New friend from the UK-American Thanksgiving

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Claire

Master Chef
Joined
Sep 4, 2004
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Galena, IL
How about we all chime in for Chrystal with our favorite Thanksgiving recipes?

I always roast a turkey. I do it in the oven, and stuff it. I'm very experimental with other meals, but not with Thanksgiving. I make a sage-based stuffing. Over the years I tried making cranberry sauce from scratch. I loved it, but realized that most people really liked the stuff from the can, so gave it up (I love the tart flavor of cranberries that isn't in the canned versions). There is enough to making a big meal for a bunch of people (I think the largest group I did it for was about 20, now I try to limit it to 8). One thing that is a favorite among my current group is a cucumber/shrimp/mushroom salad that I put out to get people to the table while I'm making the gravy, which has to be done last minute. I boil the potatoes, husband mashes them, so they're usually made before.

When I was a child, both winter squash and sweet potatoes were a part of the menu. They both were heavy on sugar and I stopped the tradition in my house. Not that I won't allow them if people bring them (I'm big on potluck), just that when I made them I wound up with huge bowls of them that I had to throw away. I hate throwing away food.

Sometimes, depending on where we lived (I am a military brat, veteran, and Army wife, didn't live anywhere more than three years for the first 40 years of my life), fresh corn was on the menu.

Nowadays a green bean casserole is a must. I never had it growing up, but some consider it a real necessity. There are many recipes for it on-line.

But what I always assign my guests is pies. You have to have pumpkin at the very least, but fruit pies are welcome. As the host, I have whipped cream and/or vanilla ice cream to top them.
 
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the dressing/stuffing! I don't put it in the turkey.

I prefer a savory stuffing. Bread cubes, sauteed onion and celery, moistened with chicken broth and melted butter, plenty of poultry seasoning. This can be heated in the microwave.
 
My specialty was always the pumpkin and apple pies.

My savory sage dressing, too. Some years I do scalloped potatoes instead of mashed.

No green bean casserole, just steamed green beans with butter and lemon pepper.
 
Thanks Claire.

:chef: So far I have come up with :

App's


Baked Brie (small bite) - mini encroute type thing
Crab & Sweetcorn Chowder
Cornbread (to go with chowder)

Meal

Turkey & Goose
Honeyed Sweet Pots ( thanks princessfiona )
Corn Casserole

Cranberry Sauce (I do this for christmas so can make it earlier)
Cornbread Sauce (if I can do this)

Desert

Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie
Cheesecake (or maybe pumpkin type)
Cornbread pudding

Food Gifts

Sweet Pecan Snowball
Peppermint creams
 
I have a Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe and use crushed pecans for the crust. Remind me to dig it up, I need to go shopping while my Ogre is sleeping.
 
I've added the following to the app's after much googling:

Spicy Maple Walnuts (maybe for snacking)
Cashews with crispy sage & garlic
Goats Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms & bread crumbs
Harvest Pumpkin Soup.

So fingers crossed the starters have been taken care off, just need to sort out the main, desert, snacks, & most important drinks.
 
Chestnuts

Buon Giorno,

Chestnuts are a favourite ... I either prepare a chestnut stuffing, in turkey cavity and / or a dessert employing chestnuts ...

Since, we do not care much for pumpkin, we only use a large pumpkin for decorative purposes. We prefer mince meat pie, pecan pie and home made lattice spiced apple pie ...

Since three of your guests are southern American and three are mid westerners, perhaps, a savoury corn bread stuffing can be a good idea.

Collard greens or kale or Swiss chard as a side ...

The best of luck with your lovely menu.

Kind regards.
Margi. Cintrano. :)
 
That all sounds yummy!! We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but I do prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Christmas. I generally make green bean bundles, which are wrapped in bacon strips. I prepare them a day ahead and put them in the oven after the turkey is out. Last year I made twice baked potatoes and potato dauphinoise (recipe from Jamie Oliver's 30 minute dinner cookbook) My family considers the twice baked potatoes traditional, so won't bother with the other next year, even though they are delicious!

I always make my own cranberry sauce. We can buy cranberry compote.
 
My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the dressing/stuffing! I don't put it in the turkey.

I prefer a savory stuffing. Bread cubes, sauteed onion and celery, moistened with chicken broth and melted butter, plenty of poultry seasoning. This can be heated in the microwave.


My favorite part is the gravy. People worry over the white meat being dry by the time the dark meat is done. Heck, that's why you have gravy.

I make the stuffing just the way you said. I put some in the turkey, but make some on the side as well. It is my husband's favorite. Both the gravy and the stuffing have sage and thyme which is pretty much what is in poultry seasoning.
 
I always have guests for Thanksgiving and assign them to do the pies. One year a friend showed up and was almost in tears because her new recipe (pumpkin chiffon pie) didn't set and couldn't be sliced. I just laughed and tasted it, it was good. Grabbed some wine glasses and the whipped cream and made sort of individual trifles. It was a great hit and we all had a laugh.
 
I always have guests for Thanksgiving and assign them to do the pies. One year a friend showed up and was almost in tears because her new recipe (pumpkin chiffon pie) didn't set and couldn't be sliced. I just laughed and tasted it, it was good. Grabbed some wine glasses and the whipped cream and made sort of individual trifles. It was a great hit and we all had a laugh.

Here in the UK there was an advert that showed a destroyed cake, and bailey's being used in the way you described.
 
Here in the UK there was an advert that showed a destroyed cake, and bailey's being used in the way you described.

I'm not sure which leetel gray cells were working in my mind that day, just that layers like that are so easy. I do (and over the years have) had English friends, and the one I have here loves my trifles. "They're not at all traditional, Claire, but yours are better and lighter." So that's where I got the idea of taking a failing cake or pie, layering it with lots of whipped topping (I'll confess to using cool whip) and booze and making everyone happy!
 
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We always had two staple sides. One was wild rice with pimentos, celery, sauteed diced onion, and walnuts. The celery slices are cooked with the rice. The other ingredients are added just before service.

Another was a cauliflower salad. Cauliflower cut up small, marinated overnight with celery and green olives, in oil and vinegar with lots of garlic.

Also, a cranberry relish of chopped cranberries, chopped orange, chopped walnuts, sugared in the cranberry juices.
 
Tradition in our house always included peas ,sauerkraut, and glazed sweet potatoes
Sweet potato pie for desert. :yum: Don't forget the whipped cream on top
 
We always had two staple sides. One was wild rice with pimentos, celery, sauteed diced onion, and walnuts. The celery slices are cooked with the rice. The other ingredients are added just before service.

Another was a cauliflower salad. Cauliflower cut up small, marinated overnight with celery and green olives, in oil and vinegar with lots of garlic.

Also, a cranberry relish of chopped cranberries, chopped orange, chopped walnuts, sugared in the cranberry juices.
That cauliflower salad sounds really yummy. I'm going to have to give that a try.
 
I have settled for Turkey (this is a must) & Goose for the main meat. I know I'll be fed up with turkey come the new year, so will provide a change for the Brits.
I've settled on Roasted Veg Galette for a vegeterian main meal (anyone is vegeratian, but can deal with that at a later date.

Just need to decide on just how many side dishes I really need to have alongside.

I have also found a import store for american goods, and they have a store near Manchester, so maybe I could presude someone to come on a trip with me.

What's is Grits? &
 
I have settled for Turkey (this is a must) & Goose for the main meat. I know I'll be fed up with turkey come the new year, so will provide a change for the Brits.
I've settled on Roasted Veg Galette for a vegeterian main meal (anyone is vegeratian, but can deal with that at a later date.

Just need to decide on just how many side dishes I really need to have alongside.

I have also found a import store for american goods, and they have a store near Manchester, so maybe I could presude someone to come on a trip with me.

What's is Grits? &

Similar to Polenta in texture. It's also made from corn, but is processed from Hominy. Wiki: Hominy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that will explain it a bit better than I can.
 
At the risk of offending our Southern friends, I do not care for grits. Or polenta. Or cornbread.

Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, something with green beans, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce, these seem to be the most universal American dishes served at Thanksgiving.

Make sure you make lots of gravy, a pitcher of it sounds like a good idea! Biggest complaint we've always had, we ran out of gravy!
 
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No offence intended, but goose doesn't really belong in a traditional Thanksgiving supper.

No offence taken :cool:. Goose is for the Brits that will be there. We're not used to having two big turkey dinners, within a month of one another. So if they want another meat, they've got one. Or maybe something like a game meat be more suitable.

The menu at this stage isn't set in stone. I'd rather have all bases covered at this point, then remove as necessary.

Though I've kinda realised that the starters might not be so suitable for the kids that will be there. Will need to check on their ages.
 
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