It's Time

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salt and pepper

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Since Dc is very busy on Thanksgiving I though it would be a good time to start planning. Whats everyone doing? Any questions? A good time to ask.
 
Well now....I would like to add some more interesting items to what passes for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs Hoot generally balks at that idea.
I would like to include:
Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish (From NPR's The Splendid Table)
Pistachio and sage dressing
Avocado Pie

These would be nice (IMHO) with a roast turkey, mashed taters, butterbeans, baked sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, and iced tea.
I reckon we will see what I can talk her into.
 
It'll just the the two of us this year, which means I won't go too crazy. We're hosting a family Christmas at our house this year and I'm saving my efforts for that.

Instead of a turkey I think I'll just roast a large chicken in the manner of a turkey and add sides Glenn prefers. It doesn't really matter to me. It's all good!!
 
We normally have my two daughters, SIL and grandson for dinner. Assuming that won't change, I plan our traditional meal. Nothing different planned yet. I really haven't given it any thought. It's too early for me.
 
I anticipate my cousin will invite us and DH's brother again this year. They live about 4 hours away.
 
Thanksgiving?!
I haven't even bought my Halloween candy yet! :ohmy:
Priorities you know :LOL:
 
I will go to who ever invites me first. Probably Poo's house. I doubt if my daughter will want to cook. :angel:
 
Ours is next week, here in Canuckistan......I'm not sure and never really know until a couple of days before. It depends on what my siblings are doing. I will leave it open to see if any of them want to try and get together at my mother's house. We try not to plan too much or she goes overboard and cooks to much and we don't want her to go out of her way. So, we plan something and bring food. If not, then I plan one here, at home. Then, we invite whoever or whatever that has no place else to go at the time.
 
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It's always just the two of us but we do a full blown traditional turkey dinner. We love the leftovers and have, on occasion, - eaten "leftovers" (a turkey sandwich) before the actual turkey dinner. It's hard to decide sometimes what we want more !
 
Every year I think about doing something different and then the grocery stores start the turkey wars and I always end up buying a cheap turkey.

The hardest part for me is cutting back on all of the traditional foods I grew up with to create a miniature feast.

It will probably be turkey, Brussels sprouts, mashed turnip, cabbage salad, cranberries, pickles, ripe olives and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Did I mention PIE, I love pie! :ermm::ohmy::LOL:
 
We will be having a Hutterite chicken (about half the size of a turkey), sage dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy. Cranberry sauce and Pumpkin Custard.
 
I'm hoping my SIL has Turkey Day at her house this year. We're going on vacation earlier in November, leaving southern FL to head back home on November 15th, and right now have no idea where we might decide to stop along the way. She usually makes the turkey and stuffing plus the pumpkin pie, I make and bring a couple of side dishes. I think this year I'll tell her I'll make the stuffing outside the bird. She always uses packaged stuffing mix, maybe one egg, and not much else. My stuffing is from day-old bread, eggs, broth, onion and celery. It's more work but you sure can tell! :yum:

I suppose I should start looking for the recipe for the cranberry-port sauce, huh? :huh:
 
Isa capon really much better than is a regular chicken? If so, maybe I'll make a capon. I'll probably be smoking a turkey for our church.

Besides the protien, there has to be a relish tray inclucing cranberry sauce, black and green olives, celery sticks, bread dressing (there can also be a rice dressing), mashed rutabaga with butter and brown sugar, baked sweet potato, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and maybe a cheesecake. Nope, that's right, you don't see it here - green bean escarole. Who has room when there are such wonderful flavors as the sweet potatoes, and rutabaga?

It's so hard to eat just a bit of everything so as not to get stuffed like the turkey.

Unless cooked to perfection, the turkey is probably my least favorite thing about the meal. ut when cooked to perfection, it's truly the highlight of the meal.

The best things about the meal are giving thanks to my Father in Heaven for the bounty, and spending time with my family. The food just brings us all together.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I wouldn't say a capon is better, it's just bigger.


I think the story is that capons are older and therefore have a richer chicken flavor than the young birds we normally get when we buy chicken. i haven't tested that theory. I'd guess a capon would be tougher.
 
I think the story is that capons are older and therefore have a richer chicken flavor than the young birds we normally get when we buy chicken. i haven't tested that theory. I'd guess a capon would be tougher.

I didn't notice a different flavor. And it certainly wasn't tough.
There came a time when my mother switched from turkey to capons, simply because a turkey was too big and a large chicken not big enough. It tasted just like chicken to me. They neuter the roosters young enough not to impart any different flavor, IMO. And of course so they don't go around strutting their stuff. That could toughen the bird up.
 
I didn't notice a different flavor. And it certainly wasn't tough.
There came a time when my mother switched from turkey to capons, simply because a turkey was too big and a large chicken not big enough. It tasted just like chicken to me. They neuter the roosters young enough not to impart any different flavor, IMO. And of course so they don't go around strutting their stuff. That could toughen the bird up.


I don't think capon flavor is different, just more developed chicken flavor because the bird is more than the 8 week old (or whatever) birds you usually get. Frankly, I've never eaten a capon as a roasted bird, just as a base for another dish.
 
It's been a while since I've had one, so who knows how they compare now to 6-7 years ago. I just don't recall any difference other than size.
 
The Hutterite chickens are twice the size of a regular chicken. So, nice to roast but without all the extra leftovers for two people to try to eat up.
 
The Hutterite chickens are twice the size of a regular chicken. So, nice to roast but without all the extra leftovers for two people to try to eat up.


PF, no offense to your Hutterite chickens. I looked them up as I didn't recognize the name.

However, I an annoyed that the site I visited among others, continually make reference to the fact that "...our chickens are hormone free!" or "We raise our chicken without the use of hormones." While these statements may be true, they imply that other chickens are raised using hormones so theirs are better. This is untrue as the USDA specifically prohibits the use of hormones in the raising of chickens.

I find the use of scare tactics like this an indication they are struggling to differentiate their product.

Rant over.
 
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