While some people approach cooking Thanksgiving dinner with about as much disdain as the requisite root canal, I’ve been secretly looking forward to making this meal for weeks now. In fact, I’ve been looking for new recipes to try (and adding my own personal flourishes) since mid-October and rather than waiting until the last minute, I did my shopping a few days ahead of time to make sure I had my pick of the best ingredients.

It’s a little dorky for sure, but that’s how just excited I am to make this feast for Will, my brother Casey and my pal Kat. And since I’ve been on a fairly strict diet for the past couple of weeks, (yeah, I’m crazy enough to actually diet this time of year), I also welcome the idea of a little splurge.

And now with no further adieu, here’s the menu I’ve planned:

*Roasted turkey that’s been brined in apple cider and glazed with a savory peach compote
*Spicy sausage cornbread stuffing
*Red-skinned buttermilk mashed potatoes with spicy turkey gravy
*Crunchy green bean casserole (Yeah, I love those crunchy onions like everyone else!)
*Barefoot Contessa’s orange-accented cranberry sauce
*Homemade cheddar bay biscuits

And for dessert…I’m making a turtle pumpkin pie, so we can have a little caramel and pecans with our pumpkin. YUM!

Now that I’m hungrier than ever from talking about all these tasty vittles, fingers crossed that it’s absolute perfection…I’ll keep ya posted.