I'm guessing that a fair number of you friends are either on the road to family or busy getting Thanksgiving preparations underway. I'm busy getting things done to host Thanksgiving at our house.
Last week I made up a list of work to be done with a calendar for when to do each task, beginning with tasks for Saturday. On Saturday I finalized the menu, went grocery shopping for everything we'd need, and made sure everyone knew how they would participate in the preparations.
Sunday was a day of rest.
Today, Monday, I finalized the menu again in the morning, then went shopping for the other items we'd need for our meal. Both daughters were home in the afternoon, so we made a lot of progress on our work list. We got the guest bathroom cleaned, all of the downstairs vacuumed, the dining room table set, the Christmas tree out and set up (we decorate after Thanksgiving dinner), the trunks of ornaments brought downstairs, the meat out of the freezer, a loaf of French bread baked for the stuffing, and a batch of no-milk condensed cream of mushroom soup made for a casserole. Oh, and I finalized the menu again later in the day. I also made beef stew for dinner and a batch of coconut-almond bar cookies so I could lick the bowl as my appetizer for lunch.
So far, this is the "final" menu
Roast chicken with tangerine-sage glaze
Smoked pork roast
Bread, sage, onion, celery, and sausage dressing/stuffing
Mashed root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, turnips, browned onion and garlic)
Green bean casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Carrot, celery, olive tray
Garden greens (kale, radish greens) and dried plum salad in sweet and tangy dressing
Gravy
Cranberry relish
Pumpkin Pie
Cherry Pie
Whipped Cream
Sparkling cider and sparkling water
It sounds like a lot, I know. I do like to send our guests home with leftovers. And I like to have variety. We have folks with very different dietary preferences, and I aim to please if I can.
Tomorrow is another day of preparations. I'll be up early getting work underway. Wishing you well as you travel or prepare for your holiday.
