Canadian Thanksgiving plans

[Alix]

Holy moly! It's almost upon us! I'm still rolling ideas around in my head. I'm going to be having about 11 people, maybe a few more. I'm pretty set on the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I'm still rolling around salad, dessert and sides.

I HAVE to make my chocolate ganache pie, and an apple pie. I'll probably make a third dessert but I'm not decided yet on what I'll make. Cheesecake is a possibility, as is some other pie or tart.

Salads are never to be sweet in my world. I will likely do my dad's coleslaw as we have some cabbage from the garden to use. I need one other suggestion though.

Sides...I am only going to do one "casseroley" type side and then a cooked veggie that is rather plain. I've done spaghetti squash tossed with fresh oregano and tomato and that's been a hit, I've done asparagus and proscuitto, I've done steamed everything at one time or another. I just need some inspiration here.

Help?

 

[Aunt Bea]

Roasted brussel sprouts, candied sweets or glazed carrots, corn pudding, green beans with dried cranberries, mashed yellow turnip, creamed onions.

Broccoli salad or Waldorf salad with crumbled bacon and bleu cheese.

What time is dinner?

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Diced rutabega sauteed with onion, celery, a little fresh sage and a little black pepper.

Acorn sqaush (or butternut or hubbard or pumpkin or just about any winter squash) steamed or baked and served with butter and pepper or a little sour cream. You can also drizzle a little maple syrup on it.

Diced sweet potato tossed with a little olive oil, worcestershire sauce, lemon and salt and baked on a cookie sheet.

Spinach sauteed with lemon and garlic (let the garlic brown just a touch and it's super yummy).

Asparagus sauteed with lemon, basil and garlic.

Hmmmm, if I think of any others I'll post them.

 

[Alix]

Roasted brussel sprouts, candied sweets or glazed carrots, corn pudding, green beans with dried cranberries, mashed yellow turnip, creamed onions.

Broccoli salad or Waldorf salad with crumbled bacon and bleu cheese.

What time is dinner?

I love the creamed onions idea! Do you have a basic recipe? I've never done that. Got lots of little onions I could do it with. I like the broccoli salad idea too. Going to go check on those.

Spinach sauteed with lemon and garlic (let the garlic brown just a touch and it's super yummy).

Asparagus sauteed with lemon, basil and garlic.

Hmmmm, if I think of any others I'll post them.

OMG, you totally got my attention with the spinach and asparagus ideas. I'm leaning to the spinach idea though. Lovely!

I should have mentioned that my Mom is diabetic, so I tend to avoid sweet anything except the desserts. I can control her portion of dessert, but at the dinner table she goes a bit wild with anything sweet.

Thanks for the ideas. Keep them coming please!

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

For a salad, three bean salad.

I make a salad with cucumber, tomato, red onion, avocado, sour cream and blued cheese. I dice up the veggies, sprinkle in some blue cheese, add a dollop or two of sour cream, out a lid on the bowl and shake it all together. Then let it sit a few hours to let the flavors blend. Check occasionally and adjust as needed. Sometimes I also add a little fresh dill, sunflower seeds or walnuts.

My grandmother used to slice cucumbers, add sour cream and lawery's season salt and mix it together. Shed let it sit a few hours in the fridge. It was really good.

 

[Alix]

That salad sounds fantastic! General proportions please? One avocado, one tomato, one onion etc?

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

1 cucumber, 1/2 onion, 1 large tomato, 1 avocado. About 2 tblsp blue cheese crumbles but that can be adjusted to taste. For the sour cream I just make sure there is enough to lightly coat everything.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

The red onions in the stores up here are always really large (flattened softball size) which is why I only use a half of one.

 

[Alix]

I grew sweet onions this year in the garden, think I could sub one of those?

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Probably. I use the red onion because it's slightly sweet and has a milder bite than raw yellow or white onion.

 

[Alix]

My spanish onions this year are fantastic. Sweet and crisp. I'll try this out before Thanksgiving and see how everyone likes it. THANKS!

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Cool. Let me know how it turns out. It's one of my favorites.

 

[Aunt Bea]

For the creamed onions just peel a couple pounds of small onions and cook in salted water until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain very well and place in a buttered casserole. Make a rich cream sauce of flour, butter, heavy cream or half and half. Season it well with salt, pepper, nutmeg and pour over onions. ( This much can be done a day ahead or the morning of and refrigerated.) Top casserole with bread crumbs and grated parm. cheese and bake in a 350 oven til hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. This can really go into the oven with any other dishes. It just needs to heat through. They taste great but peeling the onions is a pain. I have made it with sliced large onions and the taste is the same but, they are not really as good.

 

[Alix]

Got it. If I can prep ahead its not so bad. Thanks Aunt Bea! What I might do is make small portions of some of these sides to see what folks think. I know there are only about 6 folks who will eat onions, and about 7 who would do brussels sprouts so I may just do a couple of things!

 

[buckytom]

oh man, onions in cream. it's not thanksgiving in our house without them. thanks aunt bea.

alix, what day is canuck thanksgiving?

if forget, is turkey the usual roast?

 

[jess11]

I haven't ever heard of creamed onions before! Fascinating...

 

[Dawgluver]

I make a CP corn casserole that goes over well.

 

[Alix]

oh man, onions in cream. it's not thanksgiving in our house without them. thanks aunt bea.

alix, what day is canuck thanksgiving?

if forget, is turkey the usual roast?

Thanksgiving weekend is October 8-10. We do our dinner on the 9th. And turkey is ALWAYS my go to meal. Some folks prefer ham, but to me, its just not Thanksgiving without a turkey. I've been hoping to hear from my "chicken lady" soon to see if she has any fresh turkeys for this year.

 

[Aunt Bea]

What are the Canadian "must haves"?

Does it have a French or British contribution?

I guess I am curious about how it differs from the trditional American turkey, cranberry, pumpkin pie.

 

[Alix]

Its roughly the same meal. Not quite the same derivation obviously, we are celebrating the harvest, not the Pilgrim thing. Usual meal is turkey/ham, potatoes of some kind, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sides (green bean casserole, squash, that kind of stuff), and dessert is pies and tarts of all types. Pumpkin pie is a big thing here too.

I'm weird, I don't like cranberry sauce with the turkey so I buy a can every year and usually forget to serve it! I end up making cranberry oat squares with it later. I also loathe and despise pumpkin in any form. If there is going to be a pumpkin pie or tarts at our table...someone else is bringing it. It makes me gag. LOL!