what is on your menu?

[rainbabies]

besides the turkey, what are you having? im starting to get a bit stressed (and have been awake since 4:30 thinking about it) about dinner. if it was just us or family i wouldnt care. but, because other interns are coming...im stressed.

wine?

salad?

yes/no???

[Sheherezade]

Let's see. I'm a little stressed too...because my mom is visting. Just a little, though. She's my mom, after all. I'm thinking turkey, roasted root vegtables, mashed potatoes, butternut squash with pesto, stuffing , cornbread, green beans and.....that's enough, right? I'll probably think up a few more must haves. The dessert is really my issue. DS wants a berry pie w/ice cream. DH *must* have pumpkin pie. My mom only has mincemeat pie once a year -- at Thanksgiving. and DD only eats the whipped cream cake I posted for the holiday kids' dessert. So, do you think 4 desserts is overkill for 6 people? Maybe?

[rainbabies]

sounds yummy, angie. you're only a few hrs from me....im leaving dh here and trucking over.

i think im going to try making a pumpkin and cream cheese pie. i found it in a mag. and it looks delicious.

Angie, if you make 4 desserts for 6, I'll help you justify that.

Besides 5 people feeling just a little too small for Thanksgiving, I want more people around as an excuse to make more dessert. Pumpkin pie, of course, pecan for DH, and either triple ginger pear or apple cranberry. I suppose I could make some pie-lets.

We might join forces with another family. I'm hoping that works out. I expect we'll have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, green beans or something green, perhaps salad. Maybe rolls, certainly nice for leftover sandwiches. And pie!!!

[DCJenn]

We'll have a pretty decent sized breakfast- my husband, brother and I are running in a Turkey Trot this year.

Thanksgiving will be: turkey, mashed potatoes, the apple/yam layered thing I make (see recipes) peas with orange zest and a splash of orange liquor, rolls, sausage stuffing, oyster stuffing, cranberry sauce (we change the sauce every year in an attempt to find the perfect cranberry sauce- this year's contender is a ginger-cranberry sauce from Eating Well magazine.

Desserts are pumpkin pie and apple pie and sometime gingerbread.

Wine will be the '06 Beaujolais - it's a tradition. (has anyone heard anything about this years wines? Vinshenka- any word from the importers?)

This year my cousin is bringing the college girlfriend. They're seniors so I'm betting there will be a spring wedding...

Jenn

[Auspicious]

It's funny I was just talking to my parents last night about this and teasing my dad about how the only flavorings he will tolerate are butter and salt--and how he's going to have to compromise on that this year (the first year I'm making Thanksgiving for the family).

He won't have to compromise much, though. Ours is pretty much a cranberry-served-still-shaped-like-a-can family:

--Turkey (brined beforehand a la Alton Brown)
--Oyster stuffing
--Regular stuffing
--Mashed potatoes
--Gravy
--Sweet potatoes (I want to do Cheri's recipe--do you think that's too parallel to the mashed potatoes, though?)
--Cornbread
--Green vegetable (probably either green beans or roasted asparagus)
--Can-shaped cranberry
--Real cranberry (this will be a first, but from what I understand it's pretty damn easy)
--Orange Jell-O salad that my SIL makes and is good (if you were raised on Jell-O salads)
--Pies from Baker's Square (I'm going to delegate this to my Mom, but probably pumpkin and apple and [shudder] French Silk).

The above will be made with more than salt and butter, though.

We also do appetizers a few hours before dinner, but that's probably a separate post.

I agree about the mashed potatoes and sweet ones but since I like mashed sweet potatoes so much, I do that anyway.

Roasted asparagus sounds good! I'll keep that in mind.

I like the real cranberry sauce. Are you making it raw? It is easy, esp since it can be done ahead.

[Auspicious]

I agree about the mashed potatoes and sweet ones but since I like mashed sweet potatoes so much, I do that anyway.

Good. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you said it was okay.

Roasted asparagus sounds good! I'll keep that in mind.

I put em in a big ziploc bag with some olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper and gently rub them around until the asparagi are coated, then lay them out single layer for roasting. Even when theyr'e a little overdone they're still good. Not that I would know from experience or anything.

I like the real cranberry sauce. Are you making it raw? It is easy, esp since it can be done ahead.

Like from a bag of raw cranberries but then cooked in a saucepan. That kind is served cold? I have to find a recipe for this.

Good. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you said it was okay.

Just send them to me.

Sometimes I cook the fresh cranberries and sometimes I do the raw recipe on back. The raw one is basically the bag of cranberries (rinsed and picked over) in the food processor with some sugar and, I don't know, half to a whole orange/tangerine seeded. Yum. I like to mix leftovers into plain yogurt.

I like the stuff out of the can. I try to get it out whole so you can use the ridges as guidlines for slicing.

Classy ..

[Auspicious]

Those both sound good, thanks! Mmm, Thanksgiving.

[Auspicious]

I like the stuff out of the can. I try to get it out whole so you can use the ridges as guidlines for slicing.

Classy ..

Slicing?! Well if you want to go overboard and be all Martha Stewart about it . . .

[Stella]

Last night we had a mini Thanksgiving here...

Rosemary, Thyme and Lemon roasted turkey with roasted potatoes
Rustic Fregola with Lemon, Shrimp and Spinach
Sweet Corn Chowder
Key Lime Pie
Wine, wine, wine.

Haven't decided on the actual Thanksgiving menu yet, but I'm cooking this year so I will let you know.

[Tenacious_D]

DH and I were just finalizing the list so here it is:
My parents are coming with the rest of the family and we will be making most of dinner. I am so excited.

Julie, we are such fans of the brined turkey a la Alton!

Dinner Menu
1) Shrimp Cocktail (with cocktail sauce)
2) Turkey
3) Cranberry sauce (parents)
4) Stuffing w/sausage
5) Sweet potato (parents)
6) Macaroni and Cheese
7) Gravy
8) Green Beans (parents)
9) Collard greens (parents)
10) Rolls
11) Rice (parents and us)
12) Pecan pie
13) Cheesecake
14) Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Pie (parents)
15) Soda
16) Egg Nog (parents)

[samssugarmomma]

Our dinner is pretty traditional I think:

Turkey
Stuffing (some cooked in the bird and some outside of the bird)
Candied sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Green bean casserole
Broccoli and cheese casserole
Rolls
Bread - banana, cranberry, and pumpkin

For dessert - pumpkin pie and apple pie


Only 11 more days!!!!