We just had our first Thanksgiving dinner here at our new house in South Carolina. My husband Mark's family from Florida came up to spend it with us. When we lived in Ohio both my parents and his parents would come over Christmas Eve for dinner and presents. It was a great tradition that we started after our first son was born 5 years ago. This year though, things will be much different. My husband took a new job in Florence, South Carolina as the Executive Chef. Our move went smooth but our family from Ohio was not able to come down for Thanksgiving but thankfully our family from Florida was able to.
First things first we needed to come up with a good menu. Of course Turkey was going to be the main entree but what sides do we want with it? Here is what we came up with....
For Dinner:
*Turkey
*Stuffing
*Sweet Potato Casserole
*Twice Baked Potatoes (since Mark and I don't care for sweet potatoes)
*Caramel Glazed Carrots
*Turkey Dumplings
*Rolls
Appetizer:
*Bacon Wrapped Smokies
*Banana Bread
--Dessert (always the best part)
*I decided to try something new. A from scratch lattice apple pie and a from scratch pumpkin pie.
Specialty Drink:
*From scratch apple cider.
Even though my husband is a Chef I hate relying on him for recipes. I enjoy looking for new things to make. When I found the recipe for my apple pie I almost stroked just looking at the fabulous mouth watering picture. It was decided in that moment that I would be making this for Thanksgiving. Naturally in most instances people would try out a recipe before serving it for a large gathering. I didn't have enough time to do so since we've been unpacking for the past few weeks.
My apple pie turned out...OUTSTANDING...to say the least. This pie was gone!!
I cut up 8 granny smith apples. I didn't have an apple corer so I just cut the apples in half with a large chef knife and manually cored them with a paring knife. Cutting up the apples was the longest part to this recipe. It was so easy to make. When Mark got home and saw my creation he told me that it couldn't have been much more perfect. He might just hire me after all.
Instead of throwing out the apple peels and cores put them to the side to make some apple cider. Throw them all in a stock pot of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling add some cinnamon, white granulated sugar and brown sugar. Let continue to boil for about 30 minutes. Taste your juice. If needed add some more cinnamon and sugar. Let go another 30 minutes. This typically takes quite a bit of cinnamon and sugar.
My pumpkin wasn't as much of a hit as the apple lol. It had the texture of a whipped yogurt...YUCK! That's okay though. We'll try again next time. My Banana bread and bacon wrapped smokies though were a huge hit. I actually made two extra loafs for breakfast the last day our family was in town. Both recipes are below!
Try out these recipes and let me know how they turn out!!
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