Thanksgiving is just the best. I love the food, I love the excuse to spend the day cooking and drinking with family and friends. I’m headed home this year and once again planning/cooking the meal (how is it November already?). I tend to lean towards nontraditional dishes but Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where everyone has their favorites and you kind of have to do the classics. So I try to choose recipes that twist the traditional recipe just a bit. Here are some of my ideas for this year:

Cranberry margarita. Because why not have tequila on Thanksgiving? It’s festive.

So turkeys are a very personal thing. I brine our turkey overnight since we get a heritage turkey from Rudd Farms and they tend to be a bit on the dry side. I always love how it turns out. This is Sam Sifton’s brine recipe. 
Cornbread, sausage, and pecan stuffing. Enough said. 
Potato and celery root mash. Yummmm. I love the addition of celery root. 
Brussels sprout hash with caramelized shallot. Add some pancetta and my mom will be all over this.
Carrots and greens with dilly bean vinaigrette. I always want a salad and then no one eats it. But this looks interesting and substantial enough to make it more of a side. A refreshing and healthy side. 
Sweet potatoes with bourbon and maple syrup. I made this last year but I loved it so much I might do it again. There’s another sweet potato recipe in the running that my family has come to love. We’ll see which one wins. 
Cranberry orange relish with mint. My mom actually makes the cranberry sauce with orange in it but I love that this recipe adds mint. 
Pumpkin spoon bread. Imagine this with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream! Might not be the best looking but that sounds absolutely delicious. 
Greek yogurt cheesecake with pomegranate syrup. I love that this is a bit different for Thanksgiving but still feels like fall with the pomegranate syrup. And the Greek yogurt makes it a little more refreshing than traditional cheesecake.
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