2017 Thanksgiving Menu

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

msmofet

Chef Extraordinaire
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Messages
13,861
This is my tentative menu. Menu may be revised. I am cooking for 4 - 5 people. So I don't cut items I just make smaller quantities.

2017 Thanksgiving Menu


Appetizers/Soup

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
Cream Cheese, Green Olive and Walnuts Poppers
Cheese, Meat & Fruit Platter (cubes – Muenster, smoked Gouda, Swiss & cheddar cheese, baby salami, sopressata, pepperoni, apple and grapes)

Dinner
Roasted Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Sweet Potato & Acorn Squash or Sweet Potato Casserole
Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower
Mashed red and Yukon potatoes
Homemade Turkey Gravy
Sautéed mushrooms
Homemade Cranberry/Tangerine Relish
Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Jellied Cranberry sauce

Dessert
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin Bread
Homemade Whipped cream

Beverages
Ginger ale/Assorted Soda (diet & regular)
Sparkling cranberry apple cider
Spiced Apple Cider
Figs
Dates
Nuts

give_thanks_2017.jpg
 
msmofet,

That is an amazing menu, the thing that really caught my eye is the figs!

When I was a kid we always had a string of dried figs to snack on at Thanksgiving, the leftovers ended up in one of the Christmas cookie recipes.

Organic-Conventional-Dried-Figs-Garland.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sounds wonderful MsM!

Our TG Day will be abbreviated, I'm only off for one day, so much of it will be spent sleeping. Shrek, Mom, Dad and I are going to avail ourselves of a Perkin's TG Day dinner.
 
Sounds wonderful MsM!

Our TG Day will be abbreviated, I'm only off for one day, so much of it will be spent sleeping. Shrek, Mom, Dad and I are going to avail ourselves of a Perkin's TG Day dinner.

That sounds great. What’s on their menu? Is it a set menu served family style or a buffet? One of these years I would love to go out for TGD. Or order one of those complete meals from a supermarket.
 
Last edited:
That sounds great. What’s on their menu? Is it a set menu served family style or a buffet? One of thee years I would love to go out for TGD. Or order one of those complete meals from a supermarket.
They tell me they will have their entire menu available and the TG dinner will be buffet style, once gone they close.
 
My daughters and family will be coming for the day. In addition, our granddaughter and (possibly) a friend of SO's too.

I asked my daughters if they would like any changes from our traditional menu and got a resounding "NO!".

Then my younger daughter posted the Serious Eats recipe for turkey "porchetta" and asked if I liked it for Thanksgiving. So the plot thickens.

Stay tuned.
 
We have been having TG dinner with our besties for the last few years.. They have been talked into driving to children's (they don't want to travel but, oh well) for dinner so, I will either put together a Trader Joe's TG dinner or we will go to a restaurant..


Ross
 
That sounds great. What’s on their menu? Is it a set menu served family style or a buffet? One of these years I would love to go out for TGD. Or order one of those complete meals from a supermarket.

That is what my daughter does now since her cancer. Her two kids Her son lives on the first floor with his fiancé and her daughter lives in the basement with her boyfriend. So now it is just her and her husband. Some years I go there and some I don't. This year will be a "don't" year. But the one thing about that dinner is that nobody likes the stuffing. So I usually make up a batch for just the two of them, with some leftover.

She orders a ten or less pound turkey with all the sides. It comes with just enough sides for the both of them. She never has had leftovers with the sides. Only the turkey and stuffing. You also get the pies with the dinner. I make a giant pumpkin cheesecake for her for the holiday. The family always tears into it as if it was their last meal. Not a bad deal in the end.
 
We are SOOOOO looking forward to going off the Vegan diet for Thanksgiving. Our housing community has a full dinner/potluck at 4:00 pm, but I have also cooked a meal to be served around noon at my house, so I can have a large amount of leftovers. I am getting our turkey from here..
Embudo Valley Organics - Home of the Happy Turkey - Certified Organic Turkeys

I generally have what is locally called an orphan dinner. I invite folks who would otherwise eat alone. And since we will eat a full meal at 4:00, that takes the pressure off me fixing an enormous dinner here.

So far the menu is

Brined and roasted turkey
gravy
green chile, cheesey, mashed potatoes
braised swiss chard
home made herbed dinner rolls
apple pie/strudel
 
I have absolutely zero say on the Thanksgiving menu, which will be 100-percent the same as it has been since I was old enough to eat solid food. A few years ago, my dad let me show him how to properly carve the turkey breast. I figured fifty years of eating breast meat cut with the grain was enough. Dad is actually very open to my cooking suggestions. Mom... not so much. :LOL:

CD
 
My two cousins, their spouses, one of their daughters and her husband, my aunt, my Mom and I are going to a local restaurant that has a Thanksgiving buffet here in town.
 
Incomplete at this point. :unsure:

Probably some kind of gumbo to start.
Fried Turkey..For certain.
Southern cornbread dressing is a gimme.
Sweet potatoes...some way.
Fresh cranberries... and sauce too. Gotta make everybody happy! :rolleyes:
Big pot of fresh mustard greens and turnip greens mixed....with turnip roots.
Somebody will probably want a green bean casserole...It will NOT have COM soup in it. :glare:
Either a Buttermilk pie or a Coconut. Probably some kind of cake(s) What ever the little brown-eyed girl wants to make/bake.
Wine, both leaded and unleaded coffee...some with chicory too. ;)
 
Mostly same old same old, here. It'll be just the two of us and leftovers make us happy [emoji2]

- roast turkey (I get the smallest one I can find) - I've been persuaded to put an herby compound butter under the skin this year
- mashed potatoes
- homemade gravy. I already bought turkey necks, so I'll make stock in advance.
- green beans
- cherry-balsamic sauce (we're not fans of cranberries)
- yeast rolls
- pumpkin pie
- red wine for DH and pink wine for me.

I used to completely forget about lunch on Thanksgiving, and by the time dinner was ready, I was famished. A couple years ago, I had the brilliant idea to make apple sangria the day before and sit down with some cheese, crackers, fruit and nuts - easy, yummy, and it doesn't add to the mess ;)
 
Our menu will include lo mien, beef with broccoli, sweet & sour chicken, and egg rolls. We celebrate Chinese thanksgiving, wherein we give thanks to the owners of the only Chinese restaurant in town open that day. We started this several years ago when holidays with our families became unbearable, and it has become our favorite tradition.
 
Our menu will include lo mien, beef with broccoli, sweet & sour chicken, and egg rolls. We celebrate Chinese thanksgiving, wherein we give thanks to the owners of the only Chinese restaurant in town open that day. We started this several years ago when holidays with our families became unbearable, and it has become our favorite tradition.
We decided a few years ago to go out for sushi the night before Thanksgiving, once the prep is done. I really look forward to having leftover turkey and fixings every year.
 
So far all I know is Dx raided my linen closet for a closely matching tablecloth as hers, so I know she plans on setting up another table than usual.

We found 4 really cool chairs at a garage sale this summer for extra seating. Maybe we won't need to use the piano bench on one end of a table so two people won't be scrunched together.

Division of labor. I already know she has lists. Plural. I'm going to put my initials next to some things that I know she will expect/appreciate/ can /should/ be assigned/ will/ be responsible/ and scan a copy. I think just scanning previous year's list is good, knowing her, it will be "fresh" lists, which is probably better. Standing on a short step ladder and handing down the good serving bowls from upper cupboards is a joint operation, polishing the silver is a one man job. That kind of thing. If it is something that needs to be done, she's written it down.

We will make turkey, stuffings, mashed taters and gravy. Relatives bring sides, salads, desserts etc. It's always a feast.

Oh, and the only other thing I know is the Vikings play Detroit in the early football game this year. That's ok, dinner will be timed to follow when the grandkids are up from naps. A nephew has a baby too, so that should work for the littlest ones.
 
Trying to keep the tempting foods and leftovers to a minimum so it will be pretty basic.

Stuffed chicken breast.
Mashed yellow turnip.
Brussels Sprouts.
Cabbage salad.
Pickles, ripe olives and whole cranberry sauce.
Pumpkin custard with whipped cream.
 
I've been invited to my ex's for Thanksgiving with her family this year. It will be the traditional turkey and sides.

I'm not a turkey fan myself, so I don't really give a hoot about the dinner. For me, Thanksgiving has always been more about spending time with people you care about.

Oh, and there's usually football on, too. So there's that. :LOL:
 
I was in panic mode as DH gets a whole big turkey as a holiday gift from work. I can never remember if it's for T'giving or Christmas, and I would need a shoehorn to fit it in our already bulging freezer. Whew, turkey comes at Christmas.

Bread dressing, doctored-up canned cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, a green veggie or two. I may roast a turkey breast and make a pumpkin pie.
 
Back
Top Bottom