Gibby, We are having Thanksgiving dinner again today (Friday). My sister-in-law, whom we all love dearly, isn't a cook. She host Thanksgiving on Friday because she is a director at a local TV station and has to work on Thursday.

Because we have had uncooked turkey twice, vegetarian menu except turkey, never enough mashed potatoes, mushy green beans, peanuts for appetizers, we have a traditional dinner on Thursday.

Problem is that the "Before-Thanksgiving-Dinner-Dinner" isn't advertised to SIL and her family so as not to hurt her feelings. Well...until yesterday when BIL called DH during dinner and asked "what are you doing?". We were all (16 of us) around the table eating and DH said "we are eating Thanksgiving dinner". Everyone gasped that the secret was out. My DH isn't one to do things covertly so he wasn't aware of what was up.

Gibby, sounds like a great meal! I'm interested in the turkey roulade, want to share?

Cathy.....oooooooops! You may be having hot tongue and cold shoulder for dinner today! LOL

The Turkey Roulade turned out great. My brother's significant other ended up making that whole thing. DH also made turkey on the grill and that was good too. And other friend made a roasted brussel sprout dish that was yummy. We had quite a few things I'd never tried before and it was fantastic to have new and different flavors. I loved that make ahead gravy - I don't much care for gravy but I sure liked having it made ahead of time. People really liked the Cranberry Jezebel - even those who said they couldn't eat anything spicy. The greatest thing was a cousin I rarely see called on Friday to see if there was a time he could stop by to see if we could get together while my brother he was in town. Turned out they could join us for dinner and we had just a wonderful time - and a few more mouths to eat all this food.

Here's the Turkey Roulade - from Ina Garten. I didn't do the dressing quite as described. I used egg beaters equivalent to 2 eggs instead of one extra large regular egg. Dressing was literally runny which I'm assuming was due to my egg substitution. So I used the whole bag of dressing mix instead of three cups which was perfect because I really wanted double batch of dressing.

Roasted Turkey Roulade
(Serves 6 or 7)

3/4 cup large-diced dried figs, stems removed
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Calvados or brandy
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups diced onions (2 onions)
1 cup (1/2-inch-diced) celery (3 stalks)
3/4 pound pork sausage, casings removed (sweet and hot mixed)
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
3 cups Pepperidge Farm herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1-1/2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 whole (2 halves) turkey breast, boned and butterflied (5 pounds)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Place the dried figs and cranberries in a small saucepan and pour in the Calvados and 1/2 cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and sautuntil softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, crumbling it into small bits with a fork, and sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, until cooked and browned. Add the figs and cranberries with the liquid, the chopped rosemary, and pine nuts, and cook for 2 more minutes. Scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.
Place the stuffing mix in a large bowl. Add the sausage mixture, chicken stock, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir well. (The stuffing may be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator overnight.)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan.
Lay the butterflied turkey breast skin side down on a cutting board. Sprinkle the meat with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Spread the stuffing in a 1/2-inch-thick layer over the meat, leaving a half-inch border on all sides. DonÂt mound the stuffing or the turkey will be difficult to roll. (Place the leftover stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake for the last 45 minutes of roasting alongside the turkey.) Starting at one end, roll the turkey like a jelly roll and tuck in any stuffing that tries to escape on the sides. Tie the roast firmly with kitchen twine every 2 inches to make a compact cylinder.
Place the stuffed turkey breast seam side down on the rack on the sheet pan. Brush with the melted butter, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and roast for 1-3/4 to 2 hours, until a thermometer reads 150 degrees in the center. (I test in a few places.) Cover the turkey with aluminum foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Carve 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve warm with the extra stuffing.

This is the second year we've had Thanksgiving on Friday. It started because my daughter (and I) had to work regular hours on Wednesday and didn't feel like fighting the miserable traffic on Wednesday evening. (She's coming from New Jersey, and what should be a 2.5 hour trip can turn into 7 hours.) The end result was that I had a full day to prepare, and I actually got to enjoy the meal on Friday without being so exhausted. I decided to do it again this year for the same reasons, and now we have a new family tradition!

Chase, we show up for the Post-Thanksgiving Dinner Friday only to hear that the other families had "Before-Thanksgiving-Dinner-Dinners" on Thursday too!