This year won't be the first time I've missed Thanksgiving with my family. During my LA years, it wasn't worth it to pay the exorbitant airfares to come home so close to coming home for Christmas. I always found something to do whether it was talking my way into an invite to a well-to-do friend's catered Thanksgiving with her family or snagging an invite to enjoy a Thanksgiving buffet at the Four Seasons with another friend. I suppose there are enough glamorous ways to get your hands on some turkey in LA to keep a gal occupied.
In more recent years, I've used the days off from work to go on a vacation, so a couple years back instead of chowing down on stuffing and mashed potatoes with the fam, I was slurping pho in Vietnam with a girlfriend.
This year, I'm off to the UK for Thanksgiving for and old friend's wedding. I'm thrilled to be going back to London, one of my favorite places on earth, but I'm a bit sad to miss out on all the great food and the opportunity to spend a day in the kitchen with my mother and sister. Now that I can cook, there's something special about sharing that time with them. That's why I've convinced my mom that it's worthwhile to cook an early Thanksgiving style meal for me, which we'll do the weekend before the holiday. How great is my mom? She's going to make turkey twice in a week just to include me in the process!
So that leads to me to now, and I'm trying to sort through all of the Thanksgiving recipes out there to come up with a great menu. I haven't picked my favorites yet, but below is a collection of some of the most exciting recipes I've found for turkey, side dishes, dessert, and cocktails. I'll keep you posted on what menu we choose, but check these out for your own holiday fete!
Turkey
Turkey with tangerine glaze
Apricot glazed turkey with fresh herb gravy
Chile roasted turkey with chorizo-corn bread stuffingSide DishesCranberry glazed sweet potatoes
Potato mushroom pie
Celery salad with walnuts and pecorino
Green beans with cremini mushroom sauce
Cranberry clementine sauce
Maple glazed parsnips and carrots
Bacon biscuits with roasted apple butter
Cornbread and sausage stuffing
Spicy cornbread stuffing
Butternut squash with brown butter
Dessert
Pumpkin cheesecake with pecan praline topping
Pumpkin swirl brownies
Chocolate pecan pie
Chocolate pumpkin cheesecake bars
Pumpkin whoopie pie
Beverages
Hot Spiced Wine
Pomegranite punch
Hot apple pie
