Thanksgiving Planning 2014 | Who's in?

[Dawgluver]

I made one and posted the recipe awhile ago. Claire Something (last name escapes me) with her 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network had a recipe. I used more spice, it came out great.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Janet, I have a suggestion for you. Use the Spud Nuts dough recipe to make your dinner rolls. Here's the recipe, and it makes fabulous dinner rolls - Idaho Spudnuts Recipe | Taste of Home.

Omit the frying part, and the dusting with sugar. Instead, roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick. Break dough up into rounds just smaller than a golf ball. Roll the rounds in melted butter and place thee of the buttered dough-balls into buttered and floured muffin tines. Let rise until doubled. Bake in a 350' over for the most tender and buttery dinner rolls you've ever eaten.

Tip 2 - If you make a brine for your turkey, and let it sit in the brine for three days, the meat will be more flavorful and juicy. Here's a good brine recipe -

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon Chicken stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Heat this mixture and add sage, thyme, garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil and correct the seasoning. Note: this will be overly salty, but we're not done yet.

Add:
1 gallon ice water
3 tsp. powdered ginger

Now, clean out the bird and immerse into the brine, in a large plastic bag, in a tub. Close and secure the bag and place into your fridge. Let it hang out for a minimum of ten hours.

To cook the bird, place it onto a rack in a low-sided roasting pan. utter the skin, everywhere. Roast at 400' until a meat thermometer reads 155' in the thickest part of the bird (tip of the thermometer will rest in the breast meat next to the leg joint, but not touching the bone). Remove the bird from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Remove the breasts from the carcass and slice against the grain. Remove the wings, legs, and all meat from the back, saving the oysters for yourself and someone special.

I've used this technique for years now, and have given it to many. They all tell me how juicy and tender their turkey is.

Of course, if you have a different cooking method that makes perfect turkey, by all means, use it.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Bookbrat]

Janet you are way more organized than I am. I can skip step one, though. My pantry has a window for climate control and will stay fridge cold until March at least. The most planning I will do is to pick up some turkey necks and backs for broth and can a batch of cranberry chutney as soon as berries go on sale. If I get really motivated I'll bake and freeze a loaf of herb bread for stuffing.

We may have two Tday dinners. Daughter wants to have dinner at her house with us and her in-laws. She is gluten free and he has Crohn's and can't have potatoes, so they will take the lead on the menu. I'll bring the things we can't live without....potatoes and dressing. I have to work the day before, so it will be nice to have someone else do most of the prep.

A friend grew us a turkey and I'm leaning against packing my homegrown bird down to their place where it won't be truly appreciated. I think I will bake it here the following weekend. Last year we presalted it two days ahead and it was the best turkey I've ever made, so I'll do that again and make our traditional sides...dressing, sweet and mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry chutney, Aunt Margaret's rolls and something pumpkin-ey. Maybe a kid-friendly pumpkin flan and they can bring their own sides. I will cave on the requisite flour gravy in favor of cornstarch, but I'll save back some broth for a batch of 'my' gravy. Mmmmmmmm....leftovers.....

 

[Andy M.]

I bought a cheapo frozen turkey today (.69¢/Lb.). This coming week, I'll take off the two breast halves and the two thighs. They'll get wrapped for future meals sometime after Thanksgiving. The rest will be roasted and used to make a rich and tasty stock for gravy, stuffing and pilaf for the holiday dinner.

 

[CharlieD]

Ok, never mind. I found the stuffing recipe. Thank G-d my wife remembered it was Fabio's recipe that I used as inspiration.

https://screen.yahoo.com/chowciao-u...sgiving-071016791.html?query=fabio's+stuffing

 

[Andy M.]

SO and I have been discussing ways to simplify Thanksgiving dinner. I started cooking T dinner with home made everything including gravy, stuffing, two or three pies, homemade cranberry sauce, two or three vegetable dishes, etc.

Over the years, I gave up on the homemade cranberry sauce because I'm the only one who will eat it. Ocean Spray won that battle. I'm down to one pie and one non-pie dessert because one daughter hates pies/cooked fruit. SO will make the non-pie dessert.

SO really likes Stove Top. I'll still make stuffing but may add a box of Stove Top to make her happy.

I'd be happy with roasted butternut squash as the only veggie but half the guests won't eat that. Every year I go through the routine of trying to find a veggie that my older daughter and her family will eat. This year I've decided when she asks what she can bring, I'll tell her to bring a veggie her whole family will eat.

I tested the idea of a turkey roulade in place of a whole turkey but that as not received well. So one turkey for parts and one for dinner.

 

[Addie]

SO and I have been discussing ways to simplify Thanksgiving dinner. I started cooking T dinner with home made everything including gravy, stuffing, two or three pies, homemade cranberry sauce, two or three vegetable dishes, etc.

Over the years, I gave up on the homemade cranberry sauce because I'm the only one who will eat it. Ocean Spray won that battle. I'm down to one pie and one non-pie dessert because one daughter hates pies/cooked fruit. SO will make the non-pie dessert.

SO really likes Stove Top. I'll still make stuffing but may add a box of Stove Top to make her happy.

I'd be happy with roasted butternut squash as the only veggie but half the guests won't eat that. Every year I go through the routine of trying to find a veggie that my older daughter and her family will eat. This year I've decided when she asks what she can bring, I'll tell her to bring a veggie her whole family will eat.

I tested the idea of a turkey roulade in place of a whole turkey but that as not received well. So one turkey for parts and one for dinner.

Andy, you have my sympathy. It is so much easier to cook for the family when the kids are small. I used to hide peas into the stuffing. Or overcooked broccoli. And remember if you put celery and onions in the stuffing, that's two veggie right there.

 

[GotGarlic]

How about a platter of roasted mixed vegetables, maybe drizzled with a vinaigrette when they come out of the oven? That way, people can choose which they want. Onions, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, etc. These can go in the oven while the turkey is resting.

 

[Andy M.]

Sounds good to me, GG but I think I'll make it her responsibility.

 

[Cheryl J]

.....The only thing I do ahead of time is buy some extra turkey parts and make a make-ahead gravy....it seems there is never enough gravy with a small 12 lb or so turkey, to accommodate all the leftovers that everyone wants.

I just found some turkey wings from last year, buried in the freezer. Yay! Those will be roasted and used to make stock for make ahead gravy. While the turkey is resting, I'll make more gravy and add it all together. Otherwise, we always seem to run out. Hopefully there will be some stock left for a small pot of soup with turkey leftovers.

I'm rethinking the cranberry orange sauce as well. I love it, but I'll be the only one that will eat it. Too much trouble for just one.

 

[GotGarlic]

I just found some turkey wings from last year, buried in the freezer. Yay! Those will be roasted and used to make stock for make ahead gravy. While the turkey is resting, I'll make more gravy and add it all together. Otherwise, we always seem to run out. Hopefully there will be some stock left for a small pot of soup with turkey leftovers.

I'm rethinking the cranberry orange sauce as well. I love it, but I'll be the only one that will eat it. Too much trouble for just one.

Neither DH nor I likes cranberry sauce, so last year, I made cherry sauce and it was great! This year, I'm going to make it in advance. Making most stuff the day of is too much for me now.

Here's the recipe, if anyone's interested: Turkey Sauté with Fresh Cherry Sauce Recipe | Epicurious.com

 

[Cheryl J]

Sounds good, GG. I bet that would be a good spread for turkey sandwiches, too.

 

[Addie]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in these parts a Thanksgiving sandwich with all the fixings, minus the gravy make a great sub sandwich. It is now available year round. Before it was only during the holiday season starting at the beginning of November until the end of December. Now you can even get them in the middle of the summer.

 

[GotGarlic]

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in these parts a Thanksgiving sandwich with all the fixings, minus the gravy make a great sub sandwich. It is now available year round. Before it was only during the holiday season starting at the beginning of November until the end of December. Now you can even get them in the middle of the summer.

That's pretty popular around the country, but the breads probably vary.

 

[GotGarlic]

Sounds good, GG. I bet that would be a good spread for turkey sandwiches, too.

It would, yes I forgot to mention, I used thawed frozen cherries and they worked fine.

 

[Dawgluver]

It would, yes I forgot to mention, I used thawed frozen cherries and they worked fine.

Hmm. Good to know, I have some frozen cherries left over from the summer season.

 

[Kathleen]

Maybe I'll get a thigh for myself, since I much prefer dark meat. I would love to do a whole turkey, but I end up with mostly white meat and Shrek is not eating as much as he used to, so I end up eating something I don't care for so it won't go to waste.

I always try to find a small turkey. Leftovers plus turkey salad, turkey stew, turkey casserole, etc. I channel my inner grandma/momma to deal with leftovers - besides, I live for turkey stew.

I'll make anything anyone wants for Christmas, New Years, Easter, etc. Thanksgiving is my sacred holiday to make family food. Turkey, dressing, dumplings, sweet potatoes with pecans and pineapple, creamed peas, cranberry sauce, Thanksgiving salad (which is almost a dessert,) citrus salad, stuffed celery, olives, and pies. I have pumpkins grown in the garden for pie this year. I love to make other pies but, unless company arrives, I'm sticking to pumpkin this year.

~Kathleen

 

[Dawgluver]

This all reminds me, DH gets a free turkey through work. I'm going to have to free up some freezer space, and quickly.

 

[GotGarlic]

Something else I thought about: Janet, when you're setting out the serving dishes, put a sticky in each one identifying the food that will be served from it and the serving utensil. Prevents the mad scramble to find a large enough spoon at serving time.

 

[Janet H]

Something else I thought about: Janet, when you're setting out the serving dishes, put a sticky in each one identifying the food that will be served from it and the serving utensil. Prevents the mad scramble to find a large enough spoon at serving time.

Good idea! You are right - at the last minute it's likely I will forget what the plan was.