Menu-ish Monday

Ahh Thanksgiving. A notorious week of non-cooking, leading up to the "big day". I'm too busy spending my time making and prepping dishes for Thursday. Instead we eat out and eat light.
So in lieu of a weekly menu, I thought I'd share what our Thanksgiving menu is going to look like this year.

Appetizer
You never want something too heavy or filling for an appetizer on this day. Usually a variety of cheeses to nibble fits the bill. However, this year I'm making an artichoke dip, because it's just too good.
For a pre-dinner drink we'll be having these bad boys.

Turkey
The crowning glory of any meat-eaters Thanksgiving meal. I've been doing the same recipe for 5 years now and it never tires. You know what they say: "If it ain't broke...". On top of that, the boys are doing their fried turkey, supervised.

Potatoes
Favorite dish of all time. It's chock full of sour cream, cream cheese then baked with cheddar cheese on top. Don't have a recipe for it since it's been passed down, but if you add all those into your already mashed potatoes, you won't go wrong.

Yams
Another yearly tradition is the Waller family's sweet yam recipe. However, if you're looking for something more savory with a bit of sweet, try this one out.

Cranberry Sauce
I've always been one of those cranberry-sauce-haters until I made this spicy number. Delish.

Stuffing
I'm not a bird-stuffer. And in fact, I've yet to find a bread stuffing I'm crazy about. I've tried them all. So this year I'm all about the wild rice, and it's gluten free!

Veggie
Oh what to do. Every year nothing really seems to fit in this category that suits well with the carb and cheese overload above. I refuse green bean casserole. But I found myself buying green beans. So instead, I think I'll make this and substitute the dried cherries for pomegranate seeds.

Bread
I usually make cornbread. These have some cornmeal in them. And look so wonderful. And comes from a great cookbook I recommend getting.

Serving all this with a few American varieties of Shiraz and Zinfindel...and some Waller brews too. (Rich just finished making Rogue's Dead Guy Ale.)

Dessert
I'll let the recipes speak for themselves:
Choco-Honey Crunch Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Banana Meringue Pie
A classic family recipe Cheesecake
Bailey's and Coffee

Leftovers
This is Rich's baby. And I look forward to it every year.

Here's a quick look at our Thanksgivings, since my first in 2004. Looking forward to another full table(s) this year!!
(Not quite sure why there's no photos of 2007, too busy eating to take pictures I assume.)