MN Mondays: A Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving.

Confession: nothing gets me more excited for Thanksgiving than walking into Williams-Sonoma. And with less than three weeks to go until Turkey Day, I'm just itching to make it out to W-S as many times as I can, but visiting the website is a good substitute (they have so many great recipes!). The store is filled with gorgeous cookbooks, knives, cast iron pans...it's definitely our happy place, and we get inspired to cook something new each time we're there. 

Whether it's July or the beginning of November, the mulled cider smells of that store always make me crave Thanksgiving dinner. When we were little and growing up, my mom always hosted Thanksgiving at our house. The preparation for this food-filled, family friendly holiday always included a trip (or several!) to Williams-Sonoma where we would pick up Thanksgiving essentials, including pumpkin butter, the annual Thanksgiving Guide, and a few new "kitchen toys" that we knew we just had to have to make the perfect meal. Every year she set a beautiful table and cooked her heart out, and it's no surprise that Thanksgiving dinner has become one of our favorite holidays. I'm also not surprised as to why I love hosting dinners and parties so much: I know I learned it all from her! 

Last year, Andrew and I hosted both our families at our apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. While it wasn't always the easiest to cook for nine people in our tiny kitchen, everything turned out wonderfully; we cooked all day and spent time with our favorite people, which to us, sums up a perfect day. This is a picture of our fridge last year, stuffed to the doors with everything we made from scratch, from turkey stock, to green bean casserole, to crème brûlée!

We absolutely can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving, and will be trying something spectacular for the turkey this year: SOUS VIDE! We first attempted this last year for our "Thanksgiving Round 2" that we made in March (yes, March), and Andrew, my sister, and I all agreed that this was the best turkey we've ever had. When we were home last weekend, we started discussing the details of Thanksgiving dinner, and after little to no argument, Andrew said he could be persuaded to bring along the sous vide machine so we could recreate that turkey. And of course, we'll have (THE BEST) stuffing, our homemade version of green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes: all the classics that make dinner so much fun. 

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods - are you sticking with the tried-and-true recipes or will you be making something new, perhaps a classic with a twist? I'm getting hungry just thinking about all the possibilities! 

Happy Monday, friends!