Making the Thanksgiving menu actually begins quite a bit before Thanksgiving. That doesn't mean that it is difficult, though how hard it will be to fix should always be a consideration. The planning can actually be a large part of the fun.

The first decision is if it is going to be a traditional or non-traditional meal. Non-traditional Thanksgiving meals have slightly different rules, so we'll concentrate on the traditional sort.

The next consideration is every bit as important: How many people are there going to be, eating the meal? A Thanksgiving bounty for two people is going to be substantially different than for twenty. It is still a good idea to plan on having extra food, since it is supposed to be a feast, and there is always the possibility that others may drop in.

Plan the meal around the main course. For most people, that will be turkey, goose, or ham. The reason this part of the plan is important is that the main course is going to be the bulk of the actual dinner, and the cornerstone of the meal, regardless of what side dishes are added to the menu. The side dishes are meant to be complimentary to the main dish.

There should be one or more starch dishes to compliment the main dinner course. This could be mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, bread, yams or even rice, and it can be a combination of these. A secondary side dish of gravy goes well with potatoes and rice.

Vegetables are the next item to add to the menu. The possibilities are almost endless, but some are naturals. Corn, including corn on the cob, is a great choice. Green beans and creamed peas are also hits. Baked beans give a good high protein touch to the dinner. Salads are fantastic, and can offer both vegetable and starch side dishes.

A nice crisp green salad is good tasting, while reminding those eating the feast that summer may be gone, but spring is coming. Salads, too, can be almost endless. Potato salad, macaroni salad, carrot salad, three bean salad, fruit salad; all of these are possibilities. All are also good tasting and lead to full bellies and satisfied diners.

Things like olives, sliced tomatoes, carrot sticks, sliced cucumber, pickled eggs, summer sausage slices, sliced cheese, and pickled peppers can be perfect for the Thanksgiving dinner, though they aren't usually thought of as part of the menu.

Naturally, dessert should be part of the menu. The idea is to make sure the people are as stuffed as the turkey at the end of the Thanksgiving dinner.

Here is an example of a fantastic Thanksgiving menu that was actually used, believe it or not, for a family of four:

Twenty five pound turkey, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, yams with marshmallows, kernel corn, green beans, creamed peas and pearl onions, green salad, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, three bean salad, carrot salad, fruit salad, black olives, cheddar cheese slices, flavored crackers, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, blackberry pie, and ice cream.

This may seem like a huge amount of food for a small family. However, it didn't last more than four days. Friends and family knew what kind of feast these people had, even when they were low on money, and would stop in for "nibbles"..

Planning the menu for a Thanksgiving meal isn't difficult, and is surely easier than preparing the meal. Working at it methodically is the only trick. It isn't much of a trick, at that.

Learn more about this author, Rex Trulove.
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