BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites

Subject: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:12 PM

Mudcatters and esteemed visitors,

I searched the DT and am astonished that with all of our food threads here we have not apparently discussed our favorite foods and recipes served on Thanksgiving (doesn't matter which nation's holiday, though this Mudcatter is addressing the topic from a U.S. perspective).

The ubiquitous image of a U.S. Thanksgiving is turkey and stuffing, and attendant dishes. Close runner-up, a fancy ham. Pumpkin pie for dessert. But surely there are family traditions and regional variations that will allow Mudcatters to conjure up some interesting recipes?

The thing that was a small part of the meal but always fun and only turned up once a year was a form of baking powder biscuit that Mom used to make. It was rolled out thin on a board, then rolled up into a long tube (like you would do with yeast dough for cinnamon rolls) and sliced and topped with grated cheese. They came out looking like cinnamon rolls in shape, but had the scattered crust of cheese baked onto the top.

She also made tomato aspic. I've never had it any other place, and it wasn't my favorite dish, but we always ate it once a year. Aspic is very pretty, the little gelatins each garnished on their own little plate.

I have a cookbook my mother put together many years ago, and I've pulled it out to find that recipe.

Mom's Tomato Aspic

1 bay leaf
few drops Tobasco
4 onion slices
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups tomato juice
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2/3 cups cold water
2 Tbs vinegar
2 Tbs lemon juice

Place first 5 ingredients in pan with 2 cups tomato juice. Simmer 10 minutes. Add gelatin soaked in the water and stir until dissolved. Add the rest of the tomato juice, vinegar and lemon juice. Strain. Place in either 1 quart mold or in individual molds and chill.

Variation: add finely chopped celery.

My individual contribution these days (the one requested by friends we dine with most years) is a batch of yeast rolls with lots of Italian-style spices. I make them with olive oil, and generous shakes of garlic powder, and oregano in the dough. They didn't start out as a Thanksgiving food, but because the neighbors asked for them at our shared meal, my kids have come to expect them. They are particularly good for making small turkey sandwiches.

Anyone else have a favorite recipe to share?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MarkS
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:23 PM

Sounds exactly like what my mother used to make. Are you sure we are not related? I also only ate some to be nice, and only once in a while!
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jimmyt
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:35 PM

I do a beef tenderloin on the grill

Trim a tenderloin and marinate in red wine vinegar for one hour

slice lengthwise half way through, stuff, tie with butchers string, puncture 30 or 40 places stuff the punctures with garlic cloves slivered. Salt and pepper copiously

stuffing: Saute 2 bunches of finely diced scallions, and a half pound of mushrooms finely diced in butter or olive oil, set aside until ready to stuff in Tenderloin.

Hot grill, indirect heat, 45-50 min, take off when still pink as it continues to cook a bit after removal from grill. Let rest for 30-40 min before slicing.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 12:52 PM

for "bite the bird", which ends with MY favorite, Thompson's Turkey

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=14669 , a general recipe thread, also has the recipe.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:01 PM

Probably my very favorite Thanksgiving food - (not counting Thanksgiving Eve - which is more important to me in the long run) is Creamed Onions. I fiddle with the recipe every year - but gotta have my creamed onions.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:11 PM

Put hot dogs in micro wave (auto defrost is good enough)
Eat hot dogs. While doing so, place lima beans in micro wave.
Eat lima beans.

Thanksgiving is my least favourite holiday, just after Arbor Day.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:18 PM

are the hot dogs and lima beans specifically in protest of Thanksgiving, or is that just your regular fare, which you don't bother changing? (me, I'd at least FRY the hot dogs and add catsup, for a holiday, but I'm such an old emotional softy)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:29 PM

Bill, thanks for tracking down that thread. The run-on words didn't come up in my search, but it makes sense that there would be something out here! (Maybe I should have done a search on Rick Fielding--he seemed to start a disproportionate number of food threads, though they encompassed kitchen disasters as well as triumphal recipes).

Something that is a big deal down here in Texas but that I've never actually tried, or seen, is deep-fryed turkey. I guess they must dip the entire bird in the oil. Whole or cut up, I can't say. I have seen these stainless steel gas "turkey fryers" and 5-gallon containers of peanut oil on sale just about everywhere over the last couple of weeks.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:47 PM

The entree and veg were chosen at random from my usual list. It could have been liver and artichoke bottoms.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 01:53 PM

Me too, MMario. Although last year my creamed onions, made on an electric stove for the first time, were a disaster. They fell on the floor, Seamus ran to grab them, stopped dead in his tracks, sniffed and walked away. SIGH!

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup broth (or water)
Make a roux with the flour and butter.
Cook it for at least one minute.
Add broth
Bring to a boil and stir until creamy.
Add onions (canned is OK but freshly boiled is better and less salty.

A splash of white wine and a sprinkle of pepper.
YUM

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 02:34 PM

A few years back, I developed a recipe for Sausage and Apple Stuffing with Walnuts. I wanted something different besides the same old herb stuffing. We've served it every Thanksgiving since, and everybody loves it. I'll share it with you. I usually start to prepare it well after I've put the turkey in the oven, because I like to use turkey drippings in the mixture.

1 lb bulk spicy pork breakfast sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Hot)
1 1/2 cups celery, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup shallots, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup finely chopped white onion
2 tablespoons butter plus 6 tablespoons melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups cooking apples, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces (Granny Smith works well)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, preferably crushed
1/4 cup fresh sage, minced, or 1 tablespoon dried sage, preferably rubbed but ground will do
6 cups dried bread cubes. (I cut the crust off all sides of several bread slices, cube the bread, then spread cubes evenly on a baking sheet and shove it in a 350 degree oven just until slightly golden and crunchy.) Store-bought stuffing mix can be substituted.
2 cups warm low-sodium chicken broth, or turkey drippings added to chicken broth to make 2 cups.
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Cook the sausage in the same pan and make sure the sausage is cooked through, around 10 minutes. Drain off sausage drippings and reserve 1/4 cup.

3. Over low to medium heat, cook the shallots, onion, and celery together, covered, in a saute pan with 2 tablespoons of butter and the reserved sausage drippings. Cook until softened. Place in a large bowl.

4. Break up any overly large pieces of sausage with a fork until all the meat is a uniform texture, then put it in the bowl with the celery, onions and shallots.

5. Toast the walnuts on a cookie sheet about 10 minutes at 325°F, taking care not to burn them.

6. Roughly chop walnuts and add to the bowl.

7. Cut the peeled apples into cubes and add to the bowl with the other ingredients.

8. Add the herbs to the bowl and mix.

9. Add the bread cubes toss to mix all the ingredients.

10. Add the warm chicken broth and the melted butter and mix thoroughly, make sure the bread is well coated.

11. Put the stuffing in a buttered baking dish or casserole and cover with foil.

12. Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Try it. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving!

S

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,SueB
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 03:31 PM

Thanksgiving isn't my favorite, but I like homemade cranberry sauce with whole cranberries still in it. Also, jalapeno cornbread, and mashed potatoes & gravy.

What I'd rather do than follow tradition is to make something Asian I've never made before - one year it was cats' paw dumplings and hot and sour soup and some kind of steamed fish recipe involving lemongrass. This year we are taking all the work out of it and getting a whole roast duck (already roasted) from the oriental food market, and also a whole array of takeout from the same place - Thai and Chinese and Korean and whatever looks interesting that we have the courage to try.

If I have to go the turkey route, I opt for the less labor intensive whole turkey breast and a pan of roasted vegetable - potatoes, onions, garlic cloves, carrots, etc all chopped into bite sized chunks, tossed with olive oil and garlic salt and allowed to slowly roast in the oven for the last 45 mins to an hour of turkey time. I would rather spend my time making pies! Pies, pies, pies! Apple pies with pear and cranberry. Strawberry pies, peanutbutter pies, all kinds of pies!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 03:47 PM

Thanksgiving dinner has to be one of the easiest to prepare. *grin* But then again - we have 4 cooks - and we share out the work.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 04:47 PM

I wonder just how hungry I'd have to be to eat creamed onions....on a scale, I guess they'd rank just above liver and bugs, and just below borsht...which is about 2 ranks below what I ever choose freely.

yes, yes,...I know...(I was 19 before I willingly ate vegetables much beyond lettuce & green beans,,)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 04:56 PM

I'll be doing the entire Thanksgiving dinner myself this year. My wife is recovering from cancer surgery and postoperative infection, so she won't be able to help much at all. We've pared down the menu because it just doesn't make sense to do that much for just the two of us, but we both want to have as much of the traditional dishes as we can manage.

One difference this year is that I'll be smoking the turkey on our offset smoker. I've done a breast before, but this will be my first time for something this large. I am confident, though. Haven't had a failure yet. We've got plenty of ribs in the freezer in case of emergency.

We're also thinking of dressing up the green bean casserole with artichoke hearts or something. That one is still being thrashed around. Mashed potatoes are definitely on the menu, along with homemade cranberry relish, herb dressing and homemade pumpkin pie.

Should be fun.

jeffp

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 05:38 PM

Jeffy....a suggestion.....When you smoke a whole bird, do it upside down (not you, the bird). Breast dries way too much by the time an entire bird is done so do it breast down. And throw a couple of sectioned apples in the cavity....great flavor!!!

SRS.....That thread I started (Bill's link) was started for Rick's benefit based on a phone conversation. Both of us loved food and as you said, Rick started a lot of the food threads one way or another. BTW, some of my favorite Bird day stuff is on that thread. As I said then, the best of t-day is in the leftovers and if you haven't tried Kentucky Hot Brown yet, you're missing the boat!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Gypsy
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 10:40 PM

Well, since i am not wild about most thanksgiving fare, we will have prawns, salad, and cheesecake for dessert. YUM! But when i WAS cooking turkeys, something to always remember..........get a hypo, and inject at least 1 pound of butter in the bird. And let it rest for at least 20 minutes in the drippings, so it can sop them up again!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Rapparee
Date: 15 Nov 04 - 11:15 PM

Get a fresh turkey. Get a huge pot -- at least five gallons. Fill the pot with oil. Heat the oil to boiling. Sling in the turkey. When it done, take it out. Serve the turkey to your guests, and only to your guests, reminding yourself not to use motor oil the next time.

Or make what we're making this Tgiving: reservations.

(Actually, we usually get a smoked turkey breast and gently heat it. Delicious, and no waste to speak of. But this year we are going out for Thanksgiving dinner.)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Nancy King
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:19 AM

Here's my favorite cranberry-orange relish:

1 pkg fresh cranberries
2 whole oranges
zest of 1 orange
1 whole apple (Granny Smith is good)
3/4 - 1 cup sugar

After zesting one of the oranges, peel both oranges, making sure to remove all the seeds and all the white pith. Peel and core apple. Cut oranges and apple into chunks, and put through food processor, along with cranberries. Add orange zest. Add sugar, mix well, and chill.

This should be made at least a day or two ahead, so it has time to get itself together. It keeps very well, should you happen to have any left over.

Enjoy!

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: LadyJean
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:43 AM

My father's father was a district attorney. He put someone in jail who had been harassing a Chinese gentleman. The Chinese gentleman felt himself deeply indebted to my grandfather, and turned up, regularly with gifts. (I have some lovely chinoiserie about my home. I just have to find it. But I digress.)
After several years, my grandfather decided to run for judge. He didn't want the press suggesting that he was in the pay of the Tongs, so he told his Chinese friend to stop the gifts. All went well, until Thanksgiving when someone showed up at the kitchen door with a turkey, cooked Chinese style, complete with head and feet. The delivery man spoke English only slightly better than my grandmother spoke Chinese. He kept bowing and smiling, and, finally grandmother just took the turkey and put it in the icebox.
That night, when great grandfather started to carve the American style turkey, it became obvious that the bird was rotten.
Which is why my father's family had Chinese turkey that Thanksgiving, and why I like to put water chestnuts in my turkey dressing. (That and I like water chestnuts.)
The turkey was the last of the Chinese gifts.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,SueB
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 12:53 AM

Nancy, do you not cook the cranberries?

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:13 AM

OH, GAWD. . . I just gained 10 pounds reading that recipe for Kentucky Hot Brown and some of the other stuff on Spaw's old thread. . . pardon me while I stagger over to a chair and rest up after all of that food talk. . . I'm feeling a little green around the gills. . . all that cholesterol. . .

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:50 AM

Thanks for the suggestion, Spaw. Upside-down is definitely the way to go. I'll probably use maple for smoking and maybe a maple glaze as well.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:52 AM

Nancy - I really enjoy that relish as well - but I've always used seedless navel oranges and not bothered to peel - etc - just chunk them up and then grind.(okay - I used to use a meat grinder - now a food processer) and no - you don't cook this relish.

Sometimes I use an onion instead of the apple - or WITH the apple. A little fresh ginger added goes well also.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,KateG
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 08:55 AM

In answer to SueB's question to Nancy. No, Cranberry-Orange relish is not cooked.   

We make a very similar, but simpler, one in our family: 1 bag cranberries, 2 oranges, 1 very scant cup of sugar. The oranges are cut up to remove the seeds, but otherwise left intact, and are ground in a meat grinder or food processor. The the sugar is added and the mix is left to marry in the fridge for a day or two. However, it comes out much better in a grinder, redder and with more intense flavor. I think the grinder crushes the fruit as well as chopping it, which helps to release vital essenses. I've noticed that some of the newer food processor versions recommend a brief heating in the microwave, presumably to achieve the same end.

Leftover Cranberry relish is divine in blintzes: thin pancakes filled with cottage cheese, sour cream & relish and sauteed in butter till a bit crispy -- to die for.

Or spread it on leftover turkey sandwiches, or mix it with plain yougurt and use as a fruit topping, or....   It's addictive stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 09:59 AM

Jeff, where I live you can get really hurt messing around with the green bean casserole recipe. One year I tried to make it with fresh green beans. Sigh.... Also, I noticed that a certain fancy-dancy food purveyor I won't name tops it with "crispy fried shallots". Shallots, for all love. They are french fried onions, and they are Durkee, and that is that.

Now, I do love artichokes (one special at our restaurant today is a ham/cheese/artichoke-heart melt with honey mustard) but if you put 'em in that casserole, you are obliged to call it something else.

Dani

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:22 AM

Dani:

Fortunately, we are consenting adults committing food in the privacy of our own home. For that matter, we are married and of opposite sexes as well. If John Ashcroft knocks on our door, he will NOT be invited in.

(I do understand about tampering with tradition, I just gotta have some fun with it.)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:26 AM

well - as long as you aren't adding pimento or doing anything radical...

still - changing green bean casserole isn't really a topic of polite conversation - not in most places at least.

I had a cousin who made it with cream of celerysoup one year; my poor aunt was shunned for months.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 10:47 AM

OMIGAWD, Mmario!!!!!!!!!

That's what we use.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,Nancy King at work
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:23 PM

Interesting. I've had the cranberry relish made with peels and all, but found it a trifle bitter. So I stick to the ancestral method and peel the oranges, but include some orange zest for a little zing. And no, it isn't cooked. Yummy!

Nancy

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 01:39 PM

I must be weird because I HATE green bean casserole. Makes be gag just thinking about it. Yuck!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:21 PM

PPSSSSSTTTT.....Mario and Jeff........We have been making it by subbing Cream of Asparagus soup and asparagus for the green beans....a whole new dish sorta'....but it's damn good!!!

I'm reading all of these and adding to the collection. This year, Karen is looking at the day as her last Thanksgiving. No, not that.....but by this time next year she will have had gastric bypass surgery and that is one helluva' lifestyle change! We've been learning tons (no pun) about what things will be like and it will work out fine. Actually better than fine as we are both convinced that the surgery for her will be not only life changing but life saving as well.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:24 PM

oh, wow...that IS a big step...but I have heard amazing things about what it can do.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: jeffp
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 02:49 PM

Well, while we're confessing to heresy, I might as well add that we also add garlic and cheese to our casserole. Maybe a little Worcestershire sauce, I'm not sure (my wife usually makes it). It's delicious, though, I can tell you.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:01 PM

try this - it's also not green bean casserole - in fact - it's not a casserole - but it IS tasty...

fresh asparagus spears - lightly coat with Italian dressing - roast in a 375 degree F. oven 10-15 minutes or iuntil tender.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:22 PM

Aw geez.....Are we about to do "Confessions on Asparagus?" Mario, I LOVE it roasted!!! Then I add a commercial horseradish sauce (like Horsey sauce at Arby's). A GREAT side for roast beef!

We're scared as well as anticipatory Bill.....Lots to go through between now and then as the Docs do a lot of testing including counselling to be sure it will work for the person. Karen typically has gotten deeply involved, read everything on the net and a half dozen books so far in conjunction with what she is getting from the Docs. She's been a lifelong dieter but in the past 4 years absolutely nothing has it worked andher weight has become a serious health issue.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: PoppaGator
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 03:24 PM

All this talk about the classic green bean casserolle is making my mouth water! Because my wife is a bit of a purist when it comes to fresh food (if not organic food), we've never had such a thing in our house in 30+ years of marriage. Never had a can of vegetables (let alone canned fried onions!) in our cupboard -- just fresh produce and, very occasionally, a "brick" of frozen spinach or maybe peas. And never-never-never has a can of condensed soup ever been used as an ingredient!

I can't really complain, though -- the years of gourmet-quality cooking more than make up for the absense of an occasional "junk food" treat.

One element that is never missing from a holiday meal in our home (and in many New Orleans homes) is oyster dressing (i.e., stuffing). Sorry, no recipe -- since I usually deal with baked goods on turkey day and Christmas, I'm not in on the secrets of stuffing the bird. I know that the ingredients include stale French (white) bread, fresh oysters, and plenty of aromatic herbs/vegetables -- onions, celery, undoubtedly some garlic, maybe green bell peppers -- ??

Those around here who prefer not to use oysters generally make their dressing/stuffing from cornbread and sausage.

Those deep-fried turkeys are pretty popular hereabouts, too, just as in Texas. A few years ago, I had never heard of such a thing, but every year now it seems to become a bigger and bigger deal. You can buy the giant pot and peanut oil to do it yourself, or order (in advance) a turkey to be fried for you.

Creamed onions: my grandmother (and later my mother) would make 'em only once or twice a year, for big holiday dinners, and I *hated* them back then. I don't get to eat them any more often now, but now I like 'em.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: LynnT
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 04:24 PM

Deviled eggs. Gotta have deviled eggs at Thanksgiving.

I started out making four dozen for the 20 or so of us who gather each year at the biggest home among us former madrigal singers (I go there by preference to joining my brother and his family -- THIS is my real family!) and each year I've upped it by a dozen til I decided that peeling seven dozen eggs was enough work! Once they're peeled, the rest is easy and scales well. Drop the halved yolks in a food processor while you prep the halved whites on trays. The yolks get Hellman's mayo, whole-grain French mustard, Old Bay, garlic powder, and a bit of cider vinegar mixed in. Fill the whites when you get to the place where dinner will be -- using two spoons works well, since my filling is too coarse to pipe in with a pastry bag. Sprinkle on a bit more Old Bay, and stand back!

LynnT

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 04:45 PM

Old Bay sounds good--I hadn't thought of that. Vinegar? How much? Is it something you can actually taste, or just a hint? We always top the deviled eggs with paprika. I use Worchestershire sauce and a little (only a couple of drops) of Tobasco along with the mustard (which has vinegar already, hence my question).

PoppaGator, I've seen the paraphernalia, but I've never actually seen or tasted deep fried turkey. How long does it take and what does it taste like? Does it get any seasoning or coating, and what size chunks (or is it done whole? I'd think there would be issues regarding the thing being completely done and not burning the outside if one cooked it whole in hot oil).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: catspaw49
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 11:30 PM

Well if you don't want to cook at all and are on a liquid diet, there is THIS OPTION.

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 16 Nov 04 - 11:59 PM

Spaw, I have the original Hot Brown Recipe from someone whose aunt worked at the Brown Hotel in Louisville where it originated. I'll have to compare it to your recipe.

I love Thanksgiving -- food and family -- lots of visiting. Just today I replenished the jelly beans in the glass turkey on my diningroom table. Now I need to get some candy corn for the other turkey. All us "kids" like to eat candy.

As far as recipes, I've had to change over the years. I love my mother's cranberry jello salad recipe, but I'm the only one who ever ate it. Also, I grew up in a household where you didn't serve mashed potatoes when you had dressing (Southern cornbread dressing). Now my family, especially Hubby, wants mashed potatoes. I got back at them last year -- if you fix them in a casserole they are so hot you always burn your mouth trying to eat them!

I miss my mother's Waldorf Salad (turkey, apples, celery, grapes) that she always made with leftover turkey. That, with dressing and sweet potato casserole was usually better than the original noon meal.

(Did y'all see the "Kathy" cartoon last Sunday talking about her mother's sweet potato casserole with the gooey marshmallows?)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 12:50 AM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but it is the one that also puts the biggest strain on my heart in recent years. It was always a big family holiday, and it is also near when my Dad suddenly died. My last Thanksgiving with Mom, in 1997, was only because I was in the Northwest dealing with my father's estate after his death in mid-November, and I couldn't get back to Texas to cook for my family. I called a neighbor, asked her to have them over for dinner, and I went down to Seattle and ate with my sister, brother, mother, and a few friends. Who knew that would be Mom's last? So I tell stories, all during the day, about when I was a kid and had to help with the dressing, how we did this and that and the other thing. I choose bowls or containers because they are part of the story, and I choose the foods because they are part of the story.

Christmas, that's much easier, it's money and decorations. We shop wisely and enjoy the day, but Thanksgiving, that was always the heart of my family's year. It still is, and as a parent I am handing it all down to my children. This year our best friend who we usually shared the holiday with has moved, and her children have scattered. We're pulling together the remnants, those who have never made other plans because Bette was always there with the meal. We move on, and this year, we'll tell stories about Bette's Thanksgiving dinners along with my mother's Thanksgiving dinners. It will be a nice meal, quieter, but nice.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Hollowfox
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 07:50 PM

Ah, SRS, you've got it. Passing around the stories is the most important part. Presently, Thanksgiving is the most laid-back of holidays for me and mine. My three urchins and I all like to cook, and we never declair an intended serving time. These past few years, we get up and put on the morning television news show to see the hilarious cooking tips. Eventually we make the stuffing, put it in the bird, and set it to roast. By then, the parades are being broadcast, and we wander from living room to kitchen. We put together the relish tray, then go back to see something rediculous (like a marching band playing Maxwell's Silver Hammer; the commentator folks either didn't know the tune or were too chicken to identify it). And so it goes until stuff is done. So far, we've gotten our acts together enough to be changed out of our pajamas by dinnertime. So for us it's a day devoted to relaxation and rememberances, topped off with a healthy dose of triptophan. After we put the food away, we're so tired htat we happily stagger to our beds for a turkey-induced nap.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 10:34 PM

I bought some tomato juice today. Who knows, if I find some gelatin, maybe I'll make some aspic. I don't have anything little and fancy to mold it in. I'll have to use custard cups.

(MarkS, you can take a few bites and set it aside! I probably won't put celery in it if I make it. I think the crunchy consistency in the really soft gel was part of what I found off-putting).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST,peedeecee
Date: 17 Nov 04 - 11:57 PM

What is green bean casserole? Never heard of it, but everyone else on the thread seems to find it absolutely familiar!

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 12:00 AM

Never mind! I googled it. Thanks anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:46 AM

I haven't googled it, and I've wondered also. Share it with us, please!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:51 AM

simplest recipe - combine 2 cans french cut green beans(drained) with 1 can Campbell'scondensed cream of mushroom soup. Top with 1 can Durkees fried onion rings. Bake until bubbly. Serve.

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: MMario
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 11:55 AM

(and yes - there are people who go into shock if you use anything other then french cut)

Subject: RE: BS: Thanksgiving dinner recipe favorites
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 18 Nov 04 - 12:52 PM

Actually, you can make most any vegetable casserole with condensed cream of mushroom soup. I'll be making a broccoli casserole with rice and onions and cheese and two soups - cream of mushroom and cream of chicken. I put Ritz crackers on top - crush them, then shake with melted butter.

Anyone have an idea for a possible Scottish guest (niece's friend)? I know he'll probably want to experience the traditional foods, but could I surprise him with something familiar to him?