Thanksgiving menu.... dishes.... recipes.....

Carla- I love that oyster recipe- no one I hoilday with in town will eat it so I haven't made it since I've lived here.
I'm bringing the hors d'oeuvres this year. warm figs w/goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto, jumbo shrimp and lump crab with green goddess and cocktail sauce, and homemade cheese sticks. My favorite holiday- food and friends. How could that be bad?

Gary.... that sounds soooo very good. The warm figs sound awesome. I could squeeze you in at my table if you like...

When I lived in NJ and the NYT was the home newspaper, the food column ran a turkey recipe study. They tried 16 ways to cook a turkey, and the best one is the one I faithfully use.

You wash the turkey and salt/pepper it.
Turn the wings under the bird.
Put it in a roaster.
Oven at 500.
[the NYT recipe called for leaving it at 500 until it was done. I usually set off a smoke alarm if I try that]
After about an hour, or when house is filled with smoke, turn oven down to 425 or so.
When skin is brown, cover bird with foil and continue.

The very hot oven quickly browns the skin, holding in the moisture. No need to baste or do anything to the bird other than using the foil to keep it from burning.

I use an electronic thermometer eventually to make sure it doesn't cook one degree more than done.

It cooks in 1/2 to 2/3 the time of a regular turkey. Everyone who's had it declares it to be the moistest turkey breast they've ever had.

So, that's my secret, and completely simple recipe.

Charles that sounds similar to what i do. First i get about 15 lbs of butter ( ) and i mix salt, pepper, and maybe an herb or two if we want to try a bit of something and i mix it all in with the butter. Then i give the bird a nice big rubdown. I usually talk dirty to the bird for a while, this is really for my daughters' pleasure. They find it hilarious, and part of our Thanksgiving tradition. I separate the skin a bit and put the butter mixture in there as well. Then i put it into a 500 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so, then i turn it down and cook it at the lower temperature.

I am surprised they would say to cook it at 500 for the whole time, i would think it would burn.

And for some miraculous reason, my house doesnt smoke when i do this. I bet i just jinxed myself.... lol

The one thing we ALWAYS do is brine the turkey!!! Makes such a difference. I also make the mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese. The beauty of these is that they can be made earlier in the week and reheated. My Mother also dried bread for dressing, but she did it the oven. Now I just use unseasoned stuffing cubes.

Sounds like you are going to have a great Thanksgiving!!!

I have heard of brining a turkey a lot, but the brining method kind of scares me that it would make it too salty.

So, when you reheat your potatoes are they just as good as if you had made them fresh that day?

I also use the unseasoned stuffing cubes, just easier.

I still roast my turkey but I cut an apple and a whole onion into quarters and stuff it into the birds cavity before baking. Sometimes add a celery stalk if I have one left over from making dressing. They steam during the cooking and help keep the bird moist and juicy.

I put the kitchen sink into my dressing. Onions, celery apples, raisins, and walnuts. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a baked oyster casserole with crackers and cream. Can't remember the name of it but it's in The Joy of Cooking cook book.

I might try the onion in there, does the apple impart any flavor at all?

To be honest, i have never put raisins or walnuts in my dressing, what is the flavor like? i would think the walnuts add a nice crunch, i might try that this year as well...

I make variation of traditional stuffing that is a savory delight using a slightly stale rosemary focacia . Saute med onion chopped, three of four ribs of celery med chopped in a stick of butter. Add fresh thyme, marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. Add a cup and a half of turkey stock and simmer for about ten minutes. Pour over cubed focacia and toss to coat. Dump the whole thing into a buttered stone dish and bake until the top cubes get toasted brown color. MMMM

Marcia please post slider stuffing it may be time for something new.

Thanks.

I still roast my turkey but I cut an apple and a whole onion into quarters and stuff it into the birds cavity before baking. Sometimes add a celery stalk if I have one left over from making dressing. They steam during the cooking and help keep the bird moist and juicy.

I put the kitchen sink into my dressing. Onions, celery apples, raisins, and walnuts. My favorite Thanksgiving dish is a baked oyster casserole with crackers and cream. Can't remember the name of it but it's in The Joy of Cooking cook book.

I might try the onion in there, does the apple impart any flavor at all?

To be honest, i have never put raisins or walnuts in my dressing, what is the flavor like? i would think the walnuts add a nice crunch, i might try that this year as well...

The apple chunks stuffed into the bird's cavity adds a great deal of moisture to the bird and really keeps it juicy. I've never had a dry bird using this method. Does it impart some flavor? Yeah a bit but not a great deal. Mostly moisture that's more than just "wet". I rub the outside with a bit of vegetable oil ( But I like the seasoned butter idea posted in a earlier post here better. I might try that.) and follow the cooking directions found on the bird's wrapper. I ignore any "pop up' timer the bird might have. If you wait for it to pop up the bird has usually been over cooked in my experience. I tent the bird with aluminum foil near the end of cooking just so it won't get too brown.

I started using the raisins and walnuts when my daughter was in grade-school and we were trying to keep Thanksgiving as close to what the original Thanksgiving might have been. We liked the added texture the nuts and raisins give the dressing so I keep doing it.

This is what I've learned is important about Thanksgiving...
It's more about family expectations and the ritual than the taste of the food itself. One year when I was first married I thought I'd do a non-traditional Thanksgiving and give my family something really special. I had a seafood bash/buffet. A very expensive seafood bash. King crab legs, seviche, stuffed flounder, mussels, fresh oysters - you get the picture. It was the most expensive meals I have ever cooked.It was also the most difficult regarding timing and planning (at least for me). I was thrilled when everything turned out great! Still, it was the biggest flop EVER! I never heard so much bitchin' and grumbling. Everyone looked at me as if I had served up Lassie and Flicka. The food was fine but the holiday was ruined. I'll never make that mistake again.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Thanksgiving is more about emotions and feelings than it is about what or how you cook it. Don't worry about the bird, it'll be fine just as long as you have one.

This is what I've learned is important about Thanksgiving...
It's more about family expectations and the ritual than the taste of the food itself. One year when I was first married I thought I'd do a non-traditional Thanksgiving and give my family something really special. I had a seafood bash/buffet. A very expensive seafood bash. King crab legs, seviche, stuffed flounder, mussels, fresh oysters - you get the picture. It was the most expensive meals I have ever cooked.It was also the most difficult regarding timing and planning (at least for me). I was thrilled when everything turned out great! Still, it was the biggest flop EVER! I never heard so much bitchin' and grumbling. Everyone looked at me as if I had served up Lassie and Flicka. The food was fine but the holiday was ruined. I'll never make that mistake again.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Thanksgiving is more about emotions and feelings than it is about what or how you cook it. Don't worry about the bird, it'll be fine just as long as you have one.

I COMPLETELY understand what you are saying. Growing up, we never had much money and Thanksgiving meals were not lavish at all. My mother was always overstressed with an absentee husband and six wild kids.....but...

She always got up REALLY early and had the turkey in the oven at 6 in the morning..... and cooked that sucker ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL day. And it just would not have been Thanksgiving with my lovely mother's LUMPY gravy!

My point.... We had dry turkey and lumpy gravy, but my brothers and sisters would not have had it any other way, my mom made that stuff with love. Now as adults we joke and laugh it, and it brings back such great memories that i have tears in my eyes just typing this out......

When I make turkey I roast it breast down. It looks ugly coming out but is very tender.

Side dish..I slapped something together last minute for a vegetarian guest at our Thanksgiving family dinner and now it's a yearly request. Take some fillo dough and melted butter and line a casserole dish with several layers of both. Cream some well drained frozen chopped spinach, salt/pepper/seasoning and cream cheese and an egg or two. Then dump the mix in there and top off with more fillo dough butter mix. Bake the dish up until bubbly and crispy. I usually cut it before it goes in the oven.