Turkey with Some Tears

This was our first Thanksgiving in our new place. The last holiday, Easter, was the weekend we moved in, so we didn't have quite enough time to get ready to entertain. When we decided to host the dinner, we made a guest list. When we counted, we had invited over 30 people. Now, we know that's a lot but we also knew that some friends were going out of town and others had prior engagements.

I found a great menu in the October issue of Canadian Living. It was called Turkey Without the Tears. Perfect, the by-line was 'Want a no-stress Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings? Here are time-tested restaurant strategies that save time - and sanity'. The menu was for 10 people, and I thought we were going to end up with 12 or 14, so it would be perfect. Turkey, stuffing, carrots, brussel sprouts & green beans, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie. It was great!

So I did what I always do when I'm planning a party. I make a plan, a grocery list and I get to work. We sent out the invitation using a very cheesy pic of a trip to a pumpkin patch last fall.

As we were planning everything, making list after list, the RSVP's started to roll in. And roll in they did. With the numbers rising every day the panic started to set in. What if we didn't have enough food? Where was everyone going to sit? I'd already ordered the turkey, and what if we didn't have enough dessert? And so came the turkey tears - an unprecedented pre-party meltdown. Brent listened, offered suggestions and tried to calm me down. I was excited about celebrating with all of our friends but I started wondering if I was making a big mistake.

So we made a few adjustments. As well as the turkey, we grabbed a turkey breast to cook before putting the large bird in the oven. We decided to double the mashed potatoes and carrots, and I decided to make a second dessert. And when people started asking if they could bring anything, we stopped politely declining. So we had a couple of salads, candied yams and lots of wine!

Wednesday we went grocery shopping and made the cranberry sauce. Thursday I made the carrot cake and gluten free pie dough. Friday we picked up the turkey, brined it, made the potatoes, blanched the brussel sprouts and green beans, cleaned and cut the carrots, prepped the stuffing, made the pumpkin pie, iced and decorated the carrot cake, made the whipped cream, cleaned and set-up the living room and bar. By the time we went to bed we'd gone through a bottle of wine and it was 2am! When I got home from my sewing class Saturday morning, Brent had cleaned the bathrooms and all we really had left to do was put the turkey in and let it cook.

After all was said and done there were about 20 people here, and we had enough food and wine for everyone. Not a lot of leftovers, but it was a great night with a fantastic crew of friends and family. The menu from Canadian Living was great, and there are definitely some dishes I would make again! While there were a few tears during the planning process, it was well worth it.