makes a famous one so he'll be in charge of that.

Dessert: My parents will definitely bring the pies. My dad also has a famous pecan pie which I'm sure they will do. Maybe I'll make some kind of cookie too. Will need to research that more.

Ok I'm liking this so far. Let's see it all in simpler terms:

MENU

Roast Chicken

Homemade Cheese with Bread

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

Scalloped Potatoes

Butternut Squash

Jicama Salad

Cranberry Sauce

Pecan Pie & Etc.