Thanksgiving Menu

Twelve years ago, I wrote about my family's Thanksgiving menu. A lot has changed since then. The generation above me has died out, my husband is gone, and the children have grown up, moved out, and married. I still manage to have a houseful any time I cook a turkey, and this year is no exception. We will have an eclectic gathering of whichever family and friends will come, including some I've never met. 

I didn't do Thanksgiving in 2024; I just watched TV, ate sandwiches, and planned a big Christmas. Princess was still recovering from childbirth, and cooked a dinner at her home just like my usual spread, since she had been cooking for years. Dr. Dolittle's husband particularly liked my cornbread dressing and tried to duplicate it himself. However, he couldn't throw off the habit of adding some random Asian spices to enhance it and it didn't turn out the way he remembered it.

Princess and family are staying home this year because of the Captain's work schedule. The doctors are coming. I told them they could invite friends, so they invited people who already had Thanksgiving plans. Can we have the feast on Wednesday night instead? Okay, sure, and that means I can invite my brother and family, who normally go to the in-laws on Thursday. She asked if she could invite others. Sure! But they will come on Thursday. What? What are they going to eat, leftovers? Sure!   

So we will have about eleven people eating, but not all at the same time. 

I no longer make Stovetop Stuffing, macaroni, sweet potatoes, or mashed potatoes. We will have plenty of carbs with the dressing, gravy, and desserts. Yes, there will be vegetables, too. Plus celery and olives, of course. I have to make deviled eggs because both doctors love them. She wants pumpkin pie, and he wants my pineapple upside-down cake. She said, "No one eats pineapple upside down cake- that's old people food." Personally, I am looking forward to dressing and gravy and a couple of weeks' worth of turkey sandwiches. 

Having a feast on Wednesday night means planning the logistics differently. Making cornbread today, desserts tonight, and dressing tomorrow morning. Dolittle usually puts the Christmas tree up, but she won't be here early enough for the Thanksgiving guests to see it, so I'm doing that, too. I cannot set the table early, because I require another pair of hands to put the extension in. But most of the guests know what their regular duties are to get it all together at the last minute.  

I hope your Thanksgiving is a wonderful celebration of food, family, friends, and counting your blessings!