Thanksgiving Dinner Plans

Since it's already Monday, we're at the point of having to make a commitment regarding the Thanksgiving menu. The mains are sacrosanct, absolutely unchangeable. There will be a fine turkey, with gravy and a dressing made with rustic white bread, a bit of onion and mushrooms, and lots of Bell's Seasoning, a natural herb blend that has been made in Massachusetts since the beginning of time (actually, since 1867). I used to depend on the kindness of relatives in New England to mail it to me, but now you can buy it off the shelves of the Pearl Street Whole Foods. The organic potatoes from Vitamin Cottage will be mashed, to best pool that gravy on top of, and possibly dressed up a bit with some organic chives from the Sunflower sale. The cranberry sauce will be homemade, again from the organic sale at Sunflower (there's nothing quicker and more fun than popping those cranberries in a pan).

Those are the traditional dishes at the center of the meal, and for the sides, I do like to play around. I've been lightening them up as years go by, and this year, since we have yams just about every week anyway, I'm going radical and skipping the yams entirely, opting for lighter veggies instead. One side will be a roasted beet salad recipe from a friend, served on endive with some toasted pecans. We'll also do a Swiss chard gratin from Whole Foods (it dresses up a favorite veggie with a light white sauce and a bit of Comte, one of my favorite cheeses). The third side is the one I'm still waffling about, kale and Brussels sprout salad from the current issue of Bon Appetit. With raw kale and Brussels sprouts, it might be just a bit too healthy, even for me. Maybe we'll just steam some Brussels sprouts instead. Dessert's not a big item in our house, but there might just have to be some pumpkin pie available, too.