Thanksgiving Menu 2014

Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK.  Cue panic.

I'm not going to panic.  I have a plan.

 Here is the menu:

Spatchcocked Turkey (that we'll brine the night before, using bourbon, orange peel, peppercorns, kosher salt, sugar, and bay leaf)
Dressing (I'm going to make in the crock pot to save oven space)
Homemade gravy
Rolls brushed with butter and fresh chopped herbs
Orange Cranberry Sauce
Green Bean Casserole (a must for The Girl)
Mashed Sweet Potatoes seasoned with brown sugar and maple bacon (a must for ME)
Corn Casserole (a must for Scout)
Watergate Salad (a must for Bubbie)
Pecan Pie 
The best Pumpkin Pie ever
Wine, sodas, beer, tea, hot cocoa
and this to snack on before dinner. 

And here is the plan:

(It's gonna take a village of helpers.  I has that.)

Saturday - put the frozen bird in the fridge
Sunday - pick up "filler" groceries - regular groceries and things we may have forgotten, clean the house, make cranberry sauce if I haven't already, change people's sheets, set up the spare bedroom, and do laundry!
Monday -  Set the table, except for plates and utensils.  Make and store Crispix Mix. Make and store brine. Chop the onion and celery for the dressing.  Thaw and dry out the crumbled cornbread.
Tuesday - Bake, peel, mash, store sweet potatoes. Cook, then store bacon. Set out serving dishes with: packaged ingredients that don't require fridge, and their recipe cards.  Assemble stuffing and put in fridge. Get the crock pot out. 
Wednesday - Bake pies and store. Put the mixer up and make a space on the counter for drinks.
Prepare Watergate Salad and store in fridge.  PM: Ice the sodas and beer, chill the wine.  Set thawed turkey in brine - we will use a small cooler for this and put in the garage away from critters! Assemble THIS for breakfast, except for the topping, before I go to bed.
Thursday - Set rolls out to rise, bake breakfast, Take Turkey Trotters downtown and greet them with hot chocolate when they are done. Cook bird, then let it rest and cook sides while I make gravy and read the paper and eat snacks and drink wine.  Take a few pics for the Christmas card.  Listen to music and enjoy the firepit and play card games on the patio....

On Friday we will have BBQ from Elgin with maybe a big dish of Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes (yum) and Saturday will be soup from the bird carcass.  Sunday will be...who knows?

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Sidenote:  I was supposed to work this Thanksgiving - but my knee surgery put me out of commission for longer than I anticipated.  I would have loved the extra moola, but I am thankful to be healthy and at home with my peeps. Now, gotta get going!