Giving Thanks: Thanksgving Dinner Ideas

Thanksgiving is always a special occasion. A little time out with friends and family and a chance to give thanks for all we have. But more than this, it's also a day to have one of the best meals of the year. Turkey, gravy, all those amazing side dishes and pumpkin pie. Mmmm.

One of my holiday favorites is Brussels sprouts. I think it's because they're often only made at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, that they are so good. They're best kept simple, steamed with a little butter, salt and pepper. I love slicing them in half and using them the to soak up the extra gravy on my plate. Oh I can hardly wait.

Here's a few recipe ideas for a delicious and stress-free dinner:

For side dishes, try apricot and almond couscous for the vegetarian in the family or roasted squash with apples and orange pumpkin seed dressing. Or how about sauteed Brussels sprouts with carrots and raisins or maple thyme roasted squash.

My ultimate thanksgiving pick is this recipe for cranberry sauce with cassis. Fresh cranberries and a little black current liquor makes a huge difference to the flavour.

For the days after Thanksgiving when there's lots of leftover turkey, here's a perfect solution- turkey vegetable soup or a turkey, blue cheese and red onions sandwich.

More Recipe Help...

There's lots of help out there if you're looking for a new recipe, a little inspiration or how-to tips. To help save you a little searching, here's a few sites offering all the help you may need to make Thanksgiving dinner this year:

* Food Network's Thanksgiving Dinners including a recipe for pumpkin creme brulee.

* An index of all Simply Recipes' Thanksgiving suggestions including chiffon pumpkin pie.
* How to make perfect gravy from UK's Guardian
* The Globe and Mail's Lucy Waverman shares secrets to a juicer, quicker turkey.
* Cascadia Kitchen's pumpkin pie garnished with mixed nut brittle.

* Delish lists 12 ultimate Thanksgiving recipes.