Getting ready for Thanksgiving 2009

It’s just about time for my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving! My daughter thought I was going ***extreme geek*** last year when I wrote up our [notes from Thanksgiving 2008][tg2008notes], but a few weeks ago when we started planning for this year’s feast she admitted how useful those geeky notes are.

We’re holding steady at around 30 people, although some of them are only showing up for appetizers or dessert since they have other commitments for dinner itself. Some folks from last year aren’t coming this year, but we have some new people joining us! My cousin, Kevin, whom we haven’t seen for many years (decades?!?), will be bringing Robin to join us this year. The Benjamins, our friends from Caitlin’s gymnastics team, will be joining us for the first time, along with Emily (a friend of Caira’s).

Based on our experience last year, we’ve tweaked the menu a bit:

Appetizers

– Poppy seed rolls
– [Artichoke dip][]
– [Spinach dip][]
– Cream cheese and jalepeño jam
– Bread, crackers, etc.
– Stuffed jalapeños
– [Deviled eggs][]
– Olives (Nana)
– Stuffed celery
– Pickles

Dinner

– Roast turkey
– [Cornbread stuffing][stuffing]
– Mashed potatoes
– Gravy
– [Cider baked ham][]
– [Macaroni and cheese][mac-n-cheese]
– Cranberry sauce
– “Awesome strawberry stuff” (Nora)
– Cranberry relish (the Benjamins)
– Sweet potato casserole (the Benjamins)
– unspecified veggie dish (the Benjamins)
– Jellied cranberries (Nana)

Desserts

– Pumpkin pie
– [Pumpkin roll][]
– Apple-cranberry pie (Emily)
– Mincemeat pie (Nana)
– Apple pie (maybe)
– Whipped cream and ice cream

[tg2008notes]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20081129/tg-2008-recap/
[deviled eggs]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20051118/barbs-deviled-eggs/
[spinach dip]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20091124/spinach-dip/
[artichoke dip]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20091126/artichoke-dip/
[stuffing]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20081126/cornbread-stuffing/
[cider baked ham]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20081201/cider-baked-ham/
[mac-n-cheese]: http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/20081124/mac-n-cheese/
[pumpkin roll]: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Libbys-Pumpkin-Roll-with-Cream-Cheese-Filling/Detail.aspx