Our 2022 Thanksgiving Menu – Brown Eyed Baker

This extensive listing of every little thing we’re scheduling to provide for Thanksgiving meal covers the gamut, from cocktails and appetizers to how we’re getting ready and cooking the turkey, veggies, side dishes and, of program, dessert! If you’re nonetheless having difficulties with your Thanksgiving menu, I hope you are going to locate some inspiration underneath.

Thanksgiving is Upcoming Week!

I have normally completely adored the Thanksgiving holiday getaway and am elated when it rolls all around every single calendar year.

While scheduling a massive meal can be complicated, I preserve a spreadsheet with tabs for unique decades to keep track of how a lot of people today we host, what we take in, how significantly, if folks liked it, how substantially was leftover, and notes for what to transform for the subsequent calendar year. Sure, I am thoroughly THAT Particular person, but it is a LIFESAVER when it comes to scheduling the meal!

And now, devoid of more ado, is our menu for this year…

This calendar year we are getting 13 older people, in addition to our 3 kids and my cousin’s one particular-12 months-old, and this is what we’ll be feasting on…

Cocktails

• We often have an assortment of water, soft beverages, beer, and wine on hand.
• A amount of a long time in the past, I created this cranberry cider punch and absolutely everyone Beloved it. It’s a non-alcoholic consume, but some visitors selected to spike it with their liquor of alternative 😉

Appetizers

I like to retain pre-meal applications and treats quite light-weight considering that Thanksgiving is these kinds of a large and major food. This year I am undertaking an assortment of 3 distinctive appetizers:

The Turkey!

I have brined a turkey for the very last 10 yrs, and plan to do so yet again this year. Up until five many years back, I experienced done regular saltwater brines with sugar and aromatics, but 3 several years back, soon after observing a recipe in the Wall Street Journal, I experimented with dry brining. It was less complicated and manufactured an very juicy turkey, so it’s turn out to be my go-to system ever considering that. [Please note that the recipe link above appears to be behind a paywall, but if you Google “dry brine turkey recipe” you’ll find tons of similar recipes!]

We very first deep-fried a turkey at least 10 years back, and I really don’t imagine we’ll at any time appear back. Every person agreed that it was the best turkey, ever. We have the Butterball XL Indoor Turkey Fryer, which retains up to a 20-pound turkey (although we fried a 22-pound turkey a couple of many years devoid of any issues). The indoor fryer is safe, effortless to use, and the turkey cooks very quickly. We adore it!

(You can examine how we do it here –> How to Deep-Fry a Turkey)

Together with the turkey arrive its duo of accompaniments:

• Clean Cranberry Sauce – I love this chutney/relish-design cranberry sauce and have been producing it for yrs. I also incorporate in a can of jellied cranberry sauce for individuals that want the nostalgia -)
• Make-In advance Gravy – This is my go-to gravy considering the fact that we deep fry the turkey, there are no pan drippings to make traditional gravy.

Facet Dishes

I like to have a selection of facet dishes, encompassing all of the necessary categories that men and women be expecting to see – stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, and so forth. The quantity you pick to serve absolutely relies upon on the number of individuals you are having!

• Stuffing: This year I am heading to do my husband’s favourite sausage and apple stuffing, and my aunt will also carry a common stuffing, also!
• Great Mashed Potatoes – I normally triple or quadruple batch this so there is adequate for meal furthermore excess to mail dwelling with the leftover turkey.
• My cousin is bringing a sweet potato dish this yr in the earlier, I’ve served up sweet potato gratin and pineapple-bourbon sweet potato casserole for some thing unpredicted and diverse!
• Salad! I 1st made shaved Brussels sprouts salad with bacon and pecans a few several years ago and am bringing it again this year.
• Another vegetable dish. My sister is managing this a person, so it is TBD, but in the earlier, we’ve appreciated corn and mixed vegetable casserole, broccoli casserole, Brussels sprouts and bacon gratin, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, cranberries & pine nuts, and inexperienced bean casserole from scratch.
• Corn Casserole – Rather potentially everyone’s favourite Thanksgiving aspect dish!
• Evening meal Rolls – Some years I do them homemade, and some decades we get them from the bakery. I have not made a decision which route I’m using nevertheless this yr 🙂

(For much more side dish thoughts, examine out 27 Thanksgiving Facet Dishes That Are Far better Than the Turkey)

Dessert

(For extra dessert ideas, verify out 29 Thanksgiving Desserts Well worth Preserving Place For)

I’d enjoy to hear what you’re preparing to make for Thanksgiving this yr!

Are you web hosting? Are you bringing a dish someplace? Give me all of the yummy particulars!