I'm hosting Thanksgiving dinner

GivenToLukinKP

...and I am SO excited!

I have always wanted to host, and finally this year I have my shot! I LOVE to cook for people, but I have never roasted a turkey before...I am actually kind of considering getting a small one to practice next week or so I think I am a pretty good cook, so it should be no problem...

Every year, thanksgiving is had at my fathers house and cooked (mostly) by my stepmother...words can not express my excitement that I not only get to do the cooking in MY house, BUT I get to skip the dry turkey, the pre-packaged side dishes, and the attitude that 99% of thanksgiving dinner needs to be starches.

This is what I DO know:
1- The turkey will be brined
2- I will not be making stove-fucking-top stuffing
3- I will have vegetables other than green bean casserole
4- I am going to attempt a traditional Scottish dish (undecided--either a dessert or a side...no haggis)
5- its going to be ridiculously awesome

Any tips from the peanut gallery here on turkey brining/roasting? Anyone have a great recipe for an easy side dish? Healthy stuff gets extra points, as does anything that can be started or prepared completely the day before (I am a one-woman-show in a relatively small kitchen)

I need to start working on my menu!

chadwick

you need honey and brown sugar and soy sauce water. turkey will make its own juices too. breast up or down when first putting in oven? 300f degree?

i like ham.
make a ham and macaroni cheese dish.
banana cream pie
banana pudding
smoked salmon
smoked oysters
crab
shrimp

asparagus spears, vegy tray
oranges, grapes, and a variety of salted nuts
whole wheat crackers, cheeses, summer sausages, and develed eggs
and toast for Leonard Nimoy
http://youtu.be/XC73PHdQX04

SatansFuton

The number one Thanksgiving tradition you have to remember is to have a kiddie table. It's a time-honored tradition to make the children feel like second class citizens by putting them at a little shitty table by themselves, preferably with paper plates and plastic cutlery. Then when they get older and move to the grown folks table it gives them one more thing to be thankful for.

DS1119

Put all of the realtives who don't get along next to each other at the table. Oh, and talk about as many taboo family subjects as possible. :thumbup:

quimby20

I personally like my Turkey done in done in a Turkey Fryer. Take a portion of the time and always come out Juicy. Stick with the Green Bean Casserole though. My family favorite is creamed onions...

pandora

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

...and I am SO excited!

I have always wanted to host, and finally this year I have my shot! I LOVE to cook for people, but I have never roasted a turkey before...I am actually kind of considering getting a small one to practice next week or so I think I am a pretty good cook, so it should be no problem...

Every year, thanksgiving is had at my fathers house and cooked (mostly) by my stepmother...words can not express my excitement that I not only get to do the cooking in MY house, BUT I get to skip the dry turkey, the pre-packaged side dishes, and the attitude that 99% of thanksgiving dinner needs to be starches.

This is what I DO know:
1- The turkey will be brined
2- I will not be making stove-fucking-top stuffing
3- I will have vegetables other than green bean casserole
4- I am going to attempt a traditional Scottish dish (undecided--either a dessert or a side...no haggis)
5- its going to be ridiculously awesome

Any tips from the peanut gallery here on turkey brining/roasting? Anyone have a great recipe for an easy side dish? Healthy stuff gets extra points, as does anything that can be started or prepared completely the day before (I am a one-woman-show in a relatively small kitchen)

I need to start working on my menu!

Oh fun!

Please if you find a good Scottish dish could you post the recipe.
I'd like to try too.

We do our turkey on a rack, in a bag upside down in the oven
all the juices flow into the breast

last half hour open bag and turn over to brown the breast
never dry always super juicy and a favorite at the table

making a small test run never hurts though whatever method you chooose

Good luck and it is going to be ridiculously awesome! :thumbup:

gearboy

do the test turkey thing, use the bones to make stock (freeze it if you have to) for your gravy or stuffing
dont stuff the turkey
definatly brine but dont over cook
yukon gold potatoes for mash
do as much as you can as early as you can

make somthing that is "your dish" and if people talk about how great it was you will be hosting again next year

I am a professional chef and I HATE cookiking at home, its sooo much harder to do things at home

GivenToLukinKP

SatansFuton wrote:

The number one Thanksgiving tradition you have to remember is to have a kiddie table. It's a time-honored tradition to make the children feel like second class citizens by putting them at a little shitty table by themselves, preferably with paper plates and plastic cutlery. Then when they get older and move to the grown folks table it gives them one more thing to be thankful for.

If I did this, I would be sitting at the kiddie table! I am the youngest with the exception of my sister who is 22--and I don't know if she is coming or not. My older siblings and I are all in our 30s and have failed to procreate as of the present...and it ain't looking good for any of us We may be doomed to the kiddie table forever!
I like your reasoning though!!

chadwick wrote:

make a ham and macaroni cheese dish.
banana cream pie
banana pudding

asparagus spears, vegy tray
oranges, grapes, and a variety of salted nuts
whole wheat crackers, cheeses, summer sausages, and develed eggs
and toast for Leonard Nimoy
http://youtu.be/XC73PHdQX04

baked mac and cheese is on the list. likely with bacon.
I am a big banana fan...one of your suggestions there may make the cut

GivenToLukinKP

DS1119 wrote:

Put all of the realtives who don't get along next to each other at the table. Oh, and talk about as many taboo family subjects as possible.

We all hate each other equally I think... But the taboo family subjects? Thats a great idea! :P I must get to making THAT list "who wants to play 'Your uncle prefers WHAT brand of mascara?' "

quimby20 wrote:

I personally like my Turkey done in done in a Turkey Fryer. Take a portion of the time and always come out Juicy. Stick with the Green Bean Casserole though. My family favorite is creamed onions...

The fryer is a no-go...no where to do it (3rd floor condo living) and no balls to do it Green bean casserole is OK, but if thats the only veggie at the table, that is a problem for me. I'd like to actually get some nutrional value from my veggies

F Me In The Brain

I also love to cook and used to 'do' Thanksgiving dinners for my Grandma and all of the family out west (my immediate family is all back east) for about 6-7 years until she passed.

Strongly suggest going with your idea of a test run.
Turkey is actually an easy cook but there are 8000 ways to do things. I say stuff the bird (many say no) and that making real gravy after the bird comes out of the pan is imperative.
Also am picky on the mash but everyone has their own tastes.

Practice a time (or two) and best of all, Have Fun!

[Love the idea of sitting the people next to one another who 'shouldnt' sit next to one another.]

The only tip to a first time T-Day cook:

MAKE PEOPLE WAIT.

Nothing says 'holy shit this food rocks' like having to smell it and wait a good 15-20 minutes longer than you thought you would have to.

DS1119

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

DS1119 wrote:

Put all of the realtives who don't get along next to each other at the table. Oh, and talk about as many taboo family subjects as possible.

We all hate each other equally I think... But the taboo family subjects? Thats a great idea! :P I must get to making THAT list "who wants to play 'Your uncle prefers WHAT brand of mascara?' "

Oh and serve lots of wine and bring up politics and religoun.

Enkidu

I have a great cranberry sauce recipe somewhere - real cranberries and orange zest, too much sugar, but really good. You make it and it sits in the fridge for four days. Much better than the scary stuff in a can.

Check out the Cooking Light website, they usually have good recipes. Healthy pumpkin pies and vegetable sides.

chadwick

Enkidu wrote:

I have a great cranberry sauce recipe somewhere - real cranberries and orange zest, too much sugar, but really good. You make it and it sits in the fridge for four days. Much better than the scary stuff in a can.

Check out the Cooking Light website, they usually have good recipes. Healthy pumpkin pies and vegetable sides.

with walnuts added to the cranberry surprise?

mfc2006

we're hosting it as well, Kelly....

should be interesting... :?

pinkbutterfly

We had Thanksgiving at my house a few years ago and I made sweet potatoes that I must say, were to die for! The recipe was from either Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It called for real maple syrup ~ wasn't a casserole ~ didn't have marshmallows on top. I'll look for the recipe and post it, if I find it.

pandora

I made someone's cranberries last year they were awesome!

love me cranberries, my favorite part of the meal... well with the turkey

I think there is a recipe thread somewhere too maybe

I love the holidays!

of.the.girl

One thing that I love making and I think it would go great with turkey is roasted butternut squash.
cut the thing in half long ways. take the seeds out. drizzle with grapeseed oil or olive oil. mince some garlic and put it in the hole part where the seed used to be. bake at 375 for about 40 mins or until it reaches it's tenderness that you prefer. at the last 10 minutes or so add some feta cheese or gorgonzola cheese. and top with sea salt. It's freaking heavenly.

this is usually a dinner for me alone.

pinkbutterfly

This is very similar to the recipe I was talking about. Very easy to make!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

6 servings

Ingredients

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

2. With an electric mixer on low, blend potatoes, slowly adding milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Use more or less to achieve desired texture. Add butter & maple syrup, to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.

GivenToLukinKP

Thanks everyone!!!

DS1119 wrote:

Oh and serve lots of wine

consider this done. I don't have to drive home from someone else's house on a holiday? SCORE. I'll be wasted quicker than you can say "gobble gobble" (well, once the turkey is out of the oven)

sheila0225 wrote:

One thing that I love making and I think it would go great with turkey is roasted butternut squash.

This recipe sounds great AND easy Thanks girl!

pandora wrote:

Oh fun!Please if you find a good Scottish dish could you post the recipe.I'd like to try too.

I most certainly will! Im leaning towards a dessert....even though I assigned that duty to my older sister.

Enkidu wrote:

I have a great cranberry sauce recipe somewhere - real cranberries and orange zest, too much sugar, but really good. You make it and it sits in the fridge for four days. Much better than the scary stuff in a can.

Check out the Cooking Light website, they usually have good recipes. Healthy pumpkin pies and vegetable sides.

That's exactly how we make cranberry sauce I despise the canned stuff and will never, ever subject anyone to that mess. I would sooner have no cranberries on the table than serve that!
Cooking Light--i actually have a subscription to that. It ran out a couple of months ago so thanks for the reminder to look at the site. Ive got a couple years back of issues too so I'll have to pull out the fall ones and flip through them

gearboy wrote:

do the test turkey thing, use the bones to make stock (freeze it if you have to) for your gravy or stuffing
dont stuff the turkey
definatly brine but dont over cook
yukon gold potatoes for mash
do as much as you can as early as you can

make somthing that is "your dish" and if people talk about how great it was you will be hosting again next year

I am a professional chef and I HATE cookiking at home, its sooo much harder to do things at home

Im jealous. I always wanted to cook for a living
thanks for all the tips--I will be making scratch gravy from the drippings and if I do the test turkey, I will be making stock from the bones. No one in my family ever brines...I hear its the absolute best way to do it, so I am anxious to try it.

mfc2006 wrote:

we're hosting it as well, Kelly....

should be interesting... :?

Good luck to you and the wife! Don't pack the kitchen stuff up yet

pinkbutterfly wrote:

This is very similar to the recipe I was talking about. Very easy to make!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

6 servings

Ingredients

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup maple syrup

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

2. With an electric mixer on low, blend potatoes, slowly adding milk, about 1/2 a cup at a time. Use more or less to achieve desired texture. Add butter & maple syrup, to taste. Blend until smooth. Serve warm.

I love sweet potatoes, but normally not when they are sweetened with anything....I usually eat them almost plain or baked with laughing cow garlic and herb light cheese smashed into them

RKCNDY

don't forget to take the neck and giblets/livers out of the cavity first.

and if you have a good hummus recipe...add avocado, yum.

green bean casserole...I use fresh green beans, and add cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and bacon.

Enkidu

I found the cranberry recipe:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/th ... rint.story

And for sweet (when the kids hate pumpkin pie), my mom sent me this recipe years ago from some Baptist cookbook:

Kentucky Derby Pie

1/2 cup margarine, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cups chocolate chips, 2 eggs (slightly beaten), 1 tsp. vanila, 3/4 cup pecans (optional)

Mix in order. Pour into unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Very easy and tastes like a gooey chocolate chip cookie.

Tenzing N.

Seriously- you need to grill the turkey in a charcoal grill. It's not easy, it's time consuming, and takes some planning but it's totally worth it. PM me if you want to know how to do it right.

chime

I grew up in Scotland ... Scottish dessert I would recommend is cranachan. Quick, easy and contains whisky

... or just make shortbread ... or millionaire shortbread

or both :shock:

intodeep

that is really cool. I had to spend thanksgiving alone lastyear for the first time, but it gave me an opportunity to cook my thanksgivign meal with all my favorites. It was fun.

As frustrating as it is going to be for you try to enjoy it

pandora

Tenzing N. wrote:

Seriously- you need to grill the turkey in a charcoal grill. It's not easy, it's time consuming, and takes some planning but it's totally worth it. PM me if you want to know how to do it right.

My father always did the turkey this way ... yum!

this thread is great!

so many good ideas

butternut squash ... great recipe
the little dumpling squash is good too and turns a pretty color when baked ...
we found one that looks like a big colorful turban! thats on the menu this weekend
the smell of squash cooking in the house is fall time for us
we have it a few times a week

it is a magnificent time of year!

markymark550

Definitely agree with deep frying the turkey. Sucks that you don't have enough room for that. This will be the third year in a row that my brother-in-law and I are deep frying a turkey. We've pretty much got it down to an art. If a lot of people are coming, we will do a second meat as well. Last year we rotisseried a pork loin.

For sides, can't go wrong with the staples like mac and cheese, mashed potatos, etc. I love pineapple casserole. Basically it's pineapple chunks, butter/margarine, and cheese topped off with Ritz crackers then baked in the oven. Can't get enough of that stuff. Also like a cranberry dish my mom found. Cranberries, apples, and walnuts with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top and baked in the oven. There might be more to that one though (I'm thinking it also has some butter -- I am in Paula Deen territory after all ).

Green Circle

GivenToLukinKP wrote:

...and I am SO excited!

I have always wanted to host, and finally this year I have my shot! I LOVE to cook for people, but I have never roasted a turkey before...I am actually kind of considering getting a small one to practice next week or so I think I am a pretty good cook, so it should be no problem...

Every year, thanksgiving is had at my fathers house and cooked (mostly) by my stepmother...words can not express my excitement that I not only get to do the cooking in MY house, BUT I get to skip the dry turkey, the pre-packaged side dishes, and the attitude that 99% of thanksgiving dinner needs to be starches.

This is what I DO know:
1- The turkey will be brined
2- I will not be making stove-fucking-top stuffing
3- I will have vegetables other than green bean casserole
4- I am going to attempt a traditional Scottish dish (undecided--either a dessert or a side...no haggis)
5- its going to be ridiculously awesome

Any tips from the peanut gallery here on turkey brining/roasting? Anyone have a great recipe for an easy side dish? Healthy stuff gets extra points, as does anything that can be started or prepared completely the day before (I am a one-woman-show in a relatively small kitchen)

I need to start working on my menu!

Tips? Hell, I want an invite and I'll bring some homemade pies!

davidtrios

i dont care what anyone says, the canned cranberry is better than homemade

rick1zoo2

I will not eat any dish that has marshmallows as an ingredient

or jello

davidtrios

rick1zoo2 wrote:

I will not eat any dish that has marshmallows as an ingredient

or jello

what??? smellows in the yams are the best part..they get all carmelized and gooooood

rick1zoo2

RKCNDY wrote:

don't forget to take the neck and giblets/livers out of the cavity first.

and if you have a good hummus recipe...add avocado, yum.

green bean casserole...I use fresh green beans, and add cheddar cheese, cottage cheese and bacon.

what about whipped cream?