T-Minus 3 Days 'Til TDay

I've been researching and researching what to make for my first Thanksgiving as the Head Cook. 

I've read recipes, magazines, blogs and Tweets.

My first decision was to purchase a fresh turkey from West Wind Farms.  The turkeys are free-ranged on organic pastures. This means they will taste like turkeys, not corn!

Then I learned there are too many turkey recipes in the world. Seriously! My eyes crossed at one point. 

So here's what I've decided:

The turkey is in honor of Pioneer Woman. 

    

I'm using her brine recipe and her roasting suggestions.

 Her brine highlights oranges, and so I've decided to have oranges as the theme running through the meal.

For the green beans, I'm going to roast them in the oven with orange zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

The dressing is my grandmother's recipe, and thank goodness she's coming to help me cook it!

The cranberry sauce also features orange juice, and it's from the Food Network show 5 Ingredient Fix. It's becoming one of my favorite shows because she only uses 5 ingredients in each dish. I think I'll leave out the jalapeno in this recipe, but it should still be good!

I'm making Emeril's deviled eggs. I like that he has some that are spicy and some that are not. 

And for dessert:

We will be having my grandmother's pecan pie--again, thankfully she's coming to help me!

And, I will be attempting the pumpkin bread pudding by Bobby Flay from his Throwdown with Pioneer Woman. Yes, there are more steps to this than building a house, but it's worth a shot!

 

At least we'll have the pecan pie, right?

So what are you cooking for Thanksgiving, or what is your favorite dish that you're awaiting at your destination?