Thanksgiving Sneak Peek & TWD

I don't think I have ever been so excited for Thanksgiving as I am this year. Jeff and I are busy packing up the Vanilla Bean kitchen and bringing it to the Lake of the Ozarks. After pouring over dozens of recipes during the last month, we finally came up with a menu. I wanted to keep things relatively simple...it is a vacation after all. The following won't keep us trapped in the kitchen all day:

Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey, brined in Williams Sonoma seasoning
Sausage Apple Dressing, adapted by Vanilla Bean from the Food Network
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Everday Food
Honey Glazed Carrots, Everday Food
Chocolate Pie, Kraft Foods
Thanksgiving Two-fer Pie, Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours

For leftovers, we will be making Turkey Croquettes, Martha Stewart, and Turkey and Cranberry Ravioli, Giada De Laurentiis. All recipes and photos will be posted when we return, so stay tuned!

Our first task is the brine. Thanks to the Pioneer Woman for her suggestion on the Apple and Spices Turkey Brine at Williams Sonoma. It smells awesome and includes apples, sea salt, juniper berries, star anise, garlic, bay leaf, lemon peel and other spices. Here it is....looking all delicious. We are brining it in a bag for about 36 hours.

Also, here is a peek at the Two-fer pie for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie. It was chosen by Vibi from La Casserole Carrée. You can find the recipe on her blog. I made a smaller version of the pie...about 7 inches. Basically, it is a combo of pumpkin and pecan pie. I don't think mine layered quite how it was supposed to. It looks awesome, though. I'll let you know how it tastes after tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!