How nice of you to have these young friends to your Thanksgiving! Everyone is the nation knows what is on a traditional turkey day menu.....they won't be surprised or disappointed. I love the idea Elizabeth proposed of an extra, different dessert....like lemon meringue pie, or ice cream.

I love pumpkin pie and so does my family. But, I do have friends who won't touch it. I would have an apple pie or cake.

Yes to something green. Some simple steamed green beans and you an toss on slivered almonds to bump it up a notch. Or even easier, boxed salad ready to toss with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Lovely of you to be so welcoming.

The more the merrier!

I wouldn't change the main menu. The girls will eat what they like and eat around what they don't like. You have plenty of food. If you want to do another dessert fine. I make these Pecan Pie Bars because DH loves Pecan Pie but it's so rich and not everyone likes it. The bars can be made well ahead of time and frozen. They freeze beautifully and you can just defrost a few.

Pecan Pie Bars

3 C. A. P. flour, 2 C. sugar, divided, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 C. (2 sticks unsalted butter + 3 T., 5 eggs lightly beaten, 1 1/2 C. light or dark corn syrup, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 3 C. chopped pecans.

Preheat oven 350. Grease bottom and sides 12 x 18" pan and line with parchment paper. (Do not grease parchment paper) In large bowl, combine flour, 1/2 C. sugar and salt. With pastry blender, cut in 1 C. butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press firmly and evenly in pan. Bake 15 - 20 min. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, corn syrup, 1 1/2 C. sugar, 3 T. melted butter and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Spread over hot crust and bake 25 - 27 min. or until set. Cool completely and cut into bars. (I use a combination of half dark and half light corn syrup.) I cut them in smallish bars because they are rich....you can always go back for seconds. DH will take one out every day when I have them in the freezer.

I would add a hot vegetable dish, if I were you. Do people really eat carrot and celery sticks at Thanksgiving? I'm asking seriously; I honestly don't know.

I wouldn't change the menu at all. If you're concerned about the pie, have some cookies on the side.

As someone else mentioned I would add a green salad of some sort. I like having something just a little lighter on my plate.

Now, having said that, one can never have enough desserts at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Some sort of a bar that could be made ahead of time with maybe some fancy ice cream.

You're so lucky your daughter invited a couple of friends. A couple of years our sons have invited friends who aren't from here and couldn't make it home and they just seem to add a little extra warm feeling to the dinner.

Rhizo- yes, at least in my family. We have appetizers served around noon which include crudités, then we serve our dinner around 2.

I agree on a simple salad, maybe another pie or an easy-to-make sheet cake.

But first I'd ask your daughter what her friends tend to eat. How old are these 'girls'.

Add a cake or an apple pie or cookies. Everything else sounds wonderful as planned. It's not the food, anyway. It's the *company*!

i would ask my DD what they like for a dessert and add it.. cheesecake?? keep the menu, add some veggie. just roast a small variety (brussell sprouts, zucchini, mushrooms etc.) or do a salad.

"Do people really eat carrot and celery sticks at Thanksgiving?"

Not in my world :-) That is something that went out in the 50's!! Crudités as an appetizer is something quite different and would include other raw or blanched veggies and something to dip them in. But to serve on the table with the main meal......? Never!

To me, that menu is very heavy on the starches and lacking any real vegetables.....and a few carrot or celery sticks don't count :-) The young women in my family circle - early teens to young adults - are extremely food and health conscious. I would skip the extra dessert - they wouldn't even touch the pumpkin pie at my family dinner - and include at the very least a fresh green salad. Or some other plain (not heavily sauced or seasoned) green vegetable.

I wouldn't change anything. I think sometimes we overthink what we're serving to guests and end up with a Golden Corral buffet of a meal. Make what you always make, they'll eat what they want and if they don't want something then they don't have to eat it. Unless one pumpkin pie would not be enough, I would not do another dessert. If you need to make two and want to give a choice then that would be fine. Your meal sounds very traditional and very good!

Look at this way. If the girls don't eat pumpkin pie, they'll leave the house just under 7,800 calories. They'll be fine.

I would ask the daughter if either of the friends are vegetarian or vegan before worrying about addons. Insist that she askes them if there is any traditional type Thanksgiving foods they will not eat. She may never actually ask them but at least you are covered.

I would make a second pie of some kind just because I really like pie, but otherwise wouldn't change anything. It sounds good!

Kath, don't change a thing. Make just what you said, and it will be "your Thanksgiving Dinner" that you share.

Moni

Pecan pie is a Thanksgiving tradition with most everyone I know. I would add that. Otherwise I think what you have is fine.

Yes, good idea about asking if they are vegetarian or vegan. Actually I usually do ask about restrictions if I don't know the person.

I love that your daughter was kind enough to invite friends who evidently didn't have anywhere else to go. That says a lot about her, and you.

I wouldn't change the menu at all. Its what your family enjoys, and your traditions. It wouldn't hurt to add another dessert, but certainly not mandatory.

imdrno, thank you for the pecan bars recipe. I am a pecan pie fanatic and I love the idea of being able to cut the bars into small/tiny servings and then freeze them. Adding making pecan bars to my list of things to do!

Kathsgrdn, I think your menu is perfect and I wouldn't add or change anything except for offering another dessert. I love pumpkin pie but my hubby detests it. He's quite happy if an alternative such as apple or cherry pie is available, but he will also be perfectly satisfied with a brownie or cookies of the chocolate chip or oatmeal variety. I think you'd be perfectly fine to pick up another different type of pie or a dozen cookies from the bakery and call it done so that you don't have to do any additional work.

Since everyone seems concerned about the veggies, just take your carrots, celery, sweet potato maybe add some Brussel sprouts and or broccoli florets, cauliflower florets and toss them with some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss them in 375 - 400 oven for 25 - 30 minutes to roast. Doesn't get much easier. Veggies taste totally different when roasted.

Yes, the veggie tray, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cucumbers, green onions, homemade ranch, pickles, olives, pickled Herring, and smoked oysters, is mandatory at our house.

Your daughter is so sweet. I've been the guest when I couldn't get home at Thanksgiving, Easter, even Christmas during an ice storm. I'm sure here friends will enjoy sharing your meal and good times!

Your welcome, Dawn. My skinny neighbor does not eat desserts so imagine my shock when I noticed her eating a second one. Made me happy. I love that they can be made ahead of time...makes a lot so I pack them in a rectangle container with wax paper between the layers. You can help yourself to just one or make up a pretty plate of them. I, too love pecan pie but haven't made one in years because this is just as good, just as easy and you don't feel so guilty eating one..

I would ask my daughter to bring another dessert if her friends want one. Fresh berries and whipped cream are always yummy!

Rhizo, yes, my parents always had the carrots/celery/black olives for our meals, Christmas and Thanksgiving so I do to.

Annztoo, they are a guy and a girl. The guy is about 22, I think, just got out of the Marines and the girl I'm assuming is around the same age.

I asked my daughter a couple questions. Thanks everyone.