Thanksgiving Celebrations

[ilovelondon]

I live in the United Kingdom. I don’t know much about Thanksgiving meals and celebrations except what I’ve seen on TV and on film at the cinema. What would I be eating if I was invited to your Thanksgiving Dinner this year? Are your supermarkets filled with aisles and aisles of Thanksgiving food offers in the run-up to your celebrations? What table decorations would you have on the day? I'd love to know more...

 

[BreezyCooking]

Well, for us it's just my husband & myself, so our "feast" isn't as much as others, I'm sure.

We always order ahead of time & buy a fresh free range/organic turkey, which I roast plain. I always choose & make a different stuffing/dressing recipe every year, but keep it small since it's not hubby's favorite. Sides consist of a plain baked white potato & a plain baked sweet potato, which I split into halves & we each have one half of each, liberally slathered in butter. Another must-have is Creamed Garlic Spinach, as well as the traditional "Green Bean Casserole". And cranberry sauce, of course.

All of the above leave us with plenty of leftovers to enjoy.

Oh - & I almost forgot the piece de resistance - my family's traditional Thanksgiving cocktail going back 50 years: the "Scarlett O'Hara".

For 2 servings:

2 glassfulls original cranberry juice cocktail
1 glassfull Southern Comfort
Juice from 1 lime

Blend as is & serve with a lime wedge, or add ice to crush, blend & serve as an iced drink. Either way, delicious, very festive, & very easy to increase for a crowd.

 

[Andy M.]

I enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner more than any other. I anticipate it all year.
I cook it whether there are two for dinner or more. I have cooked all this for myself when I lived alone.

I brine and roast a 12 pound turkey. Sage dressing made outside the bird. Lots of gravy,

For sides we had rice pilaf (I grew up on the stuff), roasted butternut squash, creamed onions, cranberry sauce and sometimes green bean casserole. Depending on who's there, mashed potatoes too.

I make a pecan pie and a pumpkin pie (an sometimes apple pie) and vanilla ice cream.

If we don't want wine with dinner, we have apple cider.

Neeedless to say, we have leftovers.

 

[pdswife]

Turkey or ham
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
veggie dish
salad
gravy
bread
pies, apple and pumpkin or an apple or peach cobbler
I don't decorate for Thanksgiving but.. I'll have some of the X-mas stuff up already.

 

[sattie]

If DH and I are not hosting or invited to his family's house for Thanksgiving.... I would be cooking the following:

Either a whole chicken or a cornish hens, mashed taters, gravy, green and shelly beans ( a dish I make each year ), deviled eggs, bread of some sort, and a pumpkin pie. There may be some other snack stuff I will make, but that is pretty much the jest of it if you were coming to my home. Simple, but good!

 

[pdswife]

What are Shelly beans??

 

[quicksilver]

A day off in the work week, 1st of all. (more to follow) And the Friday after is called "BLACK FRIDAY". Supposedly retailers' best profit day of the year. It's the official start of the Christmas shopping season. Alot of people also have this day off work. It's the only week of the year, guaranteed, to have a 3 day work week for some lucky folk.
What's great about Thanksgiving here is it's like the 4th of July in the cold. It's about our country's pride, food, and family and or friends. No religion or ethnicity or political parties picking sides, or climate, to alienate one group from another. (Although much of this may be discussed at the dinner table. LOL!) And we all may eat different due to the above, but what is better than food and family/friends? (To me it's sort of like Christmas without the religion, or the pressure of gift giving.) The gift is each other and the right to do it.
And it's not just a meal in my house, but an event. Sit around the kitchen table eating appetizers, while the main meal is completed and set in the diningroom. People helping with this or that, bringing this or that, cleaning up this or that. Some of the men and boys watching (falling asleep watching) the pre-football and football games, armchair quarterbacking. Then all sitting down to the main meal;
TURKEY, cooked however, with whatever, and plenty, (and in my family we have to also due an italian meal)(never forget your roots kind of thing).
We continue to sit around chatting, or go back to the football games, or get up and walk around so as not to feel so bloated. (That's always me!)
Then dessert is last and usually varied, with coffee and tea served.
This is the traditional. Down here though, you see everything. Alot of people who are lucky enough to own their own boats take the opportunity to go fishing. Or with the multitude of condo owners here that have but kitchenettes in big developments, they may have group cookouts at their buildings or at the beach.
Alot are senior citizen "snowbirds" (a second home they visit during the cold months) , who's families are "up north", this is what they do.
Again though, friends, family and food. And take it slow and easy.
Just my take though.

 

[suziquzie]

I usually love Thanksgiving and all that goes with it!
But I get so tired of choosing between goingt o his family or my family, or having everyone here.... you just can't please everyone.....
I don't even want to deal with it this year. I want to make a nice big delicious feast for DH and the kids, veg out all day and just be us. Alone.
Doesn't happen here too often anymore.

 

[quicksilver]

In years to be, Suzie, you'll be wishing for that. I promise you. Plus you're creating tradition and memories for your kids. Get a good night sleep the few days before, and you'll be up to the task. Gauranteed.

 

[QSis]

Suzi, I say do THAT!

Tell everyone that you need a "Thanksgiving off" and that you have your hands full with the brood you have.

Lee

 

[LadyCook61]

I usually love Thanksgiving and all that goes with it!
But I get so tired of choosing between goingt o his family or my family, or having everyone here.... you just can't please everyone.....
I don't even want to deal with it this year. I want to make a nice big delicious feast for DH and the kids, veg out all day and just be us. Alone.
Doesn't happen here too often anymore.

When I was married to ex... I had to deal with that too, go to his mother's and go to my mother's , Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was such a hassle. I told my sons to do what they want for holidays, I am not putting them thru that , to go to my house or go to their wives families. So far, hubby and I either spend the holidays alone or sometimes we get invited to one of my sister's for dinner.

 

[JohnL]

Thanksgiving for our family is a huge event. We always have the feast at Mom and Dads house and we always have an open door policy. Anybody and I really mean ANYBODY is welcome to sit at the table to enjoy a good meal and be thankful for family, friends and good health. Dinner usually consists of 1 roast turkey, 2 deep fried turkeys, (one spice rubbed and one injected) 3 ducks, (one savory herb, one ala orange, and one cherry glazed) 2 rabbits, (battered and fried). These are my responsibility.
Others take care of the dressing, veggies, desserts and drinks. We usually have a turnout of 25 to 30 people which is a lot of work, but I love every second of it.

 

[texasgirl]

You would be eating with about 45+ people in my family, lol and watching the Dallas Cowboys play, listening to all of us scream and hollar when they do good and cuss when they do bad, hehe.
You would be eating the following
Turkey
Ham
Dressing
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Brocolli Salad
Cranberry
Rolls
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate pie

 

[Michael in FtW]

Here are some more Thanksgiving Ideas from our Special Events and Planning Forum.

Before my kids got married and had their own families, I too cooked a large Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for everyone. But with Mothers-in-law and another set of Grandmothers to visit (and after Dad passed away 13 years ago) - I too have told my kids not to worry about making it by to see me on those days. You can only eat just so much food, and visit just so many people, in one day. No fun cooking for people who are so full they can't stand to look at another plate of food - and no fun for them, either.

But - back in the day when I was making a big meal it was something like:

Turkey (oven roasted or smoked)
Ham (baked or smoked)
Cornbread dressing - 1 pan with and 1 pan without oysters
Mashed potatoes
Giblet gravy
Baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar and mini marshmallows
Green bean cassarole (I added 1 cup diced onion and omitted the soy sauce)
Summer squash casserole
Succotash (cut corn and lima beans)
Carrots - glazed in a buttery sauce
Another veggie or 2 usually steamed - cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts - sometimes pickled beets with butter and sour cream
Jellied cranberry sauce
Cranberry, orange and pecan compote
1 pecan pie and 1 either pumpkin or sweet potato pie
Homemade dinner rolls

 

[babetoo]

for many years i have had thanksgiving at my house. i can relate to suz. i am tired. i do all the work and then they gobble it up and split to their other families. just about time i can sit and visit, they are all gone.

my daughter said she would like to have it this year. don't think son and his family will want to drive to her house. so i will go and they must do their own. this is awkward but daughter says she is tired of being to only one to drive a long way. i for see hard feelings.

food is traditional , turkey,dressing,mashed pot. sweet pot. gravy, rolls, green bean cass. pie or pumpkin cheese cake.

i am hoping everyone will be ok with the change.

 

[MexicoKaren]

When we moved down here, the idea of turkey, stuffing, gravy, etc. on a very warm day did not sound too appealing, so we decided to make a new tradition for ourselves. We made tamales together. Now, we make dozens of tamales together every year, and invite a houseful to share them with us. We make VERY good tamales and have a great time making them. We serve them with rice, beans,vegetables, fruit and a pumpkin cheescake.

 

[valscookbook]

1800s Vintage Cooking

Pumpkin Pie - 1888

1 pumpkin (substitute with squash)
6 eggs
8 tablespoons sugar
1 quart milk

Peel and slice pumpkin. Boil it in boiling water until it is tender enough to rub through a serve with a potato masher; mix with custard made with beaten eggs with sugar and milk; flavor with spice and grated lemon rind; Bake in a deep earthen pie plate lined with pastry.

 

[ilovelondon]

What a fantastic response to my post. Thank you very much everybody. It was positively mouth-watering to read your messages! Thanksgiving seems to be an enormously big celebration and, in my house at least, Christmas Day lunch is the nearest we come to it.
The supermarkets here are hell-bent on shoving Christmas down your throats from late September when the warm weather fare such as disposable barbecues (yes, summer lasted all of three days this year) is sold off and replaced rather too hastily with boxes of chocolates, Christmas stockings, jars of sweets and tins of Scottish shortbread. Don’t even mention food shopping on Christmas Eve. IT IS HORRENDOUS!
Are the shops closed during Thanksgiving? Our supermarkets close on Christmas Day - for now at least, but have the feeling they would rather not!

 

[suziquzie]

Same here i l l.....
Thanksgiving dinner is Christmas pre-game.
Last year the stores waited 'til Halloween was gone for Christmas.
This year it's in the next aisle.
Obnoxious.

 

[valscookbook]

I'm looking forward to those pies. mmm good!!