Not enough time...we still have company, making breakfast (from scratch, waffles, corn meal pancakes, eggs, coffee...)

Dlynn, I would take pix of that turkey breast, bring it to the store and complain.

Cathy, agree, I think whoever hosts should make the turkey or at the very least have it prepped at the final destination. Everyone else can bring sids.

Teresa I forgive you for not being a fan of CJ LOL

Nanny2a, Ive learned to tank up on Aleve in the mornings where I know I have a kitchen marathon. Good luck with your ovens.

Beverly glad you got to try a new one.

carol_in_california, yeah, another kabocha squash fan! Isnt that a GREAT veggie? Sometimes I have DH slice it and grill it with a miso paste sauce.

Michaelmaxp, I bet the coffee was good too (grin).

barb5 I'm with you on the bakery LOL (I ask guests to bring something instead)

sally I'd like to see your variation on goat cheese pop-tart!

Us? DH brined two turkeys - one was butterflid and put on the Big Green Egg smoker, the other one was just put on a roasting rack and put on the gas grill. Both delish.

FIL brought cole slaw, other guests brough desserts (chocolate chip bundt cake, pumpkin pie, etc.)

We had mashed potatoes (dairy free, I got it down to a science), mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing, regular and jezebel cranberry sauce, a HUMONGOUS plate of roasted veggies - brussel sprouts, carrots, gravy (from a box, yuk, but still got eaten).

We had table set and food for 21 people - LOT of work!

I'm glad to hear about your nice Thanksgivings :-) ours was nice too.

Could someone post Woodie's make-ahead gravy recipe? I'd like to have a look.

Sue, that's so true. Every year I think-- I'm only bringing a few things-- it'll be so easy-- and end up spending two days in the kitchen.

I didn't have any horrible cooking disasters. I tried sourdough rolls for the first time, and they rose, but not quite enough. I think the starter may not have been quite strong enough yet. Pie crusts still make me want to SCREAM, but luckily they were hidden under the pumpkin custard, which came out well. Whatever kind of pumpkin I bought was perfect-- the shell was so hard that I could scoop the pumpkin right out after cooking it. The pumpkin ice cream was a hit. A few people even ate the real whipped cream instead of the reddi whip, and I think more people ate the homemade cranberry sauce than the cylindrical ocean spray! Truly a momentous occasion. Cheesecake had not one crumb left, so that was very gratifying.

And my aunt hosted a lovely meal. Usually she has to work all morning on Thanksgiving, but this year had off. The bird was brown and beautiful, and cooked so fast in the convection oven! The guest tables had high candle centerpieces and the serving tables had rows of clean glasses, peppermint sticks, and other lovely holiday touches.

The worst part of the day was that we lost at Pictionary, so it was a good day :-)

I usually make dinner rolls, but this year, I decided to try out my new Red Fife heirloom flour from Canada. Not terrible, but not a real success, either. I'd used a regular recipe, and not adapted for the hearty whole=wheat goodness, I guess. So, I'm searching for the perfect way to use this stuff that doesn't result in little brown discs.

Otherwise, everything was great--perfect turkey, and my husband's hard cider gravy was a huge hit.

Jessica, here is Woodie's recipe, with my notes in brackets.

Sue

***

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy (Woodie)

Makes about 2 quarts

For more flavor, after roasting the turkey you can skim the drippings from the pan and add them to the gravy just before serving. It's best to discard the strong-tasting liver before using the giblets. This recipe makes enough to accompany a large turkey and still have plenty for leftovers.

6 turkey drumsticks, thighs, or wings
reserved turkey giblets [I omitted because I only had wings]
reserved turkey neck [I omitted]
2 carrots, chopped coarse
1 head garlic, halved
2 ribs celery, chopped coarse
2 onions, chopped coarse
Vegetable oil spray [I drizzled regular oil]
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups dry white wine [I subbed broth]
12 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Table salt and ground black pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place giblets, neck, drumsticks, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in roasting pan, spray with vegetable oil, and toss well. Roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

2. Transfer contents of roasting pan to Dutch oven. Add broth, wine, and thyme and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours. [Remove turkey wings to cutting board; cool; remove skin; reserve meat for other purposes.] Pour through fine-mesh strainer into large container (discard solids), cover stock with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fat congeals, at least 2 hours.

3. Using soup spoon, skim fat and reserve. Heat 1/2 cup [turkey] fat in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until bubbling. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until honey colored, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. [Add a few drops of GravyMaster for darker brown color.] (Gravy can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.) Reheat gravy in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling.

Well, I am sitting here in awe of moosemac - TWO Thanksgiving dinners the same day. Moosemac, please come to my house next year.

Jessicavanhoff, I made woodie2's make-ahead gravy for the first time this year. It's very good & even better when I added the turkey drippings on Thursday as she suggested. It was wonderful to not have to do gravy at the last minute. There is plenty for a couple more meals, & someone mentioned that it freezes well.

The only catasphrophe at my house was that I overlooked the Champagne, but that was mostly because a guest brought margarita makings & we got caught up in them! :)

Wow, that does sound good!

And the thing I would do differently is to make one dish a little more exciting. Even if most people don't eat it, I don't want to just keep making everything the traditional way and not learn anything. I wasn't very flavor-artistic this year.

Everything tuned out perfectly. The only glitch was that the stuffed turkey was actually done an hour earlier than expected, at least according to my meat thermometer. So, it had to sit and rest for a little longer than expected while I finished up the gravy and a couple of other things. It was a traditional turkey Thanksgiving. I did try one new recipe, though. A stuffing that we will definitely be making again. I still made the "regular" basic sage dressing in the turkey in case we didn't like the new recipe. But it was a big hit. I'm adding a link to the recipe in case anyone would like to try it. The only changes I made was that I omitted the pecans (don't like what happens to nuts when they become leftovers) and subbed smoked bacon for the pancetta. YUMMY!

Thanks for starting this thread Sherry, it was nice to read about everyone's day.

As suspected, we had way too much food, but the good news is that everyone got some very nice leftovers to take back home.

Our fried turkey came out great. The weather was nice so the men were outside sipping wine, chatting away, all while keeping an eye on the frying bird.

Girls did the kitchen work. Most dishes were already prepared and just had to go in for final heating or cooking.

We had an amazing meal.

The new 'stuffing which in my mind is NOT a stuffing because it doesn't have bread (does that make it a 'dressing'?) was a barley/shiitake mushroom compilation that had some lemon (I think) and was just delicious. Have to get the recipe from sis. It was very good.

The baby arugula salad was delicious. The dressing was an apple-cider reduction. Outstanding. Got to get sis' recipe.

My favorite cranberry sauce is not a sauce at all, but an amazing mixture of cranberrys, strawberries, nuts, oranges, etc that is thick like sorbet but with some texture. I am actually going to try freezing some of it to see if I can make it into a sort of sorbet. It is beautiful and the flavor is fantastic.

Of course our 95-year old guest of honor's cukes and cream was outstanding and the fact that she loved Sharon's Spanikopita (she had 3 of them) made me feel that I finally got to return the favor of good food to her.

I am now making turkey stock with the leftover bones, having hung our exterior window wreaths. Tonight well be at friends, trimming their tree.

Going to try making an eggnog martini. They have all different falvored eggnogs in the store, we're starting with Vanilla spice. Ill see if we can get to try all the other flavors before the holidays are over.

Thank you all for sharing your recipes and opening up your homes to us.

Happy Holidays,
Sue

Our Thanksgiving day was wonderful. There was just DH, his brother, my ex-brother-in-law (he's like a brother), the dog and I. The dinner turned out very successful. The Cranberries Extrodinaire (slightly modified-no pears) was a great hit, thanks to whoever posted it. And special thank yous to rachelellen and the second by caavonldy on salvaging the shattered frozen pie crust. The pumpkin pie and homemade whipped cream really satisfied us all. Everyone fed my GSD tons of turkey and now he's even more spoiled than before.

Now I have the task of finding a deeper tart pan in order to reproduce the super fantastic apple pie that my DH watched Alton Brown make on Weds. evening. Oh, yes, and Grains of Paradise.

What a nice stress free thursday here. Just Dad and I, so I had a 12# Amish bird that I treated to a salt water spa treatment for 2 hours, then roasted with a sausage and pine nut stuffing. Mashed potatoes were perfect and made from the 50# bag I bought near Annies 2 weeks ago, gravy, spiced apple sauce, green bean casserole for Dad and the cranberry Jezabel. Those cranberries are awasome, and so good on a sandwich. The only mishap was a large crack in my cheesecake. But it is still the worlds best one.

After dinner I crashed in a turkey haze and watched Angels and Demons, had a snack just because and fell into bed.

All in all a great day. And now my favorite part, all the leftovers for tonight. Grab a plate, pile it and nuke.

I love the idea of a re-cap. I see some things I want to try next.

Woo hoo! What went well was that my sister's male 57 yr old roommate of 10 years (NOT her boyfriend, NOT "friends with benefits"--just her roommate) had a snit-fit (tantrum) about something and decided to not attend! We were all doing the happy dance, including my sister!

It was me, DH, sister, and all our cousins on one branch of Mom's side, (except for the one who had a wonderful opportunity to go to Costa Rica) and a couple of beloved friends.

The stuffing, which I made in the crockpot, was a little dry, but that was fixed easily! The food was yummy--both turkey and lasagne shared the spotlight as main dishes--the sides and desserts traditional, and best of all was the people sharing this holiday!

Round 1 with the family went well yesterday. I was in charge of bread & dessert. The onion bread and white bread went over well. The ginger bread cookies went over well too. I made LOTS of them. I thought I'd have a gazillion leftover. I think there might be 10. People loved the ginger bread cake I made despite it not popping out of the mold well. There was a piece that stuck in the pan and I had to glue it in place with frosting. DH's contribution was suggesting the frosting as I cursed in the kitchen. Everyone made amazing food! I think my sister-in-law had 19 people in all!

I have Round 2 tonight. Our friends have a vagabond Thanksgiving tonight. It's my duty to make the stuffing/ dressing. DH is not home yet from work. So I'm going over there now and hoping DH will meet me over there.

Moosmac, I'm in awe of you, too, not only for hosting 2 Thanksgivings in one meal, but for also this statement, "Of course I decked the table out with tablecloth, china, silver and crystal." My sister would be bowing at your feet for doing that. She's always wanting formal holiday dinners, with the fancy dishes and everyone dressed up in their fancy Christmas clothes. None of the rest of the family cooperates with her.

Jessy, here's the recipe for the mushroom goat cheese pop tarts as I copied and pasted it from CBS's website. I'll explain the changes I made after the recipe.

Wild Mushroom & Goat Cheese "Pop Tart" with Balsamic Drizzle

INGREDIENTS: Tart Dough
1-1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1-1/2 teaspoons Dry Thyme
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cups Chilled, Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces
2-1/2 tablespoons Ice Water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, thyme, cayenne and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter to the flour mixture and pulse again until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
Remove to a separate bowl and, using a fork, stir in the ice water just until dough comes together nicely. Knead briefly, form pastry into a ball and chill for 1 hour.

Roll pastry out on a lightly-floured work surface into a circle approximately 1/4-inch thick. Cut into rectangles just smaller than a typical Pop-Tart. Re-roll scrap and cut again.
Place the 8 rectangles on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator, covered in plastic.

INGREDIENTS: Wild Mushroom Pop Tart Filling
3 cups Seasonal Mushrooms (Shiitakes are perfectly acceptable), sliced (my note: I used a combinations of approx. 3/4 pound Shitakes, 2 portabella caps and 8 oz. of white button mushrooms.)
5 tablespoons Shallot, diced
6 tablespoons Garlic Clove, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons Peanut Oil
2 teaspoons Dry Thyme
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper

Combine 4 tablespoons oil, shallot and garlic in a sauté pan and bring to a simmer stirring constantly. Remove garlic and shallot when browned and add rest of the oil to the pan. Stir in sliced mushrooms and season immediately with salt and black pepper. As mushrooms begin to wilt, add thyme and remove from heat.

Once cooled, add crispy shallot and garlic to mix. Reserve to make "Pop Tarts"

ASSEMBLY INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Goat Cheese
1 Egg
Tart Dough
Recipe Filling

Lay four of the tart dough rectangles on a lightly floured work surface. Cover each with a thin layer of the wild mushroom mixture, making sure to leave ?-inch of the edge exposed all the way around.

Crumble 2 Tbsp of goat cheese onto each of the four tart bases. Brush the edge of each tart with egg and lay a second piece of tart dough over the top. Crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops of each with a bit more egg, cut small vent holes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Bake these in a 350º oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

INGREDIENTS: Balsamic Drizzle
1-1/2 cups Balsamic Vinegar
1 orange, zest and juice
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce

Combine the above ingredients in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat until reduce by half. Drizzle over warm Pop Tarts.

First of all, some changes I made were just because I hadn't read the recipe carefully enough before going to the store, so I forgot to buy shallots. I had one little shallot at home, but not enough to measure 5 tablespoons worth. So, I subbed a regular yellow onion. It was while I was cooking the onion-garlic-shallot mixture that I noticed the typo in the recipe. He says to add 4 tablespoons oil, the garlic and shallots in a pan and saute, then add the rest of the oil... Well, 4 tablespoons is the total amount of oil called for in the list of ingredients. As for the oil, I didn't have peanut oil, and didn't want to buy some just for one recipe, so I used half canola and half evoo. The shallots, onions and garlic didn't crisp up, but I didn't care. I don't want brown and crispy garlic anyway. The biggest change I made, though, was to divide the tart dough in half, roll it out to fit into my tart pan, and then refrigerate it as instructed, but I did so over night, for my convenience. I think my tart pan is 11 inches, which was too big for the recipe. I had to roll the dough out very very thin. Anyway, I added the cooled mushroom mixture to the tart pan, added the onion mixture, and then crumbled a 5 oz. ball of plain goat cheese on top of that. Then I rolled out the rest of the tart dough and covered the tart with that dough. I cut some slits in the dough and baked it at 350 for I think around 35 to 40 minutes. I started with the 20 minutes instructed in the original recipe, but figured that wouldn't be long enough. It wasn't. I kept setting the timer for 5 minutes longer at a time, but I don't remember exactly how many times, but I think it amounted to about and additional 15 to 20 minutes. A couple of other changes I made, just for convenience sake. I didn't have that much dried thyme, so I subbed Herbes de Provence in the dough, and used fresh thyme in the mushroom mix. I completely skipped the balsamic sauce, as it just wasn't practical. It would probably be very good with it, but I couldn't see how to deal with it in this setting.

Sorry to be so wordy, but it's sometimes hard to explain changes made to a recipe.

Sally

We had a very delightful Thanksgiving at a friend's house who extended an invitation the day before. He didn't post his invitation earlier because he wanted a small party, that would be manageable for his condo. He has a rectangular dining table with retractable leaves that expand to a square - probably 48"x48". It would seat eight with plenty of room in the middle for the food. There were only seven of us, as one person wasn't going to show up until 9:00 p.m. (Everyone else was gone by 4:30).

Food was not the greatest - the turkey tasted of nutmeg (which I hate in savory dishes like meat or spinach but love in eggnog), there were no green vegetables, but everything else was fine. I think there were sweet potatoes, but I don't eat those because they are too sweet for me. I will say that I can tolerate a small amount of nutmeg in Lebanese dishes, but I think I would like them better without it.

The best thing was that I got to reunite with a friend that I hadn't seen for 2-3 years, and he still seemed like an old friend. There were no arguments or fights, although there was an annoying football game in the background on TV, along with a fussball table, which I don't know how to play. I should have given fussball a try, but others there were experts at it. There was only one woman, and six guys, but that didn't seem to bother her. Conversations were lively and entertaining, and that's what made it all worthwhile. No overeating this year, however!

Lars

I am so impressed with all of you! I am like Duane -- I didn't cook anything. My mom wants to do it all herself. I certainly offered several times. I did do a lot of table setting, clearing, dishwashing, drying and putting away.

My brother was here from CA. He is in a funk because he had an operation on his shoulder and his recovery is going slowly and painfully. So, I also tried to keep him jolly.

No disasters, except the turkey was a tiny bit dry. No biggie, just pour on extra gravy. Mom forgot to put out the cole slaw, corn and gravy but we noticed it was missing and soon the entire spread was out. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, lima beans, corn, candied sweet potatoes, cole slaw, brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. All made at home.

Mom had gone on a cooking binge since my brother was coming in. SHe froze tons of food and filled one large carry-on bag and his suitcase with frozen packages. If anyone goes through his luggage, they will wonder what the heck it is. He also was traveling with his two cockatoos (they travel in a pet carrier that he slides under his seat), so it looked like the circus parade when he was leaving.

DB and I went for a long walk on Thanksgiving day and it was nice to be alone with him and talk. The day before we went to the Comcast Center along with my son. We watched the giant tv show and also saw the Holiday Show which was in 3D. We stood there wearing our cardboard glasses, one red lens and one blue lens. It was fun. Then we walked around center city Philadelphia in the drizzle. It was very nice except it cost $30 to park!

Last night my son's friend and his wife came over with their 14 month old son, Dylan. Dylan was fascinated with the cockatoos. He's a sweetie and it was fun to play with a baby.

So now I am home alone and enjoying the peace and quiet (and thinking about the leftovers in the fridge!).

My Thanksgiving also went well. Elery was here, and my Mother, Amanda, Ashley, David and the grandkids. We had ham that Elery cooked in the smoker, a turkey in the roaster. We had the same stuffing we have every year, mashed potatoes and gravy, Sol's honey rolls and some honey wheat rolls, green bean casserole, Woodie's 7 layer salad, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin cheesecake, buckeye cake and a key lime pie that I bought at the charity bake sale at work.

The Princess set the table for me and she had to use the good wine glasses for the orange soda that she and Bruvver had as a treat. She said the prayer of thanks and ate three of Sol's rolls and skipped dessert.

Annie

Sounds so wonderful! Would have been happy with any of your meals,The good, the bad, and the ugly! They all still sounded good. I love turkey and the alternatives!

I envy all your leftovers.

Shelley S.

oooohhhh, Trixie! When you are done recovering would you post your buttermilk pecan pie recipe for me?! (actually for the DH)
I took a year off hosting (hurrah, yay, yippee -- I have never in my life realized how relaxing Thanksgiving could be!) We celebrated with family friends and had a very nice, low key day. I brought pumpkin pie, brussel sprouts, rolls, cranberries, stuffing, and salad. We also had mashed potatoes and gravy, turkey, another version of stuffing, green beans, apple pie, ..... it was great. I usually try a new recipe each year - made sprouts with pecans and lemon juice - they were good, but my favorite recipe is still Ina's just roasted with kosher salt.

Thanksgiving dinner turned out well. Best of all was having my DH's Aunt, Uncle and cousins who we do not get to see often. DH's brother also came to town. I did a turkey in a molasses brine and a turkey breast in an apricot glaze with orange. I did the breast the day before but did not cook it completely, sliced it, added chicken broth and then finished it on Thanksgiving. Just about everything turned out. I needed less oil on my cipollini onions and for some reason the make ahead mashed potatoes did not do as well this year as in the past. Chipolte sweet potatoes turned out well and yippie the green beans in butter with a little lemon were crisp and perfect! So thankful for all the advice I've picked up here. I tried lots of stuff I would never have done even two years ago!

I usually semi-lurk here, but I'm having so much fun reading about everyone's day, I'll jump in, too!

For the first time in many years, I hosted for DH's family. Only one of his sibs could attend, so we had 11 people.

The best: Seeing the obvious delight of my MIL, because she absolutely does not enjoy cooking, but has done it most years. I love to cook, so I was glad to do it, and was glad that she agreed to let me.

The Good: Everything turned out nicely, the turkey was moist and delicious (yea for Nesco!) and I didn't forget anything! We had my MIL's fabulous cranberry relish, her fluffy rolls, and my SIL's maple sweet potatoes. We also had my stuffing, gravy, corn cassarole, mashed potatoes, a veggie plate and relish tray, sweet and sour red cabbage (my grandmother's recipe) and a surprise hit--green beans in brown butter with toasted almonds. My SIL actually sat and snacked on them after the meal until my DH finished them off completely! For dessert, DD (11) made her pumpkin pie, I made an apple pie with struesel topping, and my MIL brought chocolate eclair cake. Dessert was accompanied by my own fresh roasted decaf Mexican coffee.

We go to my own Mom's house tomorrow for my family's celebration, and guess who's bringing the turkey? LOL, I have to figure out how to get my 20 lb bird 50 miles down the road. I can make the gravy and dressing here, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the turkey makes it without getting dried out. Eeks!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Cj

My first Thanksgiving hosting the in-laws went wonderful. The good was definately the turkey and ham that my husband smoked. The bad was a bourbon pecan pie that looked gorgeous in the Cooking Light magazine but did not turn out well at all. We had a wonderful time and my Mother in Law seemed very happy to give up cooking the holiday meal.
Sounds like everyone had a wonderful day.

Melissa

It's been Thanksgiving Week for us! Hub and I drove from Wisconsin to our son and DIL's house near St. Louis so we could babysit all day Tuesday while they attended a work-related seminar. Wednesday DIL, son and I cooked and baked all day and waited for our other five kids and their families to arrive from various places in Wis and Northern Ill.

It's been heaven for me, having all the kids and gkids gathered in one house for a few days. There are 18 of us here right now; everyone seems to be sleeping but me, and believe me, I need some sleep!

I'm looking forward to reading these posts Sunday or Monday, when we're back at home.

Bring on the carbs! I tried a new recipe for Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling from Cindy5NY and it is a winner and will now be on my regular Thanksgiving turkey dinner menu. I'll still make my regular bread/sausage stuffing too, but one can't have too many options to put gravy on, right?

Over all things went pretty well. Husband was working in Canada for 2 mos. so glad he made it home on Wed. Had sliced salmon w/ capers and lemon mayo, and a fig and goat cheese appt., followed by the usual spread. Only problem was I couldn't find a large turkey, so I purchased 2, 12lbs. and even though I have a 48in. stove w/ 2 ovens, the turkeys had to go into the big oven and I had no room for anything else so it really messed up the timing on getting other dishes done. After a 3yr. hunt I finally found the amber wine glasses I have been looking for , so the table was beautiful with gold linens, white & gold china and amber serving pieces. Played games afterwards and was definetly ready for bed.

Oh yum, I love Thanksgiving! Walking into my mom's house and smelling all those cooking smells, is just soo wonderful. We had 18 people and it was the first time we all somehow fit into the dining room together. We usually have at least 2 or 3 more people, and even though we missed them it was still nice to all eat together.
We had our usual sides, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, mashed turnip, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, and homemade pickles. We also had our very first Thanksgiving with a green bean casserole and creamed corn! My sister's MIL was invited, and she graced us with the new sides. I think my family is stuck on the traditional side, since half of each was leftover.
However, one new appetizer was gone pretty quickly, and that was the Spinach Artichoke dip recipe I got from Annie and Elery! The recipe made waayy too much (you weren't kidding Annie, hehe) for my boss to take to her party of 6, so she had me take some to my family. We had originally planned to serve it in a bread bowl but we didn't know what to dip in it. DH suggested just cubing the Boule' bread and dipping that, it was a winner! It was gone pretty quickly, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is requested again.
I also managed to make my cookies, I think they were @ 8inches in diameter, and the kids loved them. I ended up making Dark Chocolate Chip-Reese Pieces cookies, drizzled with dark chocolate. DH and I brought the last one home, I started with 2.5 dozen. The youngest of my nieces spent her time picking off the chocolate, and then taking the cookie apart so she could just eat the candies and chocolate chips. Along with the cookies, we had pumpkin pie, cheesecake, lemon meringue, and apple pies. Everyone went home stuffed!
Today we are roasting a turkey breast, with the sides, so we can have "leftovers" hehe.

What a great idea for a thread Sherry! Love that so many jumped in to share their T-Day with all of us. Sure does sound like some good food and great family time.

By the sounds of it there is lots to be thankful for!

My late turkey day is over. Very low key, I didn't even eat in the dining room. We had a huge turkey, cornbread stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, brussel sprouts, cranberry from the can and cheese cake for dessert. I just finished munching on a wing. I made a huge bird and I have all the ingredients to make turkey tetrazzini and turkey soup. I love left overs!

My late Thanksgiving is also over. We did turkey, stuffing, ham, mashed pototoes (and I did not use the boxed; I used real potatoes from my garden)and gravy, squash and sausage casserole, spinach brownies, corn, cranberry/raspberry salad, yeast rolls, pumpkin pie, and chocolate Kahlua mousse cake.
The turkey was dry. I wanted to try a new brine that I bought from Williams Sonoma, but the bird did not thaw in time. Other than that, everything was good.
Now, Christmas! Ack! We are celebrating it on December 12 when my family can get together. Two weeks away! Yikes!

"I used real potatoes from my garden"

Aren't those the best! Yum. The first time I ate home grown potatoes I was stunned at how much better they are. I've heard lots of people say that potatoes are one of those things not worth growing at home. Wrong. What's great is that they can even be grown in a fairly good size container, so space is not an issue with growing potatoes.

Sally

Sherry FYI, dil said yesterday that they used a W/S brine (apple cider flavored) and they didn't think it was so great and it was too salty.

All the dinners sound so good. We went out to a rest. this year for the first time due to various reasons. It was really quite good and the place was packed. It's a quaint little rest. in a quaint little town near our home. The appetizers were served at the table (choice of garden salad, VA Peanut Soup or Apple Butternut Squash Soup). Extra appets. were available if you wanted. Their freshly made rolls and muffins served with whipped butter at the table also. Then the dinner was served buffet style and seriously it was homemade stuff and very good. There was turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and carrots, cranberry sauce, seafood etouffee over wild rice, salmon with dill sauce, corn pudding and lemon chicken. We each got to pick a dessert that we wanted and that was served at the table. Along with drinks we were stuffed. It was different for us but we all enjoyed it very much.

This rest. is highly regarded in our area and has been for years.

Sheshebop don't feel alone. Our Christmas dinner will be early this year also as my brother is being operated on on Dec. 23 so he will be in the hospital for Christmas. I will be cooking at home for everyone.

I'm glad you started this thread Sherry. I keep coming back to it.

Ann

Thanks to this forum and all the recipes and ideas, we had a very flavorful Thanksgiving!
Also enjoyed reading about others gatherings, the meals, good things, what worked and what didnt.

For T-Day there were just 3, hubby, my mom and I. Seemed like alot of food for 3, but we knew it would all be used up soon.
Here is what hubby and I made
Turkey breast, brined in cranberryjuice/apple juice, ginger,sugar, salt and Tuscan spices and cooked on a smoker. This was the most moist turkey we have ever had. I most admit that I was very skeptical about this brine and smoker method.
Smithfeild ham, Yukon gold home grown garlic mashed potatoes, Woodies' homemade gravy (big hit),green bean casserole, cranberry salsa, veggie tray, chopped apple bread (funny my mom really couldnt believe that I had made it) and Pinot Grigio for wine.
Pecan Pie (used purchased crust, would like to learn to make them but I always end up with shrunken thick crust) and Pumpkin Cheese cake for dessert (Cheese Cake Factory copy cat recipe) used the ginger cookies from Trader Joes (oh forgot to tell you all that I got to do my first visit to a Trader Joes while visiting the Cape Cod area, oh what fun) for the crust, oh my was that ever good.

Thursday night our daughter and 5 boys arrived from St. Louis. It is difficult for SIL to get away as he is a Target manager. They just left today (Sunday) so needless to say we have no left overs! On Saturday I made home-made noodles and used the left over gravy added to the broth. The kids loved them. I was so glad that most of the cooking of the food was done, and we could spend more time with the kids while they were here. Strange thing is, when ever they got hungry they would go to the fridg. for ham or turkey instead of snacks like chips or cookies that were both in the pantry!

First time we have done anything on a smoker. It was FANTASTIC. We had borrowed a smoker because the one we ordered didnt arrive in time. Good thing it didnt, because we had done a lot of research on the smokers, and have decided we want a Traeger instead.

A very pleasurable read:)

It was just us this year. It was nice to get to take it easy and play with the kids BUT I do like lots of people around, too - so missed that.

Annie, I chuckled at the orange soda. The big hit was letting the kids drink out of "champagne" (cordial) glasses. They had Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. The problem was they didn't eat much they just wanted to do Cheers! LOL

I did this bread stuffing this year - this sounds odd but it is bread, onions, celery and applesauce! It was awesome and does not taste like apple.

Another winner was The Carolans Irish Creme. I usually buy Baileys but budget dictated I buy Carolans this year. $10 compared to $35! LOL I like it better! Is lovely and doesn't leave that heavy coating on the roof of your mouth like Baileys! Who knew ? lol

The only looser was the pumpkin pie. Sara Lee - it never set up...Have to remember to stick with Mrs. Smiths!

Since it was a 20 pound bird...I have already froze 2 quarts of soup and two turkey shepherds pies.

Here it is, can you guess the method??? just kidden :)

Hi all --

Love hearing these thanksgiving posts... I was relieved as thanksgiving went smoother than expected -- I traveled to my aunt's house in Kansas and cooked for her, my mom, my husband, and I... Always a little stressful to cook in someone elses kitchen, but it went off without a hitch... Menu included turkey (dry brined, it was delicious and moist), gravy, mashed potatoes, sauteed brussel sprouts with cranberries and pecans, Sharon's sweet and sour braised red cabbage, and a butternut squash gratin (with a sourdough bread cube and cheese topping, it also stands in as stuffing). An apple pie and apple crisp for dessert. Everything was delicious... Next day I made turkey noodle soup from the carcass, with homemade egg noodles...

I was happy to do it, as my dear uncle (aunt's husband) died just a few weeks ago... It was nice to be there to support her and to bolster her with some nourishing food...

Emily

Great reading/hearing about all y'alls dinners! I've been without internet access since Wednesday thanks to some challenges with my wireless at the house. Figured that out finally and I'm back on line minus a few bucks...LOL!

Nothing big to report here as we only had six for dinner. It's been years since we have had that few at the TG dinner table. We had our standard must have things and the only new things that we added this year as in past years was Shaun's cornbread pudding and Linda's jesabel. Sharon's dills and Linda Lou's sweet chunks were on the relish tray too.

DM and my DN came out Wednesday night for pie making and a little prep. No challenges with dinner at all. Football, movies, and few games rounded out our day and evening. The highlight was a VERY short phone call from Justin at two in the morning on Friday.

Friday night was poker and dominoes with friends and Saturday evening we went out to listen to a good blues band downtown. Today was R&R with some more football....

A great weekend for sure and I hope everyone else had the same!!

David

What a great read this thread is!

I also had a vry Happy Thanksgiving. We all went to my oldest daughter's house to celebrate. I brought broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole and the Memphis Corn Pudding. Here we all are before eating:

I decided to spend the night with my daughters and we got up at 3:45am and hit the stores on Friday. I got home around 6pm and crashed!!!

Saturday my husband, my son and I went camping with some friends. Here is a pic of hubs and I standing next to the redneck xmas tree on our campsite:

What a fun filled weekend! We're all exhausted now.

I did buy a turkey to roast at home so maybe I'll do that this week.

Time to decorate for Christmas now!!

Whew! What a great job everyone!

Well, it's Monday and I'm back at work (bleh). We actually had our Thanksgiving on Saturday. On Thursday (Turkey Day), we drove 3 hours to visit my dad who is in a nursing home and he wanted a cheeseburger! LOL! He can't get them there, so I was happy to sneak one in.

Friday, DH went to the Turkey Rod Run (big classic car show) in Daytona, while I pre-cooked for Saturday and fiddled around the house. The weather over the weekend was WONDERFUL for Florida. Finally, some cool weather!

Saturday, it was just the two of us, so here's the breakdown:

The Good: I made a Stuffed Turkey Breast Roulade (an Ina Garden recipe) that turned out fabulous! My Turkey Gravy ROCKED this year because I used chicken schmaltz to make a roux. It was the first time I used it and this stuff is worth it's weight in gold!

The Bad: The stuffing. I made a huge screw-up and accidentally used my CUMIN SEEDS spice jar for ROSEMARY in the stuffing. Put in a good tablespoon....too late. I tried to "balance it out" with thyme and rosemary. It turned out "meh"....not bad, just very different.

The Yummy: I made a Strawberries and Cream cheesecake for dessert that was very yummy, but a PITA to make...it was a Martha Stewart recipe. Very good, but I don't think I'll make again.

Now, BRING ON THE CHRISTMAS COOKIES!!!!

I've also enjoyed reading about everyone's Thanksgiving and the different foods that were prepared. Many good ideas for new dishes for Christmas dinner.

This is OT but I have to say SHAUN....I love your new hairdo. When did you cut your long tresses? That's similar to the way I used to wear my hair...colour and all, and I would like to have mine done like that again before Christmas. It is really becoming to you. And you have a handsome family too!

I think camping must have been a great relax after all the cooking and shopping. Good photos!

SharonCb

Thanks Sharon. I cut it all off a while ago; I think it was around Easter time 2009. It's grown out quite a bit now!! Glad you like it!

Shaun, So, all the women in your family look alike?? Tell me that's not the little guy I met!

Kathy, Where did you get your chicken fat for the schmaltz?

Shaun, you look amazing. Your girls look just like you. And look how big your son is getting. I remember him being just a little boy.

Ann

Maggie, it's Thanksgiving, LOL, that's why the kids got orange soda with dinner instead of milk. Heck, I figured they'd eat the leftovers later and still get their nutrition. Amanda is like me, though, I always figured the kids weren't going to starve or be horribly malnourished if I suspended the healthy eating rules for a day. Heck, we adults do!

Sherry, there is a big difference between those home grown potatoes and the ones from the store, isn't there?

Shaun, I like the haircut too.

Kathy, I've never tried cumin in dressing. (grin) I'll bet Elery would LIKE it. You reminded me, I have schmaltz in the freezer, left from the last big batch of chicken stock I made.

Everyone's dinner sounds wonderful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Annie

Having a good time reading about everyone's Thanksgiving. Round 2, the Vagabond Thanksgiving went well. The Dh didn't join me because he was too moody from work on Friday. He didn't even leave the office until 6pm. He didn't get his proposal done for work either. It is bound now and sitting on his chair in his office waiting for signatures.

My friends were in good spirits Friday evening. Hungry too! None of the stuffing / dressing was leftover this year which was a first! The gingerbread cookies are now gone and there is only one slice of gingerbread left. Happy tummy! The diet begins in January!

Cathy, I have been patiently squirreling away chicken fat (in the freezer) from any roasters we bought over the past 6 months or so. When I make Sticky Chicken, I usually cook a few birds at a time, then freeze the rest. So, it didn't take that long to get enough fat.

I rendered it down and saved the schmaltz for the holidays. Man, does it make a difference!

Annie - I was chuckling over the fact that the orange soda was in a fancy glass....:)....not the fact that they were drinking orange soda - lol...Andrew loves Root Beer and Grape as a treat!

I'm home and I survived another holiday! We went to friends' in rural north San Diego county - we are both child-free couples so this has become a tradition. One more couple joined us, as they did last year.

I was ordered to bring a delectable dessert - ME! Dessert! Hence the thread, blah-blah. What did I end up making?

First I was going to do Nancy's pumpkin creme brulee. But the hostess said she was making smoky pumpkin soup. And it wasn't something I could easily make in advance, according to me. So I changed my mind and made Sharon's pears in port with stilton whipped cream, and a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry ganache. I also made mini pumpkin and walnut scones with a maple icing for the long weekend. And I brought a roquefort tort with cranberries and roasted hazelnuts, from Costco.

When I got there, I found that there was a change - no smoky pumpkin soup. It was going to be pear soup! LOL.

We had too much stuff, so I refrigerated the pears to eat another time during the weekend. They were delicious by the way - thank you Sharon! I bought a huge bottle of tawny port so I will be making these again for ourselves this winter.

The flourless chocolate cake was served with a generous dollop of whipped cream and garnished with fresh raspberries. It was delicious too. It was too easy to make in advance and will be added to my limited dessert repertoire.

The friends had a new 75-pound Pyrenees puppy (I had seen her earlier in the year when she was a lot smaller), and four egg-laying hens. Along with the existing Pyrenees, Retriever and four cats, it was a full house and I don't think I'll get the dog hair out of my clothes for a few washings, LOL!

I forgot - I brought both plain cranberry jam and citrus cranberry jam and the citrus won hands-down.

Shaun your hair looks so cute! Tempts me to cut mine, though a cute haircut would mean more maintenance and actual visits to the hair salon!

Gina, for a non-baker, you outdid yourself. Sounds great, and I am sure it looked impressive as well.
Sherry

Cathy, sorry to tell you but yes that's the same little guy you met.....

AnnT, thanks hon.