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	Every month, we focus on one particular theme and present recipes that fit that theme. The theme might be a particular cuisine, an ingredient, or a technique or anything else we think of. Click on "past monthly features" above to see all of our past features. You can easily return to this page from there by clicking on "current feature".

Thanksgiving Dinner for a Crowd

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Thanksgiving is the one time of year that both my family and my husband's family get together. It's a huge affair at our home, and we always manage to include some stragglers too. We typically end up with 24 or more people, and it's just a wonderful day. Family and friends; that's what Thanksgiving is all about.

For November's feature, I'm sharing with you the Thanksgiving dinner that I make every year. I don't deviate much from year to year. I might try a new stuffing or squash, but I always come back to what's here. Our families want "traditional" for Thanksgiving, not gourmet (although I think I do pretty well at slipping in a little gourmet!).

When I was a kid, my grandmother always made a huge batch of ravioli for Thanksgiving while my mother and/or my aunt would make the traditional turkey dinner. I've combined both traditions: I make Nonna's raviolis AND a complete turkey dinner. I leave it to my guests to provide the appetizers and dessert.

So what follows here are my Thanksgiving recipes. The only thing missing is green beans and peas. My family always had peas, and my husband's always had green beans. So I serve both. Green beans are simply steamed (search techniques for "steamed vegetables") and the peas are frozen Green Giant's Le Sueur peas (baby peas) that I nuke in the microwave just before we're ready to eat. And my family enjoys the Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce while my husband's enjoy's Ocean Spray's Jellied Cranberry Sauce from a can. Here are the quantities to buy.

	For 10 to 12	For 20 to 24
Green beans	2 pounds if also serving peas, 3 pounds otherwise	4 pounds if also serving peas, 6 pounds otherwise
Frozen peas	1 10-oz pkg if also serving green beans, 2 pkgs otherwise	2 10-oz pkgs if also serving green beans, 4 pkgs otherwise
Jellied Cranberry Sauce	1 can if also serving whole berry sauce, 2 cans otherwise	2 cans if also serving whole berry sauce, 3 cans otherwise

Happy Thanksgiving!

Want to make the whole dinner?

Click on the appropriate link below to add all recipes to your meal plan.

Don't forget to add in green beans, frozen peas & jellied cranberry sauce, if appropriate.

Thanksgiving Dinner for 10 to 12

Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 to 24

	Roast Crisped-Skin Turkey An unstuffed turkey takes less time to cook than a stuffed one. And a brined turkey takes even less time. This recipe produces a golden, crispy skin. Aromatic vegetables in the cavity and the roasting pan create flavorful pan juices perfect for gravy. Brining the turkey (soaking in salted water) adds flavor and helps to keep the breast meat from drying out.
Roast Crisped-Skin Turkey
	Nonna's Ravioli Spinach and ricotta-filled raviolis with a rich, meaty tomato sauce. This recipe is from my Italian grandmother who was originally from the Parma area of Italy. These raviolis are a bit of work but they are so much better than anything you can buy or even get in a restaurant. Paper-thin pasta is the secret. My Irish husband won't eat any other raviolis.
Nonna's Ravioli
	Thanksgiving Potatoes Every year I think about trying something new for potatoes on Thanksgiving, and every year my family begs me not to. These are the potatoes I've been making for years. Butter, cream cheese and sour cream give 'em their richness.
Thanksgiving Potatoes
	Bread Stuffing w/ Sausage, Pecans & Apricots This is a moist, flavorful stuffing for cooking outside the turkey. Sausage, pecans and apricots add lots of interest. Omit the sausage and substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock to create a delicious vegetarian side.
Bread Stuffing w/ Sausage, Pecans & Apricots
	Glazed Butternut Squash A simple and deliciously sweet preparation for butternut squash. Brown sugar and cinnamon provide the flavor.
Glazed Butternut Squash
	Onions with White Sauce White sauce adds some richness to simple boiled onions. This dish is never missing from my Thanksgiving table.
Onions with White Sauce
	Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce Sure, you can buy cranberry sauce in a can. But look how easy it is to make natural, whole berry sauce.
Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
	Turkey Gravy Homemade turkey gravy is a little bit of work but it's worth it. This gravy starts with a homemade stock that you can make up to three days in advance.
Turkey Gravy
	Nonna's Spaghetti Sauce My Italian grandmother's spaghetti sauce starts with Ragu and canned tomato puree, but don't be fooled. It is delicious! A hearty, meaty sauce that's great on big pasta like rigatoni or bow ties, and is the only sauce to serve with Nonna's Raviolis!
Nonna's Spaghetti Sauce

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All feature recipes

recipe was made especially for this feature

	Roast Crisped-Skin Turkey

	Nonna's Ravioli

	Thanksgiving Potatoes

	Bread Stuffing w/ Sausage, Pecans & Apricots

	Glazed Butternut Squash

	Onions with White Sauce

	Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

	Turkey Gravy

	Nonna's Spaghetti Sauce

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