Thanksgiving - What Do You Have Planned?

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:18 pm

My favorite holiday - stuff yourself with food then lie around on the sofa watching football. You Europeans are really missing out on something both grotesque and special.

This year we are hosting Thanksgiving for the third time since we moved here - I have a cooler all set up to brine the bird for about 12 hours before we stick it in the oven. We're doing mashed Yukon gold potatoes with sharp cheddar, green beans with smashed roasted garlic and country ham, dressing with spicy Italian sausage (not cooked in the bird), cranberry sauce (two styles) and dark gravy. My wife is responsible for everything else, including the pumpkin pie with a layer of apricot preserves and some new biscuit thing she's going to take a run at for the first time. Fingers crossed it all works out well.

Every other time we hosted Thanksgiving we have had some sort of minor disaster. The first year the temperature and pressure valve went off on our furnace, dumping water all over our basement and depriving us of hot water. Last time, the garbage disposal stopped working. I have my money on some kind of refrigerator problem this time around.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:31 am

Here's hoping your jinx is broken this year, Sam. We usually travel to the Northeast or Northwest, but this year we decided to stay home and host a few friends. We are also brining our bird, which we stuff with onions, celery, and lemons while its roasting. My girlfriend makes the world's best mashed potatoes which we'll top with homemade turkey gravy. A friend is bringing the sweet potato souffle and pumpkin cheesecake. I'll open wine and fetch beers.

Added bonus: Not two, but THREE NFL games on this year!

RedShoes · Post by **RedShoes** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:37 am

Thanksgiving in Canada is the first Monday in October, which I still find really, really weird. So for the third year in a row, we hosted a "US Thanksgiving." Of course, we don't get Thursday off so it's usually on a Saturday. This year we did it a bit early (last weekend) because this upcoming weekend is Blue's sister's engagement party.

The past two years we did a vegetarian-style Thanksgiving (no, we didn't serve Tofurky - blech) as I don't eat meat and frankly I'm not sure a turkey would've fit in our mini apartment oven. Well, since we've got much more space in our house than in our 700sq ft apartment, we invited over a lot more people and ended up serving dinner for 11 - and made a turkey.

We had:
Turkey, cooked with stuffing inside
My "famous" mac & cheese that all of our friends requested again
Mushroom stuffing (so I could have some too)
Roasted veggies
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Cranberry cherry sauce
Turkey & Mushroom gravy

And finished with homemade ice cream (chocolate and vanilla), 2 kinds of cheesecake, apple pie, and bumble berry pie!

Very very yummy.

Hope everyone else has a great Thanksgiving!

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:41 am

We are going "on Cosby" as it's said around here to my folks' cabin. They don't get to come, but my sister and her family do. Two 14 year old boys with BB guns, a big smelly dog (not mine), one tv with cable and a pro-football majority - much hilarity will no doubt ensue. It'll be like a Robert Earl Keen song.

I've been tempted to brine a turkey, but I am terrified of giving everybody food poisoning. I'll just be doing mine in the oven as usual, stuffed with apples and celery tops. Everybody seems to like my bean dip (I know, that's messed up!), so I'll probably have to do that too.

dressing with spicy Italian sausage (not cooked in the bird)

that's why it's called dressing, Sam, and not stuffing.

sorry, that's like my One Cooking Fact, so I pull it out at every opportunity.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:00 am

mood swung wrote:I've been tempted to brine a turkey, but I am terrified of giving everybody food poisoning. I'll just be doing mine in the oven as usual, stuffed with apples and celery tops. Everybody seems to like my bean dip (I know, that's messed up!), so I'll probably have to do that too.

dressing with spicy Italian sausage (not cooked in the bird)
that's why it's called dressing, Sam, and not stuffing.

sorry, that's like my One Cooking Fact, so I pull it out at every opportunity.

hehe, well that's what I meant. Stuffing is evil IMO - a big lumpy yucky mess.

Brining the bird is very very easy actually. You just need to use a very clean cooler - I washed mine out well last night with hot water and soap, then rinsed it like crazy. Some vegetable broth, kosher salt, ice cubes and Bob's your uncle. Then cook the bird on very high heat for a short period of time to brown the breast meat, cover the breasts with little tin foil breastplates and leave the damn thing alone until the temperature probe goes off.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:28 am

If you don't have a cooler, you can also use a brining bag that will fit in the fridge. We use the aforementioned kosher salt and an assortment of spices and broths. We cook the bird breast side down the first half and then pull a flip. Nice and juicy all the way through.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:01 am

If you don't have a cooler

Yes, but then where would we put the PBR?

I should say that there will be other stuff besides turkey and bean dip, but my sister is doing that part. Gotta have those little peas, wouldn't be Thanksgiving without 'em.

I'm also going to attempt this apple blackberry pie that I saw in a magazine -
sort of different, you roll out the crust on a baking sheet, add your filling and fold the crust over but not completely. If it turns out, I'll take a picture!

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 1:04 pm

bean dip

What is it now?

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 1:16 pm

Right now, it's stuff sitting on a shelf in my kitchen.

But just in case you weren't interested, this is how you make it:

1 can Old El Paso Refried Beans (I like the fat free version)
1-2 TBSPs Old El Paso taco seasoning
mix those together and spread in a pie pan.
layer on top of the frijoles:

8 oz sour cream
then
8 oz (or so) salsa
then
some shredded lettuce
and some shredded cheese
and some sliced black olives
and some chopped green onions.

it's good.

StrictTime · Post by **StrictTime** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:31 pm

Going to my bitterly caustic aunt's house. Usually we go somewhere else, but someone had a baby, and blah blah. It'll be her, her tool of a boyfriend, and my family (5 people, so 7 total). So I picked up some reading. Hopefully my mom'll make her mac and cheese, or green bean casserole. Barring that, at least I'll have black olives, a Thanksgiving favourite of mine since I was like 5. Mmmmmmmm, black olives.....

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 3:44 pm

(I like the fat free version)

So that's how you remain so svelte-like

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:08 pm

um, yes. absolutely.

svelte-like. that's me. at least in cyberspace!

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:17 pm

I just decided today to take Thursday off. Tomorrow I'll call around to the butchers to try and find a fresh turkey. They do have the bird flu going on around here and it's likned to turkeys, but as long as I cook it for over an hour, I'm probably ok. We've got a box of Bells stuffing hanging around - do some mashed potatoes, carrots - would do the green bean casserole, but you can't get onion rings in a can around here. Wife With A Problem says she'll bake an apple pie. Deviled eggs will have to be made as well - and then the football comes on at 5. Looking forward to it.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071115/ ... 15123.html

senior_service · Post by **senior_service** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:17 pm

I'll be watching the ASU game. Anything before or after that is irrelevent.

Boy With A Problem · Post by **Boy With A Problem** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:23 pm

senior_service wrote:I'll be watching the ASU game. Anything before or after that is irrelevent.

Sun Dummy.

oily slick · Post by **oily slick** » Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:06 pm

YES! Go Appalachian State!

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 12:12 am

We drove to Ohio (Dayton) from Southern California. 34 hours driving time, 51 hours elapsed time. Lot's of cash for fuel.

Brought son's stuff for his office on campus. Picking up my vinyl collection (2000+ lp's and about 500 45's). Rented a full size van to haul 'em.

Great fun going through my vinyl collection again. Lot's of cool collectors stuff. My wife gave me a turntable with digital out to computer to burn lp's to CD.

Unfortunately, in 28 hours I start the return trip alone. Flying my wife and my daughter home, and I am going to drive like the wind to try to get home by midnight Saturday. Lot's of college football, Ipod, CD's, Red Bulls, old McDonalds Coffee's, and the frenzied tear for the mens room at the rest stop as fast as I can get the van into park.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 6:46 am

Good luck and be careful Mr. A. That is going to be a blast to go through and listen to all those LPs while you're converting them.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:06 pm

Rob's been talking about the conversion stuff as a gift for Doc, but with selfish reasons so he can take his dad's collection and prepare to rip it to his own Ipod.

I cooked for the family, sis in law and nephew. Turkey, gravy, cornbread dressing, sweet potatos (half with marshmallows and half with pecans and brown sugar) mashed potatoes, buttered corn, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, applie pie, oreo pie, festive sausage cups (mainly something to eat while waiting on the other food to be done), macaroni and cheese, and rolls.

Dang, I don't think I left anything out.

If I could have flown you down here Strict Time, I would have gladly done it.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:35 am

so lacklustre wrote:
bean dip
What is it now?

It's a better joke phonetically is what it is

Unless yore a paw spellar.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:29 am

and I must tell the story of the parchment paper. I was supposed to bake this pie on it. I did not have any. I sent KTJ to the store after work and she brought some home at approximately 10:30 Tuesday night, which was too late to be pie-making. I held the parchment paper in my hands. I carried it somewhere and it was never seen again. So, I made the pie in a pie pan and it was kind of a cobbler. Very very good. Even if I say so myself.

I still don't know where I put the parchment paper.