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SnowyShiloh

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Okay, all you Americans! What are you planning on making for Thanksgiving? It will probably only be Paul and I this year (we live too far from family and our friends will all be gone or with their families in town). I don't want to make too much stuff since it will just be us. This is my plan so far:


-cranberry sauce (this is Paul's domain, we make the recipe on the bag)
-turkey, of course! I use this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/A-Simply-Perfect-Roast-Turkey/Detail.aspx
-mashed potatoes using heavy cream and butter. I don't need a recipe.
-sweet potato casserole, I'm going to try this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gourmet-Sweet-Potato-Classic/Detail.aspx?prop31=1
-corn pudding, because it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. This is the recipe I'm going to try this time, I've never used one with any sort of mix: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Corn-Pudding-V/Detail.aspx
-turkey gravy (don't need a recipe)
-store bought rolls because I'll be busy at the last minute and my oven only has one rack. If I was going to make rolls, I would make this recipe though because they're wonderful: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blue-Ribbon-Overnight-Rolls/Detail.aspx
-homemade butter

I want to make something simple but yummy for breakfast. Does anyone have ideas? I was thinking of making these muffins because we like them a lot, and serving them with mandarin oranges and hot chocolate: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Breakfast-Muffins/Detail.aspx

I also want to make some sort of appetizer that isn't too filling but we can munch on throughout the day, like some sort of dip for veggies and chips, or chex mix. Any ideas?

Also, can't forget dessert! I'm considering just making caramel apples. Usually I make a pumpkin chiffon pie but Paul's not that fond of it. Any good, somewhat autumny dessert recipes would be great!

So, share your recipes for Thanksgiving here! I can't wait to read what all you guy make.
 
Have you ever tried brining a turkey? I did that for Thanksgiving this year (back in October for us Canadiens), and it was the best turkey I'd ever had in my life.

Here's the instructions I followed:
http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=3540

I soaked/brined my turkey for about 4 hours before putting it in the oven. Some recipes call for letting it soak for 12 hours, but 4 did the trick for me. I didn't let mine rest overnight either, I just rinsed it and cooked it like I always do, and it was perfect.

I had the salt, brown sugar, and just some herbs from the spice rack in the water for mine. I did mine in the kitchen sink, but we have a double sink so I could still use the other side. You can use a pot and put it in the fridge or even a cooler with a couple of ice packs or zip-lock bags full of ice (I think I'm going to do it this way next time).

The turkey meat was so moist and flavourful that you really didn't need gravy to make it taste good. I honestly can't stop thinking about how good that turkey was and how excited I am to make another one for Christmas.

--Dawn
 
aurora369 wrote:
Have you ever tried brining a turkey? I did that for Thanksgiving this year (back in October for us Canadiens), and it was the best turkey I'd ever had in my life.

If you're going to eat a turkey, I also recommend brining it. I used to do that every year. (I just used a bone-in breast, as I never liked dark meat.) I used a 5-gallon bucket with a lid on it, and I usually did it over night. (Easier for me that way, just drop it in the bucket before bed and it was ready to go in the morning.) Most years, it was cold enough, I could just put the bucket outside.

The salt and spices infuse the whole turkey, making it more flavorful (the salt was fairly subtle, though). You can use any spices you like, to customize it to your taste. The salt water going into the turkey also keeps it moist, so there's no need to baste the turkey or use much gravy in it.
 
The first year I ever roasted a turkey, I brined it. It was a huge pain in the rear end (cooler full of ice, salt and water with the turkey in it, I hate raw meat germs so cleaning that thing was a nightmare) and it ended up tasting the same as any other turkey. I used Alton Brown's method of brining. Maybe it just didn't work out that year for whatever reason, but I've never had a turkey turn out dry the way I do it now so I'm pretty happy :) I may try bringing again in the future though.
 
I just did mine in the kitchen sink for about 3-4 hours before I cooked it. If you do it that way, the sink can be disinfected easily. I just used a couple of zip-lock bags full half full of ice in the sink to keep it cool. I flipped the turkey over every little bit.

Let the water drain out, and pat dry the turkey. Then it was rubbed with a bit of olive oil, and into the oven.

I also baste with a bit of chicken stock, just like your recipe. I only basted a couple of times with this turkey, and it was still super moist.

--Dawn
 
As I expected, my family is doing their Thanksgiving on the Sunday after. I just found this out today. Husband already told his mom, a couple weeks ago, that we were going to my family's this year, so she didn't buy any food.

Therefore, I stopped at the store on my way home from work, and will be making something myself. I have to work Friday, so I am not doing anything too complicated:

Tofurky roast. I had one last year, and it's not as bad as I expected. Not excellent, but I really don't feel like making a big, involved main dish. This just goes in the oven and that's it.

Tofurky mushroom gravy. I really like this gravy. Probably because I love mushrooms.

Garlic mashed potatoes. These I will be making from scratch. 2.5 lbs of potatoes, 3 entire heads of garlic, heavy cream, and butter. I don't make them often, but they're delicious. Probably the most complicated thing I'll be making.

Alton Brown's oven roasted broccoli. Broccoli florets and stem pieces, mixed with lemon juice, olive oil, spices, and toasted panko breadcrumbs, then roasted in the oven until tender. Easy but delicious, I love roasted broccoli.

Cornbread stuffing. From a bag.

Pumpkin cheesecake pie. I ran across the recipe for this on the internet yesterday, I already had everything but the pie crust. It looks like a basic pumpkin pie, with one block of cream cheese mixed in. I may add a bit of ginger.

I am planning on making this for dinner time, not lunch or early afternoon. I have enough problems sleeping, I refuse to get up early to cook on my day off. MIL isn't too hot on this idea, but I'm not all that concerned. She is not excited about the Tofurky, and will be bringing some vegetable soup.

My aunt will also be providing vegetarian options, on Sunday, as my cousin and his girlfriend are vegetarian. I was not asked to bring anything, so that's easy.

 
Beth, I know what you mean about the getting up early! I just put my turkey in the oven at 1:30 in the afternoon. We slept until almost 1. We didn't go to bed until a little after 6 this morning. Paul and I have a weird schedule- we go to bed really late (usually around 4 am) and have dinner at around 11 most nights. We'll be eating tonight at around 6:30 or 7. That probably sounds late to a lot of people, but heck it's early for us and I'm only feeding the two of us so don't have to worry about anyone else!

Last night I made Buffalo style Chex mix: http://www.chex.com/recipes/sweeps/...&WT.mc_id=paid_chexrecipeF10_allrecipesbanner

It turned out really tasty, I think! I left out the celery seed because Paul's already kind of iffy on Chex mix and celery seed would insure he doesn't eat any at all.

I also made No Bake Oreo Cheesecake: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/PHILADELPHIA-OREO-No-Bake-Cheesecake/Detail.aspx

I made half the recipe and put it in the brown Thankgiving pie plate I use every year. I used a full cup of sugar even though I halved the recipe and ended up using nearly a full thing of Oreo cookies.

I also made sweet potato casserole: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gourmet-Sweet-Potato-Classic/Detail.aspx

It's in the fridge waiting to be baked. I fully intend to put marshmallows on top instead of the topping in the recipe, at least for half of it since Paul loves marshmallows. Once the turkey is done, all I'll have to do is make mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn pudding, and put the sweet potatoes in the oven. I'm considering making honey butter too since I bought heavy cream.
 
Wow, everything I made turned out amazingly! The sweet potato casserole is definitely going to be a new tradition. Paul didn't even put marshmallows on his because it was so good. The turkey was incredibly moist and flavorful (I got a new thermometer yesterday that has a probe you stick in the meat and leave in the oven so you can watch the temperature rise and it beeps when it reaches the temperature you want), the mashed potatoes were wonderful, the gravy was perfect (it was the first time I'd made gravy with pan juices), the corn pudding was great. Paul said it was the best Thanksgiving ever.

It's kind of sweet to think that next Thanksgiving we'll be married!
 

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