The menu for tomorrow is set. Work is underway. The pumpkin gingerbread just came out of the oven, and the cranberry/orange sauce is cooling. I want to let it cool before I add the actual cut up slices of mandarin orange. They probably add more to visual appeal than taste, because I cooked the berries in orange juice anyway. I'll do the pumpkin pie this afternoon.

• 11 lb. turkey
• mashed potatoes
• mashed yellow turnip
• cran/orange sauce
• waldorf salad
• steamed peas & carrots
• wild rice & mushroom dressing
• gravy
• pumpkin pie
• pumpkin bread

I completely made up the recipe for the pumpkin gingerbread. Had pumpkin bread at an office function last week that tasted like gingerbread instead of having the usual pumpkin pie blend of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. Couldn't find a recipe for it, so I cobbled together bits and pieces from a recipe for pumpkin bread from foodnetwork.com and the gingerbread one from Beard on Bread, which is my bread bible, leaving out the molassas. It rose just fine, and smells fantastic.

SJ was very skeptical about my using baking soda instead of baking powder. Oh, he of little faith. I usually know what I'm doing in the kitchen, even if I make it up as I go along. I omitted the salt because there's enough sodium in it with the baking soda. No loss as far as I can tell. The batter tasted really yummy when I licked the spoon. He's a pretty darn good cook himself, but he does know when to stay out of my way.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.