Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas

The festivity of thanksgiving is surely not possible to enjoy without the thanksgiving dinner. It is probably the most important tradition of thanksgiving. To prepare a good thanksgiving dinner, you need to get innovative and plan out the thanksgiving dinner menu based on the people attending the dinner. The appetizer, the main course, the side dishes and the desserts should complement each other and be healthy and nutritious too. You can have as many side dishes and appetizers that you want, but make sure you plan out their preparation time well in advance. Utilize some dinner ideas to cook up a meal that will please your family and friends. Here are a few thanksgiving dinner recipes.

Easy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas

Food Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner- Idea# 1

Appetizer: Spinach Pear and Parmesan Salad or Carmaelized Vidalia and Creamy Blue Cheese Dip
Main Course: Rosemary Garlic Roast Turkey
Side Dish: Pumpkin and Pecorino Gratin
Dessert: Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie

Food Ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner- Idea# 2 (Vegetarian)

Appetizer: French Onion Soup or Buttermilk Biscuits
Main Course: Tofurky (Tofu Turkey) Roast
Side Dish: Squash Casserole
Dessert: Cranberry Bran Muffins

Thanksgiving recipes mentioned below are simple and easy to prepare. Make sure you prepare each dish individually to avoid any problems and you can also add some ingredients of your own for a personalized touch to these dinner ideas for thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes

Appetizer: Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients
1 small loaf semolina bread
4 cups of small cherry tomatoes
Grated cheese
8 tbsp of garlic-flavored oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the semolina bread into 16 inch thin slices and place them on a cookie sheet in the preheated oven to toast until crisp and brown on both sides. Then remove them from the oven and place them in a plate. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes and cut them into half. Place a non-stick pan or skillet on high heat and heat around 5 tablespoons of the garlic oil. Cook the tomatoes in this oil for about 5 minutes until they soften up. Add some pepper and salt for taste. Then put the tomato mixture on the bread, sprinkle some grated cheese and garlic oil on it and serve.

Main Course: Brined Roast Turkey

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 ½ cups salt
1 cup brown sugar
12 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 to 12 pound turkey

Directions
In a large pan, add water sugar and salt, bring to a boil and simmer for around 5 minutes. Then, remove from heat and allow it to cool down. In a large pot, add the garlic, water and pepper and place in the turkey. You will need to refrigerate this for about a day or so. The next day, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the turkey from the mixture, rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Now, place the turkey in a large pan and roast for about 3 hours. Let it cool down for half an hour before you can carve or serve.

Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1/2 cup white bread cubes cut very small
1/3 cup diced cubano pepper
1/3 cup minced white onion
1 heaped tbsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all the stuffing ingredients and fill it in the turkey. Then place it in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes.

Side Dish: Ham Cauliflower Casserole

Ingredients
4 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Cook the cauliflower and mushrooms and ham separately, then mix all three together and add some salt and pepper to it for taste. To make the sauce, melt some butter in a pan on low heat and stir in some flour. Add some milk to this and stir till it thickens well. Then, add the sour cream and cheese, stir and mix until the cheese melts completely. Place the cauliflower, mushrooms and ham mixture in casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the sauce over the mixture, garnish with some bread crumbs and put it to bake for 30 minutes.

Dessert: Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger, optional
Whipped cream

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. For the pie, put some pre-made pie dough on the pie pan and place it in the freezer. After some time, remove it from the freezer, fit an aluminum foil around the edges of the pan and fill it with some dried beans. Place this in the oven and bake for around 10 minutes. Then remove the foil and the beans and bake for another 10 minutes. In a large bowl, beat some cream cheese, add the pumpkin, salt and sugar and mix well. Then, add the eggs and butter and beat for a few minutes. Then add the vanilla, ginger and cinnamon and mix well. Pour this mixture into the pie base and bake for around 50 minutes. To serve, add some whipped cream as the topping.

Make sure you put these thanksgiving dinner ideas to use and enjoy the compliments and praises that showered upon you. Happy Thanksgiving!