Thanksgiving/Holiday Recipes?

[Turkey Leg]

What are others making for Thanksgiving or other large holiday meals?

I'm in search of an idiot-proof turkey gravy recipe. I tried a make-ahead gravy from The Pioneer Woman magazine this month, but it was a ton of work, plus the 1 T of Worcestershire sauce at the end made it taste bad (to me, anyway). I can find tons of easy gravy recipes, but I'd rather have your personal recommendations.

We always use this brined turkey recipe, which is a big winner in our family: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe-1950271 (NOTE: I skip the candied ginger.)

[geekette]

Oddly, the best idiot proof gravy I've found is the Knorr gravy mix.  Yeah, it's just a packet of powder, but it's pretty good.  We travel to a vegetarian household at Thanksgiving, so I cook a small turkey breast here at home, freeze it in halves, take one of those and a couple of Knorr packets for the 4 non-veg people.

[Pigeon]

Trader Joe's sells turkey gravy in a box that's quite good.

[OtherJen]

Honestly, I never bother with fancy gravy. I always use the pan drippings, supplement with chicken stock, and follow the instructions on the Argo corn starch box.

I'm planning to make a standard roast turkey with bread stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and fresh cranberry-orange relish. I have a couple of good cheeses and crackers for an appetizer, and mom is planning to bring a couple of veg sides. I picked up a couple of bottles of Kirkland prosecco at Costco for a festive drink.

Dessert is the only unknown and the most fun part. I always make pumpkin cheesecake when we celebrate Thanksgiving with my in-laws (MIL loves all cheesecake), but I think this year it will be only my family. I haven't yet decided between traditional pumpkin pie, this pumpkin roulade, or this ridiculously good brown butter pumpkin layer cake that was a big hit a couple of years ago.