Here's what I'm making:
Upside-Down Turkey
I like to bake my turkey upside-down. With the breast on the bottom, all the juices flow down into it, and it ends up VERY moist, tender, and tasty. Basically, you follow whatever your favorite turkey recipe is, except put it breast side down in the roasting rack and put a dome of aluminum foil over it (shiny side down), then flip it breast side up without the aluminum foil for the last hour or so to brown it. It turns out great every time, except sometimes the skin will want to stick to the roasting rack when you're trying to flip it.
Here's what I do:
Thaw it for the proper amount of time in the refrigerator (arguably the most important step of cooking a turkey
).
Take out the giblets and save them for the stuffing.
Wash it off, then dry it.
Rub your spices all over it, both inside and out. (I use a mix of course sea salt, fresh ground pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, sage, rosemary, and thyme, but use whatever you want)
Coat it all with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Quarter a small onion and put it in the cavity. (I make stuffing separately, because it's easier and safer that way, and it decreases the cooking time)
Make sure the wings and legs are tied properly (usually they come pre-tied).
Put it on the roasting rack breast side down, place a dome of aluminum foil over it, and cook as directed.
I flip it over and cook it breast side up for the last hour or so to brown it, but that part is optional. If you don't like a little crispy turkey skin, then I wouldn't bother.
Wild Rice Stuffing
2 cups of prepared wild rice (I cook it the night before using chicken broth rather than water)
1 cup of diced onion
1 4.25 oz can of chopped black olives, drained
giblets from the turkey, diced (optional, but it adds a lot of flavor)
14 oz bag of stuffing mix (I use Pepperidge Farms "Herb Seasoned")
1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
fresh ground pepper to taste
Grease a 3-qt casserole dish.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the diced onion and diced giblets, and stir until the onion starts to brown.
Add the broth, black olives, and wild rice, then turn off the heat after a few minutes.
Add the bag of stuffing mix and lightly stir.
Add fresh ground pepper to taste, or any other spices you may want.
Put it in the oven for 30 minutes. I like to leave it uncovered so it gets crunchy on top.
You can add whatever veggies you like to this recipe. Some people like mushrooms and/or celery. Some people like adding a little bacon or sausage as well.
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I use Alton Brown's recipe, which can be found here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/creamy-garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html
One thing to watch out for on that recipe (I think it's a misprint): Add the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to the water that the potatoes are boiling in, NOT to the potatoes after the water is drained, otherwise it will probably be too salty for most people's tastes.
These are very garlicky, so cut down on the amount of garlic used if you're not an absolute garlic lover.
I like to leave a little of the skin on for texture in my garlic mashed.
Also, I like to make them the night before, then refrigerate them in a 9x13 pan. Then you just throw the pan in the oven with the turkey and stuffing for 30 minutes or so. You can cover them while cooking if you want, but I like the slight crust that it gets from cooking it uncovered.
Gravy
Of course there has to be gravy. The problem I always have is that I don't know what the turkey comes with until I unwrap the turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Sometimes it comes with a gravy pouch where you just add water... that's my favorite. Sometimes it comes with some sort of gravy spice packet. And sometimes it doesn't come with anything at all. Gravy made from scratch probably tastes the best, and it isn't really that hard to make, but I never like to do it from scratch for Thanksgiving. It's mainly about the timing of it... you have a bunch of stuff cooking that you have to keep an eye on, you've been cooking all day, your guests have now arrived and they all want to talk to you, and the last thing you want to do at that time is stand over a hot oven whisking the stupid gravy for what seems like forever so it doesn't clump up.
So what I like to do, is buy some jars of the pre-made turkey gravy just in case. If the turkey came with a pouch of gravy where you just add water, then I'll use that, but if not, then I'll use the jars of pre-made stuff. It tastes fine, and if I add some of the turkey drippings to it, I can't tell the difference from made-from-scratch gravy. Just heat, stir, and serve.
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Other than that, I'll have some corn, dinner rolls, and possibly a green bean casserole, but probably not. Ohh... I almost forgot about the lefse. Norwegian family tradition, gotta have lefse. Last, but certainly not least, my Mom is baking a couple of pies.
When my Mom used to do Thanksgiving, she would always do cranberries, some kind of creamed-corn casserole, and sweet potatoes, but nobody really liked it, so I don't make it.
. Try it with cinnamon, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, butter, salt, pepper, and a few dollops of sour cream. Add a little hot heavy cream if you like it a little creamier, velvetiery.
It's pretty basic. 
I've seen folks eat sweet potatoes with a granola type crust sprinkled on top, or with sugar brule'd (sp) on it, or with fried shallots, or with any number of other crispy things. 
