Personally, am a bit of a traditional kinda guy especially over the holidays and I have a passion for cooking...so I will be roasting a GIANT turkey, stuffing/dressing, gravy, butternut squash, cream of portabella mushroom soup, maple roasted sweet potatoes w/ marshmallows, cranberry salad and green bean casserole; followed by pumpkin pie with real whipped cream and apple cider to wash it all down.

What will YOU be preparing and/or eating this Thanksgiving?

Any yummy recipes to share?

I have already started preparing...

...to watch the Detroit Lions have their @$$e$ handed to them.

Brew wrote on Nov 16^th, 2011 at 3:58pm:

I have already started preparing... ...to watch the Detroit Lions have their @$$e$ handed to them.

Brew, you touched me there with that comment.

I'm originally from Detroit and attended Lions games every Thanksgiving Day with my family at the Pontiac Silverdome in the 70's and early 80's. 

Although I am loyal due to my childhood growing up in the D, I reluctantly agree Green Bay is the team this year!

The Packers are, right now, in the middle of a stretch of 3 games in 10 days (Thanksgiving Day is the culmination of that stretch). They could be a little bit beat up by then. However, nobody has figured out how to defend against Aaron Rodgers yet, and I'm not sure the Lions will figure it out before next Thursday.

By the way, we're roasting one of those big-@$$ed Perdue oven stuffer chickens instead of a turkey cuz we like 'em better.

Brining tips copy/pasted from the internet...

"If you want a moist, flavorful turkey, brining a turkey is a great way to accomplish this."

"Many people will tell you to brine your turkey in heavy duty garbage bags, Home Depot style pails, and XXL size ziplock bags.  I’ve read that garbage bags shouldn’t be used because they are not made from food-grade plastic.  Unless you have a second refrigerator, I don’t see how a large pail can fit in a family refrigerator.  I also had a hard time finding the XXL ziplock bags.  So what I decided the most practical thing to to do was buy poultry oven roasting bags I knew would fit my turkey.  I also emptied out, washed, and sanitized the bottom meat drawer of the refrigerator.  I found this was a good way to brine my turkey with the least amount of hassle, taking up the least amount of space, and kept the turkey nice and cold."

Cooks.com is amongst my favourite websites (after beer and ch.com) so I put Thanksgiving into their recipe search and this is the list that popped up.

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Might be some nice ideas there to help your feasting along.

We're traditionalists. ;) A turkey, smashed tatoes, stuffin, gravy, some kind of green bean casserole, seeet potato casserole, gravy on EVERYTHING!!!!....and pies for dessert. My stomach aches just thinking of it! :D

Joe

Guiseppi wrote on Nov 16^th, 2011 at 8:01pm:

We're traditionalists. ;) A turkey, smashed tatoes, stuffin, gravy, some kind of green bean casserole, seeet potato casserole, gravy on EVERYTHING!!!!....and pies for dessert. My stomach aches just thinking of it! :D Joe

What my darling husband failed to mention is that we have this traditional dinner twice.

On Thanksgiving day we host my family and sometimes a few orphan friends (2 this year) to a delightful dinner. We do most the cooking although my sister will usually bring dessert.  It's a great day, we usually finish dinner and play cards or trivia pursuit.

The next day (after shopping runs etc) we gather with Joe's family at a retreat camp for the weekend. Generally there are between 8-100+ people, kids and babies everywhere...chaos at it's finest. Lots of guitar playing and singing, cards, puzzles, games and the kids have a great time outside. There are horseshoes and horseballs (ok some call it ladderball) etc. That Saturday we do a huge family picture (probably the most stressful part of the weekend) and then have an enormous feast that just keeps going all day.

I'll be lucky if I can buckle my seatbelt on the plane on Sunday, yikes!

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good ol' MRE with Tabasco sauce.  i just hope i dont get the veggie omelet...  got my fingers crossed for anything "chicken".
:)

I don't know what we'll be having, exactly.  Ellen is itchin' for the kitchen after living in the dorm for three months.  (She loves to cook, and she pretty much can't.) 

So I've basically told her to "have at it" for Thanksgiving.  I'm sure it will be very ambitious.  ;)

Best,

George

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I will be making dressing, giblet gravy, a pecan pie and possibly a lemon icebox pie (I'd make a triple layer cheesecake, but it's so big, I end up bringing most of it home and eating it).  Jimbo will be frying the turkey.  My sister-in-law will be baking the ham and providing the veggies and stuffed eggs.

I've got THREE Thanksgiving dinners this year, happily, because first I'll be in Virginia for lunch with my future in-laws, then in PA with my mother around 4pm, and then "dessert" aka holding-my-stomach-and-growling-in-pain at my grandparents' house.

Praying for a CH-free Thanksgiving for Josh :)

Quote:

Generally there are between 8-100+ people,

Even with some help, I can't imagine cooking for 100 people. The planning, shopping, actual cooking, getting everything to come out at the same time....well, the logistics of it makes me shudder.  ;D

My father is a chef (retired) so he cooks most everything.  But we all pitch in and bring something, usually relish trays, candy, and stuff for our homeade punch.  I usually make two pies and he makes two. Others sometimes bring some.  Your choice of pie is big!  Afterwards, we begin rehearsing for a special musical dinner and show we have been doing for the past four years as a fund raiser for our local volunteer fire department.  Four generations of us sing, play instruments, do some comedy acts, and my dad cooks it all.  The building holds about 250 and the place is packed. We do the hosting, serving and cleaning up too.  We do a lot of laughing together, and it has become a special time and memories of something we all do together as a family.  Last year, my CHer's headaches were out of control and he was always sick with pain. He did not make it, but he is the sound man, and we really missed him.  Am hoping for a better year. 

Wow the show sounds fun (and alot of work). Hope your CH'er is FP this year!

I use my bbq grill, stove-top and microwave moreso than my oven.  Just opened my oven to envision space required to cook turkey and side dishes.  Not a pretty sight, lol.

Don't forget to clean the inside of your oven before Thanksgiving to avoid grease fires, smoke alarms going off, etc.

Any favorite recipes to share?

LasVegas wrote on Nov 19^th, 2011 at 2:39pm:

Any favorite recipes to share?

Stilton and onion soup for 2-3 people

1 tablespoon butter or marg
half an onion, chopped quite fine
125g Stilton
1 tablespoon flour
1 litre chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 big spud, peeled and cubed
half a cup of cream (or more)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan, add onion and cook gently until soft.
Add cheese, stir until melted, then add flour and cook for a minute.
Gradually add stock, stirring constantly, then add spud, bay leaf, salt and easy on the pepper.
Simmer until potato tender (10-15min)
Remove bay leaf, add cream and stir softly until reheated. Don’t allow to boil.

Best served straight away but will keep awhile if tended.

A lovely accompaniment is beer (of course) or chilled mineral water with lemon slices.

Quote:

A lovely accompaniment is beer

Why did none of us KNOW you were gonna say that Brian?  lol

That recipe sounds great.  I'm going to try it if I can find Stilton cheese  south of the Mason/Dixon line. 

We're having a small dinner at our house again this year.  I'm making a 22lb turkey, potatoes, gravy, corn, pumpkin & sweet potato pies, and some other stuff I can't think of at the moment.  My husbands cousin and his family are bringing the stuffing and some other stuff.  Can you tell I'm super organized already?  I'm being sarcastic, lol.

Good grief, I really don't care what the sides are as long as my turkey turns out well.  It'll go into the brine on Tuesday night so it's all ready to go into the oven on Thursday.  Nothing is better than turkey leftovers!

i am not a big fan of turkey...this will be the 12 th. year since my mother can't cook (since she got ill)...prior to that,she used to make a turkey every year,it was amazing...she would start it in the a.m. on a low flame in this amazing wine sauce (that she would take it out every so often to baste the turkey with (my father would have to take it out for her...as we would always have a big bird) her turkeys would always come out so crispy and very juicy from the wine...they would always make this stuffing from grating potato and onion and sew it in the turkey...boy do i miss that...and of course every other side that you could imagine...my mother was and still is an amazing cook (that was her pride and joy) she just cant physically do it at all...so now my sister in law does it every year  :'( :'( :'(...i always have 1-slice of turkey with all the sides...to be honest,i would prefer a good rib-eye (bone in) of course with a  baked potato (crispy),good bread warm and crispy and a vial or two of some fresh trex to wash it down with  :D :D :D...oh i forgot,some veggies would be nice...

i would like to wish each and everyone of you and yours a safe and healthy thanksgiving holiday

Hey Lenny,
You are more than welcome to come eat with Z and I if you want to make the road trip.  Plenty of food for all, Lions/Packers game and welcome to stay overnight too.  I'll even pick up a large rib eye for ya!

Let me know if you want to avoid the sis-in law for another Vegas visit.

LasVegas wrote on Nov 20^th, 2011 at 1:17pm:

Hey Lenny, You are more than welcome to come eat with Z and I if you want to make the road trip.  Plenty of food for all, Lions/Packers game and welcome to stay overnight too.  I'll even pick up a large rib eye for ya! Let me know if you want to avoid the sis-in law for another Vegas visit.

i guess it did not come out right (sister in-law) what i meant was...her cooking is o.k...nothing close to moms...i can actually say that i love her with all my heart...shes a great wife,mother and sister in-law...in regards of her cooking :'( :'( :'(.....i'll take the FIFTH...but i will give her an "E" for effort ;D ;D ;D

that was very kind of you for the invite...i appreciate that very much...Lenny

Making stuffing/dressing?

Helpful hint when chopping onions to avoid burning eyes...

Pour some lemon juice on the cutting board BEFORE chopping onion.

I have never brined a turkey.  Except for Aussie Brian who will tell me to brine it in beer....what does everyone actually brine WITH?

Salt water. One cup of salt to each gallon of water. Maybe some spices, a little honey. But mostly the salt water.


Quote:

Pros of brining a turkey You'll avoid overcooking your turkey if you brine it     Brining prevents dry meat     A good brine mix adds great flavor to the turkey Cons of brining a turkey Brining makes it more difficult to get a crisp skin because the skin also holds moisture     The juice is often too salty to use in gravy     The texture of the turkey breast meat is more similar to that of deli meat than a real Thanksgiving bird

O.k. thanks Bill.  In the past I've just made a sage, pepper, garlic and butter mixture, rubbed it under the skin and on top.  Not sure yet if I'm going to go to Pennsicola, Fla. for a few days or not , but this helps me at least with next yrs. menu.