Thanks­giv­ing is 2 days away, and we’re host­ing the cel­e­bra­tion for 8 peo­ple. I’ve finally begun detailed menu plan­ning and the long shop­ping list.

Advance prep on some of the dishes starts today, so I can take a yin yoga class Thurs­day morn­ing with­out feel­ing guilty.

We’ve planned it as a gourmet potluck meal — every­one con­tributes some­thing. As hosts, we’ll roast the turkey, bake two pies and pre­pare the basic side dishes.

What’s on the menu?

• Roast turkey for 8
• Corn­bread stuff­ing, made with home­made corn­bread
• Old-fash­ioned cran­berry pre­serves with gin­ger, raisins and wal­nuts
• Wal­dorf salad
• A spe­cial multi-grain wild rice con­coc­tion
• Brus­sels sprouts with wal­nuts
• But­ter­nut squash with orange and gin­ger
• Mince­meat pie
• Pump­kin gin­ger pie with lots of spices

Every­thing on the menu will be pre­pared from scratch, includ­ing the pie crusts and stuff­ing.

Of course, we’ll have a selec­tion of local Wash­ing­ton wines and some cham­pagne-style sparklers to pair with the feast. Some light appe­tiz­ers to munch on while wait­ing for the turkey to come out of the oven.

One of our artis­tic friends will beau­tify the table.

It’s lovely to cel­e­brate with the con­tri­bu­tions of mul­ti­ple hands!