Cooking My Way to Thanksgiving, Part One

I'm not a bad cook. I like spending time in the kitchen. But mostly I only enjoy successful cooking endeavors. I have three recipes I could make blindfolded: chocolate chip cookies, homemade mac and cheese and homemade pizza dough.

Every now and then I'll try something new. Sometimes I don't read the recipe thoroughly or I forget an ingredient (who knew how important baking powder is in some recipes?). My honey glazed chicken stir fry was pretty tasty, but my marionberry pie was runny. My meatless tacos were flavorful and healthy but there are countless dishes that have ended up in the trash because of a slight error on my part (or maybe it's my tools? the oven?).

Friends and family have suffered through these "creative interpretations" of some recipes. One that stands out spectacularly is a snickerdoodle "loaf." I like to think at least I have dedication to my creations. Sure, the cookie dough is oozy and won't hold it's shape, but I'll stand by my dough and refashion it as a loaf of snickerdoodly deliciousness. Or a sure fire way to sentence my family to an evening indisposed.

I could be a great cook. People love the food I make using recipes I'm familiar with. I just need to focus, read the recipes carefully and not take shortcuts. And where else would be an excellent place to showcase my new method of cooking?

Thanksgiving.

That's right. This year my mom split the cooking duties with me. My responsibilities are all sides and desserts (I'm not trusted with the Holy Turkey). They range from the simple (rolls, cranberry sauce) to the "Alissa's never tasted or tried to make before." I almost said difficult but I'm afraid real cooks will laugh at me if I say a sweet potato casserole is difficult.

Here is what I'm in charge of (in order of expected difficulty):
-Rolls
-Cranberry sauce
-Cake (Thanksgiving also happens to be my Dad's birthday this year)
-Green bean casserole
-Sweet Potato casserole
-Pumpkin Torte
-Fudge

I've lined up most of my ingredients and am starting to create my battle plan. I've taken the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off of work to prepare mentally, physically and emotionally (and of course to do some cooking).

Wish me luck for Thursday, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and get some reviews from my family.

Happy Thanksgiving!