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What do you usually eat for Thanksgiving? Our family tends to have a pretty similar menu every year.
Whoever is hosting makes the turkey, stuffing and bakes yams (we like 'em plain, no marshmellows or sweet stuff). I usually bring fresh cranberry relish and mock mincemeat pie. JaneX makes a pumpkin pie. My sister makes an assortment of interesting (usually Indian-style) vegetable dishes, and makes the gravy. And, as a tribute to our middle eastern roots, we often have chumous and stuff like that for appetizers.
What does your family usually have?
**Ela**
[ November 25, 2003, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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1 bag fresh cranberries 1 undyed organic orange (cause who wants to eat all the wax and dye in the skins of regular oranges. ) Sugar to taste
Throw the cranberries and the orange, including the skin (but remove the seeds! ) in the food processor and process till it's a nice smooth paste. Add sugar to taste )I won't presume to tell you how much, our family likes it fairly tart). Chill.
You may need to adjust the seasoning after it has been in the refrigerator for a few hours. Btw, don't store this in a plastic container for more than a day or so; cranberries are really acidic and tend to pick up a plastic taste after a couple days.
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We usually eat smoked turkey breast (I don't think we've ever had a roast turkey), cranberry relish, stuffing, pumpkin pie and other assorted foods that vary from year to year. This year we're having stuffed poached pears, smoked turkey breast, cranberry relish, stuffing, garlic smashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, squash, red onions, pumpkin pie, and dutch apple pie. One year (probably 8 years ago) we each made extravagent dishes. I remember my father making a french onion soup that took 3 days to make (it was the absolute best, which is why I remember it so well). I can't remember what my brother and mother made, but I made a fudge truffle cheesecake that was so rich we were eating it for weeks.
I would love to know how to make a mock mincemeat pie. My dad likes them, but I have no idea how to make one. Every mincemeat pie recipe I can find calls for "canned mincemeat", which I am kind of afraid of.
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Turkey or ham Mashed potatoes and gravy Green Bean casserole Crescent rolls Yams with marshmallows Cranberry sauce
and
Pumpkin pie Chocolate pie Pie Crust cookies
Eat until stuffed and groaning, then wish you'd worn looser clothes. Depending upon the attending feasters, wear handmade hats and talk about what you're grateful for.
Occasionally, almost of the above comes from Boston Market and we turn up the heat to make it seem like we spent all day cooking.
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*sigh* Ever since Diane and I got together, we go to her family's for Thanksgiving. There's no telling what will happen. One year it was at a decent restaurant. One year it was at a Country Buffet !!!
This year, it will be at her sister's house and there will probably be a good assortment of traditional real Thanksgiving food!
Reminds me, though, once upon a time, I used to make Indian Corn Pudding for Thanksgiving dessert. I should try to see if I can find the recipe. It's great served hot over vanilla ice cream! Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Ela- If you have a meat grinder, try making those cranberries in that. I really like the texture you get that way.
Posts: 4112 | Registered: May 2001
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We generally have all the regular stuff and I love it all. My favorite however, is leftover cold turkey, leftover brown and serve rolls (you know , the kind with three lines on the top) and leftover (of course) cranberry sauce (the kind that's shaped like the can if you please) all made up into fun little sandwiches. Great with red wine and football. Thank god for leftovers!
[ November 25, 2003, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Wussy Actor ]
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When it comes to Turkey Day and Christmas, my mom is the best cook, hands down (except for that cranberry relish stuff. She only uses the peel of the orange.) However, the following is my college roommate's mom's method of preparing a turkey, and it makes much better use of oranges, IMO.
Cut about 8 or ten oranges in half. Stuff as many of the halves inside the turkey as you can. Squeeze remaining orange halves over the turkey, and cover it with cheesecloth. Baste normally.
It'll be the juiciest turkey ever, and the hint of citrus really makes a difference.
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I remember one guy I read about in an article who could tell where your family was from just by hearing about what you were having for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm sorry, but I can't find the link. Anyone know about this?
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When I was a little kid my favourite thanksgiving meals included
Mashed potatos Turkey Cranberry sauce Some kind of jelly salad with carrots and pineapple in it Yams Squash Broccoli Carrots Parsnips Stuffing Gravey Pumpkin pie Chocolate Pecan pie
---- My Aunt always makes a Potato Casserole:
2lbs frozen hash browns 300 mL tub sour cream 2 cans cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine 1 onion finely chopped 2 cups grated chedder cheese Salt and pepper to taste Parmesan Cheese
Mix ingredients, except potatoes and parmesan cheese. Add potatoes; mix again. Put mixture in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all if desired. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350F.
Posts: 944 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Trying something new this year -- stuffed acorn squash. I'm stuffing it with cranberries, oranges, raisins and nuts with honey, butter and brown sugar.
Otherwise, we're having turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, my mom is bringing yams, Tom's dad is bringing salad, asparagus, and pumpkin pie.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Herbed Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy Sage and white cheddar Mash potatos Maple Glazed Carrots Wild Mushroom Stuffing Apple, Celery, and Ham stuffing Green beans Candied Yams Fresh Cranberry Salad some of that canned cranberry stuff for those people Salad with beets, toasted walnuts, arugula/rocket with some vinigrette I've got to whip up yet... Fresh bread Pecan Pies Pumpkin Pies
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Mmmm, ludosti, smoked turkey breast sounds delicious.
Christy, got a recipe for that stuffed acorn squash? That sounds good, too.
Paul, thanks for the meat grinder tip.
Mock Mincemeat Pie (my variation of the Joy of Cooking Recipe)
*1 1/2 cup raisins, chopped into pieces *4 medium-size tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I use 2 Granny Smiths and 2 McIntosh) *Grated rind of 1 orange(use organic to avoid that dye and wax) *Juice of 1 orange (I grate the peel off the organic orange, than squeeze it) *1/2 cup cider or other fruit juice (apple juice is good)
Combine these ingredients in a saucepan, cover, and simmer until the apples are very soft.
Now stir in: *1/2 cup sugar (we don't like it too sweet, Joy of Cooking calls for 3/4 cup sugar, if you like it sweeter) *1/2 teaspoon cinnamon *1/2 teaspoon cloves *2 or 3 tablespoons finely crushed soda crackers (I used matzoh meal instead, since I always have it on hand)
If the apples are dry, use the smaller amount of cracker crumbs or matzoh meal, if the mixture is too dry, you can add a little extra juice.
*Shortly before using you can add 1 or 2 tablespoons brandy, but I use 1/4 teaspoon brandy extract instead, and it works fine.
I put the mixture in a prepared piecrust, perferably deep dish. I take another prepared piecrust, lay it out flat on the counter, and cut it into long skinny strips to weave a lattice top on my pie - it's really easy and it looks pretty and professional.
If you don't want to bother with the lattice top, you can top it with a pricked top crust instead.
Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, than reduce the heat to 350 and bake about 20 minutes longer. Depending on how hot your oven is, you need to watch it carefully to make sure the top crust doesn't get overly brown.
This pie is really delicious with ice cream or tofutti.
**Ela**
[ November 26, 2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: Ela ]
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Bake 8 oz pkg of brownies in glass pie pan. Mix 3/4 C butter and 1 C sugar until fluffy. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 6 oz melted and cooled unsweetened baking chocolate. Add 3 eggs, one at a time. Mix really well, until fluffy. Pour on top of brownie crust. Top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or whatever you want. Enjoy!
Posts: 4174 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Ela - Thanks for the recipe! I will have to try it and see how my dad likes it. We always have enjoyed the smoked turkey and dad has fun making it (salt brined for at a day or two and smoked for usually about as long - the meat usually ends up looking deep pink from all the mesquite smoke and because of the brining, it's still juicy and tender).
Eruve - That sounds really yummy!
I just finished making my pie crusts for the pies tomorrow. I will start working on the pumpkin pie in about an hour. I'm waiting until tomorrow morning to do the dutch apple pie. Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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This year it's only Dr.M, Big Momma (my mother) and me, so I'm keeping it pretty simple:
-Butternut Squash & Leek Soup -Salad -Pumpkin Bread with dried cranberries and pecans -Roast Turkey with Rosemary and Sage -Stuffing -Bourbon Sweet Potatoes -Green Beans Almondine -Sauteed Spinach and Portobello Mushrooms -Sweet Rolls -Pumpkin Pie -Pecan Pie
I think that you can tell where someone is from by what they serve. I'm from Georgia, so I make pecan pie and put pecans in my pumpkin bread. I can (and usually do) also whip up a mean peach cobbler if I need more dessert. My NYC born and bred in-laws never serve pecan pie at Thanksgiving (or any other time) - they always serve some sort of chocolate dessert.
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I'm a little too close to my non-gringo ethnic roots . . . most thanksgiving foods really disgust me. Pumpkins (and pumpkin anything), yams, cranberries, and sweet potatoes all make me physically sick to my stomach. And the only stuffing I can stand is Stove Top. So, dkw, if I went to your house, I'd probably lose a lot of weight!
Growing up, when we celebrated Thanksgiving, we typically had the traditional Thanksgiving lechón, with mojo, of course, or sometimes the traditional Thanksgiving pizza.
This year, I'm roasting a turkey (no lechón this year!), and for sides I'm leaning to mashed potatoes (from scratch, of course), fresh rolls with roasted garlic, and a really yummy creamed spinach I invented in imitation of the signature veggie at Shula's steakhouse. I am serving it with a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau and another of Andre Pink Champagne . As appetizers, I will lay out some turrón de yema tostada and perhaps make some eggnog. For dessert, I will make a New York style cheesecake, and I also bought a bake and serve deep dish apple pie. I also bought chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
Not quite your traditional American meal, perhaps, but it makes us happy.
lusti, I don't suppose you have that French onion soup recipe . . . ?
Traveler, can you share the recipes for the wild mushroom stuffing and for the maple-glazed carrots? They sound delicious. I can probably guess at the carrots all by myself, but I'd love to get the official version.
Roast turkey. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Mashed carrots and turnips (or parsnips. same difference). And apparently this is an Irish thing? I had no idea. Some little tiny onions. *shrug* Celery with peanut butter or this cheese stuff. Canned cranberry sauce. (mmmm). Rolls.
Apple pie. Pumpkin pie.
*drool*
I'm going to a friend's house, so I have NO IDEA what I'm having today.
Except I made a pumpkin pie.
You know, that healthy one? Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Were will still an homage-smiley-using board, I would homage straight at Mrs M, mack, dkw, Jaiden, Traveler ...
Ah, but then there is Christy. I have been promised Leftovers. (homage, homage) Mmmmmm.
Thanks for the cranberry recipe, Ela! I want to live at your house.
Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. ScottR, I sympathize -- I got up at 5 this morning to go into work. But the rest of my day is free, and plenty of time to mull over all the wonderful people in my life. Cards to write and mail, good memories to indulge, so much happiness.
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Icarus - My dad never uses recipes, but I will tell you what I can remember about how he made it. I believe he boiled beef bones (on a low boil) for about a day. He let it sit in the garage overnight (to chill it so the fat would solidify on top and could be scraped off. The second day he cooked (over very low heat) sliced onions till nice and caramelized. On the third day he combined the beef stock and onions and simmered them over very low heat. Then we served it with some grated parmesan cheese. I can't remember if we did "bake it with a piece of toast and the cheese on top" thing or not. I don't remember what seasonings, if any, he put in the stock.
6 or 8 unripe bosc pears (important that they be bosc because other varieties don't have much flavor before they ripen) -- each person gets half a pear, but you'll want leftovers. 1 lemon 1/4 cup honey small chunk fresh ginger (1 sq inch) 2 cinnamon sticks whole cloves (10 or so)
Peel pears, halve them and core them. Peel lemon and put peel in a large pot with an inch of water on the bottom. Sqeeze the lemon into the pot. Slice the ginger and add that, along with cinnamon and cloves (I also use cardamom pods because I happen to have some). Add honey. Add pears. Simmer for about 2 hours, until pears are soft enough to cut with a spoon. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.
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Ela -- I don't use recipies either. Cut the acorn squash in half and scoop out the middles. Add enough of halved cranberries, chopped oranges and apples, pecans, brown sugar and honey to make it good but not overflowing and bake in the oven at 350 for thirty minutes or until soft.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Christy - thanks for the stuffed acorn squash "recipe" - I will have to try it sometime. It sounds delicious.
mack, your Thanksgiving menu reminds of Thanksgiving when I was a kid. My mom would often make turnips (I LOVE turnips ). And my mom always used to make peas with baby onions when I was a little kid.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. The turkey was perfectly cooked and juicy, and everything was very tasty. Yum. I was tired after working all day, but not too tired to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.
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Icarus...I've been away from my pc so I didn't see your request for those recipes. I'll post them soon for you. I just have to track them down again..they are all still stashed from our trip. Seems like I packed up my whole kitchen for this thanksgiving. =) Everything turned out very well though.
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Dkw-do you still have that recipe for Pumpkin Crème Brule? Oh, and if you're still looking for pumpkin ice cream-try Cold Stone Creamery. It's really good.
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Turkey, of course Potato Kugel Homemade cranberry sauce Vegetable soup ("Gypsy Soup") winter squash roasted with honey, raisins, nuts Mashed yams with the marshmallow thing on top Fran's Imperial Rice (my Ma's recipe -- so good!) Asparagus Stuffing home baked breads pies -- apple, pumpkin, chocolate pecan strudel
In our family, the most sought after, fought over part of the turkey is the neck. Yup. The neck. I love it. Mom loves it. My sister loves it. The in-laws look at us like we are nuts; they consider the turkey neck to be inedible, possibly good for flavoring a soup, but more likely to be trash.
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My family's Thanksgiving usually consists of: Turkey Mashed potatoes Regular stuffing Oyster stuffing (for me and my grandmother) Apple sauce Corn Green beans cranberry sauce Pumpkin pie Pecan pie (sometimes chocolate pecan) chocolate mousse pie
All very basic. Sadly, I don't have the money to fly home for Thanksgiving so I won't be there. Instead, I'm going to take a bus to Mexico and stay with a friend. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that I'll be having Mexican food for Thanksgiving this year.
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Turkey Stuffing (from a box, all with celery and onions, one dish with oysters, the rest without) Mashed potatoes Gravy-- cream with giblets Veggie appetizer tray with olives and dip Green salad (sometimes spinach and strawberry with rasberry vinagrette, sometimes Orange Tossed Salad) Peas, often the kind with pearl onions, frozen, not canned Sometimes (fresh) green beans almondine Sweet potato pudding Two kinds of Jell-o salad, made by my mom and/or grandma: one strawberry with strawberries, sour cream, and strawberry with bananas, in layers, and one creamy cherry one with apples, cherries, and nuts Jellied cranberries from a can Spiced cranberry relish made by my sister Rolls and butter and margarine
Drinks: usually a white wine, Martinelli's sparkling cider for non-alcohol-drinkers, big pitchers of ice water with lemon
Dessert: pumpkin pies, pecan pie, cheesecake (which in our family means cheesecake pie with a sour cream layer on top), and sometimes an apple, berry, or lemon-meringue pie, served with coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and herbal tea.
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Roast turkey Homemade stuffing, lots of it Green bean casserole Homemade noodles (from my husband's family) Giblet gravy, only without the chopped up giblets Homemade honey wheat rolls with butter/margerine Mashed potatoes A cranberry salad, but I don't know the recipe for it. Corn
Pumpkin pie, made from our garden's pumpkins Pumpkin roll Pecan pie (occasionally)
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Oh, and I forgot the Waldorf Salad-- usually with no mayo, dressing on the side.
I just talked to my cousin, who's hosting this year, and I'm making the green salad this year-- the recipe I posted above.
Best way to cook a turkey: brine it, either with or without herbs (I just use salt and water.) Roast on very high heat-- like 425 degrees F-- for the first 20 minutes. This sears the outside. Then reduce the heat to your normal roasting temperature and cook until done. It almost eliminates the need for basting and ensures a very crispy, well-done skin.
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I learned this part from my mother. There is never enough room inside the turkey for all the stuffing that we need, so we always made a pan of it as well. The key to keeping the pan stuffing from drying out is to pour broth over it. My mom makes the broth by sauteing onions and celery in a pan, then adding the giblets and neck with water, salt, and stuffing spices. You let that boil while the turkey is cooking, adding water as necessary. You should also make enough to use it as the liquid for the gravy, if you're making brown gravy.
I can't really give a recipe for the gravy, because I never measure anything. But, roughly, take a couple of tablespoons of fat drippings from the turkey and put it in a frying pan. Add several spoonfuls of white all-purpose flour, enough to soak up the fat. Stir and cook until the flour has turned golden brown, then add the liquid. Use broth for a brown gravy or milk for a white gravy. Stir and cook until thickened; use immediately. Oh, and also if there are any crispy bits of turkey skin that are stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan, you should scrape those up and add them to the gravy for extra flavor.
I don't know the noodle recipe, otherwise I would post it. They are very thick, almost more like dumplings than noodles, and cooked in chicken broth.
My husband and his father have a special way of eating Thanksgiving dinner that involves layering the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and noodles on their plates. I don't recall the order, but they are both very firm that it isn't a proper Thanksgiving dinner unless they eat it that way. And they also must eat the pumpkin pie without forks, just picking up the piece by the crust.
Men.
(Is it a bad thing that every time I meant to type "broth" in this post my fingers produced "brother"?)
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Recent years, our Thanksgivings have just been Jim and me (no way to travel, etc.). Because I have had mixed luck with turkey and the associated fixings, and because we aren't huge turkey fans, I've made, for the past couple of years, Thanksgiving lasagna. Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I always mix the inside the turkey stuffing with the outside the turkey stuffing, which makes it neither too moist nor too dry. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Dang it, now I want Thanksgiving. I won't have one this year, but maybe my mom will make Turkey dinner for Christmas. I can hope.
Btw, I made this recipe Friday night, it was a huge hit with my guests. It's a cabbage dish, very yummy, and easy to make. http://www.recipezaar.com/18816Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Cool, Theaca. I'll have to try that, because I have a cabbage sitting in the fridge that I don't know what to do with. Now, would it go better with roast chicken or with meatloaf?
Roast Turkey Dressing Mashed potatoes Green bean casserole Macaroni and Cheese Cranberry sauce Dessert
Dessert varies, last year we had several pies and I made a chocolate and toffee trifle that was very popular.
The recipe is simple:
Bake a 9x12 pan of plain chocolate fudge brownies Have on hand: 6 Heath candy bars (crush them) and two regular sized tubs of cool whip or one large one (you won't use all the cool whip, just spread enough to on each layer to cover the brownies well).
Crumble the brownies by hand and layer the trifle as follows:
My pregnancy aversion to meatballs and meatloaf (but not other ground meat dishes) is still sticking around. Unfortunately.
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) in the food processor and process till it's a nice smooth paste. Add sugar to taste )I won't presume to tell you how much, our family likes it fairly tart). Chill.
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I won't have one this year, but maybe my mom will make Turkey dinner for Christmas. I can hope.
