Appetizer

• Freshly made dinner rolls give a nice start to a Thanksgiving dinner. Accompany the rolls with herbed butter, which you can make beforehand to lessen your work for Thanksgiving dinner itself. Trail mixes are easy-to-do appetizers that you can serve in small bowls as you finish your Thanksgiving preparation. Prepare the trail mix beforehand and if preferred, drizzle some honey on the trail mix, spread it on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes for some candied delight.
  
  

Main Dish

• Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without the turkey. A relatively new technique in cooking turkeys is deep-frying the bird before roasting it, giving it crisp, golden brown skin. Keep the turkey moist by regularly basting it with its own drippings, plus don't forget the stuffing for additional flavor and moisture inside the bird's cavity. A secondary main dish during Thanksgiving is a leg of ham. For those who are not fond of turkey, a leg of oven-roasted ham with honey Dijon sauce is an excellent alternative.
  
  

Side Dishes

• Mashed potatoes and gravy are a classic American dish. Put a different twist in your mashed potatoes by keeping the potatoes' skins on as you mash them, for a more rustic take on the favorite. Cranberry sauce is another Thanksgiving classic and goes hand in hand with the turkey. Serve it as a gravy-like accompaniment to the turkey or in gelatin form as a dessert-like side dish. You can also serve steamed sweet potatoes lightly tossed in butter if you want an alternative to the usual mashed potatoes. To bring in the harvest theme of Thanksgiving, saute some green beans with some onions, garlic and tomatoes to represent the green vegetables on your table.
  
  

Dessert

• Pumpkin pies, whether store-bought or homemade, cap most Thanksgiving meals. Add some pecans to the pumpkin pie's crust for a crunchier take on the classic. You can also try making a pumpkin cheesecake, instead of the more traditional pumpkin pie. Another classic American dish is the apple pie, which can be enhanced by pouring some caramel sauce directly on top of the pie just before serving it. Add some crunch to the pie by toasting some walnuts or almonds and sprinkling them on top of the creation.