Can we talk about Thanksgiving?

rp-chicago-mom · October 2013

The Canadian Bumpies are having their holiday and the Americans' is a little over a month away. We're hosting FIL, which is kind of good because we won't be alone and kind of a drag because I would rather go back to Chicago and Indiana to see everyone. Anyway, I am so super excited to make a menu.

So far, I know I am going to spatchcock our turkey, which basically means take out the backbone and flatten it for even cooking. And I am going to dry brine it so I don't poison everyone finding somewhere to store it in a wet brine.

On top of that, I think I may try to make a cornbread wild rice dressing (not stuffing since you can't stuff something flat

). As for sides, I can't decide if I shoud go traditional because I will be homesick or just go completely off the wall because I will be homesick. And then I think I will still make two pies because I require apple and pumpkin. What about you? What does your ideal thanksgiving include?

alrighthamilton · October 2013

Traditional all the way. My mom always hosts (she is an amazing cook) and takes the day off work before so we can do the prep. My favorite is an ice cream pumpkin pie, which is not frozen but has melted vanilla ice cream in the pumpkin filling, which makes it amazingly creamy. My second favorite are the mashed potatoes, because they include lots of butter, cream cheese, and smoked Gouda.

jodegaard · October 2013

YES, we can talk about Thanksgiving! I feel bad not contributing to @NeneCakies post about Halloween, but I don't really have any traditions and DH will most likely be working!

My ideal Thanksgiving includes my family, but that's not an option this year. We will be celebrating with our church family, which is almost as awesome. We all contribute our best sides and it's a big old party with kids running everywhere!

I am ordered to make my cornbread dressing, which I have to admit is AMAZE-BALLS. Four years ago, we were going to host my in-laws for Thanksgiving. I've always hated traditional stuffing/dressing. I would just ignore it when I was with my family, but I couldn't do that with people coming to my house expecting Thanksgiving dinner. So I searched and found the best recipe ever, made some tweaks, and now it is legendary.

We have smoked turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, freshly baked yeast dinner rolls, various vegetable dishes, cranberry glaze/sauce...

Pumpkin pie, apple pie, ollalieberry pie, pecan pie, chocolate pie...

This year I want to try out pumpkin cream pie w/ a graham cracker crust.

latnprincess · October 2013

I make the greenbean casserole every year. Its a standard dish, nothing amazing, but its good and everyone loves it! My SIL brings a macaroni casserole or a veggie one. My sister does desserts. I usually do one too. My mom makes rice (we're latino alright!) and the turkey, dressing, and potato salad (carbs, carbs, and more carbs). ERMERGERD! I can't wait!

fastcarsandfreedom3319 · October 2013

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday! And I'm so glad I'm back in CT to celebrate this year (and all years to come) with my family!

We are very traditional. Traditional turkey, stuffing (has to be the crumbled, not the cubed), sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, candied carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. For dessert, we have pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie (with crumble and pie crust), and cheesecake.

My favorite thing ever is to eat Thanksgiving leftovers for the whole week following the holiday!

NeneCakies · October 2013

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I started going to my aunt's house in Indy as a college student because it was the only time my cousins were home from school and we were all close growing up. 18 years later it's still a favorite tradition and MUST include:

• Bottomless bowls of Aunties famous Chex Mix. It's not thanksgiving without a chex mix crumb crime scene in the living room.
• Games, games, games! Usually Wizard, Catch Phrase or Apples to Apples.
• Prank messages spelled out with the "happy thanksgiving" wooden blocks.
• Christmas Caroler doll scene tampering. We put my aunts Christmas decor dolls in compromising/ murderous situations.
• An outing to a blockbuster movie or the Children's Museum (we are kids at heart pushing 40).
• Carrot cake for the two cousins with thanksgiving-ish birthdays.
• Turkey with all the fixin's. I started bringing a curry couscous everyone loves too and a strawberry rhubarb pie.
• Day after Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and Chinese food dinner at Yen Ching (the best place ever) with enough Chinese leftovers to eat again when back in Mich.

Our younger selves would also record a skit to show the family each year. We did one last year for the first time in many moons and B was in it (as woman with baby). One cousin has a 3 yr old plus one on the way so we are excited to pass our legacy of fun down to the next generation!

NeneCakies · October 2013

@jodegaard, the Halloween post was a front so we can all get past it and on to the fucking awesomeness of Thanksgiving. Don't feel bad.

shakinros · October 2013

Sweet potato casserole is my go-to! None of that sugary crap with marshmallows on it. Pecans and brown sugar and cinnamon, baby. Yum.

We'll be home by ourselves as we have been every year since we moved
To California. 8yrs and counting! We always try to go for new recipes, with the exception of the sweet potatoes. So far, the year we did a southwestern rub on the turkey with cornbread-black bean stuffing was the best.

jessalynn521 · October 2013

well we grew up hosting for my dad's side of the family. I still overkill it on Thanksgiving. I will stuff my turkey, and I just do salt pepper butter for it to cook, wet stuffing, dry stuffing, (homemade recipe). Broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (for FIL) , Cranberry sauce, plus a whole slew of pie. Growing up Pie day was the day before thanksgiving and we made a crapton. I still make 1 pumpkin, 1 apple, 1 cherry, 1 blueberry.

There will just be us and MIL/FIL. lol. We always have leftovers

BluepointToasted · October 2013

I never get to cook for thanksgiving

We usually go to my MILs for an early dinner, ( about 1ish) then to either my cousins or my aunts for a late dinner. My MIL is a little more modern; she does the traditional stuff, but usually adds a little flair with a new recipe or two. Then my family goes really tradition, my grandmas recipes. It is the best of both worlds! Mmmmmmm....my grandmas chicken gizzard stuffing....I can't wait!

LindsayDesigner · October 2013

I love, love, LOVE Thanksgiving!
We are pretty traditional here:
Roast turkey with stuffing
Cranberry relish
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Candied yams
Green beans
Rolls
Pie

Oh man, everything sounds so good right now!

PaisleyRuth · October 2013

My dad hosts and makes the turkey. I bring sweet potatoes every year. Then we have stuffing, peas, jellied cranberry and cranberry relish, gravy, sauerkraut, assorted sides that the newcomers to the family bring (my ILs, dad's gf, etc.), apple pie and pecan pie. It doesn't have the same life as when my mom was alive or my grandparents, but we have lots of family. This year we may be up to 23 or so, with another 5 moving back here next year.

rp-chicago-mom · October 2013

LiliDragon said:

No cassoulet after all @Baker_Bride?

That would be for the Friday before. I think I may do something lighter though. Or I need to find a lighter version.

brandyleighxx · October 2013

I miss traditional casseroles my family down south make for the holidays. Here it's the turkey, of course, stuffing, green beans, potatoes, and rolls. My family always did mac n cheese casseroles, broccoli casseroles, chicken casseroles, home made bread, home made stuffing. It's not the same.

vvvvvfee · October 2013

i love grilled/smoked turkey. if we don't do that we spatchcock it and do it in the oven. DH loves ham, so usually he slices up ham and bakes it with some kind of glaze. we've made tasty ones with constant comment tea, or a combo of mustard and peach or apricot jam. always homemade cranberry sauce and gravy from the turkey drippings. some kind of potato plus some other side- green beans or corn pudding or glazed pearl onions. DH and i disagree on stuffing- he loves it, i hate it. then some generally some kind of pie for dessert- preferably with trader joe's pumpkin ice cream! basically i insist on turkey and DH insists on ham, but we're pretty free with experimenting with the other sides. we always make a ton of food, though- leftovers are a necessity. some years we've done peking duck with my mom- it's super awesome but it's a lot of work.

tumblefluff · October 2013

Baker_Bride said:

LiliDragon said:

No cassoulet after all @Baker_Bride?

That would be for the Friday before. I think I may do something lighter though. Or I need to find a lighter version.

What time should we all show up for dinner?

MeredithML · October 2013

We have done a turducken for the past three years. It is a duck breast stuffed inside a chicken breast stuffed inside a turkey breast. It is pretty tasty but I am not a fan of turkey so it gives me something to eat as well. We do traditional sides but my favorite is green bean casserole!!

piphigirl · October 2013

DH's family and another family get together for Thanksgiving. In the 1980s, they were both from out of town and had little kids, so they hung out. It was four adults and five kids.

Now it is four original generation adults, the five kids, their significant others/spouses, two sets of in-laws, some co-workers, a couple aunts and uncles, and four kids (one first grader, two toddlers, and a yet-to-be-born early November baby.)

Their house is lovely, but is WAY too small. Last year was a bit nutty. We are lobbying to move to a restaurant or a church fellowship hall!

Joyce does most of the cooking, but I want to contribute a stuffing that I can actually eat (wheat allergy) and a ginger and toasted coconut pumpkin pie because I have all the ingredients. Fingers are crossed that we can rent a hall, or go to a restaurant so nobody cooks at all!

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