Ah, Thanksgiving! So long now you've been my favorite holiday, that soul-nourishing pleasure of bringing together friends for fellowship and foodstuffs, with all the celebratory spirit that rides shotgun when marked as a special occasion. It was a happy assemblage of eight in the more formal setting of the dining room, although our standard procedure here still requires folks to fill their own plates as they desire from the buffet-style set-up on the long counter in the kitchen.
My menu does not really change with each making of this much-loved feast. The size of the group will typically determine whether this is the year for a whole turkey, or if I'll just go with a roasted herbed breast, as I did this year:
I think every year and every time, my slow cooker approach to sweet potato casserole always looks like the very same photo:
We do have to have stuffing to go with it, and after several years of rather enjoying David Venable's apple-bacon stuffing, I've come back home to a more traditional version as shared by anchor of Buies Creek and pillar of Memorial Baptist Church, Mary-Margaret McKnight:
While the turkey and stuffing themselves are perfectly tasty, I have at long last been convinced that some turkey gravy only makes it that much better:
The variation on tradition can be found in the layered green bean casserole, with slivered almonds for the crunch and cream of celery as the alternative to the standard mushroom soup...and the enticing inclusion of cheese and sour cream as well:
But wait: dinner rolls? Sure, as long as so many still remained from the previous evening's prime rib spread:
Since the habits of the household include prepping this meal at least two or three times a year, it almost seems like cheating that I can fall into an easy pattern of putting it together: it's not quite a science but I sure am glad if I can avoid disappointing all the dear friends who are willing to gather for it.
"Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast," Betty Crocker: Holiday Entrées, Sides, Brunches, & More, November 2001, p. 22-23.
"Layered Green Bean Casserole," a Jones Family favorite.
Adapted from "Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping," from Southern Living Slow-Cooker Cookbook, (Oxmoor House, 2006), p. 234-235.
"Mary Margaret's Dressing," from Mary Margaret McKnight of Buies Creek, NC. Recipe obtained November 2002.
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