Thanksgiving, 2007

I have just been updating the recipe index. For those of you still finalizing your Thanksgiving menus, there are some good ideas for T-Day there.

Likely recipes posted by fellow LTHers include pumpkin soups from Rob C and me; jmpruet's pilaf of quinoa and bacon; Evil Ronnie's potatoes Dean Fearing-style; several sweet potato recipes; a variety of stuffings; Josephine's wild rice; JoelF's salad dressing pattered after Dave's Italian Kitchen's; a bunch of brines for poultry; AnneVdV's relish of cranberries and oranges; Cathy2's imperial Jell-O; a plethora of pies; and a vast collection of cocktails.

I'm eager to hear about what you all are cooking this year.

We're hosting this year and have quite a few people coming... and I'll be cooking most, if not all. Here's the menu, which features a combination of asian fare and traditional Thanksgiving fare:

APPETIZERS:
crab rangoon
shrimp cocktail platter
stuffed mushrooms
caprese salad skewers
cilantro turkey meatballs
teriyaki wings
buffalo wings
cheese, cracker, cured meats and fresh fruit platter
warm parmesan artichoke dip
garlic rubbed crostini


ASIAN:
Shrimp pad thai or Filipino pancit bihon
Chicken adobo (Filipino)
Mongolian Beef
Pork egg rolls
Beef Galbi or Bulgogi (Korean)
Shrimp, Chicken, Chorizo paella (not asian but will be on the table)
Garlic Fried Rice
Miso or Wonton Soup

TRADITIONAL:
Turkey & gravy
Garlic mashed potatoes
roasted broccoli or green beans w/shallots OR green bean casserole
sausage, apple & cranberry stuffing
harvest salad (cranberry, toasted walnuts, blue cheese & greens)
sweet corn casserole
croissants

DESSERTS:
pumpkin maple cheesecake
pecan tassies
dutch apple pie
fresh fruit salad

Here's my tentative menu so far (vegans have been invited, which drives some of this menu):

From LTH: Cynthia’s Orange and Rosewater salad

The aforementioned Cranberry-orange relish to which I will add chopped walnuts
(changed my mind and added pomegranate seeds instead; it was by far preferred by the family over the boiled version)

From Epicurious:
Corn with tomatoes, squash, and fried okra
(IMHO a lot of work for mixed veggies)

Shaved brussels sprouts with shallots (again, not enough payoff for the work - probably would have turned out better with quartered sprouts)
Garlic and olive oil smashed yukon gold potatoes (did plain roasted sweet potato slices instead)
Rosemary-roasted turkey with gravy


And mine:
World's easiest pumpkin pie:
15oz can pumpkin (about 2 cups)
14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and beat to combine thoroughly. Pour into unbaked pie crust of your choosing, bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake until set, about 40 minutes.
(did the cracked candy topping by broiling separately on a silpat)
I may try a brulee topping this year by sprinkling the completed pie with sugar and broiling...

Eight-treasure rice pudding (vegan dessert) (No vegans, so we axed it)

However, I'd love some help adapting this recipe:
Cornbread dressing with roasted fall vegetables
(wound up adding yuca, kohlrabi, red onion and carrots)
Nobody in our family is very keen on carrots and parsnips, and cornbread isn't vegan...so I'm looking for suggestions to adapt it. Making it vegan is easy enough by converting it to more of a bread dressing using french bread and wine or cider to wet it...I'm looking more for hearty vegetables to substitute for the two above. The recipe may be fine as is just by omitting them, as there's quite a lot of veg going on in it.

I am sort of at a loss this Thanksgiving. Normally we do the Chciago > Frankfort > Barrington > Chicago trip to celebrate with both of our families. Thsi year we decided it would be ncie to host at our place in Logan Square. Only problem is my wife has a big family (and I a very small one) so we are now in charge of dinner for at least 26. The other issue is that I love to cook and want to do everything myself. The recipe that keeps popping up is disaster...

As for food I am planning on:

2 Turkeys (one hot smoked, one roasted and draped with bacon)
Gravy (from oven cooked bird drippings)
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato/Apple casserole
Traditional Sage Stuffing/Dressing (not in bird)
White Castle Stuffing (small batch for giggles)
Grilled Asparagus
Cranberry Orange Relish (hope recipe is still on Ocean Spray cranberry bags)
Creamy Corn Casserole (corn pudding-ish)
Cauliflower Gratin
Creamed Spinach (Berghoff recipe - this may get dropped)
Cook's Illustrated Dinner Rolls
Hawaiian Bread + Spinach Dip

Other folks are mainly bringing apps/desserts:
Assorted pies
Cheese platter
Shrimp Cocktail
Fruit tray
Veggie + Dip tray

I am hoping to make most things the day or so before and toss everything into oven when Turkey comes out. Only things I should have to make are grill asparagus (easy on gasser), Turkeys and gravy on the big day.

Should I go with fresh mashed potatoes or stick with the day before "casserole" I found, that adds cream cheese to keep things moist?

Not really even sure how many potatoes to make for 26 people.

Will 2 Turkeys be enough or should we grab a spiral ham as well?

Will creamed spinach hold up to reheating or make it fresh?

Looking forward to cooking all this, just tough to figure how much of each thing. Also, need to be a little less creative in menu to pull it off with this many people.

For most sides I am thinking one large 11x13 type pan as everyone will probably just take a scoop of this and that.

Wish me luck!

Jamie

I hosted 24 people by myself last year and one thing that worked very well for me was preparing the mashed potatoes early in the day and keeping them hot all day in a crock pot. They kept for hours and freed up space on the stove for other dishes.

I'm back at the stove after a long hiatus this Thanksgiving, and I have the luxury of only doing dinner for four, so we're pulling out the stops a bit:

Field Greens with Candied Pecans and Apple Cinnamon Vinaigrette
Vinaigrette with reduced apple cider

Corn and Crab Pudding with Old Bay
Ode to our temporary hometown. Not sure about the Old Bay. We'll see how that goes.

Potato Pavé with Roasted Garlic and Ancho Chiles
Regular and sweet potatoes layered together -- variation on a Trotter recipe.

Pork Tenderloin with Apple Pancetta Stuffing and Spiced Cranberry Sauce
I figure I'll cook and strain the cranberries, sugar up the result, spice it every which way (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) and mount it. Should be nice.

Roasted Quail with Cornbread Stuffing, Poblano Cream and Whiskey Glaze
I do the stuffing with squash, chorizo and goat cheese. The sauce is just roasted poblanos pureed with cream, the glaze is whiskey and maple syrup, and I toss on a few toasted pepitas.

Candy Cap Cheesecake with Chanterelle Pear Caramel Sauce
Candy caps are wonderful. I cut a bunch of chevre in with the cream cheese and season it with nothing but the ground, dried mushrooms. It comes out with an earthy, spicy maple flavor.

Good post!

Looking for side ideas right now.

Keep em coming!

foodie1 wrote:We're hosting this year and have quite a few people coming... and I'll be cooking most, if not all. Here's the menu, which features a combination of asian fare and traditional Thanksgiving fare:

Wow, foodie1, that's amazing. I love my family and everything... but they can probably get by without me for a few hours. What time shall I arrive at your house?

Jamieson22 wrote:Should I go with fresh mashed potatoes or stick with the day before "casserole" I found, that adds cream cheese to keep things moist?

Not really even sure how many potatoes to make for 26 people.

Will 2 Turkeys be enough or should we grab a spiral ham as well?

Will creamed spinach hold up to reheating or make it fresh?

For turkey, allow 1 pound per person. You'll have leftovers, with everything else, but what's Thanksgiving without leftovers?

Depending on how much your crowd likes potatoes, 1/2 to 1 medium spud each, given all the rest. If you make fresh mashed, err on the higher side.

Creamed spinach usually reheats pretty well.

Mhays wrote:However, I'd love some help adapting this recipe:
Cornbread dressing with roasted fall vegetables
Nobody in our family is very keen on carrots and parsnips, and cornbread isn't vegan...so I'm looking for suggestions to adapt it. Making it vegan is easy enough by converting it to more of a bread dressing using french bread and wine or cider to wet it...I'm looking more for hearty vegetables to substitute for the two above. The recipe may be fine as is just by omitting them, as there's quite a lot of veg going on in it.

Sweet potatoes, winter squash, portobella mushrooms....

Thanks, LAZ - I finally decided on portabella mushrooms, kohlrabi and my lone purple dragon carrot, but will use cornbread as the vegans didn't materialize...

Okay, looking for suggestions--five adults, aged 26 to 86; two kiddies, ages 2 & 3; one dog who will be kept off the table if I have anything to say about it.
Trying to keep it simple.

Pigs in blankets (thanks, Betsy)

Turkey on the Weber
Traditional bread dressing
Traditional cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Broccoli & cauliflower with cheese sauce
Something with my lovely red farmers' market sweet potatoes.
Maybe roasted root veggies though I don't know if anyone but me will eat them

Apple & pumpkin pies from The Depot Restaurant (thanks, Ed)
Homemade vanilla ice cream (thanks, Beth)
Clementines

So, how should I prepare my sweet potatoes? I have four dozen eggs I got from the Wettsteins when I picked up my turkey Saturday so I've looked at sweet potato souffle recipes. I've even considered whether I could make little souffles in clementine or orange skins. Or I've thought of turning them into to oven fries, in hopes of pleasing the youngest eaters.
I also saw a recipe for sweet potato puffs that calls for eggs and looks a little different.

I have pretty much anything a sweet potato recipe might call for--except marshmallows!--so if you've got a recipe you love, or have tried any of the above, speak up!

My mother's sweet potato recipe is still my favorite, as it is rich and creamy, but fluffy and delicate as well. It's very adult, but I loved it as a kid - as does everyone I know outside of the unwashed heathen that call me Mom.

Bake sweet potatoes and scoop them out of the jackets (my mother always made us reserve the jackets to refill and serve in, which is IMHO insane - orange cups, infinitely easier but there's nothing wrong with a big serving bowl) Put them in a bowl, add about a tablespoon each per potato of heavy cream, butter, and dry sherry. Add a dash of salt per potato, whip until fluffy (no gluten, so this is hard to ruin.) It tastes better the longer it sits (excellent as leftovers) so you may want to consider doing it early and reheating or keep it warm in a crock-pot. Stuffing into shells is easier with a pastry bag or ziploc with a big hole. Knowing my mother, I can only assume this came out of Julia Child somewhere...

I like sweet potatoes roasted plain in their jackets with nothing but butter, salt and pepper, but for company my absolute favorite is sweet potatoes flamed with bourbon. No eggs, but they're not too sweet, easy to make and a really impressive presentation:

Sm-o-o-o-t h sweet potatoes

Stick them in the oven when you take the turkey out and they'll be ready by the time you get it carved and everything else on the table. Turn down the lights and bring them in flaming.

If you like really sweet sweet potatoes, you can add more sugar.

Ann Fisher wrote:Pigs in blankets (thanks, Betsy)

Ann,

Pigs in blankets, makes me smile to just type the words and hungry to think about diving into a fresh made batch.

I read the recipe link for sweet potato puffs, looks quite good, I hope you post info if you make them.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Gary

Thanksgiving 2007(in no particular order):

*1 smoked 14lb fresh turkey

*cornbread stuffing with oysters
*cornbread stuffing(no oysters)

Amish egg noodles in chicken broth

mashed potatoes

*parsley-d red potatoes

*green beans with almond slices

*cranberry relish w/ candied citrus

sweet potatoes w/ marshmallows

*pumpkin pie(s)

*cheese plate/candied kumquats

*turkey gravy

yeast rolls

deviled eggs

peanut butter pie

*candied citrus

crudite'

sweet tea, etc.

*denotes stuff we're making(the rest is being brought by guests)

---

thee day ov:

popped the birds in the smoker an hour ago; they've already developed a lovely patina

basted 'em with unsalted herb butter just now

got my mis en place ready to go for stuffings

had a minor disappointment yesterday trying out my green tomato pickles and 4 bean salad(so that I might be poisoned by botulism before our guests)...the recipe I used was crap and now I have salty dill flava instead of yummy agre dolce...darn it...I'm considering cooking them again in simple syrup then chilling, but that's a hassle...

anyway...

We're keeping it very simple this year, as it is just the four of us plus my cousin and her boyfriend:

turkey with stuffing - in and out of the bird
mashed sweet potato and banana casserole (my daughter saw this on food network last week and insisted we have this instead of my usual sweet potato recipe)
green bean casserole
brussel sprouts
candied carrots
cornbread
fresh cranberry sauce (my dad only likes the cranberry sauce where you can see the can marks on the side, but since they defected to my brother in Minnesota this year, I didn't have to get any of that)
fresh pumpkin pie (baked last night)

possibly a roasted squash recipe, if I can find the energy and the time. I love having a ton of vegetables on the table.

My cousin is bringing an apple pie and some kind of chocolate torte.

We got a variety of cheeses, dips and nuts for starters this year.

It's starting to smell like Thanksgiving in here. Mmmmmmmmm. . .

Suzy

For some reason I find it almost impossible to actually follow a recipe--even when I'm making something for the first time. I found this recipe for sweet potatoes in orange cups. But then I thought I ought to leave out the nuts, because I'm not sure the toddlers eat them. And besides, I had pecan halves and something in me rebels at paying for halves and then chopping them anyway. I had found some mini marshmallows in the cupboard (though multi-colored and very dry) so I thought I could top half of the sweet potato cups with marshmallows and half with pecans halves. But I also had this bag of gingersnaps. I wondered if I could put a gingersnap in the bottom of each orange cup, but they're really too big. But then I tried crumbling some up and mixing the crumbs in with the sweet potatoes. Turns out they soften right up, leaving little spots of gingery sweetness. Oh, and the recipe says you should put the orange cups on a cookie sheet. I was quite sure muffin cups would hold them more securely.

By now I think the recipe is original enough that I can claim it.

1. Boil six large sweet potatoes in their jackets (I like this part--no need to peel) under soft.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, cut six large think-skinned oranges in half and scoop out the orange (this isn't so easy--sort of like reverse-peeling an orange--but it won't take longer than the potatoes are boiling). Squeeze a couple of them first before you take out the flesh to get 1/4 cup of orange juice, which you'll set aside. Put the halves in a muffin tin.

3. Take out the potatoes, skin them, and return them to the pan to shake out any extra water. Mash till smooth, then add 1/4 cup softened butter, the reserved 1/4 cup of orange juice, and 12 crushed gingersnaps. Stir well. (note the special gingersnap crushing tool--turns out it worked well to get the orange juice too )

4. Spoon the filling into the orange cups. Top with mini-marshmallows or pecans.

5. Bake at whatever temperature you have the oven at until they're hot. Ideally the marshmallows will also be melted, but maybe not.

G Wiv wrote:Pigs in blankets, makes me smile to just type the words and hungry to think about diving into a fresh made batch.

Here you are, Gary

Ann Fisher wrote:Here you are, Gary

Ann,

Thanks, pigs in blankets look terrific and, as mentioned, made me smile, sweet potatoes in orange cups appear delicious as well.

For T-day I smoked a brined split bird on my WSM, no waterpan. The two approximately 7-lb apple wood smoked halves took about 2.5-hours and, if I do say so myself, were not bad eating.

T-Day 07


We started off with what I, for no real reason, refer to as a French salad. Veggies such as radish, fennel, asparagus, cucumber thin sliced on a mandolin, in this instance I also added sliced on the bias sugar snap peas, and simply dress with s/p good olive oil and vinegar.

I typically make a fresh no cook cranberry relish, but it requires at least 24-hours to macerate which I had forgotten to do, so I made a catch as can cranberry relish of simmered cranberries, orange peel, turbinado sugar little water and salt, juice from one orange and, at the last moment, rough chopped toasted walnuts, which turned out surprisingly well.

T-Day '07


Enjoy,
Gary

My brother insisted that I take a picture of his Thanksgiving plate. It was fairly impressive, especially when you consider that he ate every morsel of food that was on it . . .



For us, it was a nice holiday. Since we weren't hosting, I only made 2 things: the sausage that eventually went into the stuffing and a 16-pound Ho-Ka turkey, which I brined and smoked over apple wood.

=R=

Small gathering this year, so I made a turkey breast:



The preparation of the turkey was a hybrid of Cook's Illustrated's (compound butter of lemon zest & sage under the skin) and Martha Stewart's (pre-basted cheesecloth over the turkey) methods. It came out very moist. Here it is carved:



Sausage-sage dressing (sweet sausage from Bari, of course):



My friend made a pumpkin-banana mousse tart (the pumpkin is fresh, not canned, which accounts for the less-orangey color):

Yum, everyone! I edited my post above to add pictures and thoughts, since the links are all there, but the favorite of the day was my somewhat ugly-duckling pecan pie:

Not as pretty as they often are, because I wasn't paying attention - most recipes I've used in the past put all the pecans in the bottom and they magically float to the top - I didn't notice until the last minute a directive to put nuts on both the bottom AND top, and so the top isn't as attractive as it could be.

However, a peek at the interior suggests the gooey delicousness therein:


Here's the recipe, adapted enough that I can call it my own (I didn't have dark brown sugar or dark syrup)

Bourbon Pecan Pie
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 cup molasses
1/2 + 1/8 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbs bourbon
2 cups pecan halves
1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked
PREPARATION:
Cream butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla, salt, syrups, and bourbon and beat until well blended, thick, and frothy. Put 1 cup pecans on the bottom of the pie shell. Pour filling over and sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake 55 to 60 minutes at 350° F.

I have no photos of our feast, which turned out very well. My turkey was also a Ho-Ka, and I didn't do anything out of the ordinary to it -- just stuffed it, seasoned it and threw it in the oven. This is the second time I have purchased a fresh Ho-Ka turkey and I think we are going to continue to do so in the future. The bird was tender, moist and delicious.

My mother never made any kind of gravy when I was growing up from her roasted poultry aside from serving whatever was left in the bottom of the roasting pan, with the fat skimmed off. This is how I prefer to serve my turkey as well, and I think I had more natural juices from this year's turkey than I recall ever having in the past.

Suzy

Mhays wrote:Yum, everyone! I edited my post above to add pictures and thoughts, since the links are all there, but the favorite of the day was my somewhat ugly-duckling pecan pie

Mhays, you're killing me with the pie pics. Pecan pie is easily my favorite pie of all time, and IMHO there is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING "ugly duckling" about your pie in the least.

BTW - for any Pec Pie lovers out there. A handfull of chocolate chips, and or butterscotch chips are a welcome addition to a pecan pie if you are looking to jazz it up. It works better than you might think.

seebee wrote:BTW - for any Pec Pie lovers out there. A handfull of chocolate chips, and or butterscotch chips are a welcome addition to a pecan pie if you are looking to jazz it up. It works better than you might think.

And a splash of bourbon.

seebee wrote:A handfull of chocolate chips, and or butterscotch chips are a welcome addition to a pecan pie if you are looking to jazz it up.

I, too am a pecan pie aficionado, however I completely disagree with this statement. In my book, adding any of those frou-frou ingredients amounts to sacrilege.

I too did a Ho-Ka turkey (which is just down the street from where we picked apples). I brined it* and did the cheese-cloth thing. It turned out very moist, flavorful, and of good consistency. I was to busy to think about photography, but I did snap one hasty pic. Seeing as there was only six of us this year, I settled for a 23 pounder.

-ramon

*Thankfully, no accidents this year.

stevez wrote:

seebee wrote:A handfull of chocolate chips, and or butterscotch chips are a welcome addition to a pecan pie if you are looking to jazz it up.

I, too am a pecan pie aficionado, however I completely disagree with this statement. In my book, adding any of those frou-frou ingredients amounts to sacrilege.

I used to truly believe it would be sacrilege as well. I was extremely reluctant to try it (why mess with perfection?) Which is why I added the "it works better than you might think" to the end of the post. I usually knock the sugar down by about a quarter, and throw in a small handfull of the aforementioned chips. It works. Well. And I LOVE pecan pie. I generally scoff at all other pies except pecan. Grandma's house has a pecan tree in the yard down in Ms. Pecan pies were a staple for me growing up. I know what you are saying, and might even have had a stronger disagreement than you at one point. But I'm telling you, it works. Granted, I don't throw the chips in for every pie, but if I have them on hand, and I remember to toss 'em in, I will.

seebee wrote:I know what you are saying, and might even have had a stronger disagreement than you at one point. But I'm telling you, it works.

Chocolate in pecan pie just doesn't fly with me, despite the fact that I'm a huge chocolate fan and a huge pecan pie fan. In fact, I've been known to leave a complete slice (minus one bite) on my plate when some well meaning individual decides to embellish without warning me. Next time, you can have my piece.