Time to Put the Pope’s Nose to the Grindstone: Thanksgiving To Do List

It’s the official culinary countdown for Thanksgiving.  The house is kind of, sort of organized and clean.  I have a good idea of who is coming when.  We have plans for an early dinner out with the first set of family arriving at Puritan and Co. today.  We have plans to take out Bon Me sandwiches and Pizza for Wednesday evening.  We know who is coming in when, and where everyone is staying.  So, now I can focus on the lists.  The grocery list is one list.  The timeline is the other list (tonight’s post will be all about the timeline).

Menu:

• Cranberry Sauce
• Cider Gravy
• Mashed Potatoes
• Green Beans with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette and Parmesan Breadcrumbs
• Brussels Sprouts a recipe from Jody Adams’ or Rialto and Trade
• Roasted Potatoes (Dairy free – just the potatoes here not the lamb too!)
• Sweet Potatoes (from my friend Myndi’s Mee Maw – is that how you spell it?)
• Bourbon Glazed Carrots
• Fried Turkey with Duck fat, and truffle purée and cider gravy (Since my husband doesn’t eat dairy instead of truffle butter I take duck fat and add truffle purée to it and slide that under the skin.
• It turns out that my husband doesn’t really want the Herb and Onion Stuffing (Bon Appetit Nov. 2008) or
  Rustic Bread Stuffing with Dried Cranberries & Oyster Mushrooms
  (Fine Cooking Nov. 2008) this year.  So, I’m going to make a
• Cornbread and apricot stuffing (Heavily modifying this to include no dairy, no meat and to not be cooked in a chicken)

Sources

• Green Beans with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette & Parmesan Breadcrumbs
  (Fine Cooking Nov. 2008)
• Cranberry Sauce (Classic Canadian Cooking, Elizabeth Baird)
• Sugar & Spice Pumpkin Pie with Brandied Ginger Cream
  (Fine Cooking Nov. 2008)

At the last minute, sometimes you have to let part of the menu go and outsource the desserts. We’ve got one dairy free pie to bake but we’re going to buy one apple pie this year.  With Community Servings you can save the day with some fabulous pies made by so many wonderful volunteers around the city (I’ve been eyeing Rialto’s apple pies and South End Buttery’s pumpkin pies via Facebook).  The fun of Pie in the Sky with community servings is it is always a surprise, not which kind of pie (you choose that) but who made it.

Pick one up at the following cash-n-carry locations. Last minute cash, check and credit card purchases can be made in person at the following locations: