Thanksgiving Extravaganza

This Thanksgiving my sister and I decided we did not want to do the same old food that we have done every year for Thanksgiving. By this I mean we did not want to use the same recipes that were passed down to us from my dear Grandma Dee. Though the food does evoke a feeling of nostalgia and therefore is tasty in its own way, it really does not tantalize the palate like I would like. However, we have 3 men in our family who would not appreciate a drastic change (these things must be done slowly you see) So we searched every gourmet website and cookbook we had to find recipes that were traditional but not boxed, canned, and full of lard. 

The outcome... success! The men loved it and we felt better about the food we put on the table. The menu consisted of citrus and herb brined Turkey, roasted sweet potatoes with a light streusel topping, apple and chicken sausage cornbread stuffing, caramelized leek mashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, broccolini and an amazing cranberry and tart cherry sauce courtesy of my sister. Tradition still being important to us, we finished off with my mom's amazing pecan and pumpkin pies.  Why do I tell you all of this you ask? I dunno...I guess because I am proud of all of the hard work as I am sure many other cooks are feeling pride in a hard days work right now as well.  Anyways, Thanks for listening (or reading) and enjoy what you really checked this site for..... pictures of Elinor :)