Time Flies

Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away. Let me repeat that: Thanksgiving is just over two weeks away. Yikes. Ever since Mr. Beagle and I moved far away from family, we’ve been hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for other California transplants. We’ve cooked turkey for as few as eight people and as many as 24 (which involved renting tables and rearranging our entire apartment and is not anything I’m eager to repeat, but was actually quite fun).

This year I’m not sure how many people are coming- the Evites haven’t even gone out yet, but I’m not too worried. Mr. Beagle and I have developed a pretty good system of preparing most everything ahead of time. You will notice my use of “most” in the preceding sentence. Mashed potatoes. They defy the advanced-preparation method. I’m stymied by the potatoes. And I have two weeks to figure them out.

Tentative Thanksgiving Menu:

Deconstructed Turkey with Corn Bread Stuffing (from Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home - a really fantastic recipe, it solves the dried out bird problem and it looks amazing)

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes? Potato Gratin? Another ingenious way of preparing potatoes ahead of time?

Green Bean Casserole (yes, the kind made with mushroom soup and onions from a can- sophisticated, no, delish, yes)

Brussels Sprouts with Panchetta (super delish- even if you think you hate Brussels Sprouts)

And for dessert:
Mr. Beagle’s pies, most likely apple, pumpkin, and an as yet undetermined third pie.

The menu will surely be tweaked repeatedly over the next two (eek) weeks.