Thanksgiving 2008 - Menu/Dinner Plans/Recipes

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Happy Thanksgiving

I'll be hosting this wonderful Holiday in my home:) this year with lots of help from my family and friends. I will be roasting the birds, making the stuffing and gravy along with turnip, etc. What I am looking for is a stuffing recipe made with andouille sausage that is NOT made with corn bread. I saw one years ago and did not save it. I would appreciate any help. Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving.
 
Several decades ago, when I was newly married, my husband and I (hubby #1 aka "practice husband #1") were both working and going to college. I worked a split shift at a local restaurant and had to be at work at 11:30 am, but I was determined to make my first real Thanksgiving dinner. I got up in the middle of the night and put the turkey in the oven and we had a full Thanksgiving spread at 10:30 in the morning. Omigosh - I could hardly move, let alone go to work. And he had to go to work at a gas station after all this...Poor man - no wonder the marriage didn't last!
 
We are having the normal stuff, turkey, ham, dressing, deviled eggs, cranberry, green beans, sweet tators, mashed tators, not sure what else.
It's one of my sisters 50th on the 23rd, so niece is turning Thanksgiving into a surprise party. Sis has no clue we are all going to be there. We normally do our own thing now days since the others have such big families Gonna be fun!
 
I'm going to MexicoKaren's!!!

Standard fare here:

My ex MIL's broccoli casserole
sweet potato casserole or some sort of sweet potato dish
mashed potatoes
brined and smoked turkey
oyster dressing
wild mushroom bread pudding
rosemary/pine nut peas
roasted brussels sprouts drizzled with a reduced balsamic glaze
some sort of cranberry sauce with port and shallots
acini de pepi salad (Frog Eye Salad)
wild rice salad with dried figs
some sort of bread
pumpkin pie
pecan pie
slice of sin (chocolate dessert)

I feel sure I'm missing something...

All recipes available upon request. I just don't have the time to post them all right now.
 
I think our menu is set now but Mom went into the hospital yesterday so things might change.

1/2 Turkey with stuffing
Smashed spuds with gizzard gravy
Grandma's Green Stuff
Buttered carrots
Canned Cranberry sauce for Mom
Brown N Serve Rolls

I have ordered a pumpkin pie for me and 2 mini mincemeat pies for Mom

We call this GRANDAMA'S GREEN STUFF

We have been making Green Stuff since we took over fixing holiday meals after Grandma passed away. During our Holiday meals everyone would say "pass the Green Stuff". Grandma would get her feathers all ruffeled and say "I don't make stuff". We lovingly call it Green Stuff to this day.

Since we have a large family get together it is hard to make a little batch of this. Even with just the two of us I will be making this size batch. We never have leftovers.

2 lg pkg Lime Jello
1 lg can crushed pineapple with juice-chilled
1 sml can crushed pineapple with juice-chilled
2 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 pt heavy whipping cream

Mix jello with 4 cups boiling water and stir until disolved.
Add both cans chilled pineapple. Do not add extra water.
Chill until almost set.
Empty set jello into large bowl (we use the largest bowl stainless bowl that we have used for our big dinners)With hand mixer, blend in chuncks of cream cheese until both pkgs are mixed in. Put jello mixture back in refrigerator while whipping cream. We like ours with small chunks of the cream cheese not smooth.
Whip whipping cream until very stiff. You may need to add a drop or lemon juice.
Gently fold whipped cream into jello mixture. Pour into a glass mixing bowl and return to refrigerator.

Sometimes we will garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts. Grandma's always had them mixed in but we like it with just a garnish.

Like so many others, Grandma did not share this recipe so by trial and error we have recreated it. It is also very good with any flavor of Red Jello.
 
We're having Thanksgiving for the first time this year. Obviously, it's not a holiday in New Zealand, but my DH is studying, and his supervisors both have wives who originally came from America. So we're getting together with them for a traditional Thanksgiving. I'm really looking forward to it!

They've asked me to do a kumera (sweet potato) mash. I think I can manage that. I'll leave the complex stuff to the experts :LOL:
 
Kitchenelf, I just read your menu more carefully. Whatever is acini de pepi salad (Frog Eye Salad)? Sounds fascinating! AuntieV, your Grandma's Green Stuff sounds delicious. We had a similar tradition in our family when my children were growing up: I made a cranberry jelled salad that the kids called "The Brain" (I guess it kinda looked like one.) They would just say "pass the brain." Now, my DD will be here in Mexico with us to eat tamales, and my son and his family are far away in China. Things change, but the good memories are always there.
 
How wonderful to be dining al fresco for the holiday. I hope the weather cooperates and it's a spectacular event.

We always enjoy a variety of cheeses and crackers/breads in the parlour with cocktails. The traditional cocktail is Rob Roys. Lou and I wait patiently for Thanksgiving, not so quietly jonesing for them.

First course is a huge antipasto platter with genoa salami, mortadella, ham, prosciutto, sharp provolone, marinated mushrooms, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, three types of olives and anchovies (kept on the side for those who desire them).

Second course is the one course than has priveledge to change each year. Some years it s a soup, others it a pasta. This year, my daughter is making home made jumbo (very jumbo, she says) ravioli, stuffed with ground veal and pancetta, ricotta salade and fresh parsley. she's making a simple sauce of sauteed tomato, garlic and basil.

Third course is the turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, buttered corn, home made apple sauce and cranberry sauce and a very special family recipe for a lemon creme mold. Some would consider that dessert instead of part of the entree, but I've discovered that the sweet lemony taste compliments the spicy sausage stuffing in the most magnificent way.

I make the bread, usually a cranberry walnut braid, corn bread, and brioche rolls.

There is always a bowl of assorted nuts to be cracked right after the main course.

Dessert, this year is a pecan pumpkin tart, steamed chocolate pudding with port hard sauce, and cream puffs. Dessert changes a bit, each year as well. The rest of the menu has very very little wiggle room.
 
I'm lucky enough this year to be one of the guests dining alfresco on tamales with Mexico Karen! I'm bringing the fruit salad. I have been dreaming about T'day dinner though and will probably make one for Christmas.
I know that everyone's traditional stuffing recipes are sacred, as was ours growing up. But one year I found this recipe and brought it as an additional stuffing to dinner. It was a smash hit and everyone voted to make it our new stuffing/dressing. So I'm sharing it here if anyone wants to try it. I love the lemon and garlic notes it brings to the table. Please let me know if you try it and what everyone thought. But DON'T forsake your traditional recipe in lieu of it or you will be hounded all year!

Here it is:
LEMON-GARLIC-PARSLEY STUFFING

10 C. dry bread cubes (about 14 slices)
1 C. finely chopped onion
1 C. snipped parsley
4 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
(Can sometimes be found dried where bulk spices
and herbs are sold)
2 tsp. dried thyme
4 tsp. dried marjoram
2-3 tsp. dried sage
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you like)
1 C. butter or margarine, melted
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 c. water or chicken broth
¼ c. lemon juice (Again, adjust to suit your taste)

Combine bread, onion, parsley, lemon peel, marjoram, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and garlic.
Mix well. Combine melted butter, eggs, water/chicken broth and lemon juice; toss with bread mixture.

This will stuff one 10-12 lb. turkey. Or spoon into a 2 quart greased casserole, adding about 1 or so cups of
chicken or vegetable stock to moisten. Bake, covered tightly, in a 325 degree oven, for 30-40 minutes.
Makes about 7 cups dressing.
 
Hi Mexico Karen you can count me in :) I am so sick of the cold in Chicago, I wish I did not have so much family here and then I would move to some place warm.

In the spirit of keeping my two cultures alive my Thanksgiving menu will have all the traditional dishes but with an Indian twist. My turkey will be cooked and then a tandoori glaze will go on it so that it has a bright red and spicy crust on it.

My stuffing will have all the traditional ingredients but it will have cumin powder, corrainder powder, some spice and a little cilantro and curry leaves added to it.

My sweet potato souffle or the recipe that Amy on this board gave me for sweet potato balls will have cardamom added to it instead of cinnamon.

I will leave the gravy untouched and the mash potatoes will be untouched as well so made the traditional way.

My cranberry sauce that I always make every year will have fresh orange juice, fresh orange slices and some chili and cumin. Almost like a sweet chutney that Indians make with mangoes.

I think it should be fun this year with the twist. I have never attempted twist before so wish me goodluck :LOL:
 
Thanksgiving is pretty traditional for us because we like it, and all the leftovers it brings.

Free Range fresh turkey (local farm), seasoned the night before, roasted over root veg
but of course fresh made stock for the gravy.
2 stuffings (dressings) sausage pecan wild rice and bacon oyster.
mashed potatoes with swedes (rutabaga)
chopped carrots and turnips
local baby sprouts roasted with pancetta and garlic, balsamic tossed
roasted haymans (local heirloom white sweet potato
yeast rolls (my first time)
pumpkin pie

sis will bring the pies (she's the expert there) and will help with the veg. I'm the stock sauce and gravy guy, and the bird actually takes very little effort once it is roasting.

the payoff: wonderful smells all day long, a great meal with family and friends, several leftover creations after the second meal of the same next day, and eventually turkey soup somewhere mid January!
 
Oh this all sounds so good! Laury, I'm thinking we may have to '86' the tamales and go to Vera's for Thanksgiving - with a stop in Chicago for some of Yakuta's tandoori turkey...that sounds delicious!
 
One more thing Karen. Acini de pepe is a tiny pasta shape. So it's some kind of a pasta salad. Hope they share the recipe!
 
I guess Laury is right - and thanks to her, I have some beautiful new placemats and new candleholders to grace my Thanksgiving table...we drove up to Sayulita this morning to shop for them. Beautiful blue sky, gorgeous surf, tropical breeze - but it doesn't quite feel like Thanksgiving to either of us!
 
How wonderful to be dining al fresco for the holiday. I hope the weather cooperates and it's a spectacular event.

We always enjoy a variety of cheeses and crackers/breads in the parlour with cocktails. The traditional cocktail is Rob Roys. Lou and I wait patiently for Thanksgiving, not so quietly jonesing for them.

First course is a huge antipasto platter with genoa salami, mortadella, ham, prosciutto, sharp provolone, marinated mushrooms, marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, three types of olives and anchovies (kept on the side for those who desire them).

Second course is the one course than has priveledge to change each year. Some years it s a soup, others it a pasta. This year, my daughter is making home made jumbo (very jumbo, she says) ravioli, stuffed with ground veal and pancetta, ricotta salade and fresh parsley. she's making a simple sauce of sauteed tomato, garlic and basil.

Third course is the turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, buttered corn, home made apple sauce and cranberry sauce and a very special family recipe for a lemon creme mold. Some would consider that dessert instead of part of the entree, but I've discovered that the sweet lemony taste compliments the spicy sausage stuffing in the most magnificent way.

I make the bread, usually a cranberry walnut braid, corn bread, and brioche rolls.

There is always a bowl of assorted nuts to be cracked right after the main course.

Dessert, this year is a pecan pumpkin tart, steamed chocolate pudding with port hard sauce, and cream puffs. Dessert changes a bit, each year as well. The rest of the menu has very very little wiggle room.

VeraBlue, I would love to know what lemon creme mold is. The name implies that is something that I would find quite tasty. I would love to have the recipe.

P.S. Your Apple Cake is wicked!!!!
 
Kim's going to deep fry a couple of turkeys (may as well, while the grease is hot), I'm going to make dressing, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy (jarred gravy enhanced with the broth from the giblets), and Pillsbury frozen dinner rolls. I will also make a crumb-top pear pie using a quart of home canned pears my friend gave me. My daughter is bringing her green bean casserole, which she tops with stuffing mix instead of onions, and a sugar-free pumpkin pie, topped with Cool Whip (which we all prefer to whipped cream).
Our grandson has diabetes I, but on special occasions he gets to eat pretty much anything he wants, and just takes a bigger shot of insulin. Since he is an active, growing boy, and not overweight, it's surprising how much he does get to eat.
 
I think our menu is set now but Mom went into the hospital yesterday so things might change.

1/2 Turkey with stuffing

how to you stuff a half turkey? :huh:

we don't celebrate Thanksgiving as much as you do, but DH wants to have a turkey, but I don't know what we two shall do with a whole bird..
Thought about inviting some friends, but they are all over Germany and to get them together at the table at one date seems to be impossible..
 
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