Whats your Thanksgiving Menu?

My menu is a work in progress, to be decided by what I find at the farmers' markets on Tuesday and Wednesday. This much I know (based on what I have now or have ordered):

Puree of roasted cauliflower soup with buttermilk, garnished with shredded duck confit

Goose (not sure how I'll cook; any suggestions?)

Herbed dressing with wild mushrooms and (I hope) fennel

Salad, because we ALWAYS have to have salad with dinner.



One of the guests is bringing dessert from a good bakery near him. Last time he came, he brought a gorgeous Sacher Torte. This time, who knows??? :lips:

And this afternoon I'll probably get some salumi/dry sausages to have as nibbles before, along with some of the cheeses I bought at the farmers' market last Friday.

T-Day is my favorite holiday! And even in these tough times, I've got a lot to be thankful for. eace:

 

bwahaha... I am dodging all cooking this holiday..and most my relatives. I will probably do some gravy maybe some stuffing.

 

Nicely put, Suzanne. You're so lucky to live where there's excellent produce, etc. all year long. It's my favorite holiday, too! Stuffing is a favorite food group for me, although if it's not made with schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), it just ain't the real thing.

We're doing a simple meal. There's a heavy bent toward family traditions (Pepperidge Farm stuffing from a bag, for instance ) so I can't depart too far. Here's the menu:

Appetizers: crudites and dips, nuts, salmon spread on cucumber slices

Dinner:
Turkey (I'm hot on the trail for a brine recipe that uses apple juice, some oranges and herbs- maybe I'll wing it except for the proportions of salt, sugar and liquic)
Stuffing (enhanced with celery and fresh parsley sauteed in -GASP- a little schmaltz)
Mashed potatoes with gravy
Sweet potatoes (however my BIL wants to prepare them)
Fresh vegetable (a relative is bringing it)
Cranberry relish and jellied cranberry sauce (Ocean Spray from a can)

Viognier, Fume Blanc, Johannesburg Riesling or something else a tiny bit on the sweet side

Dessert: Pumpkin pie, pecan pie and a fruit pie (if the relative listened to me!)
Vanilla ice cream- maybe

Coffee (regular and decaf), tea, soda eek

 

Hi I am preparing Turkey Rub - Cajun Style recipe for thanksgiving. This is easy to use and prepare. In just a simple step. You can try one too in your home.

Turkey Rub - Cajun Style

What makes this basic turkey rub great is a touch of Cajun heat. Use it to spice up your turkey or other poultry, no matter how you cook it.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
* 4 tablespoons salt
* 4 tablespoons ground onion powder
* 2 tablespoons ground garlic
* 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes


Combine ingredients and rub well beneath the skin and over the surface. Best taste is achieved if you allow the rubbed turkey to soak in the spices for about two hours before cooking.


Note: for the best result of turkey recipe, you can use a turkey fryer just like here - Turkey Deep Fryer - Bayou Classic 3066a 30-Quart Outdoor Turkey Fryer Kit



Hope you like this turkey recipe of mine here.

 

As we'll be on the road come Thursday we had ours last night.

Roast Turkey

Parsnip & Carrot Puree

Brocolli

Green Beans

Sage & Onion Stuffing

Roast Potatoes

Sweet potato Mash with Garlic & Rosemary

Pan Gravy

Dessert was Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Icecream

 

We're not eating at home this year so I'm not sure what all we will have. I am making:

cornbread dressing
cranberry-orange sauce
corn casserole
pumpkin cheesecake

Les is making deviled eggs.

 

I make the same usual stuff every year..

Turkey
Spinach
Stuffing
mashed potatoes
Sweet potatos
Mac and cheese
Stuffing
gravy
pumpkin pie

but this year I think I might actually branch out a bit from the usual cranberry sauce in a can and make this Cranberries and Pomegranates side dish that I just found, It looks delicious, and I always want to try new things but I just get worried that if its not something I have made before I might mess it up.. heres the recipe I found. Holiday Recipe Videos I dont think it should be that hard of a recipe.. what do you guys think??

 

Turkey will definitely be the center of the meal, though I made a slight change of plans. We're just having a few folks over, I thought I'd just do one of the turkey bone-in breast sections. At the market I saw that whole turkeys in the 10 - 11 pound range were 2 - 3 dollars cheaper than just the breast sections, so I figured I'd get the whole bird and generate more leftovers.

Unfortunately I didn't quite get everything I needed yet. Shopping for groceries tomorrow may be a bit hectic.

mjb.

 

I'm not sure about the whole menu yet, but there will be roast turkey, turkey dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

In Albany, about 10 miles from here, there's a Hungarian restaurant that makes dinner on Thanksgiving, free for anybody who comes. The family moved here from Hungary in 1957 and as they say it, they feel fortunate in life and want to share with others.

"11:30-1:30
Speical Dinner for people with no family, new to town or unable to afford own family dinner"

How's that for the spirit of Thanksgiving! :thumb::thumb:

 

At brother's house this year, their invited guests are ALWAYS tardy so we're telling them noon and serving at 3ish.

stocked up at farmer's market last Sat.

broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes....yes it's that mild a Nov., herb buttermilk dip..

toasted nuts

Maybe some turnovers if I really get into it.


Dinner:
Turkey
stuffing
mashed potatoes
green beans
green salad, spinach salad with lardons!!! & farm eggs
pickled beets
cranberries
gravy
rolls
*probably no sweet potatoes, they just don't have a big audience.

berry pie, blueberry pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie
vanilla ice cream

Nothing fruffy, nothing fancy, copious amounts of straight forward food.....NO JELLO, not even for the Utah contengency.

 

Traditional to always have it here and my wife and I share Thanksgiving duties.

She does the turkey (vertically roasted) and the stuffing (with sausage, chestnuts, dried cranberries and apples... just outstanding!!)

Me.. I do the mashed potatoes, mushrooms (Italian style with panko crumbs, wine and garlic) and the almond sweet potatoes. I also do the cranberry/orange sauce and the veggie... corn for simplicity this year and no ever eats the veggie anyway..ha, ha!

Apple pie for dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!