I’ve been posting these little recipe reviews for a few years so I by the time I get to host Thanksgiving — my mom actually texted me this year asking if one day, when we have more space, we can all cook together at my house with the parade on in the background and to that I say YES! — I’ll know which recipes are go-to and which are no-go.  It’s a lifelong process, this Thanksgiving recipe collection thing.

Also, if I was a smart person, I might keep this note to myself in Google Docs, but I’m a blogger so I’m publicly posting it instead.  Don’t try to rationalize it.  

Creamed Greens with Farro

If you’re bringing this for people who might not be super receptive to vegetables, let alone words like “kale,” “chard” or “farro,” feel free to re-brand this as “three cheese casserole.”  I went home with all the leftovers so I’m not sure that re-branding worked but I guess that just means more for me and I thought this was really good!  Except for the stemming/chopping of the greens (which you can totally do the weekend before), it comes together very fast, perfect for morning-of cooking.

Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this last year and thought it was a tad sweet (even though I had already scaled back the sugar!) so I went with a 1/4 cup and it was perfect!  I roasted the sweet potatoes instead of using canned, then assembled the entire thing and put it in the fridge over night so come Thanksgiving, we just had to bake it.  Also maybe hit it with the broiler for a few minutes at the end to get the topping nice and crispy.  If you need a go-to sweet potato casserole, this is it.

The New England Express

I made this a couple years ago and it was well received so I decided to bring it back.  Plus, if there’s going to be eight adults, two kids and two dogs in a 1000 square foot space, there must be alcohol.  Joey juiced something like 10 limes, then complained about how bad his fingers hurt for the rest of the week…

Miso Caramel-Apple Pie

My Tuesday night Thanksgiving dessert-making ritual is the best!  Well, except for my Thanksgiving Eve ramen ritual.  And my Thanksgiving morning coffee and parade ritual.  And my actual Thanksgiving Day rituals.  But you now what I mean.  This pie dough bakes from frozen so I made it last weekend then finished it all up on Tuesday and it may or may not have taken me three tries to make the caramel sauce but all’s well that ends well.  I actually thought this pie tasted incredible but it didn’t really stand a chance against my mom’s chocolate cream pie.

What was your favorite Thanksgiving dish this year?