Thanksgiving 2016 Menu Ideas and Planning

Friends! What's in your turkey-day dream-scheme for this year? We ordered a Ferndale turkey from Butcher&Larder/Local Foods, and I am working on ideas to liven up the relish tray (pickled crab apples) but that's as far as our planning has gotten. Look forward to chat here for inspiration!

Last year was ridiculous.
We were guests and I lost my mind!

This year we are guests again. I have commited to a 2-day cornbread ( you soak the grits overnight in buttermilk) and a broth-based soup with kabocha and chickpeas. It's the same light meal I served for dessert exchange earlier this month.

Oh, I love kabochas!

Why was being a guest so crazy-making, Pairs? As a hostess, I want my guests to relax and feel taken care of, not crazed.

No big changes for this year, except that I'm eating fewer grains and carbs. That's ok, the boys don't need my help to take care of the traditional mountain of mashed potatoes. More bird for me!

mamagotcha wrote:Oh, I love kabochas!

Why was being a guest so crazy-making, Pairs? As a hostess, I want my guests to relax and feel taken care of, not crazed.

Totally self-imposed. I showed up with way too many things. Happens. And I just couldn't stop myself. I should probably try a fake Thanksgiving--Feasting in February as an opportunity to put out another spread of those types of foods.

Hi,

I roasted a turkey last week, because we cannot wait until Thanksgiving for a turkey.

I didn't want to duplicate a stuffing I may use in a few weeks. I wanted to try something I read about in a Bill Rice article in the Sunday Chicago Tribune magazine some years ago. His step-daughter wanted farfalle (butterfly) pasta stuffing.

I looked around to see what people were doing. I wasn't in the mood for anything elaborate. I settled on a stuffing made with sauteed onions and celery, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (It's something I wanted to get rid of) mixed into a pound of cooked cavatappi, a.k.a. cellentani or double elbows.

I stuffed as much as I could into the large cavity of the turkey. If I do this again, I will line the cavity with cheesecloth to make it easier to pull out later.

I related this effort to a friend who was quite excited about it. Her children don't like traditional stuffing, though they love pasta. She's been frustrated by stuffing that is largely ignored.

I learned from this little exercise my Dad does not like stuffing, too. This is really hard to believe, because often he finishes up these leftovers. I want one more turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwich, but guess who ate the last of the stuffing?

I also saw stuffings made of mashed potatoes, which I may give a shot sometime. I like really fresh mashed potatoes, I may do this on a chicken rather than a turkey due to cooking times.

Regards,
CAthy2

Our bird is still walking around in the grower's fields.
It (probably 20 # hen, as the gobbler's can go up to 40#'s) will be dispatched Monday before Thanksgiving, pick up Tuesday.
Traditional stuffed bird with fresh herbs, butter basting and herbed skin ala Pepin. My wife makes the gravy from her Grandmother's teaching. I purchase extra legs depending on the crowd.
Real sweet potatos, salad of some sort, traditional 'dinner rolls', homemade cranberry sauce(again my wife channeling), someone will bring the green gelatin concoction.
I will make pumpkin pies from pie pumpkins that I roasted and lard that I rendered. I use 'Ceylon' cinnamon and very lightly spice the pumpkin.
As an appetizer, we will have smoked Sturgeon from a beautiful half fillet that I purchased at Fresh Farms. Simple salt brine and hardwood hickory smoke.-Richard

Cathy2 wrote:I also saw stuffings made of mashed potatoes, which I may give a shot sometime. I like really fresh mashed potatoes, I may do this on a chicken rather than a turkey due to cooking times.

My 98-year old mother-in-law, when she still cooked, always made her Nova Scotia family's potato stuffing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. She used mashed potato highly flavored with (dried) summer savory. When I first came into the family, obtaining the summer savory was a big deal; often her cousin would send it to her from Nova Scotia. It's quite a distinctive herb. She had a habit of packing the potato stuffing that couldn't fit inside the bird around the outside, making for rather soggy skin at those points.

Having potato stuffing never stopped her from also serving mashed potatoes as a side dish.

I much prefer my mother's wild rice/rice/mushroom stuffing, and Cabbagehead has never asked me to make his mother's.

EvA wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I much prefer my mother's wild rice/rice/mushroom stuffing, and Cabbagehead has never asked me to make his mother's.

I guess that is rather telling that nobody requested it. I do buy summer savory at Spice House. Their label suggests it is similar to thyme.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:

EvA wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I much prefer my mother's wild rice/rice/mushroom stuffing, and Cabbagehead has never asked me to make his mother's.

I guess that is rather telling that nobody requested it. I do buy summer savory at Spice House. Their label suggests it is similar to thyme.

Regards,
Cathy2

The rest of his family still sometimes wants it. Maybe Cabbagehead is just a very good husband . As for summer savory--I like thyme but have never enjoyed the taste of that potato stuffing.

Who among us believes in corn pudding? I am always intrigued by it but very put off when recipes call for cans of corn and cans of cream soup etc. Any good bright recipes?

annak wrote:Who among us believes in corn pudding? I am always intrigued by it but very put off when recipes call for cans of corn and cans of cream soup etc. Any good bright recipes?

I've been making this for years and it's delicious. Some years I use canned, some I use fresh and some I use frozen, just depends on what I have. Most years I add more than what the recipe calls for.

American Indian Corn Pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
2 c. milk
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
4 c. corn (fresh or canned) -I use three cans drained corn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate eggs. Beat whites until stiff, not dry. Melt butter in medium sized pan. Stir flour in quickly over medium heat until smooth paste forms. Stir paste constantly while adding milk and allow mixture to boil. Lower heat, add egg yolks, salt, pepper and corn. Mix. Turn off heat. Fold in egg whites with rubber spatula. Grease baking dish with butter and pour in the mixture. Bake 35 minutes or until it is lightly browned. Serves 12

Thank goodness the cool weather hit right now! My tiny fridge was already groaning, and I'm not sure my 14.75 lb. HoKa bird world have been able to fit. It's now dry-brining on the porch in my old milk delivery cooler. We are big fans of the Judy Bird method.

Now to tackle the rest of the menu! And to dig up that Good Gravy thread...

I'm going the incredibly lazy route this year. Roast turkey, corn pud'n, roasted asparagus, and whateverpie slices I can get on Saturday from one of the Big Three.

I owe my father-in-law a "green vegetable". Contemplating Brussels sprouts even though Mr. Pie doesn't like 'em. If you bacon anything up enough it's edible, I say. Maybe green bean casserole since I never actually made that myself. But if anyone has an idea that takes minimal effort I'd be glad to hear it. No salad; someone else has been assigned that.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,
I looked around to see what people were doing. I wasn't in the mood for anything elaborate. I settled on a stuffing made with sauteed onions and celery, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (It's something I wanted to get rid of) mixed into a pound of cooked cavatappi, a.k.a. cellentani or double elbows.

Stuffing of pasta. Neato! Never would have thought of that.

The past several years we have been cutting up the turkey to braise the dark meat and roast the breasts. This is the recipe we have been using: http://leitesculinaria.com/59625/recipe ... urkey.html

Separately cooking the breasts allows you to cook them to the appropriate temp. They come out juicy and tender. The braised dark meat is rich and flavorful and you don't have to be concerned with it being undercooked. We have been very happy with the results.

It's going to be just my 3 kids and my husband this year so menu is on the smaller side.

-A 11 pound turkey which I plan to brine and then rub with seasoned butter.
-Boiled fresh greens beans with bacon and onions
- Sweet potato casserole (yes, with mini marshmallows)
- Mashed potatoes and gravy
- Cornbread stuffing
- Possibly, white bread stuffing with sausage and raisins. Has anybody made stuffing with whole wheat bread before? I might use that instead since I have a loaf I need to use up.

- For my husband who is from Ghana and doesn't eat turkey, I'll be making a traditional okra stew with palm oil, shrimp, smoked fish, and crab legs. Banku will be the starch he uses to scoop up the stew.

- Dessert will be pumpkin pie (probably store bought) and possibly pecan pie.

Pie Lady wrote:I owe my father-in-law a "green vegetable". Contemplating Brussels sprouts even though Mr. Pie doesn't like 'em. If you bacon anything up enough it's edible, I say.

I've been making this recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts with maple syrup for the last few years, sans hazelnuts, and the sprouts have been happily eaten even by those who claim not to like them.

thinking about adding a cranberry curd tart along the lines of those seen in this month's Bon Appetit and last week's NYT.

EvA wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I owe my father-in-law a "green vegetable". Contemplating Brussels sprouts even though Mr. Pie doesn't like 'em. If you bacon anything up enough it's edible, I say.

I've been making this recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts with maple syrup for the last few years, sans hazelnuts, and the sprouts have been happily eaten even by those who claim not to like them.

I have all that on hand, too! Bonus.

The kids are demanding that I make the Brown Butter and Sage marshmallows again - I took a year off last year but they want them back. They are pretty darn good and go with just about any sweet potato prep method.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011 ... ecipe.html

I make a kind of elaborate stuffing recipe each year that kind of has hints of 19th century flavorings. Chestnuts, mushrooms, alliums, celery, savory, nutmeg, eggs, butter, croutanized good bread, an assortment of other wintery herbs, and homemade garlic stock. It's an adaptation from a Saveur recipe but richer and earthier. It's fun to make but it's a bit hands on and commands the oven (at least the temperature) for about an hour.

We're going to a big group dinner with family. I'm in charge of stuffing/dressing, and there are some vegans. Serious Eats has a good-sounding vegan recipe, and I'm also doing a big pan of cornbread/sausage.

Now time for the leftovers. I do a version of "Bubble and Squeak." I cube up the turkey, add to the mashed potato, mashed rutabaga, mashed sweet potato, and stuffing. Mix well and make big patties. Add to fry pan already having melted butter on the bottom. Fry slowly, turn over and brown the other side. On plate and add gravy over the top. Actually better than the original days meal. Enjoy.

Puckjam wrote:Now time for the leftovers. I do a version of "Bubble and Squeak." I cube up the turkey, add to the mashed potato, mashed rutabaga, mashed sweet potato, and stuffing. Mix well and make big patties. Add to fry pan already having melted butter on the bottom. Fry slowly, turn over and brown the other side. On plate and add gravy over the top. Actually better than the original days meal. Enjoy.

That sounds great!

I am curious if folks have a "new" favorite on their table from yesterday. Something that will at least make holiday rotation if not more often.

For me it was definitely the roasted kabocha, chickpea soup with homemade harissa.

For me it was a cubed and roasted, lightly curried red kuri squash with brussels. It wasn't a strong take on a real indian curry, but it met the moistness of the bird (we do chicken) very nicely and set off the more wintery herbs of some of our other sides.

Our original plan for Thanksgiving was to stop at one of the Indian casinos in Phoenix for a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night. We had to scramble a little as we decided to return home on Wednesday night..

Our revised plan was to join the community meal for those with nowhere to go. However, at the last minute, we decided to do a shrimp boil - shrimp, whole red potatoes, and corn on the cob. In addition, I had some great Thai bananas that I had purchased at $0.25/ lb so I roasted those in a maple butter cinnamon sauce.

The meal took 35 minutes to prepare. Once complete, we sat outside on our patio and enjoyed a great meal.

After dinner, we headed to a local casino venue for a Saigon Nights concert which featured wight Vietnamese singers.

All in all, a geat but untraditional Thanksgiving.

A new dish I really loved was this Cranberry Port Gelée. The port and spices, notably the juniper berries, tickle the tongue just a bit. It's easy to make except for the pushing the solids through a sieve, but I'll make it again. If people really want cranberry jelly, like what comes in the can, then this would fit the bill.

I made a pomegranate rice dish out of Marcus Samuelsson's excellent book on African cooking, "The Soul of New Cuisine." A portion of the rice is sautéed in butter, the rest is cooked traditionally. Combine that with spices, pomegranates and pistachio nuts, and you have a pretty simple, surprising dish that combines the unexpected crunch of the sautéed rice, the snap and sweetness of the pomegranates and the richness of the pistachios. For some reason, I thought it would work well alongside more traditional Thanksgiving fare, and damn if it didn't. I received about five requests for the recipe.

Luckyguy wrote:I made a pomegranate rice dish out of Marcus Samuelsson's excellent book on African cooking, "The Soul of New Cuisine." A portion of the rice is sautéed in butter, the rest is cooked traditionally. Combine that with spices, pomegranates and pistachio nuts, and you have a pretty simple, surprising dish that combines the unexpected crunch of the sautéed rice, the snap and sweetness of the pomegranates and the richness of the pistachios. For some reason, I thought it would work well alongside more traditional Thanksgiving fare, and damn if it didn't. I received about five requests for the recipe.

This sounds really delicious.