Thanksgiving menu & Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Hi! I finally finalized my Thanksgiving menu (that is unless I change my mind LOL) & thought I'd share it w/ y'all. Hubby wants to down-size it this year & only go w/ the "must -haves" but that takes all the fun out of it for me. So we'll compromise & down-size a weeeee bit. (unless I change my mind ) ;o)

Honey Brie Spread w/ pear slices & gourmet crackers
Bacon Wrapped smokies (my daughter will bring)
Apple Orchard Punch
Frosted Cranberries (these are delicious & great for garnish!)

Turkey (think we'll buy a pre-smoked one this year & skip that step)
Stuffing ( we made a crockpot recipe last year to save oven space...may this year as well)
Homemade cranberry sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Bean Casserole ---(I'll have my DIL bring this)
Mashed Potatoes ---(my daughter will bring )
Salad (my mother will bring)
Jello-in-a-Can--- (my grandson would be very upset if this weren't on the menu...it's just a can of drained pineapple slices, filled w/ jello made w/ half the liquid...after it's set, slide it out of the can & slice )
Golden Corral rolls
Sweet Pumpkin Butter
Sweet Tea w/ apricot syrup

Pumpkin Fudge --(be sure & read the reviews if you make!)
Pecan Pie ---(my sister is not very domestic but she makes a mean pecan pie so she'll bring it)
Pumpkin Pie ---(I may make this recipe but if I don't have time I'll just make a Pumpkin Pie Flan
Cranberry Brownie Torte
Candied Apricots--(2 C. Dried Apricot Halves --2 C. Sugar --1 Tsp. Cream of Tartar --1 Cup Water --2/3 Cup Pecan Halves Wash fruit and let stand in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain fruit. Make a syrup of sugars, water and cream of tartar. When sugar is dissolved put in apricots and cook to soft ball stage, stirring periodically. Drain syrup from apricots and let cool until you can handle. Put a pecan half in each apricot half and roll in sugar. Syrup can be thinned w/ water if necessary & used for pancakes, waffles, tea etc...)

I'm going w/ tried & true recipes this year, all the recipes have been made before & were well recieved by my family. I know it sounds like alot but almost everything can be made ahead of time. I've already made the fudge, frosted cranberries, cranberry sauce, the brownie base for the torte (made it last week & froze it) & candied apricots. The pie (or flan), the rest of the torte, the jello-in-a-can & the rolls I'll make up Wednesday during the day (that's when I will also set the table but I've already done a trial run & I have everythng washed & set aside) & then Hubby & I will stay up late Wednesday night putting together the casseroles, stuffing & punch. All we'll have to do on Thursday is heat it all up, make the tea, bake the brie appetizer, set up the buffets & enjoy our family. And clean-up. Ugggh!

One of these days, I would love to have a fancier Thanksgiving feast....with turkey pinwheels, pumpkin risotto, caramelized pearl onions & pumpkin creme brulee instead of all the traditional "fixin's" but my kids would be sooo upset. *sigh*
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and just because I didn't want to have a post w/out a pic, here's the pumpkin creme brulee I recently made & long to serve @ Thanksgiving. "Yummmmm!"... although there's not a whole lot of pumpkin flavor. The recipe is Gale Gand's. I miss Sweet Dreams, did y'all ever watch it?

And you still have time to leave a comment on yesterday's post to get your name in for the give-away!