irisarbor wrote:Also tried cranberry ginger chutney from saveur- yuck-o
I thought the 1 small onion in it would caramelize and harmonize w the cranberry- but... not so much
Totally not enough sugar/sweet component-
I ended up adding in about 2x the amount of sweetener to "rescue", plus melting and adding in some peach jam, and peach cobbler syrup I had in the frig to up the fruitiness quotient because it was so overwhelmingly oniony... one recipe I will never do again- I could just as easily post this in the "worst thing you've made lately category..."

Oh well, at least cranberries aren't the main dish.

A friend made a cranberry chutmey with candied ginger. I thought it was wonderful. It seemed to have either white raisins or gooseberries in it. I don't know if it had onions, but I didn't notice much of an oniony flavor. The sweetened coconut I could do without. I don't like the stuff to begin with, but it seems like it would give the chutney a mealy texture.

I also love the Orange /Cranberry relish. My Family has been making this for years. It is so simple. I love the combination of sweet orange and sugar, bitter orange peel and sour cranberries. I like the suggestion of adding a shot of Cointreau. I will have to try that next year.

I am not so sure about the Cranberry/Horseradish recipe mentioned upthread. It might be good for roast beef, but I would think it might overwhelm turkey. I do like the ingredients, and Wisconsin Cranberry Mustard is one of my favorites.

If you like lime and mint, they make a terrific variation on the raw cranberry relish. Grind the cranberries and the whole lime (after cutting it into small pieces); add sugar or honey (wildflower honey works great) and mix in some chopped mint. As above, let sit for a day or two before serving.

We had to move the Thanksgiving Dinner to a more central location and due to many logistical issues, ended up doing a lot more in advance than we ever have before -- and it worked really well but it left my poor mother completely exhausted 2 days in a row instead of 1. She's stubborn and won't let go of the details -- you can prep but that's about it.

Dinner was awesome --

16 lb butterball (my mother swears by them for the money and they have never failed to be moist and flavorful)
Mashed potatoes, gravy (which was exceptional this year -- not sure why -- it was the same recipe it always is)
My grandmother's caramel rolls
Black cherry jello with whipped cream
Carrots with thyme and butter
Broccoli Mornay (this is a julia recipe that my mother subbed in for grean beans this year -- something that's hard to do for the traditionalists in my family. It's hard to mess with Thanksgiving or they get bitchy)
Very simple sourdough stuffing - nothing fancy -- this is the element I'd like to kick up but its impossible to touch it. Both from in the bird and out of the bird
My grandmother's pumpkin pie
Maple Pear Pie with Crystallized Ginger & Lemon. Fabulous new pie for us...

It's always amazing to me how fast it disappears after how long it takes to make. And the newest member of our crew -- Ella, who is 10 months old, ate everything she could I've never seen such a good eater.

earthlydesire wrote:Black cherry jello with whipped cream

That sounds so good. Another simple dish that sounds perfectly refreshing after a big meal.You hardly ever think of Black Cherry as a Jello flavor. I don't think I have ever had it, and I love anything Black Cherry.

d4v3--

Remember black cherry pop mixed with milk? Great summer refresher.

That sounds so good. Another simple dish that sounds perfectly refreshing after a big meal.You hardly ever think of Black Cherry as a Jello flavor. I don't think I have ever had it, and I love anything Black Cherry.

Black Cherry Jello is a decades long tradition. I always expect them to stop making the flavor -- it can't be very popular, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere else. It will cause great sadness if they ever do quit making it. We always get canned black cherries in juice and add them and the liquid to the jello mix. We serve it in an heirloom crystal bowl in order to class it up <grin>. Ella LOVED the jello but we had to pick out the cherries.

And actually -- it's served as a side in the meal, although it tends to go on the bread plate with the caramel rolls.

earthlydesire wrote:Black Cherry Jello is a decades long tradition. I always expect them to stop making the flavor -- it can't be very popular, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen it anywhere else. It will cause great sadness if they ever do quit making it. We always get canned black cherries in juice and add them and the liquid to the jello mix.

Aah, a sort of black cherry substitute for cranberry sauce. Sounds marvelous. I think that might become a new tradition for me too.

Hi- When I was a kid, my mother used to make nlack cherry jello, with canned black cherries and walnuts. I think she used to put something on top too, like cream cheese. I haven't had that in years. Thanks, Nancy

I am not a jello fan generally but recall my mom would make black cherry jello with canned black cherries and she would also put banana chunk in. I did like that as a kid. A few years ago I made a cherry jello mold which was made with coke or cherry coke as a substitute for cranberry haters and it was a hit.

It is funny, every year I obsess (in a good way) about what to make for Thanksgiving by reading cookbooks, magazines and blogs. This year, we spent Thanksgiving in Switzerland but my mom and I still wanted to cook. The turkey was ordered in advance from randomly a Thai market and came frozen and that was all the plans we had. Thursday morning, we went to the local shops in Lachen and just started buying stuff. My mom and I think it was our best Thanksgiving and we had so much fun just piecing it together. Here is what we had:

to nibble - 4 local cheeses, 2 types of sausages and beer brewed up the street

beautiful lettuce that was a very pale green with bright red lines throughout with clementines, radishes and cucumbers

roasted turkey with herbed butter and pan gravy
polenta with mushroom sauce that involved six types of mushrooms
stuffing with chestnuts, apples and apricots
roasted romanesco, parsnips, carrots and brussel sprouts
mashed potatoes with caramelized onion

fig and pear tart with a hazelnut crust
gelato

if i knew how to post a picture, i would

sounds good. Lucky you for being in Switzerland. the truth is that thanksgiving dinner is really easy to prepare. Its hard to wreck a turkey and despite the legions of people that find organic, fresh, and brine, smoke, fry, etc. even a frozen turkey simply roasted will turn out good. The trick is to plan ahead and have dishes assembled the day before so you can just roast the turkey and bake the dishes on the day of. I even make mashed potatoes the day before, you put cream cheese in them and then bake on thanksgiving and they were delicious. You also need good gravy. If its lumpy or bad then thanksgiving will not be so good.

I love Thanksgiving and always go all out, though we were only 7 people this year. I made:

French Laundry Chesnut Agnolotti for amuse

Turkey
Gravy (make with chicken and beef stocks the day before, then add turkey drippings. I don't like straight up turkey gravy.)
Mashed potatoes
Roasted sweet potatoes with maple pecan glaze
Roasted butternut squash salad with goat cheese, pomegranate, and balsamic-honey syrup
Stuffing (traditional bread stuffing)
Cauliflower gratin (tried recipe from Bouchon but was too bland)
Homemade crescent rolls
Homemade applesauce
Cranberry sauce

Cranberry angel food cake with cranberry-orange glaze
Pumpkin custard filled profiteroles with caramel-pecan sauce and cinnamon ice cream

Profiteroles were best dessert ever. Will definitely make them again.

We also went all out. Watched a Michigan victory over Ohio State, and followed up with a delicious dinner.

-Fruit and Cheese Plate - apple/pears with St. Andre, Gorgonzola, and Chevre.
-Smoked shrimp and Salmon from Calumet Fisheries (They mentioned they had a new, fattier salmon that they were trying out. My dad picked this up, but didn't remember where the salmon was from)
-Buffalo Chicken Dip
-Bacon wrapped dates, half stuffed with sage sausage, the other half with blue cheese.

-HoKa Turkey, we brined the turkey for the first time and will be doing this again. Kept the turkey moist and nicely seasoned throughout. Was rubbed with a thyme/sage/rosemary butter before roasting.
-Gravy was made with stock (from Turkey necks and wings) made ahead of time, along with the turkey drippings and the falling-apart carrots and onions that the turkey was roasted on top of.
-Sage, Sausage, and Apple Stuffing
-Mashed potatoes, standard prep (cream, butter, s&p) put through a new ricer that I just got.
-Dairy free mashed potatoes, made with turkey stock, bacon, and Marsala onion jam
-Squash with butter and brown sugar
-Sweet Potatoes with streusel and marshmallows, a bit too sweet and was better as a dessert
-Orange Jello with pineapple and mandarin orange (family tradition)
-Homemade cranberry relish
-Spinach salad, warm bacon vinaigrette, eggs, red onion

-Homemade pumpkin pie
-Grasshopper pie
-Dairy Free Bread pudding (using coconut and almond milk) with scotch-macerated cherries and blueberries

My wife and I had both sets of parents over for Thanksgiving (weekend), making 6 people in all. Needless to say, we've had leftovers for lunch and dinner this whole week. Thinking of making thanksgiving leftover ravioli, filled with turkey and stuffing. The stock was quite thick, since it was made with a roux-base and gelatinous turkey stock. Hoping that the cooked ravioli will have a warm, liquid gravy filling spill out when cut into.

Okay -- coming from the Black Cherry jello tradition -- I'm totally jealous of the Orange Jello with Pineapple and Mandarin oranges.

Seems sunnier.

Although my turkey did not cook well at all, the parts that were edible at dinnertime were tasty.
I made the gravy just as ye all have suggested: thicken last year's drippings with roux. It was incredible and so silky smooth! Thanks all! I'm doing that again next year. Simmering the bones in a slow cooker for hours with the leftover tidbits put so much collagen in the gravy that it was a solid mass after sitting overnight, as are this year's drippings.

Other than that, we had:
Corn Pudding
Broccoli Rabe with walnuts and lemon juice (I left out the bulgur), later I added Parmesan which did not help much with the incredible bitterness
Carrots & Apples (too sweet, but nice otherwise)
Whole Wheat Stuffing (from Aldi - really tasty!)
Marco Canora's Japanese Sweet Potato Gratin, which is tasty, but an expensive waste; I modified the recipe but it was so silly that I tossed it.
And my favorites, which we are still eating:
Shirley's Touch of Grace Biscuits - so fun to make! The photo shows the batch made with shortening and an egg wash instead of butter. I liked them so much and had just enough flour left over that I made them with butter, and naturally, they were even better. I didn't take a photo because I didn't bother with the egg wash.



...and brioche. I am so happy with the way this turned out!


For dessert:
Spiced Chiffon Pumpkin Pie (I was too lazy to bother with the whipped cream, so I didn't bother with a photo)
Persimmon Meringue Pie (underwhelming; tasted a lot like pumpkin. But it sure is pretty!)

great looking stuff Pie Lady. did you put cardamom in anything?

EVERYTHING.

But seriously, I don't remember using it more than once, and I'm pretty sure it was in one of the pies.

While everything was solid(bird, etc.), the star of the meal was the turkey pastrami and cheese board I did.

I did the turkey pastrami in house, but bought the cheese from various spots in Wisconsin and Illinois, I has some nice aged cheddars as well as some soft funky cheeses.



I dont like sweet potatoes, but I thought this looked good, the marsmallow is almost glowing: