Thanksgiving Menus

[tortoise]

So the food is gonna suck. The company is going to be traumatically annoying. It will be uncomfortable as hell. And I can't drink cuz of my fucking annoying alcoholic brother who I wanna beat to death with a baseball bat! Oh! Not to mention that my hubby will give me guilt for months over inflicting my family on him.

You should read The Corrections by Jonathan Frantz. Sort of a misery loves company thing.

I hope your day goes much smoother than you anticipate, Nora.

 

[tortoise]

cinnamon ice-cream

Is this homemade? I'm always on the lookout for new ice cream recipes. If you can give me the recipe, I will reciprocate with my burnt-caramel ice cream recipe (sounds bizarre, but it's delicious... think creme brulee).

 

[Secret Kate]

NORA - I feel for you!

I have to spend the day at my sister-in-law's sisters house - well kind of a house! Double wide trailer out in the sticks - lots of big dogs - in the house of course! - I'll be asked to bring a veggie tray or something similar I'm sure! There won't be anything there that my kids like to eat - never is unless mom cooked it! Have to put up with my alcoholic brother-in-law and all the smoking of the sister-in-law and her sister. At last count I think there will be 11 adults (over the age of 21) and 9 kids - ranging in age from 1 to 18! My luck it will rain or something and we'll all be stuck inside the trailer with those 4 big damn dogs trying to steal the food off our plates!

I prefer it when my parents come to visit and we do a small dinner at our house - just hubby, me, two kids, and my parents!

 

[Ginny]

http://www.yourartslave.com/art2/thanksgi.jpg
Steven Verriest

he's got a lil buzz going....the wine...lil mood music.....i'm thinking he wants to stuff his turkey....but a ham sure would be tighter....i've never heard of anyone fucking a turkey carcass...hmmmm....

 

[Ginny]

this would be a yummy appetizer before the big bird......

http://www.hipergratis.kit.net/gozadas9/1015022.jpg

 

[Ginny]

i was searching for a cool turkey to post....this lil fella popped up....made me laugh....looks like he's just sitting there....

http://www.spanek.com/CARVE1.JPG

 

[tortoise]

LOL

It looks like he could get up at any moment and swat the knife away, "Hey! Quit that!"

 

[tortoise]

Yesterday I made a 2 gallon batch of fresh vegetable stock, which will eventually become the brine for my turkey this year (after adding salt and brown sugar and reducing it down).

Yum!

 

[Nora]

at work, so I have pics off, of course...and I'm about to leave, but I wanted to ask you, Tortoise, if you saw in Cook's Illustrated where they say that if you buy a Butterball Frozen you can skip the brining (cuz their injected solution does the same exact thang) which makes SO much more sense when you're talking about a 20+lb bird!

 

[tortoise]

That makes perfect sense, actually, and if we were going to be doing a 20+ pounder, I would almost certainly go the Butterball frozen route, and I would most definitely not brine it. The birds we get are generally in the 16 pound range, though (usually supplemented by a ham), and I have been very pleased with the results that I've been getting by using a fresh (not frozen) brined bird. I actually did 2 turkeys last year, one fresh and one frozen, and there was a definite difference. I definitely don't mind the extra work, since it kinda adds to the "feast" aspect, and it's nice to be able to control exactly what goes into your brine (down to the aforementioned homemade veggie stock).

 

[someplace]

Tur-Duck-En

I saw this on the news the other day and it looked yummy.

They take a turkey and completely de-bone it. Same for a duck and a chicken. The chicken is rolled inside the duck and placed on the turkey. Stuffing is used to fill out and reshape the turkey (and the finished product looked a turkey should) then sewed closed before roasting.

It was a Cajun company that does it and they're custom made to your order with a choice of 6 or 7 various stuffiings. Looked pretty good. Has anyone tried this?

 

[glamorilla]

i don't have a specific recipe for this...i just kind of wing it but i like hallowing out butternut squash and then stuffing it with a mixture of mixed nuts,fruit,dried fruit,honey,vanilla,brown sugar and cinammon and then i bake it for about 20 minutes or so...yummy and it makes an impressive looking dish...

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

My favorite stuffing ...



Greek Stuffing

8tbsp butter
2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2lbs chop meat (93% lean)
1 cup seedless white rasins
.75lb cooked chestnuts, coarsely chopped
.5 cup pine nuts
1 tsp additional pine nuts
1tsp clove
1tsp cinnamon
.5 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup cooked white rice
1 cup dry red wine

Melt butter and saute onion in large skillet over moderately high heat until onions are translucent, stirring often.
Add olive oil and ground meat. Stir unil meat is browned.
Add rasins, chestnuts, pine nuts, cloves, cinnamon and parsley.
Stir in rice, and wine.
Reduce heat and simmer until liquid evaporates about 30 minutes.

Stuff turkey and bake extra in covered casserole dish about 30 minutes @ 350

(and if you want to get ALL the stuffing out of the turkey, wrap it in cheesecloth before you tuck it in the cavity. All the flavors still flow out of the stuffing into the bird )

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

This looks like the right place for this ...

Did someone say food network ...lol

 

[Nora]

i don't have a specific recipe for this...i just kind of wing it but i like hallowing out butternut squash and then stuffing it with a mixture of mixed nuts,fruit,dried fruit,honey,vanilla,brown sugar and cinammon and then i bake it for about 20 minutes or so...yummy and it makes an impressive looking dish...

Ooh! Ooh! Glam that sounds fanfuckingtastic! Have you tried adding a splash of orange juice in it? I do that when I bake acorn squash in a sorta similar arrangement and it's WONDERFUL! Just like a tablespoon...anyway.

Tortoise, I'm gonna come have T-day at your house, mkay?

 

[calypso_21]

I should never have opened this thread...now I need to go get a late night snack.

 

[tortoise]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00004S4U0.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

This little gadget is a must for cooking turkey. Just stick the probe in the breast, set it at 161, and leave it alone (NO opening the oven door!).

Oh, and I've decided to forego the ham in favor of pork tenderloin tip roasts, which I will cook on the grill the day before. I do a yummy rub for these, with toasted cumin, salt, pepper, cilantro, olive oil, and a touch of balsamic vinegar.

I'm getting excited! The turkey brine is ready to go, and I'm raring to get started on the rest.

 

[Ginny]

Just stick the probe in the breast.....I'm getting excited!

oh really my love?....



yay your thermometer!

 

[seXieleXie]

my house has a tradition of having a huge thanksgiving feast the sunday before thanksgiving since many people leave for break. it was a great meal and a great time, everyone prepared stuff.

thanksgiving menu @ the co-op
*turkey with fresh rosemary and roast veggies
*marinated tofurkey with roast veggies
*giblet gravy
*tofu gravy
*home made cranberry sauce and cranberry relish
*stuffing: bulgar, seasoned with sage and apples
*mashed sweet potatoes
*garlic mashed potatoes
*home made sweet rolls
*home made brown bread
*green salad with walnuts, raisins and green apples
*sauteed spinich and zuccini
*pies: apple, pumpkin & cranberry
*carrot cake


mmmmmm. it was great. and the best part is that cook group tomorrow will be easy. just reheat the leftovers




*edited to add*
i made the french bread, sweet rolls and garlic mashed potatoes

 

[tortoise]

That all sounds delicious, lexie.

Just picked up the bird, a fresh Foster Farms tom turkey, only $0.79/lb at Costco!

(Have I mentioned lately that Costco rocks?)

 

[Secret Pleasure]

Ooh! Ooh! Glam that sounds fanfuckingtastic! Have you tried adding a splash of orange juice in it? I do that when I bake acorn squash in a sorta similar arrangement and it's WONDERFUL! Just like a tablespoon...anyway.

Tortoise, I'm gonna come have T-day at your house, mkay?

I took home an acorn squash just because of his recipe the other day. lol

I've done something similar using apple cider and great grains cereal (has some nuts and dried fruit in it too) but his sounds much more yummy.

 

[brokenbrainwave]

Alton Brown ROCKS!

I usually cook for about 17-20 people, but only going to be 6 this year. Staying very basic:

Garlic Roasted Turkey
Sweet Potato casarol (sp? that doesn't look close!) no set recipie, just add till it tastes right
Steamed fresh green beans drizzled with butter then topped with roasted almonds and coconut
Pecan dressing
oh and pumpkin cheese cake...

 

[tortoise]

With all this squash talk, I'm definitely going to pick one up too. Yum!

 

[Rubyfruit]

There were some yummy-looking recipes in this month's Sunset (which I stole from my doctor's office today), including a squash soup that I think I'll try.

Hey, does anybody have a recipe for pumpkin crème brûlée?

Sara Moulton did a Pumpkin Flan with Pumpkin Seed Praline today on her show that looked interesting too.

I just don't feel up to making pies this year.

 

[Nora]

Jeez woman! Pie's way easier than crème brûlée!! Although I'm dying for my own kitchen torch...

I don't have a recipe personally, but google turned up a slew of hits. *pouts* I wanna go there.