OT: Thanksgiving menu ideas

[Misty89]

My family gos out to lunch on Thanksgiving now, but if it were up to me, I would host a feast at my home made up of.........
(the exact holiday meals when i was a little girl at Grandmas house, with a few of my favorites thrown in)

Apps-
deviled eggs
Jumpo shrimp cocktail
avacodo dip
fresh veggies & dip

Main-
Turkey
Ham
two kinds of gravy
Stuffing
whipped potato's
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole
Corn
assorted dinner rolls

a dessert buffet of-

pumpkin pie
pecan pie
french silk torte
poppyseed torte

and we would all sit around a huge dining room table and stuff ourselves all day, and play games and visit.
( as opossed to a restaurant, where we have to hurry up and woof down our $20/pp meal so the next party can get in....grrr)

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

One thing I highly recommend after doing it for Thanksgiving and Christmas last year - use cheesecloth on your turkey! Soak the cheesecloth in a mixture of 1 stick melted unsalted butter and 1 bottle white wine (you can use the cheap stuff). Lightly ring out the cheesecloth (not dripping but not really wrung out either) and cover the turkey - especially the wings. Bake as usual and baste directly over the cheesecloth from the bowl of butter/wine mixture and when that runs out, baste from the pan juices. Remove the cheesecloth for the last 30-40 minutes - it will be brown and hard - removing it at the end will allow the bird's skin to get a light golden crunch. I always had problems with the wings burning and the skin getting too done. With foil, you can't baste through it, so cheesecloth was the perfect answer for me

My GM got me The Joy of Cooking cook book when I was about 18 years old (so lets see that would be last year Not!) Anyway this is the way it says to cook a Turkey and it's the only way I do it. It keeps the turkey super moist, I love it!

 

[Happy vacationer]

Could someone please post recipes for the oyster dressing and the poppyseed torte? I'm making dinner for my parents this year and my dad loves oyster dressing but hasn't had it for the past 8 years since my grandma passed away. My mom is a big fan of anything poppyseed so I thought I'd like to try the torte. TIA

 

[disneyfan551]

Loving this thread!!

 

[jeepgirl30]

Stupid question but, for those of you who brine the turkey, can you still do stuffing in the bird?

The menus look fabulous! I'm getting excited and hungry.

 

[mamaminnie]

So far this is my menu:

14 adults and 4 kids

Butternut Squash soup with spicy pumpkin seeds

Turkey
Stuffing
Corn Casserole
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts
(something with sweet potatoes)
Mashed Potaotes
(another veggie)
Cranberry Sauce (homemade and from the can- don't ask )

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow topping
A "turkey" cake from Publix Bakery
Apple Pie

 

[Sandy321]

Last year was the first time I've ever made a turkey; my mom would always cook it and I would do the ham. Since we moved far from her last year, I had no idea how to make a good turkey! I used Alton Brown's recipe on foodnetwork, and it was to DIE for! You have to brine the turkey overnight, which I was really, really intimidated to do, but it was pretty easy, and was by far the the most flavorful, moist, and best turkey I've ever had (and I made it!). I highly recommend trying out that recipe!! Here it is:

“Good Eats” Roast Turkey
* 1 - 14-16 lb. turkey
Brine:
* 1 cup kosher salt
* ½ cup light brown sugar
* 1 gallon vegetable stock
* 1T black peppercorns
* ½ t allspice berries
* ½ t candied ginger
* 1 gallon iced water
Aromatics:
* 1 red apple, sliced
* ½ onion, sliced
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 cup water
* 4 sprigs rosemary
* 6 sage leaves
* canola oil
1. Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot and bring to a boil. Stir, remove from heat; cool to room temperature, refrigerate.
2. Early on the day of cooking (or late night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket (or foam cooler). Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and set in a cool area for six hours. Turn turkey over once half-way through brining.
3. A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500۫. Combine apple, onion, cinnamon stick and a cup of water and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
4. Remove bird from brine and rinse. Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with oil.
5. Roast on lowest level of oven at 500۫ for 30 minutes. Cover turkey with foil, reduce heat to 350۫. Insert probe thermometer into thickest part of breast and cook to 161۫. Let turkey rest 15 minutes before carving.

***I bought a foam-disposable cooler, used lots of ice, and let it sit outside overnight to let it brine. Worked like a charm!

WARNING > > check your turkeys BEFORE BRINING - many many turkeys are "PRE brined" and if you do this to a already brined turkey, it will taste AWFUL (yep btdt, learned my lesson - I was so afraid to brine another turkey, called the Butterball Hotline more than once!! Then I bought a gallon of "apple cider" on sale at the grocery store, it was awful, but dh suggested using it in the brine, instead of the stock... OMG it was delicious!!

Recipe for Praline Sweet Potatoes:

4 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 pint heavy cream
1/4 pound butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans



DIRECTIONS
Butter one 2 quart casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and cream. Blend well, and spread evenly in casserole dish.
Prepare the topping by combining the butter, brown sugar, flour and pecans. Mix until crumbly, and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

 

[kmchar1]

My Dad makes all the pies for Thanksgiving (except the Pumpkin)...he's in his sixities and I can't remember a time when he didn't make them. They are tradition. However, they are the simplest pies to make..but taste delicious!!!

He buys the pre-made graham cracker pie crusts.

Pours a can of cherry pie filling (or blueberry, or uses sliced bananas, whatever) in the bottom.

Then makes vanilla custard and pours it on top.

Then spreads a layer of whipped cream on top of that. Let's it all set.

Easy peasy. But yummy.

 

[Newfie2000]

deviled eggs
bacon & asparagus appetizers
vegetables & dip
cheese ball & crackers

turkey
Bread stuffing
spiral cut ham
green beans with bacon
scalloped potatoes
rice
gravy
dinner rolls
jellied cranberries

pumpkin pie
pecan pie
vanilla ice cream

I would love to know more about the asparagus/bacon appetizers!! Please??? My mouth actually watered when I read that!

 

[Newfie2000]

Will the posters with the blueberry salad and the cherry cream pie on their menus please share the recipes?

I am also curious about the blueberry salad!

 

[semo233]

I have had the pleasure of hosting Thanksgiving for the past 8 years or so. With both sides of our immediate family, it ends up being about 18-22 people. I put two 8 foot tables end to end in our family room and set up a buffet in our dining room with steam trays, crock pots and hot plates.
I have such a wonderful family that everyone offers to bring something....here's how it usually ends up:

Appetizers (Me)
Deviled eggs
Veggies and dip
Then either cheese and crackers, shrimp cocktail or some kind of hot dip

Drinks:
Bil: Wine
Everything else: Me

Main meal
Mom: Turkey and stuffing
MiL: Stuffing, cranberryand strawberry sauce and mashed potatoes
Me: baked sweet potatoes, corn, broccoli, green bean casserole, gravy,

Dessert
12 yo daughter: pumpkin pie
Me: Gingerbread and pumpkin trifle
Sisters: more pies
BiL: Ice cream

Other
Husband: Fire in fireplace, filling cooler with sodas and beers
Me: All the cleaning, planning, decorating and setting up
Me, Mom, MiL and husband: All the cleaning and eating of leftovers!

 

[Jaycey'smom]

I Love this thread!! So many great menus!

We will have

Apps:

relish tray (olives, black olives, sweet pickles, dill pickles)
deviled eggs
lil smokies in BBQ sauce
cheese, summer sausage and crackers
greenbeans wraped in bacon with catilina dressing
Chips and salsa

Main:

Turkey
gravy
gibblet gravy
stuffing
gibblet stuffing
Greenbean casserole
sweet potato casserole
mac n cheese (the kids must have this and they want it out of a box)
mashed potatoes
brown and serve rolls (I LOVE them)
broc and cheese (for DD she loves it)

Desert:

Apple pie (from the store)
Pumpkin pie (also from store)

 

[msmouse]

oops. double post!

 

[msmouse]

I would love to see the recipe for the Cherry Cream Pie. That sounds amazing! By the way, is no one else having Fried Turkey???? Or did I miss that? We fry 2 9-10lbs turkeys. OMG!!!!