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Given the fact that my family has moved back to RI from MI, and can't move into our new house 'til Friday (we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving on the weekend (boo hoo, sniff, sniff) so we're staying in a hotel suite.The only items on the door of the fridge here are Irish butter and some bottles of lemon Perrier.

the stock came out well...tommorow I'll get the brine going...wednesday we'll make cookies, chcolate cream and pumkin pie...planning in making cortin or creton for an app does anyone have a recipe

So far my family has baked a pie and corn bread, and decorated. And Mom has already done all of the food shopping, so the cooking is getting underway tonight!

http://mozzarellaandmerlot.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/pecan-pie/

I'm beyond excited to be hosting this year. I did all of my produce shopping today at a farmers market and I picked up my fresh local turkey yesterday, so everything is ready to go. My agenda follows:

Monday: Pie crust dough is made, formed into a disk, wrapped and chilled
Tuesday: AM - Turkey goes into the brine. PM - Turkey stock is made
Wednesday: AM - Turkey is removed from the brine, rinsed air chilled, Bread roll dough is made, formed and proofs in the fridge overnight, Mashed potatoes are completed, Squash is peeled and chopped, Beets are peeled and chopped, Cranberry sauce is made
PM - Pie crusts are rolled out, Pumpkin pie is made, Pecan pie is made, Maple Butternut Squash dish is completed, Creamed spinach is completed
Thursday: AM- Stuffing is assembled, Turkey is stuffed and goes into the oven, Cheese platter is assembled
1PM - Sweet potatoes are roasted, Beets are roasted, Gravy is made
2PM - Bread rolls are baked, Mashed potatoes are heated in the oven while the turkey rests. Brussels sprouts fry and Maple Butternut Squash and Creamed Spinach are heated on the stove.
3pm - Everything is transferred to their respective serving dishes, Dinner is served and we all have fun!

My roomates and I actually had a "Thanksgiving Pre-Game Dinner" in our appartment before we all go our separate ways for Thanksgiving day. We made most of it the day of the dinner, although some guests did chip in a few dishes.

Our menu:
apple cider glazed turkey with cider gravy
jalepeno cornbread stuffing
squash caserole
macaroni and cheese
green bean caserole
mashed potatoes
cranberry and carrot ginger salad
apple cranberry sauce
homemade yeast rolls

and for desert (all homemade):
pumpkin ice cream pie with candied pecans
apple pie with vanilla ice cream
pumpkin roulade

And we topped it off by watching Julie and Julia. Quite a foodie pregame.

CatBoy: AAIIEEEEE! impossibly beautiful picture of the kitty, all white belly fur.

PS.
@Katieelbie- I think it's nice that you bring what people tell you when you are a guest. I never learned to do that; I always tell them what I am bringing.

I think that maybe this is the right week for this to happen. It's like the team who loses the first game of the season, gets that fire in their bellies, then comes back and blows everyone away. With the holidays coming up, this small slip-up will give you that extra drive to stick to your guns and stay committed like you have for the previous 93 weeks. You've got the one crappy week out of the way, now you have six to show off your new lifestyle decisions!

Agree with RJ Foodie, the word diet is a 4 letter word to me, just brings up all sorts of bad associations including the word, bad...

Of all the foods, who can blame u for too many C3's........

Go play some squash, drink some water and reset your internal eating barometer....try on some of your old pants and keep Thinner around....

And have a happy T-day!!!!

My Thanksgiving is pot luck, so I'm actually cooking my own turkey and sides this weekend so I'll have plenty of leftovers and meals to put up.

The things I make in a leisurely way in advance are:
1) the squash, which takes up either a burner or the oven, (and which doesn't suffer at all from being made early). Nuke to reheat.
2)the rutabaga, which I boil or steam cubed and then reheat and mash when I want it ready,
3) the whole cranberry sauce.
4) Apple pie filling. For myself I don't actually bake a pie for Thanksgiving. I'd rather have a second helping of stuffing. But I make a casserole full of apple pie filing - sliced apples, white and brown sugar, minute tapioca, a little cinnamon. I like to add this to my frozen Thanksgiving meals too.
5) Sometimes I make bread in advance so I can cube and dry it for stuffing. Sometimes I buy bagged and supplement it with a good bread.

The just leaves the stuffing, the potatoes, the sweet potatoes and something green to cook while the turkey is in the oven, and this is quite manageable. I microwave the sweet potatoes in slices, which is how I usually cook them. I cook the giblets and neck for the broth, and saute onions and celery and get the stuffing ready to go in the oven near the end of the turkey time, or put it in the oven when the turkey comes out if I'm cooking a huge turkey. I make the gravy from the pan juices once the turkey comes out and is resting.

One tradition of our potlucks is a fresh fruit salad with a pineapple juice custard folded with whipped cream for a topping. Makes a nice bright counterpoint to the heavier starches.

@Pupster - There's something about biting into a cookie that makes it more enjoyable. Perhaps it's the knowledge there are more bites to come?

@Ed - 2 lbs isn't horrible. If presented with a choice between cookies or 2 less lbs, I'd choose cookies. You can always exercise a little more tomorrow.

@CatBoy- I want the bread pudding inside a pumpkin recipe!
@Katieelby- what's in a pumpkin martini????

I got a head start two weeks ago with making chicken stock.

Tonight the fun begins:
I have drafted my sister into helping me chop apples and other things for Cranberry Chutney, followed by regular cranberries.

After that, i'll make bread for breadcrumbs on and picking up the Turkey on Sunday. Then, because work is mercifully slow, i'm taking Wednesday off to prep my stuffing and get the turkey ready.

Thursday is stuffing the turkey, putting the bird in the ice chest, picking up my brother from the airport, and driving the hour and a half to my parents house. From there, it's into the oven, and gravy will be made after that.

My mom, on the other hand, will be spending the weekend making pie crusts and cleaning house (the worst part of all!).