My Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

The first time I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my family, my mother said:

You're not a great cook, you just buy fancy ingredients. 

Oh my mother…she's quite the character. 

Growing up our Thanksgiving dinner was pretty much a typical Puerto Rican dinner: arroz con gandules, potato salad, tostones and/or sweet plantains. And we ate turkey. But there was no stuffing, sweet potatoes or cranberry sauce. In fact, I didn't have any of these things until I married The Husband and I learned that this is what he wanted for Thanksgiving dinner.   

I don't cook full meals often. But I enjoy cooking for friends and family when I can.  And I am so excited to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year for my family. Even though I know my mother will have something to say about what I prepare. It's okay, she's amusing. And I'll ask her to make arroz con gandules. 

What I'm Cooking on Thanksgiving

Truth be told, I'm not crazy about turkey but The Husband is, so I make it. This year I'm making a Mojo Cubano Turkey. I've never made it before but this recipe got rave reviews on Food.com. 

Every year I ponder the same thing: Sweet Potatoes versus Yams. Are they the same?  What's the difference? Seriously, does anyone know?! I just started to like sweet potatoes this year and I'm super excited about this Pomegranate Lacquered Sweet Potatoes recipe my friend Ericka from Nibbles and Feasts shared on her site.    

One thing I absolutely love is stuffing made from scratch - none of that box stuff over here.  I especially love corn bread and this Chorizo Sausage Pistachio Pear Stuffing by my friend, Nicole of Presley's Pantry sounds scrumptious!   

And now…for the Cranberry Controversy! 

The other day I got into a heated debate with my BFF over cranberry sauce. I like fresh cranberry sauce and she likes the jelly canned stuff (gross). And it surprised me, because my BFF is sort of a food snob. We spent a good 15 minutes discussing cranberry sauce. I feel like cranberry sauce is a hot topic and everyone has an opinion about it. Which do you prefer? 

Anyway, since I prefer fresh cranberry sauce, I'm going with this recipe by Alexandra Guarnaschelli - one of my favorite Iron Chefs on The Food Network. Do you know about Alex? (I'm going to call her Alex, because even though I don't know her, I think she'd be cool with it.) I mean, the way this woman talks about food and bacon - I know we could be friends. I just know it. And so when it comes to food, I trust her completely.  

As for dessert do I want to make:

a. Horchata Cupcakes 
b. Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake 
c. Apple Yam Crumble 
d. all of the above

So…what are YOU making for Thanksgiving dinner? And seriously, if someone can explain the difference between a Sweet Potato and a Yam I'd appreciate it. Thanks. 

AND  for the kids check out this cute DIY Thanksgiving Placement for the kids by Ruby of Growing Up Blackxican.

Curious to know how I'm teaching The Boy about Thanksgiving? Check out my latest post on Babble, click ---> http://bit.ly/1iOiMnq