Phoning the restaurant for reservations.

Today we made two batches of Sharon's Spanikopita. One for our Thanksgiving, and one for my friends celebration.

They're being flash frozen and popped into zip lock bags.

Sue

This year I am preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. Ever. I have not even cooked a turkey before. Should be an adventure! Furthermore we are having our meal on Wednesday, the day before, as my parents are traveling and need to get back home by early Friday morning. So on Thursday when all of you good people are working your magic in the kitchen I'll be toiling away on sewing projects with my coffee and leftover pie. I'm kind of excited about that.If all goes well I aim to make some quick breads that day and drop them off to a couple of friends who don't have much family locally.

In the name of preparation yesterday we cleaned the house and today we are heading for Costco. I have Monday for pulling together grocery lists and shopping and Tuesday for making pies. So far so good:)

Kate

1pinkmountain, can you post the recipe for your orange loaf? It sounds like something I'd like to try. Thanks!

Renee and kframe, you are both welcome to our house - we have 22 coming, should be able to fit you both in easy!

I'll do most of my shopping Monday, DH and I will cover all the food prep on Tday itself - maybe make the cranberry sauce (regular and jezebel) the day before. DH is in charge of turkeys. I don't do turkey. I LOVE cooking with my DH, we work very well together.

We're having our company bring wine, drinks, desserts (my baking sucks). Some things I don't WANT anyone else making/buying, like mashed potatoes, and rolls.

My big new tradition before dinner is to read aloud 'Molly's Pilgrim' by Barbara Cohen. From Amazon: "In this classic tale, a little girl named Molly is having problems at school. Her classmates tease her relentlessly, usually making fun of her funny accent and supposed un-American ways. Molly, you see, immigrated to this country with her mother and father from Russia. Jewish in faith, they originally lived in New York City, but now Molly's father has found steady employment in Winter Hill. Here, Molly is the only Jewish girl around, and she suffers mightily at the hands of the other girls. One day, Molly's teacher, Miss Stickley, decides that the class is going to do something a little different for Thanksgiving this year. Each child will design a pilgrim or an Indian for a little diorama and present it to the class. Molly is assigned a pilgrim, and she eagerly tells the assignment to her mama. Her mother, however, listens to the description of what a pilgrim is (someone seeking religious freedom and a life free from persecution) and creates a doll that is a small Russian immigrant. Of course, the other kids at school deride this idea of a pilgrim, until Miss Stickley explains that Molly's doll is perhaps the most appropriate of all. After all, the very idea of Thanksgiving is based on the Jewish harvest holiday of Tabernacles, and unlike any other student in the room, Molly is the real pilgrim."

Sets me off bawling in front of our guests every time since thats how/why my parents family came to this country. And I can relate to the religious teasing in school.

Here is a link that might be useful: Molly's Pilgrim on Amazon

Today I'm baking cookies that I shaped yesterday so it shouldn't take too long. I'm also making the filling for some apricot-orange tarts I'll make later in the week.

I'll be writing out the slips for our annual "Tell Us" game that we play while sitting around having our desserts on Thanksgiving.

And I'll be picking up a carton of 15 dozen eggs for distribution to our neighborhood co-op members for their pumpkin pies and other holiday baking.

I'm making sure I have clean clothes to pack! LOL!
Linda c

Stressing.

I've done nothing, and I'm having a large crowd. The house is a mess, I don't have a final meal plan. I'm trying to tell myself to relax, but as I sit here and the time gets later, it's not working.

So basically, I'm surfing here for easy, save-my-butt side dishes. I'm doing a turkey, ham, the basic veggies, might make butternut squash lagagne.

I have somebody bringing stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, which, to me, is more work. I'll do the desserts - time consuming. Don't even know which ones yet. Need to figure out a roll/bread plan. I need to talk to sisters about bringing extra chairs. Should buy a new tablecloth. Make a centerpiece. Candles. Liquor store.

It's a good thing I saw all this. It's making me realize all the stuff I haven't done.

So I guess the short answer is cleaning and finding side dish ideas.

Jessy, honey, to dine with you is about the only thing I could think of that would stand a chance of braving SoCal. :) And I love that story about Molly Pilgrim!

Lori - Keep it simple. A double serving of stress kills the flavor of all else. :)

Today, I am making a bunch of pie crust. I like to mix them up and form them into discs, wrap with plastic wrap and store in the freezer. I will bake my pies on Wednesday. Last year I gave my neighbor, who claims she can't make pie crust, enough frozen pie crust disks for 3 pies. She was so happy. We will just have our little family of 6 this year. My menu is easy, I just reuse the same one over and over every year. Sometimes I will make both a turkey and a ham. This year it will be just a turkey. I might change the kind of dip I serve or perhaps fix a different side dish, but we stay with the same basic foods. My family would really squawk if I made any drastic changes.
Donna

Lori just do simple sides. I've made that butternut lasagne, it is nothing to write home about and its a lot of work that will get lost with the other stuff. I once made roasted butternut squash with cranberries and walnuts, that was a nice side. Simple green beans dusted with bacon and blue cheese unless you've got pickies, then just bacon. Broccoli with lemon butter, yummo if it is fresh. Roasted cauliflower topped with buttered bread crumbs and parmesean.

Orange Loaf - lpinkmountain

Bake in 9x5x3 inch greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour
1 small seedless orange, washed and unpeeled (I used a navel orange, no seeds. You can use clementines if you deseed. You want a thin skinned orange whatever you use).
6 oz. pitted dates
orange juice
1/2 cup hot water
2 TBLSP butter
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
**I also added 1 T of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp of ground cloves.
Combine orange and dates in a food processor until finely ground. Just do it, trust me, it will turn out good!
Combine juice drained off of orange and date mixture with enough extra orange juice to make 1/2 cup. In a saucepan, heat juice, water and butter until butter melts. When cooled, add the egg and date/orange mixture.
Combine this liquid mixture with the rest of the dry ingredients and nuts. Bake in a greased loaf pan one hour at 350 until cakes tests done. Makes 3 mini loaves, 2 small loaves, or 1 large loaf.

There's a ton of other orangey recipes on the link below to a CF post from a couple of weeks ago. I'm just making the orange loaf because I came into posession of an orange that I can use up.

Here is a link that might be useful: orange breadlike things

It should be an easy Thanksgiving here as it is only teh 2 of us this year. The bird is in the basement fridge, and most of the shopping was done on Saturday. Cranberry Jezebell is lounging in the fridge, applesauce was made and canned weeks ago, and I will make the compound citrus thyme basting butter tomorrow morning.

Wednesday night I will prep the veggies for the stuffing and make the cheesecake or pumpkin bread pudding. I think I will make Dad peel the potatoes this year.

Mom and I had a tradition of doing a girls day of shoppign on the day before and prepping that night. I have kept that going, but I sure miss her.

BTW, I saw 7 pound turkey yesterday at the store. I never knew they came that small.

Today I finished the two table centerpieces and ironed all the linens. We did all the grocery shopping yesterday, and the bird is in the frig to thaw because I'll be brining it beginning Monday night, because I'll roast it on Wednesday. We eat on Thursday, but some are coming Wednesday and if I do it a day ahead I'll have more time to enjoy the family when everyone's here Thursday.

My vegetable stock simmered away today, all I need to do now is add in the cider and additional water to it and the 2 1/2 gallons of brine will be ready.

Tomorrow I'll quick-wash the floors, make the Gyyki Kolokithopita and get some pie crusts finished. I'll do a Fudge Pie and Pecan pie Tuesday sometime, and will also make the cranberry sauce.

It rained all day today so I had to postpone washing the floors until tomorrow when things dry off. All the rest of the cleaning is done......(I hope)!

I'm with Lpink about making it simple this year. I did the menu last night--roasted green beans with garlic as the veggie and butter pecan ice cream for dessert instead of pecan pie. Just two of us, but doesn't mean I'm skipping the traditional stuff, simply simplifying.

I made a crockpot full of vegetable beef soup last night.
I had a brainstorm idea yesterday that if I used one of those crockpot liners, I could partially cook the soup, refrigerate, then freeze it, remove from the crockpot and wrap well and toss it back in the freezer. On Wednesday, I'll plop the whole frozen block in the crockpot and turn it on low while I'm at work. My mom will be here before I get home and I'll have 4 or 5 for dinner Wednesday. Cornbread muffins or homemade bread (both already in the freezer) makes for an easy, no-fuss meal while we're prepping other stuff!

I've never used the crockpot liners before. I always thought it was rather wasteful to use them simply to avoid having to clean the pot. But......if I can cook ahead and freeze right in them, then have a block that fits back in the pot perfectly, it may be worth it to me. We'll see...

Tonight I'll salt the turkey. I've decided to pre-salt instead of brine it based on several recommendations from all of you!! I'll cook the giblets for the dressing and maybe prep the veggies.
One store stop tonight for some basics and the last fresh groceries will be picked up tomorrow evening.

Deanna

We are taking Thanksgiving to friends (a couple) who live 300 miles away. We won't be leaving until Wednesday evening, so I can't really do any shopping when I get there. And they have both recently had surgery, so about the most help I can expect from them is that they have ordered dessert for delivery on Wednesday. I would normally make everything myself, but in this case, I am grateful for any respite. I have packed everything non-perishable in boxes and have a checklist for everything that needs to go in last minute. And we're not just talking about food. Whenever we visit them (about once a month) I am amazed at the lack of what I consider neccessities to have on hand in a kitchen. So I am taking my roaster and rack, a decent knife, even measuring cups and spoons.

The turkey is thawing, and I will chop all the veggies I need for the stuffing ahead of time.

I cleaned my oven on Saturday!

Went to the grocery store at 7 a.m. yesterday morning so we would beat the shopping madness.

Turkey day will be me and DH going to visit my Dad who's in a nursing home 3 hours away....he wants a cheeseburger! LOL!

Saturday will be a small dinner for the two of us and I'm going to make a stuffed turkey breast roulade (recipe from Ina Garten).

I'm in Cent Fla too and WANT the cold weather! There's nothing worse than putting up Christmas lights and beating off the mosquitos at the same time! :-)

What are you doing today to prepare for Thanksgiving?

Reservations !!!!

DH are in Florida for the week and I'm looking for a prime rib dinner that night,
so as soon as I find it I'll reserve us a spot.

I'm enjoying reading about all of you preparing for your family gatherings !!!

What have I done? Not one darned thing, LOL, except order the turkey!

I'll make desserts Wednesday night after work, and I have to make a grocery list tomorrow so I can shop on Tuesday. I'll mix the dinner rolls on Wednesday night too so they can be baked Thursday morning and I'll put together the sweet potato casserole and the green beans maybe Tuesday, to be baked on Thursday. The turkey gets stuffed and roasted on Thursday, gravy gets made, potatoes get mashed, salad gets prepared.

Tonight I'm baking bread for a bake sale at work, one of the clerks in another office has a husband with terminal cancer in Hospice. The only income the family has is hers, so the employees here are all getting together and having a bake sale with all the proceeds going to her family.

Tomorrow night after work I need to deliver some items for baskets to a local charity, they put together baskets containing all the components for a holiday meal.

So, the Grandkids might miss out on something like turkey shaped cookies, but they'll cope. We'll see, maybe I'll have time to make something special Tuesday night.....

Anyway, I haven't even made up a menu or written a grocery list. It'll happen anyway and I think there will only be 9 of us this year.

Annie

I made 4 dozen rolls yesterday..(Sunday)2 white with herbs and 2 dozen wheat.
We're going to one of my brothers houses near San Luis Op.

I just went shopping, it was a MADHOUSE!! We're not having a turkey this year, Hub wants loin roasts stuffed with garlic and marinated with thyme, cider vinegar, olive oil and lots of pepper. For side dishes, he wants Spanish rice and salad. For dessert, I am making a pumpkin pound cake. I am still pondering what vegetable would go well with all that. There are going to be 6 of us, I wonder if we'll have any leftovers. :o)
Still have cleaning and dusting to do, yuck...

I started cleaning the kitchen (in steps - frig, freezer, counters, etc). Have all the shopping done. Just came back from the car wash.

Will do pie pastry tomorrow and finish cleaning the kitchen. And Wednesday will make the pie, scalloped potatoes, and green beans and have them ready to go in the oven first thing Thanksgiving day. Then to my DB's.

I cleaned the oven yesterday and did the grocery shopping on Saturday.

DH has surgery scheduled Wednesday, so we don't know if we'll do dinner Thursday or Friday. It's just the 4 of us, so we can be flexible. I hope that we'll be home from the hospital Wednesday afternoon, and I hope to make the pumpkin squares then. Everything else will be done either Thursday or Friday.

I've read about cooking the mashed potatoes early and keeping them warm in a slow cooker. How long can they live in a slow cooker?

Mandie

Turkey is salted! Giblets are cooked, in the broth I'll use for the stuffing.
Tonight, I'll chop veggies for stuffing, make jello (Yeah, I know, not exactly gourmet, but there's this tradition thing...), boil my eggs. After hitting the grocery store for fresh stuff.

52 hours 'til the bird hits the oven!

Deanna

Roasting veggies in separate batches. Red bells, carrots with thyme, and red onions today. Tomorrow: cauliflower, yams, butternut squash, brussel sprouts.

Also making some sushi for an appetizer.

Thanks, Jessy, but Mom and I are eating out again this year. Just the two of us for the Holiday, so why not.

I remember those days of huge family gatherings very fondly, but they're long gone, unfortunately.

I am in charge of hors d'oeuvres.

Tonight I will be making a caponato which is best if it sits for a day or so. Already made and froze the spanikopita. Tomorrow, well I'll just have to post that tomorrow!

Sue

This morning, I baked and frosted a cake for Thanksgiving and made a cream cheese crust for apricot tarts and divided and rolled it into balls to bake tomorrow morning. I made the filling yesterday so it shouldn't take long to assemble and bake them.

Our farmers' market had special hours this week so I went over around 2 P.M. after the morning crowds thinned out to pick up pepper cabbage and sweet potatoes with a maple-ginger glaze for Thursday's dinner from two prepared food vendors I like.

Well, yesterday and today I have been cleaning big time!!!! It is a great excuse to do it once a year very thoroughly once a year. Even the wine glasses in the rack are shiny.

I did a bunch of baking yesterday, even made another biscotti to put in the freezer for Christmas nibbles. The house is as clean as it is going to be and the boys have one more trip through to pick up toys, socks and sneakers before the big day.

Wednesday, I will be chopping the veggies for the stuffing and the roasting pan (makes hellaciously good gravy when you roast the turkey on a bed of celery, onions, rosemary, thyme, etc) And probably roasting one turkey. Although, I may hold off and roast it Thursday morning since we dont have to be at my friends house until 1..... still trying to decide on that.

This has been a great thread to read - thanks for all the contributions!

Alexa

Began my preparations tonight -- picked my mom up from the airport. Tomorrow we'll decide what to do about Thanksgiving Day meals (if there is anything left at the grocery). DH is working and the kids just want to sleep all day, so we may just order pizza!

Jessy, I remember that book. I remember it making me cry too.

I am battling my irresistible, compulsive urges to make JUST ONE MORE dessert. I'm pretty sure I'm losing.

The cranberry jezebel is made and in the fridge, the refrigerator rolls are in process, and I'm starting to pick up around the house in prep for vacuuming and dusting. I'll make the Impossible Pumpkin Tarts (from bakingbites.com) this afternoon, get the brine ready, and shop for fresh broccoli.

And now......you've reminded me about washing the wine glasses. Thank you very much indeed!

Teresa

Re: mashed potatoes in the slow cooker. I tried that one year. They can't live in there indefinately, they burned on the bottom of mine, but it heats hot, IMHO. Somewhere there are recipes for the kind you can do ahead of time and I think the secret is adding cream cheese to the mix. Anyway, either google or post as a thread and you'll get all kinds of make ahead recipes. I think potatoes can go a couple of hours, but not all afternoon like I did. My family doesn't really like mashed potatoes thankfully, so I have given them up so don't have to worry about it. I am so lucky that we like just plain baked sweet potatoes!

I jsut pulled turkey # 1 out of the oven and it smells heavenly! I used Peppi's Citrus Thyme compound butter and I am blown away by how good it smells. Of course, since I am carving this beastie to serve tomorrow there will be taste testing very soon!

Alexa

Panicking! Last night I made the dough for gingerbread cookies. I still have to make the cookies. I have yet to make ginger bread, an onion braid and a regular braided loaf of bread. Just to add to this, I had the worst stomach ache last night. I kept waking up thinking I was going to be sick. The tummy ache is gone, but now I'm tired. I know! I know! Don't ask me if I want any cheese to go with that whine. Speaking of which I should have bought more wine....

I am still at work too. I was hoping to cut out early.

The dressing is made and in the refrigerator, brownies are done, pumpkin, sugar cream and pecan pies are done, just have to do the butterscotch one. Sweet potatoes are ready to heat tomorrow too. Cranberries are done and the cheesecake is done. Have to make cole slaw and apple salad yet. Tomorrow all I should have to do is fix the broccoli and cheese sauce, cook the chicken and noodles, make the fried apples and bake the rolls. Then pack all up and take to Amber's. I am taking a bit of a break before I get back to it.

Sue

Got home a little late last night and had some other "pressing issues" to deal with.

Mom will be there when I get home tonight (5:45 PST).
The Beef-veggie soup is in the crockpot, the breads are thawing for tonight's dinner. Quick & easy so I can work on prep!

Uncover the turkey to let it air dry overnight.
Make stuffing.
Boil the eggs.
Finish the jello salad.
Prep and/or cook white and sweet potatoes.

23 hours and counting..........til the bird hits the oven.

Deanna

(Our local radio station keeps playing this montage of Thanksgiving audio clips that is so funny. One of them says "Why am I standing here stuffing stale bread up a dead bird's butt?" Cracks me up every time!!.......

....just thought you'd want to know that......LOL)

I love the Cranberry relish poem!! Let us know how it turns out!

I am doing some prep work today. I'd decided for once, to make a simple bread stuffing for the turkey. Well, then I noticed the chestnuts I bought to go in the yams, there really are too many so I might as well put some in the stuffing. Browsing in the pantry, I noticed my millet and thought I might like a bit of that in the stuffing as well, which led to chana dal as I really like the texture it adds to dishes. Wild rice is so pretty in stuffing, don't you think?

Well, I'm writing it all down as I go, so if it turns out delicious, at least I'll know how to make it again.

I decided on a grapefruit, avocado and shrimp salad for appetizer, so I'm defrosting shrimp. Then I'll prep the vegetables and spices for the yam and chestnut poriyal I woke up thinking about this morning.

We bought a pumpkin roll from the church ladies so I don't need to make dessert...maybe I'll start some dough for rolls. It always seems like so much starch with the potatoes, stuffing and rolls, but I really like having the rolls around for sandwiches afterward.

I've got some nice leeks, so I think I'll make some sort of soup.

I'm funny, I don't really plan out my meal in detail ahead of time, even for Thanksgiving. I start making things off and on the day before and it just sort of evolves on it's own. I mean, I buy a turkey, but generally speaking everything else I want is in my fridge or pantry by the time I really start thinking about it. I buy some things during the week or two before, rather absently thinking, "I might do something with that for Thanksgiving," but don't decide WHAT until I get to it. It always seems to come together.

Made a recipe for tuna pate that Renee posted. It was pretty good even before it chilled so I imagine we have another pate winner. Thanks Renee.

Also made the caponata today cause I lazed out yesterday. I've never been a fan of the stuff and am not liking the vinegar in it, but I think the flavor is good - if that makes any sense. Bon Appetit August 2005.

Made LindaC's Blue Cheese Cocktail cookie dough - they are a-chillin in the fridge - will bake them tomorrow.

Last but not least, will be putting the lump crab spread together in the morning, having done all my prep work today.

Enjoy,
Sue

Still not one darned thing done except Elery bought wine. I'm here at work and can't leave early. Tonight I'll make Sol's Honey Rolls and the Honey Wheat, bake the pumpkin cheesecake and the Buckeye Cake, parboil the sweet potatoes, assemble the green bean casserole for baking tomorrow and make David's favorite cheese spread.

I need to stop at the store on the way home and buy milk, bread and Diet Coke.

Tomorrow I'll make the stuffing, stuff the bird, make mashed potatoes and gravy, put together the salad, set the table. It'll all happen, it always does.

Annie

Well, I admitted my Mother to the hospital last night.

Around 2:30 this morning she got sick very suddenly, and I didn't like where it was going, so I called an ambulance.

She's still there on an observational basis, but they're thinking it was a combination of dehydration and one of her medications.

Certainly NOT traditional Thanksgiving holiday preparations.

kframe, hope your mom is ok.

So, what am I doing in prep for T-giving? Thinking.... wondering, dreading ...... how on earth am I gonna choke down Stove Top Stuffing tomorrow? Lots of gravy I guess.......and there I go assuming there'll be gravy.

Help me Rhonda.........

Kframe I hope you mom peps up. My elderly mom was weirdly sick for about a week earlier this month. She became so weak she could hardly walk, and took a bad fall, but now seems to be OK. It may have been some medication she was on in her case too. She ended up having every test under the sun but nothing serious popped up. I hope the same for your mom!

Sue, do you mean the one from Leite's Portuguese cookbook?
I hope you like it. That cookbook is just dangerous. I'm slowly cooking my way through it and haven't hit anything yet I didn't think was a keeper.

Kframe, I'm sorry to hear about your mom and hope she's better quickly.

Kframe, I hope your mom's condition is temporary.

No food prep this morning. All I have to do is gather up my contributions to Thanksgiving dinner and my DH and we're off to my aunt and uncle's house. I'm sitting here gathering up some photos of Thanksgivings past to take along, like this one with my aunt and DD:

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Kframe - I hope your mom is better this morning.

Ruthanna, what a great photo!

I just finished making AnnT's Brandy Cherry Balls (aka Yeti Balls) and they are ready to go as well as the roasted turkey, stuffing and gravy. I still have to mash potatoes, assemble the green bean casserole and inject the turkey that is going to be deep fried.

Feels like everything is under control!

Alexa

Wow, I wish I knew someone south of the border. Quite the production. It's much lower key here in Canada. Really sounds like quite the food day - I think I'd like it. Enjoy! This may be the first year I had time to sit and read so many posts because I don't remember coming across so many recipes and ideas in the past years. Albeit, I probably just don't remember. So many ideas I plan on using for Christmas. So, with the occasion - thanks.

kframe - Best to your mom. Hope your day ends up to where you can be thankful it's "nothing worse."

My Thanksgiving responsibilities were very limited. Bring beer. So I went out early this morning and bought a couple cases and some ice. Done.

But I did decide to make something, too. Linda C's Cranberry Jezebel sounded too good to pass up. Made a batch yesterday using "hot" horseradish, and it does have a decent kick. I love it. Against Linda's advice I poured it over some cream cheese to serve as a snack rather than alone as a side.

Right now I've got a hot shower to look forward to and Long Island / Staten Island (or Manhattan) traffic to not look forward to on my way to two Thanksgivings in NJ. Have a good one everyone!

Well, I sprung Mom from the hospital this morning and we made our dinner reservations at 4 p.m.

She was released with no restrictions other than to discontinue her diuretics and maintain her fluid intake (gotta go force a glass of water on her now, in fact).

Her heart monitoring came back just fine; the doctors are certain it was the diuretic and dehydration.

This truly was a Thanksgiving for me; thanks for having my Mom for another year.

I hope everyone had an equally good Thanksgiving. For those of you with sadness in your lives right now, you all are in my prayers.