Thanksgiving Meal Ideas

[pacanis]

I hear ya, Andy. Whole turkeys are so cheap. Frozen ones anyway.
If they weren't already frozen it would pay to cut it up yourself and use what you want, but then there's that whole, Is it OK to thaw and refreeze poultry thing

 

[Andy M.]

I'm tempted to buy a really small turkey in the next week or so and use it to make a couple of meals and stock for Thanksgiving.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I' m pretty much on track with Andy but, I usually throw in some Brussels sprouts, mashed turnips, and mincemeat pie.

This year it will only be two people at my table and I am trying to think of a new main dish instead of the traditional turkey. I usually cook one and freeze it but, I am losing my enthusiasm, any ideas! I am thinking stuffed pork chops but, still not convinced.

Spatchcocked (sp?) Cornish Game Hens. I like them with a cranberry relish.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Last year was the first time I made myself Thanksgiving dinner. I'll probably do the same thing this year, roast a leg and a breast and the usual, mashed taters, B sprouts or green beans, stuffing... Which reminds me, I better pick up the turkey parts early this year, as they can become non-existent around here come Thanksgiving. Must be a lot of folks cooking small meals and not whole birds.

Good idea Pac, I saw packages of 2 drums and a thigh last night. I should have picked one up. I'll go back tonight and get one. Then I just need to get a breast when they show up. Thanks for the nudge!

 

[pacanis]

Spatchcocked (sp?) Cornish Game Hens. I like them with a cranberry relish.

One cornish hen is just right for one person if you aren't looking for leftovers.

 

[jusnikki]

I'm not really sure yet. I know a turkey and dressing....maybe I'll get some ideas from here myself.....

 

[PattY1]

Looks like it will be just me this year. So I am thinking of buying Turkey Breast Cutlets and breading them with Stuffing Mix and pan frying in canola oil. Bake a Sweet Potato and undecided veggies.

 

[PPoppy]

Last year we had a home made carrot cake for dessert and the traditionnal turkey + cranberry sauce with sweet potatoes and green beans. But this year we might do a roadtrip for thanksgiving... so I don't think we're going to cook anything !

The crown roast seems great actually... I miss roasts

 

[Claire]

I, too, am one who sticks to the meals I had as a child. That is to say a large turkey. I usually do 20 pounds, but I don't have any young people this year so may go with a smaller one. I stuff the turkey with a sage/bread stuffing, any leftover on the side. Mashed potatoes and gravy, canned cranberry sauce. I do a cucumber/mushroom/shrimp salad that I used to just serve on the side, but have learned to have hubby put it out as a first course as I finish carving and making gravy (normally I don't do courses, but this works well). I tell my guests in advance what I'm making, and to feel free to bring something that is traditional for them (for example, I got tired of having tons of leftover sweet potatoes, and am not fond of cornbread, but invite my guests to bring a dish if it appeals to them). I do assign someone to "do" pies.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Last year was the first time I made myself Thanksgiving dinner. I'll probably do the same thing this year, roast a leg and a breast and the usual, mashed taters, B sprouts or green beans, stuffing... Which reminds me, I better pick up the turkey parts early this year, as they can become non-existent around here come Thanksgiving. Must be a lot of folks cooking small meals and not whole birds.

See if your hometown meat man will run a turkey through his band saw. It is usually a lot cheaper than buying parts.

 

[NAchef]

We cooked a 21 lb. bird with all the fixins this last w/e and have turkey often anyway.

I want to cook something different this year, just not sure what.

 

[babetoo]

thanksgiving at granddaughter's house. same old favorite dishes. i am doing the green bean cass. gonna make a pumpkin dump cake with glazed pecans on top. the cheesecake i made last year, was very good. not a good thing to let sit out.

my granddaughter , that lives in another town, usually does the day before thanksgiving. same traditional foods. i am always asked for sweet potato casserole for this one. i love the side dishes better than the turkey. though a sandwich the next day is good.

 

[buckytom]

i hope my family decides to get together this year at my parents' house. each of my sibling's or their spouses have a great dish that we all request them to bring, and one of us goes down to my parents' house the night before to help mom cook the turkey in the morning and get everything set up. it ends up being a somewhat ecclectic mix, but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

i'm looking forward to: olive, gardiniere, and pickle platter; devilled eggs; shrimp cocktail; roast turkey, stuffing, and gravy; seperately - mashed potatoes, mashed butternut squash, and mashed turnips; savory herb greenbeans; pearl onions in cream; jellied and whole berry cranberry sauces: rye and italian bread; baked apples; pumpkin and apple pies; ambrosia salad; ice cream; tea and coffee; and italian and danish cookies

 

[bakechef]

Roast turkey
mashed potatoes
praline sweet potatoes
roasted carrots
stuffing
cranberry something
green bean casserole (usually brought by friend)
fresh homemade rolls
pumpkin pie
pecan pie
maybe coconut cream

The stuffing is pretty much the basic stuffing that my mom made. The praline yams are my Partner's dad's dish (no longer with us), he got the recipe off the label of a can of canned Yams, they are yummy. I always have to have homemade rolls, they are a tradition in my family, my mom always made the rolls, even when thanksgiving was at my grandparents house. My mom taught me to make pan gravy, so there are no substitutes there.

 

[bakechef]

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. I used to love Christmas most of all, but maybe because it is so dragged out in the stores and there is so much prep and anticipation, that I am just not as in to it anymore.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. I used to love Christmas most of all, but maybe because it is so dragged out in the stores and there is so much prep and anticipation, that I am just not as in to it anymore.

I totally agree with you!

Thanksgiving has become what Christmas used to be. A gathering of family and friends to enjoy good conversation around a communal table and remember the gifts that you know who has bestowed upon us.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

I'm not even sure where I'll be for thanksgiving this year. Generally I contribute to what dad is making. The few years it was just Rol and I we did just a turkey breast, sweet potatoes, rutabega and pumpkin pie.

 

[Jessica_Morris]

We normally have mostly the traditional things...

Turkey
Honey Baked Ham
Deviled Eggs
Potato Salad
Dressing
Cranberry Sauce (not many in our family eat it)
My Grandfather's BBQ chicken - Me & My Mama are the only ones that can make it
Corn
Baked Beans
Coleslaw
Collard Greens w/ Ham Hock and Sugar
Green Bean Casserole (I would love to eat - but whoever cooks it puts Mushroom soup in it and I absolutely despise Mushrooms)
Pecan Pies
Lemon Meringue Pie
Banana Pudding
Chocolate Pies
Cake that's called "Better than sex Cake"
A couple of other things that at the moment I can't think of.

 

[vitauta]

jessica, are you sure it's mushrooms that turn you off to the green bean casserole? the small bits of mushroom in cream of mushroom soup don't taste even remotely like real mushrooms. in fact, they don't taste like anything at all, really. but i guess the psychological aversion to mushrooms by itself could be turning you off--the very IDEA of mushrooms--so difficult to combat....

but like others have suggested, there are other "cream of" soups that could be substituted. to me, the celery and chicken cream soups are practically indistinguishable from the cream of mushroom one, and they shouldn't gross you out....

 

[powerplantop]

If I make it home I wil fry a turkey and bake a ham.