All the Thanksgiving Essentials

This post is sponsored by World Market. We're sharing some of the recipes you see below on their site today! 

I know what you’re thinking — Thanksgiving already?! We have no intention of skipping October’s hallowed holiday, but we are planning ahead to November’s big everyone-around-the-table event (the invitation is officially out! New dining room or not, we're hosting! EEeeek). We’re also planning a Friendsgiving, and if you are too, you know there’s no limit on the number of dress rehearsals that could help to pull off the dinner party of all dinner parties. Plus, does anyone need an excuse to start eating stuffing? Didn’t think so.

Weeeeeks ago (long before it was cool enough to wear that sweater up there), we had the test drove the big day with all of World Market's essentials for preparing any Thanksgiving feast — getting organized makes the day feel more relaxed. With these tools, we were able to really start menu-planning (and method-planning! How many briners out there?).

1. Roaster
2. Brining Bags
3. Cheesecloth
4. Potato Masher 
5. Roasting Set (baster/forks) 
6. Fat Separator
7. Twine
8. Digital Thermometer
9. Brining Mix
10. Gravy Starter

One of Chris’s favorite tricks is stuffing the turkey with an herb sachet. It makes for the most savory, tasty turkey — and it’s so easy (even I can do it). Take fresh sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, chives, cloves, and juniper berries and wrap them in a cheesecloth. Tie it up with twine, and into the bird it goes.

While he is manning the meat, my heart sings when I see seasonal decor that is this chic. These handsome turkey plates are reason enough to have more than one Thanksgiving dinner. We might go ahead and set the table with these beauties until Christmas. (Seriously — I bet they look great with scrambled eggs on them.) They look especially woodsy and moody with the twig flatware (heart eyes).

You probably have already heard me wax poetic about these crisp linen upholstered chairs. they have a modern low profile and hidden casters and we've rolled them from the dining room to living room to office already. We paired them with these slick high back Windsor Chairs and World Market's Paige dining table (it has a leaf!).

The rest of our menu is generally a little more of a twist on the traditional. I grew up in an Italian-American family in Pittsburgh, and lasagna always fought the turkey for top billing/center stage on the Thanksgiving table. Because of my Hashimoto’s, I’ve been going through serious withdrawal. —Until Chris came up with this recipe that’s dairy- and gluten-free! Instead of noodles, he layered thin potatoes, but all of the saucy, meaty goodness is there. In fact, this lasagna was the first dish to make its rounds for seconds during our Early Bird dinner. (Ps--Best lasagna pan, ever! And under $25!) 

HERE'S THE RECIPE FOR THE GRAIN & DAIRY FREE LASAGNA! 

Chris’s stuffing recipe changes every year, and this year, he’s tinkering with one that has potatoes and red pepper--recipe coming soon. Whatever he lands on for the big day will be served in this mushroom gray speckled ceramic baker. We’re all about stocking up on oven-to-table cookware — less dishes.

An elegant turkey platter is allowed to just have that one job: evoking “Ooos” and “Ahhs.”

Table / chairs / pumpkin pie pan / turkey plates / turkey platter / lasagna pan / ceramic pot / twig flatware / white dinnerware

We got this “test run” on the table in record time and exchanged a lot of self-satisfied looks around the table. (Wait--Did we nail it on our first try??)

It was confirmed when dessert got dished up. In our family, dessert makes it to the table well after dinner — usually when the games start coming out. Chris likes to tinker with different pie recipes and came up on this twist on a classic that features an irresistible Cranberry Plum Relish and the warm home-for-the-holidays chestnuts.

HERE'S THE RECIPE FOR THE SWEET POTATO, CRANBERRY & CHESTNUT PIE! 

The leafy pie crust toppers did not go unnoticed. Even when everyone is winding down from a big dinner and involved in three different conversations at once, it’s usually a cute little dessert detail like this that brings everyone back with an “Aww!!”

Are you excited yet?! Are we the only ones having an Early Bird dinner this year? Does your family throw anything nontraditional into the menu? Let us know in the comments while we dream of leftovers ;)

Ps. You can shop the entire spread and see more over on World Market's site right here!