Thanksgiving 2011

[Zereh]

Though it is very tempting to us foodies, It may not be a good idea to go gourmet on thanksgiving. Folks who are looking for their traditional Thanksgiving dinner don't always appreciate our gormet touches. You might consider preparing the turkey in a different way and making the sides as they would normally be expected in your family or make just a couple of sides with your special touches so that everyone can still find something that sparks that "home for the holidays" feeling.

If I'm the cook and it's at my house ~ well, you'll eat what I serve. LOL Not sure how else to say it.

I encourage people to shake things up and try new stuff! I'll trade an enthusiastically made and fun meal over the same boring stuff a thousand times over. <3 I hope you come up with a crazy new menu that you have an absolute blast cooking. =)

 

[Dawgluver]

We go to BIL's house for Thanksgiving. Love he and SIL dearly, but they are both such yuppies. One year, the whole turkey plate was decorated with BAGS of fresh cranberries sprinkled all around the bird. Looked like a Martha Stewart platter. They pitched the whole thing after the meal. What a waste.

I still prefer my stuffing to SIL's. We bring the scalloped corn.

She bakes the best pecan pie ever, though.

Totally forgot about my smashed turnip/rutabegas with lots of butter and a bit of sugar. Yum.

 

[Robo410]

I like turkey and the fixins. My turkey is locally farm raised, fresh killed. I don't brine, but I herb butter under the skin. My dressing is complex with sausage wild rice pecans and all the usual savories (carrot onion celery) and chunky bread crumbs. I do mashed root veg (potatoes rutabaga parsnip) and I escallop some sweets with nutmeg. I do a butternut squash soup with garlic and sage. I buy a few extra wings and necks to make extra stock to make great gravy. All of that is a given. Other items depend on who's coming and what they are bringing or not.

I will roast a turkey 2 or 3 other times during the year. It is easy to do, the house smells amazing and we all love the sandwiches and great soup it makes.

 

[Hoot]

Well, now....If I had my druthers...There would be a nice smoked brisket, roasted asparagus, rutabagas, butter beans seasoned with a ham hock, sliced cucumbers in a bowl with some slightly sweetened cider vinegar, my grandmother's biscuits (I sure do miss those), cornbread (fried in a large flat pone), my great aunt's favorite cake ..A simple yellow two layer cake with chocolate and peach icing, my Mom's iced tea, and for my own personal dessert, a glass of bourbon and a good Dominican cigar.
In reality, what we will likely have will be the traditional fare. Mrs Hoot loves Thanksgiving and she wouldn't like me "wrecking it up", as she puts it.
And that's just fine.
I was merely thinkin' 'bout what I would like if I had a free hand.

 

[cmontg34]

Well I've come up with my draft menu, but I'm sure it'll change. here goes:
Clementine-salted turkey, with red-eye gravy (will probably try this with chicken before the holiday to make sure it's good)
2 stuffings- a wild rice and mushroom one, and a carmelized onion and pancetta one
Still deciding if i want to do tradition cranberry relish or a beet and rasberry chutney
Mashed potatoes-regular and one with goat cheese, yummy
root veggie gratin with gruyere
Bacon braised brussels sprouts
3 cheese macaroni
My mom's sweet potatoes (lots of butter and brown sugar, sooo good)

I know there's quite a bit of starches on this, but let's face it, if you arent feeling like a hibernating bear after a Thanksgiving dinner, something isnt quite right...

 

[buckytom]

i figured i'd just google it for you, since there's time: Raising Turkeys at Home

 

[cmontg34]

its tempting...buuut maybe next year

 

[velochic]

I'm so happy to see such a thread, already. I am ready for summer to be OVER and autumn is my favorite time of the year. I don't have to do much planning for Thanksgiving, though.

We really enjoy tradition here, so our Thanksgiving is probably quite boring from a foodie point of view. However, I use my foodie skills to cook gourmet meals all throughout the year, experiment often, and Thanksgiving is our one meal each year that sticks to tradition with little variation. The star is a simple turkey (butter, salt, pepper, no brining) that I have been told by at least 20 people is the most tender, succulent and delicious turkey they have ever tasted. (The key is what a pp mentioned... roasting breast-side down until crisping the skin... a quality bird will shine through on its own.)

The sides for the entree are traditional American sides. Dh is an Armenian from Turkey (really), and in typical Turkish holiday dining fashion, we go slowly with the courses, starting early, and eating the entree/sides quite late in the day... dessert in the evening.

We'll usually start eating warm mezes (appetizers) around 2pm. Then we have cold mezes, which include salads and sometimes cheese, a soup (not too hearty) , then we have the entree with sides and finally dessert. Sides are typical: dressing, parslied potatoes, roasted carrots/parsnips, something new, and of course homemade yeast rolls. Dessert is almost always pumpkin pie and we eat it about 7pm. We pair these courses with wines (often the same ones year to year) and it's quite a gluttonous bacchanalia. (Just kidding... we enjoy the food and wine but don't go overboard usually.) But very traditional, once a year, and it's always the same. Wouldn't change a thing. Every family needs at least one solid tradition.

 

[pacanis]

I still haven't come across the turkey thigh and breast I bought froze last year. I was going to do a trial run. I hope the FS bag held it's vacuum. I should empty out the freezer upstairs and look for those...

 

[Aunt Bea]

I still haven't come across the turkey thigh and breast I bought froze last year. I was going to do a trial run. I hope the FS bag held it's vacuum. I should empty out the freezer upstairs and look for those...

Did ya talk to the dog?

 

[pacanis]

Did ya talk to the dog?

They wouldn't tell me if they knew

 

[velochic]

and I escallop some sweets with nutmeg.

Robo - what does this mean? I only know the term escalope in regards to thinly cut meats. I've just never seen the term (or a variation of it) used for dessert and want to make sure I'm not missing something delicious.

 

[CookingMamaof2]

My husband just got his smoker set up o he wants to smoke the turkey. We'll have some kind of brussell sprouts, I do glazed carrots and parsnips, corn casserole that every year never turns out, but we make it anyway, kind of tradition. I usually do two stuffings, a mushroom and a regular, but that oyster stuffing sounds amazing.

 

[licia]

We have a mini family reunion at the farm at Thanksgiving. We have a basic menu of roast turkey, baked ham, corn bread dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, cranberry salad, fresh veggie tray, rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie.
THEN, whoever is coming can make whatever dish they want to bring to go with the basic menu. We have some doozies sometimes, but usually have some keepers among the items brought. We usually have about 40 relatives and sometimes extras, friends who just like to come. We celebrate our mom's birthday the Saturday after thanksgiving, although her birthday is in December. Not many of us can get back that soon. We celebrate at the farm where my mother grew up and have boatloads of fun.

 

[marajo]

This is my 3rd yr @ attempting to make turkey gravy ahead of T-day and freeze; because we deep fry the turkey on T-day. I just roasted 2 turkey thighs w/ 2 legs. I roasted @ 335 degrees for 1.75 hours. I have lots of fat but hard to find any 'drippings' with color. Please advise. I am considering gettting a 2nd job to pay to have this gravy issue resolved via catering!!
thank you 100x!

 

[Robo410]

Robo - what does this mean? I only know the term escalope in regards to thinly cut meats. I've just never seen the term (or a variation of it) used for dessert and want to make sure I'm not missing something delicious.

escalloped sweet potatoes with cream and nutmeg ... as a veg. 18th century not too sweet way to fix them. I like to use the French term rathe rthan the American shortened scalloped (sorry for my spelling error the first time) anyway, they are very tasty and simple

 

[babetoo]

i have a small turkey thawing in my fridg. as we speak. got it for free. no room in the freezer. so a pre- thanksgiving meal for me. gonna make stuffing. gravy, sweet potatoes. and a tiny green bean casserole. i always go to other people's house and i miss the left overs. also cranberry sauce. no thanksgiving desserts though. taking a pumpkin dump cake with sugared pecans to the dinner.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I'm getting a leg and thigh (turkey) and a package of turkey giblets if I can find some, roasting it and then turning it into broth for making dressing. Shrek has decided he wants meatloaf for Thanksgiving dinner, but he also wants the dressing. Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Custard. Haven't decided on a veg, yet. Possibly fresh spinach, steamed.

 

[buckytom]

right now it looks like we might be making the turkey, stuffing, and apple pie, then hauling it an hour and a half to my parents' house. that way mom and any siblings that may show up only has to make a few sides.

 

[cmontg34]

I think I'll be sticking to my original menu, but it will all be reduced in portions. I sent out the invites last week, and alas, no one has confirmed anything. So it might just be my partner, me, and the cat. We shall eat like kings!