Our Thanksgiving Menu and A Sneak Peek of the Kitchen

How is it Thanksgiving already?  This year has seriously gone by so fast I can hardly believe it.  I’ve got a tree in my family room and I’ve been shopping all week for our Thanksgiving menu, yet somehow I still can’t wrap my brain around the fact that we are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season.  Wow!  Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?  As crazy as it may sound, we are!  I have been scrambling this week to get the house finished for company.  The paper came off the floors yesterday and we are cookin’ good lookin’! 😉 While we are a missing a pot filler and a top for our range hood, everything else is in place.  I know there is still blue stuff on the appliances, but I hesitate to take it off until all the contractors are completely out of the kitchen!  I have learned the hard way not to trust that anyone will be careful with your stuff.  Here’s a sneak peek of the kitchen…

Yay!  I’m so excited to see it in a picture looking like an actual kitchen!

Ok, now on to the important stuff…the food that we will be cooking up in this kitchen today and tomorrow!  This is my first time cooking Thanksgiving in several years since we have traditionally been at my Grandma’s house.  It’s a bit bittersweet because we all knew that last Thanksgiving would be our last big gathering there with my grandpa.  He passed away in February and so this will be our first Thanksgiving in many years not gathering in AZ with my entire extended family.  It feels weird for sure, but I think everything about this year feels weird quite frankly…which almost kind of helps makes everything a bit easier. I’m excited to make all of our family favorites and traditional foods so that we can start these traditions back here in our home.  Of course we’re having turkey, and some killer mashed potatoes (I need to share the recipe here!), my cousins are bringing marshmallow covered yams and green bean casserole, and I am making the most important part of the meal…I mean, besides the turkey of course. 😉

ORANGE ROLLS!

You guys, if you haven’t tried this recipe yet, PLEASE do it!  They are seriously life changing.  I’ve tried a lot of orange rolls in my life and NONE are like these.  They are amazing and everyone I know begs for this recipe.  I think I need to make a test batch today since I am working with way more complicated cooking equipment now AND a high altitude component.  Darn, I guess that means twice as many to eat! 😉

Stuffing is also on the menu.  I am making a version of this recipe it is always a hit.  Instead of the meat and Parmesan I add apples and dried cranberries.  I like a little bit of the sweet mixed in with the savory.

I’m also whipping up a couple of my favorite dutch apple pies today as well as two pumpkin pies.  That’s probably a bit excessive for 11 people, but what good is Thanksgiving without leftovers?  We will be eating pie and watching football for days!  The crumb topping on these apple pies is what makes them my favorite!

Finally, I will be working on my cranberry sauce which is one of my favorite creations ever.  It is sweet and tart and is making my mouth water right now just thinking about it!  The secret is the pineapple and orange added to the mix.  Slather this on turkey sandwiches and you will not be disappointed!  People eat this out of the fridge by the bowl full.  Not kidding!

There’s still time to add these recipes to your Thanksgiving menu!  Definitely the orange rolls! 😉

What’s usually on your Thanksgiving day menu?  I would love to know about your family’s traditions and find some new recipes to add to our table in the years to come.  Let me know your favorites in the comments! 🙂

Have a WONDERFUL day celebrating with your friends and family.

Tammy