Thanksgiving Menu Planning

This year I have taken on the big challenge of hosting Thanksgiving at our house. I came up with this genius plan right after we got married last year and I was surrounded by all these fancy new casserole dishes and flatware. Hey, why not have all the family over for Thanksgiving next year and get a chance to use all those snazzy dishes? I had to call my plans in to question when the oven stopped working in our rental house last year. However now that we have a our own house with a brand new oven and enough guest bedrooms to accomodate out of town guests the plan is back on. I actually have hosted Thanksgiving once before when I lived in my awesome condo in Atlantic Station but it was really just my immediate family and Eric, all people I feel extremely comfortable with so it wasn't too much pressure for me. Now that I'm a married lady and head of my own household I somehow feel that the stakes are higher. We've invited Eric's Family including his grandma so we have the potential to have 8 or 9 people here for Thanksgiving this year. Needless to say the pressure is on. So in true Audrey from I have been planning super far in advance and making out my menu well ahead of time. I'll also have help from my mom since she has generously volunteered to bring desserts and stuffing, two very key ingredients to the perfect Thanksgiving meal. For my part this is what I'm planning so far.

Turkey- The star of the show. If it were up to me I would just cook a turkey breast since I hate dark meat and it would make my life a lot easier but unfortunately a lot of the men in my life just can't do without dark meat at Thanksgiving. I'm going to try brining the turkey this year since the internet seems to think this is the best way to cook a moist and delicious bird.

Hashbrown Casserole- Just like the Cracker Barrel version! It's so easy to make and delicious, every time I make it it gets gobbled up in no time. It's super fatty and unhealthy which is pretty much why it tastes so good, perfect for Thanksgiving :-)

Sweet Potato Casserole- Mom, Dad and Eric all hate sweet potatoes but Logan and I love them so I'm making them any way :-p

Butternut Squash Soup- Seriously the best soup in the world. We had this at a restaurant in NYC one year on Thanksgiving and it has been a holiday staple ever since.

Cranberry Orange Relish- Not your typical cranberry sauce, this uses all raw ingredients and is just the right amount of tart citrus, the perfect compliment to all those rich foods.

Salad of some kind- Who are we kidding? No one is going to eat salad when there's hashbrown casserole to be had. This is really just so that there is something green on the table.

So that's what I have planned. What are the Thanksgiving staples in your house? I'm trying not to stress myself out too much about this whole thing, if worst comes to worst we can order Chinese :-)