Turkey for me, turkey for you

Um, Thanksgiving is next week? Right. I'm hosting and I haven't done a single thing in preparation either. Got to get on the ball, there are lots of corners of my house to be vacuumed...

Last year I made a huge production out of it, there were nice tablecloths and folding tables and I brined a turkey and made cornbread dressing for the first time and I got flowers and it looked like this and then...

only my mom and my mother-in-law came. Really. This year I got very sincere promises of more people but I still think my turkey brining days are over (do you know how much room a 15 lb. turkey in liquid takes up in your refrigerator?) I have tons of cookbooks and magazines but I think I'm going to take it easy this time around. So far my plan is as follows:

Turkey
Cornbread dressing
(my grandmother's recipe with a few changes)
Green Bean Casserole
(my mom's making this, family tradition, I know it has a can of cream of mushroom soup in it)
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary
(see post from Monday)
Macaroni and Three Cheeses
Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Baby greens with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Thanksgiving Twofer Pie
(it's pumpkin/pecan pie and next week's TWD selection)
No Bake Chocolate & Cream Cheese Pie
(I've been making this for years and it never fails to impress)
Rolls

My mom's making a cheese ball (another family tradition) and we'll nibble on that and some vegetable crudites until the main event. My husband says I turn into a monster when I'm planning an event. He's kind of right but being the devoted husband he is he still sticks around to help me not lose my mind. I'm hoping to keep the monster to a minimum this year.

I am driving up to Nashville on Sunday to shop at the Farmer's Market there and the recently opened Trader Joe's (thanks Melissa for the heads up!) and possibly stalk some bakeries. I'm hoping to be done with all the shopping by Monday and then prep the other days. Or run around like a maniac, either way.