our family's Thanksgiving feast-- side dish recipe round-up

Our feasts are plentiful each year, but not over the top. I read somewhere that it helps if you think of Thanksgiving as dinner with a few extra sides. Last year, I pared back on the sides and made a colorful, delicious spread that offered up enough variety, but was totally do-able-- particularly since most of the sides can be made in advance.

First, the turkey. Here's the scoop on the brine I make. It's a slight modification of The Pioneer Woman's brine, which is so, so good.

We dine in the late afternoon, so I served a super easy baked brie as an early afternoon appetizer, alongside Trader Joe's mini crabcakes and a veggie crudite, to munch on something light before we delved in.

Our late afternoon family feast included:

• my go-to Cranberry Sauce (make up to 4 days in advance)
• a simple mashed sweet potato side (make up to 4 days in advance)
• my doctored up stuffing (make up to 4 days in advance)
• creamy mashed potatoes (make up to 4 days in advance)
• cider-braised cabbage (with or without apples, make up to 4 days in advance)
• simple roasted brussel sprouts (make right before serving)
• pumpkin pot de cremes (make up to 4 days in advance)

I made all but one of the sides in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, so all I had to do on Thanksgiving was roast the turkey and brussel sprouts. This year's feast will probably be quite similar, though I plan to try my friend Janet's Winter Herb and Fennel Slaw in lieu of the braised cabbage and I'd like to try a pumpkin flan for dessert if I can get up the courage to make a flan. Hopefully having my go-to Thanksgiving side links in one post provides some inspiration when it comes to planning your family's Thanksgiving feast!