Thanksgiving

      Evidently I am writing this blog exclusively for my sister.  That is not to say that my other readers are not important and appreciated, simply that for the next few weeks per her request, this will be targeted to her.  She called me yesterday to inform me that I need to be posting Thanksgiving recipes now so that she can prepare for the big day.  This is actually fine because I am planning on doing a small Thanksgiving myself in my apartment, so this will be a good time to work on smaller simpler Thanksgiving recipes that can be done in my small apartment kitchen.  So for today a menu, then through the next few weeks I am going to write and test recipes so we can all be ready for the big day. 
      Last year we did a huge meal for about 35 people and there was a huge spread; Two turkeys (one roasted, one fried) a ham, blue-cheese walnut mashed potatoes, squash and sweet potato mash, green bean casserole, hush puppies, bacon braised brussel sprouts,  two kinds of stuffing, rolls and 4 kinds of pies.  I'm sure I forgot something, but you get the picture.
      So simple, right? We need a turkey, it's not thanksgiving without a turkey.  Actually been thinking about this for a few weeks now and a whole turkey is a lot of food, but I don't just want to buy one of those breasts because I'm a dark meat kind of girl.  So what if I get a whole turkey and split it down the middle and just roast a half turkey (plus this will leave us with a back bone to make an awesome stock for the stuffing!) the rest can live in the freezer until Christmas (or I get annoyed with not having enough leftovers). 
      Stuffing is a must- usually do mine with the rustic artisan bread diced and toasted, sage, sausage, carrots, celery and carrots.  Also important are the desserts, nice fall desserts, usually involving some pumpkin and fruits like apple or pear.   Now the rest falls into color schemes for me (because I like colors on the table):  Need something green, something orange, white and red.  So here's what it's going to look like in the end:

Roasted Half Turkey 

 Orange Cranberry Sauce

Turkey Gravy

Rustic Sausage Stuffing

 Bacon Braised Brussel Sprouts

White Cheddar and Herb Grits

Maple Bacon Roasted Butternut Squash

 Apple Fennel Salad with Spiced candied Pecans

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pear Ginger Tart

      My plan is to come back here and link to this page as I finish the recipes so it's all in one easy to access place. 

Excited to finally be done with all the recipes.  I have actually cooked all of these things this week, and with no dedicated cooking day.  Most days I cooked before or after work.  I am sure that you will be able to accomplish everything necessary to make your Thanksgiving a wonderful day!