How about this recipe for a delicious appetizer? It’s a pretty simple Pumpkin soup. Add butter and oil to a pan over medium heat. Add leaks to saute, only the white portion, until soft. Now throw in some pumpkin puree along with cloves, cinnamon, ground ginger and some salt. After that’s all mixed, add 32 ounces of vegetable broth. Add brown sugar. Bring it to a low boil then let it simmer for 10 minutes. Cream or half and half are optional, along with a pinch of cinnamon on top of each bowl. That sounds good.

A turkey can be fried instead of broiled. Don’t worry, fried turkey isn’t greasy. The oil is so hot it sears the skin, thus the oil can’t penetrate it. Buy a turkey fryer. A meat thermometer is also needed, along with a deep fry thermometer to check the oil for the correct temperature. Fry outside in a large open area. The oil must be between 325F and 350F. The turkey takes about three minutes per pound to fry to about 170 degrees F in the breast. It’s common to inject spices into the turkey during frying, but the dressing is usually not fried along with the turkey.

For some other soup ideas try curried pumpkin apple soup, butternut squash soup, or pumpkin and sausage soup. Other appetizer possibilities also exist. Try something different like cheese wrapped asparagus. Use two cheeses, one spread and one sliced. Try slices of swiss with a blue cheese spread. Wrap the asparagus with the slices spread with the soft cheese, then bake until tender at 230C. Ok, this way asparagus isn’t healthy. But Thanksgiving isn’t a time for a diet. Live a little!

The world wide web is full of many other terrific Thanksgiving dinner recipes.