Thanksgiving Recap

I was SO excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving in Connecticut this year. (The one downside was A wasn't able to come with me since he had to work.) It's been five years since I've been able to celebrate my favorite holiday in America and we had all of the classics on the menu which included:

Herb roasted turkey with gravy (17 pounds, dry-brined the day before with 3 tablespoons of salt)
Boneless ham with pineapple
Mom's sage & sausage stuffing
Classic mashed potatoes
Roasted butternut squash
Sweet potato casserole (first time I had it with marshamallows!)
Green bean casserole (the French's recipe, but we used fresh green beans and added fresh baby bella mushrooms)
Sauteed brussels sprouts
Buttered corn kernels
Cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray jellied is my childhood favorite)

We snacked on a few appetizers while we cooked which included:
Shrimp cocktail
Cheese with vegetable crackers
Clam dip (canned clams with softened cream cheese, sour cream, onion, scallions, parsley, salt and pepper - simple & so good!) with Cape Cod potato chips (another favorite)

For dessert there was a classic pumpkin pie plus a cranberry apple pie from Lyman's Orchards, which were of course served with whipped cream and ice cream.

I don't have any exact recipes since my sister and I kind of winged everything based on our past experiences and it all turned out great! I was definitely happy I bought a pair of maternity leggings the day before as they were super comfortable and stretched to fit my Thanksgiving dinner food baby :)

^^The 17 pound dry-brined turkey rubbed with butter and ready for the oven. A few leaves of sage and sprigs of rosemary and thyme were tucked underneath the skin too. On the bottom of the roasting pan are onions, celery, carrots and a few apples. 

^^Finished turkey with a few of the trimmings - brussels sprouts, ham, butternut squash, mashed potatoes and gravy.

^^Stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce

^^I love this picture of my sister's boyfriend John with their dog Ginger. I thought she was going to pounce on the turkey! She had her own special dog food meal of Turducken afterwards though so she didn't miss out on Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!