Thanksgiving Menu Guide (Easy, yet elegant)

My delicious Thanksgiving Menu Guide is here! This guide provides an easy breakdown of everything you’ll need from breakfast to dessert. It’s easy, yet elegant, and anyone will be able to pull it off without a hitch.

An Herb-Crusted Cornish Game Hen, on a plate with parsnip purée, surrounded by fresh flowers and a glass of white wine.

Guide Features:

Honeycrisp-Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce – A fun item for breakfast, dessert or both
Herb Crusted Cornish Game Hens – This main dish is decadent, romantic and easy to execute. It is the star of my Thanksgiving menu!
Parsnip Purée with Garlic and Herbs
Sweet-Honey Glazed Rainbow Carrots
Apple Cranberry Orange Crisp

How This Meal Came To Be:

As a special date night dinner for my husband, I made Cornish game hens, parsnip purée and glazed rainbow carrots. My goal was to make sure that every aspect of the dinner was covered, so I bought a crisp white wine, pre-made stuffed mushrooms for the appetizer–because that’s one of his favorite things–and dessert from scratch. It was a major success — it blew his socks off — and he talked about it for days!

I then took this meal and recreated it as an intimate Thanksgiving dinner for four. I made a simple, yet beautiful tablescape, which included these gorgeous fall flowers, candles and linen cuffed napkins. It was so elegant!

My ultimate goal of this guide is to create a gorgeous meal that focuses on easily accessible ingredients, that can then be turned into something absolutely stunning. So, as you can see, this spread is widely universal and is perfect for an impressive date night dinner for two, an intimate Thanksgiving or Christmas lunch for a small gathering, or a festive Friendsgiving! The sky is the limit!

An Herb-Crusted Cornish Game Hen, on a plate, surrounded by parsnip purée and honey glazed rainbow carrots.

If you’re preparing this meal for more than two people….Here are some helpful suggestions to make this Thanksgiving Menu a success and as stress-free as possible:

Prep as much as you can a day or two in advance including the side dishes.
Purchase a fun appetizer that really speaks to your guests’ palates, because not everything has to be homemade.
Make a simple dessert.
Serve wine or champagne for the adults, and a sparkling juice for the kiddos, instead of making your own fancy punch or cocktails.
Prepare a simple tablescape with flowers that you may already have outside, candles, linens and edible goodies like: fresh fruits and fresh herbs.

And, for those interested, my full guide is below. I hope you absolutely love it!