Thanksgiving Prep, are you up for it?

So Thanksgiving is around the corner and preparations have begun!

I love hosting dinners at my house besides the fact that I can't talk, I am painfully shy and cooped up in a house with a 16 month old doesn't give me much practice, but someday I will write a book. The book will be very short because I still will not get the timing down so the veggies will be cold and the meat under cooked and then I will always battle myself on trying to add one more unnecessary yet potentially tasty dish to the menu.

Enough said, I am trying it out again, THANKSGIVING 2010 !

Christopher took a great nap the other day, which had me locked up with the dogs in the computer room for three hours so needless to say, I have my Thanksgiving menu planned, shopping list started, timeline written, recipes researched, and saved all in my Thanksgiving file on the desktop. I am usually not crazy, I am just going to go ahead and blame this one on my mom and sisters who are crazy list makers, or planning events months in advance (Karen).

I am keeping the menu traditional, because I am not big on change and I don't want to throw anyone for a loop. Besides the best parts about Thanksgiving dinner are: #1 Rolls; #2 Potatoes; #3 Dessert; and #4 Stuffing.

I have the Turkey purchased today so it can properly defrost in the fridge so I don't accidentally give anyone food poisoning. I also spent the other morning up to my eyeballs in pie dough making and freezing 6 crusts for the big day. Now six pies are probably even more then I could eat but in my recipe hunt I read about a lady that always made extra dough for chicken (Turkey) pot pie in order to use up the left overs, geniu-u-u-s-s-s!

So here is the Menu:

(We will have to compare and see what actually happens on the big day)

Appetizer

Hot spinach artichoke dip (Houston's Recipe)

Lime Punch (Paula Deen)

Dinner

Turkey (Alton Browns brine recipe from 2009)

Rolls and jam (Recipe undecided)

Potatoes and gravy (Martha Stewart's moms recipe)

Sweet potatoes (these always scare me but a friend promises her recipe will make me wantingmore, so she gets to make it)

Southern Mac-n-cheese (for the kiddos, a friend is making this one)

Cranberry sauce (the jellied kind from a can, call it nasty but it is oh so good)

Stuffing (Not from a box folks, I purchased the bread today so we will see what comes of it)

Corn

Glazed carrots

Green bean bacon bundles (Paula Deen)

Dessert

Pumpkin Chiffon pie (Grandma Paul's recipe)

Pecan pie (I going with moms recipe this year, pat yourself on the back mom, it's ok)

Apple pie w/ ice cream (America's Test Kitchen, don't fail me now)

Mile high lemon meringue pie (Cooks country)

Whew, and that is it folks! I am not making everything, I have some very helpful friends but I am up for the challenge.

I am off, wish me luck!

*This is soo not interesting to anyone but maybe my great-great-grandkids will want to know where the Pumpkin Chiffon pie they eat comes from...