With all the planning for Thanksgiving dinner, I almost forgot to map out what we’ll be snacking on while the turkey roasts. After a few emails and phone calls, we’ve settled on a few easy classics from Hubs’ family holidays:

• Shrimp Cocktail (with Real Homemade Cocktail Sauce – recipe below)
• Crudite’ and
• Olives

Fortunately, we got these items inserted into the Google Doc in time to print the shopping list. And, a last minute addition to the main menu because you can never have too many carbs: homemade Parker House Rolls. The recipe in Bon Appetit called to Hubs.

Who could resist? I am biting my tongue about the calories and unhealthy ingredient list (whoops) for this recipe, but I won’t stop Hubs from pushing forward on this initiative.

Getting back to the hors d’oeuvres, let’s talk about Real Homemade Cocktail Sauce. I am a fan of homemade condiments overall, and if you have the time, it is worth it. Making your own cocktail sauce/mayo/spice mix will have an impact on the final result and often make an everyday dish outstanding. It’s like going from good to great in 5 minutes. We made this homemade Cocktail Sauce at Christmas a few years ago and it knocked our socks off. It’s hard to take prepared cocktail sauce seriously after tasting this. Recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman, of course.

Real, Homemade Cocktail Sauce 

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or red wine vinegar if you don’t have any lemons)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, or to taste