What's not to love? Food, family and friends. And lots of them.
Over the last 16 years that I have been hosting Thanksgiving we've had anywhere from 4 to 40 people sitting at out table and sharing our food. To me, that is the whole point of the holiday, sharing a day and food with your your favorite people. Being surrounded by everything and everyone that you love, throughout a long and lazy day. To that end we have always had a open door, open table policy.
Thanksgiving is not just my favorite holiday, in my mind, it's the holiday. I want my kids to remember Thanksgiving at home, to return to Thanksgiving bringing with them their friends and their families time after time, and most importantly to salivate over the tastes throughout the year.
I'm all about creating food memories for my children, tying favorite foods and tastes to certain experiences. Enriching those experiences by fostering a love and appreciation of food.
Thanksgiving is no different. I go back to the same flavors and dishes year after year that my grandmother cooked for our family Thanksgivings. The flavors and dishes that I associate with Thanksgiving. The ones that I salivate over throughout the year. My overall menu never changes, as each dish is conceived to compliment its counterparts, with the same basic dishes being the starting point for each year's feast. What does change, is the number of additional sides I will add each year depending on our number of guests. All these additional dishes continue to enhance the overall meal profile, yet are not missed if one is not hosting quite so large a gathering. Conversely, these "extra" dishes will also compliment any Thanksgiving meal, and will be well received anywhere you might choose to bring them.
Thanksgiving Menu
Breakfast
Appetizers
Pickles, olives, toasted French rounds
Main
Compound Herb Butter
Turkey Stock
Turkey
Pan Gravy
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Company Carrots
Potato Rolls
Orange-Cranberry Sauce
Extras
Wild Rice Winter Salad
Corn Salad
Creamed Peas
Roasted Veggie Panzanilla Salad
Dessert
Chocolate Cream Pie
Apricot and Cran-Rasp Hamentaschen Cookies
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