Thanksgiving feasting

[eurydicebound]

So, on Thursday we've been invited over to a friend from work's house for dinner. Apparently some people here at work get together and do a Thanksgiving meal together every year, and we got invited to this one -- probably not in the least because our kids play very well with my friend's son. :) I'm looking forward to it. I've never been invited to anyone else's house for Thanksgiving, and it was a very nice surprise. I'm told I don't need to bring anything, but that seems so... I dunno, ungrateful somehow. I need some suggestions as to what's good to bring to someone else's house for dinner.

Do not think for a moment that I will not be cooking my own feast, however. Oh no. For one, I need lunches for next week. For two, a free turkey came with my last grocery order. :) And three, it just wouldn't seem like home if I didn't try it. The tricky part will be that I'm still rather low on dishes and serving stuff as a whole, not to mention dining space. Ours is but to do or die, however.... onward and upward. If I can manage to get a hand-mixer and a bowl before I have to start in, I'll be a happy camper. Oh, and a round cake pan. Sigh.

Anyway, so this is the menu as it now stands:

Breakfast/brunch/snacks through the day: baked apple fritters, orange juice, hardboiled eggs (for Will), deviled eggs (for everyone else), carrot and celery sticks.

Dinner:

Turkey and the requisite gravy, made from scratch
Bruleed sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
My grandmother's cornbread dressing recipe
Steamed broccoli
Corn
Black olives
Cranberry sauce
bread -- maybe regular wheat bread, maybe bake-&-serve rolls. Someday I'll make fresh bread. This isn't the year.

Dessert: Pumpkin pie, chocolate silk pie.

Do I have enough dishes to store all this stuff. No. Do I plan to let that stop me? No.

Comments

[b3zsgirl.livejournal.com]

Liberal radical ettiquette girl here (this is what I get for rejecting my upper middle class upbringing ;-)

When you are faced with something like this, the following things are most appropriate to bring:

A dessert, but not just any dessert. Don't bring something they are likely to have. If you have a special, different, or unusual family dessert that perhaps a grandmother made, this shows that you are honoring their tradition with your own.

Wine is usually good, but not when there are kids at the event, but this remember this for later.

The best thing to bring is flowers. This is the all time best hostess gift ever. Not only do people not buy a lot of flowers this day and age, but it is considered extra special. Don't get a centerpiece type because this implies that their decorating tastes may be off. A simple wrapped bouquet is best, and it need not be expensive. You can even bring flowers from your garden if you have one. That way, they can pick a favorite vase and decide if it should go on the table or mantle or up in the bedroom to enjoy later. Oh, and don't get scented flowers unless they are roses and very faint. You do not want the flowers to compete with the smell of dinner. Taste is so much about scent. I knew a girl that did this one time and it actually made you not want to eat.

I used to think that Theron's parents taught him nothing, but I realize I just grew up in a different world sometimes. Or perhaps I am from a long line of busy bodies. Though, I will resist sending an email to Gaiman on how he could have diffused his dinner party debacle that he posted on his LJ. I think. Please stop me now! heh

[b3zsgirl.livejournal.com]

Okay...one more thing. You can bring wine or other alcohol to a dinner regardless if you are in the north east. Red for winter, white for summer , btw...I will shut up now.

[anaka.livejournal.com]

Hee. See, you grew up with society, and we didn't. It's amazing how much having a few social conventions to follow can teach you. My parents never entertained, never went out, and neither did anyone else they knew. Community get-togethers were more likely to be the Tiger band booster bean dinner than any sort of occasion. Thank you for the suggestions, btw. They're extremely helpful.

[paolom.livejournal.com]

Chocolate.

Silk.

Pie.

Just the name evokes sultry thoughts. :)

(note: and I don't even know what sultry means, but I think it's appropriate in this case)

[anaka.livejournal.com]

When we finally do get together, I'll bring some to you. :) It's even a Cooking Light recipe, so it won't violate too many dietary rules.

[b3zsgirl.livejournal.com]

Any time. I know lots of useless crap. My mother used to put me in charge of the dinner parties because I was really good at getting everything organized, served and setup. I am a sick woman so I actually enjoyed these things, and she got a party with her friends she could enjoy. After a while she let me help with the menu so I could assess timing for serving, etc.