Yay, it's almost Thanksgiving!

My favorite holiday of the year, because it's all about food and family. Nothing to do with religion. I've been making Thanksgiving dinner since I was 13 years old, which works out to mmfff-1 years. There have been a few years when I didn't make it, but I enjoy the planning, the preparation, and the eating. Any time I can get other people to come over, I invite them.

On the menu this year:
Gingered Delicata Squash Soup
Green salad (courtesy the mil)
Honey Wheat bread (Sophia makes that in the bread machine)
Good Eats Roast Turkey
Cranberry conserve
Braised Brussels sprouts
Crockpot Spicy Glazed Carrots
Two-tone Roasted Potatoes*
Twice-baked potatoes (for the kids, who don't like sweet potatoes, even when coated with cinnamon, chili, garlic and roasted to perfection)
Brown rice/parmesan cheese casserole (courtesy of sil)

*"Two-tone" because the recipe calls for baking potatoes and sweet potatoes. I use just sweet potatoes.

for dessert:
Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry-Apple crisp
Melted-Center Hot Fudge Cakes

That's a lot of food for six people, but it's Thanksgiving and I can't help myself. I like everything on the menu (except the carrots, as yet, because haven't made those before), but everyone else has at least one thing they don't care for. No one likes pumpkin pie, except for me (and now Sophia), but I decided years ago that was no reason not to make it, because I love it. More leftovers for me! Yay. There are things not on our menu that other families always have. Stuffing. Gravy. Green bean casserole. Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows (Hasn't anyone tasted a plain sweet potato? Why on earth would you need to add any sugar?). Jellied cranberry sauce where you can see the ridges from the can. Food snob, that's me.

The recipes come from a variety of places -- the newspaper, various cookbooks, the Internet, TV shows. Every year I try a couple new things, usually a vegetable dish I hope the kids will like. Every year, the kids will at least taste some of the "favorites" on the menu and are gradually accepting things as they see them every year.

This afternoon I'll be making pie, prepping the chocolate cakes (after the ramekins I ordered arrive), making the brine for the turkey, so it'll be cool tomorrow morning. The cranberry conserve was taken care of yesterday, so that the flavors have time to meld.

Before the cooking starts, though, I'm off to my knitting group!