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I have lots of favorite memories, with both sides of my family and all, but my favorite year was the one recently when I ordered a pre-fab turkey meal (I do add homemade sides, I can't fight with a turkey), we won a turkey in some contest and my mom's cousin smoked one for us. Yum! I'm a carnivore and it was good!

My father bought a smoker when I was in high school. He smoked everything on it: potatoes, chicken, sausage and the like.

Nothing was that great. I was out of town for a couple of weeks, and my family invited my boyfriend over for dinner. I'm not entirely sure why, but nonetheless he accepted. That night, smoked potatoes were on the menu. They developed a rubber-like quality such that when my boyfriend attempted to spear one it shot across the table like a bouncy ball. We are no longer together.

Despite this smoker set-back, come Thanksgiving, my father decided to smoke the turkey. We set the smoker to a low temperature and put a thermometer in the bird itself. Lo and behold one hour later, the turkey read 180 degrees. (Note: I will not allow my bird to be cooked to this temperature now, but I have since gained greater authority in the kitchen.) The skin was nicely darkened. It didn't appear to be burned or overcooked, so we allowed it to rest whilst cooking the rest of the meal.

It was only when cutting into the turkey that the issue appeared. It was like the Griswald family turkey, complete with tufts of smoke. My father went back out to the smoker, befuddled that the bird could be "done" so quickly. He noticed that the temperature was at over 500 degrees. Apparently, he had neglected to open the valve at the top to allow smoke and heat to escape. We quite literally "flash smoked" a turkey.

Please, don't try this at home. It only ends in heartache.

I have made my great grandmother's carrot and zucchini o-shaped loaf for my in-laws for the past three years. I surround the loaf with and put in the middle tons of roasted broccoli - definitely a crowd pleaser, as it goes fantastic with the turkey and mashed potatoes and all the other classic sides!

Mashed potatos and gravy, just not Thanksgiving without this side.

I love sweet potatoes!

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sweet potatoes

My favorite side is homemade stuffing. Yummy!!

Stuffing, stuffing, stuffing. Love stuffing. Unless you count pie as a side.

Stuffing

My favorite side is green bean casserole... geez will my boyfriends family have this? Eeek!

the gravy, we make ours with lots of giblets and sliced hard boiled eggs