White Bean Dip with Pita Chips: This recipe is great, but you can also buy your own bag of pita chips instead of making them. Go with 1 garlic clove if you have sensitive guests.
Turkey and the Trimming's (sounds like a band!)
I'm no expert on cooking meat so I will say right now that you should research how long you should cook your bird yourself... that being said, here are some other tips to help.
-Brine the turkey the night before. If you can, stick your turkey (cavity side up) in a bucket. On the stove prepare a mixture of water, salt, sugar, crushed garlic cloves, honey, and fresh herbs. Just eye ball this. I only had a 5 pound turkey breast, so I filled a large pot with water. Added 1 cut salt. 1 cup brown sugar, a few big glugs of honey, 5 garlic cloves, and bunches of sage, rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf. VERY IMPORTANT: Let this mixture cool all the way to room temperature before putting in the bucket. Let the turkey sit in this tub all night and/or until you need to cook it.
-Pat the turkey dry before placing in roasting pan. I only stuck some lemon wedges in the cavity because it was very flavored already.
-The Dry Rub: I used Brown Sugar, Paprika, Herbes De Provence, Salt, and Pepper. Rub these spices all over the bird. I also drop some pats of butter on the bird.
-Once you get any vegetables that you'd like to cook along with the meat in the pan, add 2 cups chicken (or Turkey) stock to the pan. This will help with keeping the turkey moist and will provide enough basting liquid!
The Trimmings
Mesclun Salad with my dressing: You pick the veggies, here is my dressing recipe. I also added a Parmesan crisp. Super easy. Just drop handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese onto a baking sheet and cook up individual crisps. Just bake under broiler until they are super crispy. Lay out on some paper towel to cool.
Vegetables around the meat: Simple. Carrots, Parsnips, Butternut Squash and Yellow Onion. A little salt and a little pepper. be sure to stir/baste the vegetables as well!
Stuffing: I actually don't eat or make stuffing (nothing personal), so this is was a great dish to have a family member make. Especially if they do it well! I don't have the recipe...
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes: These were O-M-G- Delicious! Recipe found here, however, when I boiled the potatoes, I threw in a bay leaf and a bunch of fresh thyme. I added 1 minced clove garlic. And I did not use Pancetta or bread crumbs. I also kept the potatoes cooking in a slow cooker because I did not have a big enough oven.
Cranberry Sauce: I love the orange flavor in this recipe here.
Roasted Corn with Lime, Scallion, and Cilantro: This was a nice palette exciter. Not your traditional Thanksgiving corn, but that's what made it special. And... it's yet another crowd pleaser. I only fed 5 people, but I just broke up 2 boxes frozen corn in a Pyrex dish. Added 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper. Then I cooked the corn in the oven on 350 until the corn was cooked through (10-15 minutes). When the corn is cooked, I added the zest and juice of 2 limes, 4 chopped scallions, and 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro.
There was also pumpkin bread (recipe featured here), pumpkin pie, and apple pie... and don't forget the wine! (unfortunately I couldn't drink...) How was your Thanksgiving?
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