Thanksgiving plans with possibly no working oven

8 years ago

I am not certain to have a working oven for Thanksgiving, when we'll have about 20 people here.

(In brief: range oven died, too expensive to fix, so I've ordered a new range that should be delivered and installed the day before Thanksgiving, but isn't 100% certain to be.)

So I'm trying to come up with a menu that can still be made if the new range isn't available on the day. That means I would have (taking inventory here): four burners, a toaster oven, a microwave, a gas grill, an electric griddle, a countertop deep fryer, a Nesco roaster, an old crockpot. I'm thinking that if I put the pizza stone in the grill, it can serve as an oven. We have some chafing dishes to help with warm service.

Fortunately, the turkey is taken care of. My sister will bring it, mostly done, and finish it in my Nesco roaster.

My job is to provide appetizers, a meat main, sides, and dessert.

I'm thinking something like:

Appetizers:

- Cheese, pate, fancy olives, bread

- Bacon-wrapped watermelon rind (par-cook bacon, wrap, finish in toaster oven?)

- Pork and shrimp dumplings (prepare ahead and freeze? Then thaw and steam on stovetop)

- Pork belly nigiri (slow cook in crockpot, then slice, sear in cast iron pan, and place on nigiri.)

- Mushroom soup (with port wine, do-ahead, garnish with creme fraiche)

Fowl main:

- Sister's roast turkey and gravy (she brings it partly cooked, finishes in Nesco roaster)

Other main:

- Choice A: deep fried short ribs (beef short ribs, slow cooked, refrigerated, cubed, deep fried, then briefly stir fried in a light glaze-like sauce)

- Choice B: medallions of beef tenderloin, Gran Marnier sauce (hard to prepare for twenty, given my burner situation)

- Choice C: grilled fish (probably mackerel filets) with sauce (I could do this on the grill, if I don't mind standing in the rain, but then I can't use the grill as an oven)

Sides:

- Mashed yams and mini marshmallows (family insists on this, fortunately this can be done ahead and held a little while)

- Mashed potatoes (ditto)

- Creamed spinach (easy, holds well, I tart it up with toasted almonds and a splash of amaretto)

- Borscht (daughter-san makes a great borscht)

Dessert:

- Persimmon ice cream (i have a mess of Japanese persimmon here)

- Pumpkin pie (if we can bake it in the grill)

What do you think?. Sounds feasible?

Featured Answer

John Liu
Original Author

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Digression. I've been thinking about things to be thankful for.

My aunt was visiting this week. She told me a little about her childhood in China, in the 1940s. She was the youngest, my dad was the next youngest. They were sent to live with a family in the country, where they shared a room in a farmhouse. They walked to school. My dad, 10 at the time, carried a stick and beat off the rabid dogs who would harass them. When they were thirsty, they drank from the rice paddies. Back then, rice paddies were fertilized with human excrement. At night they studied by oil lanterns. Their older sister and brother were at school in town. My grandfather was in the US, studying engineering. My grandmother was carrying for the family in China. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a mastectomy with no chemo or radiation, but it was probably a misdiagnosis (the pathology facilities were only small microscopes), and she lived to 104. When WW2 started, my grandfather returned to China and managed a power plant. US/Chinese aircraft would dogfight with Japanese aircraft sent to bomb the plant, and the kids watched the battles and took cover in the irrigation ditches. When the Communists began taking over China, my family fled south. My grandfather went ahead, found them lodging and looked for transportation to Taiwan. My grandmother shepherded the family on their journey. They rode trains, got rides on trucks, sometimes they walked. Some nights they found rooms in inns and houses, other nights they slept in fields. They didn't always have food to eat. They lived for a while in Shanghai where the kids went to school. Finally they got a boat to Taiwan and, after a few years there, my grandfather went back to the US and found a job in New York. The children followed one by one, as they finished high school. My aunt and grandmother came last, in the early 1950s.

My family were migrants, nearly refugees, but we were welcomed in the US and made a life here. I was born in New York and have never drunk from rice paddies, slept in fields, been bombed by enemy aircraft, or gone hungry.

So I have a lot to be thankful for, to this country.

I'm hoping that this year, some families from Syria also have reason to give thanks, in my country.

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Comments (55)

annie1992
8 years ago
Whew. Do you have a neighbor that's going somewhere else for Thanksgiving and you could borrow the oven? Or one that doesn't bake and would let you use the oven in return for baked goods. Like "some kind of bread or pastry. maybe we could do apple roses! and i want to make a cake. and pie. and ice cream. and cake. and pie. what about cake. i want cake." LOL

Annie
wildmage1
8 years ago
You could always rent a small range with oven for baked goods. I've had my share of privation, but I'd pitch a fit if I couldn't bake for the holiday.
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mustangs81
8 years ago
Well, you put it in perspective for your DD; just be THANKful for your family and hope they will put things in perspective too. You are courageous to go forward with this. I hope it's not an issue but of course you have to prepare for the worst case scenario. Other than repeating the Nesco roaster, I can't offer anything but you are so creative I know you will work it out.
pkramer60
8 years ago
Given that the stove is iffy, now would be the time to ask guests to bring items once you have explained the situation. Do you really need two soups? I would do the tenderloin on the grill, whole and served with a Bearnaise made the day before. It can be served at room temp or warmed in a double boiler. If DD wants to bake a cake, have her contact friends to see who might have an oven she can use or let her pick a cake from a bakery. Thanksgiving is about family and friends, with some good foods thrown in.
sherri1058
8 years ago
"And when I was young, we lived in a small walk-up apartment in Paris with no turkey or cranberries, only snails and pain."

Snails and pain.... that would be my choice!

It's been a few years, but I have baked in the gas grill. Cakes but not pie as I don't seem to get along with pie crusts at the best of times. I don't use a pizza stone, rather I just use indirect heat.
party_music50
8 years ago
The pie (and cake and cake) should be made ahead anyway, so why not use the roaster oven? I've never used one and Annie says crust probably won't brown in it, so I'd switch to a nut crust or one made with crushed cookies or graham crackers. You have plenty of time to do a test run!
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
8 years ago
Do you know anyone with a larger but portable convection oven that you can borrow a day or 2 before to get the process moving? I would also come up with a plan B or priority list; worst case scenario, what can you leave out if need be?
lindac92
8 years ago
You can make a pie....make a crumb crust and "bake" it in the micro. All it needs is to melt the sugar so it holds together. Then make a cooked caramel custard filling,and add some spices. You can make a cooked pumpkin custard on a stove top but I don't like it. Just make a caramel custard in a crumb and nut crust and add whipped cream
agmss15
8 years ago
I have one of those green egg ceramic grills - it makes good pies, bread as well typically grilled foods. Not sure if that carries over to other grills. For baked goods the heat needs to be indirect ie a pizza stone and then an air space between the stone and pie plate/bread pan. I have used a coil of aluminum foil for that...

You will be thankful for the new range when it arrives.
johnc777
8 years ago
The obvious solution is to deep fry the turkey. The "kits" they sell aren't horribly expensive.
ruthanna_gw
8 years ago
Any reason why you can't buy a pumpkin pie from a good bakery and use the grill for the other main dish?
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
8 years ago
With 20 guests, you will need to socialize with them, not cooking in the kitchen.

There are many supermarkets which sell the entire dinner for not much money.

Add to that with a few of your own creations. It will be very pleasant and relaxing.

dcarch
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Well, I don't actually like socializing all evening. A few minutes chatting and I want to get back to my pots. So SWMBO does the hosting and I stay in the kitchen and cook. A few years ago I suggested we install a kitchen in the basement and send food up by dumbwaiter. But SWMBO is not very open-minded.

I am leaning away from the tenderloin (too slow to pan cook 20 medallions, too experimental - for me - to grill the whole tenderloin; don't want to risk ruining a $120 piece of meat), and from the mackerel (too many "ewww, mackerel?" reactions. And I've decided it would be nice to avoid using the grill in ways that will require me to stand there, since it will probably be 40F and raining hard.

Yes, I don't see why we can't just buy pies and cake and whatever baked goods are desired. But this isn't acceptable, it seems. I'm going to ask some neighbors about using their ovens.
marymd7
8 years ago
Annie's post regarding borrowing a neighbor's oven for the day brought back a cherished memory for me. I met one of my best friends (of more than 20 years now) because I had a broken oven on Thanksgiving day. I had moved to Washington, DC only a few months before and was cooking Thanksgiving for my mom and a few others. The oven quit working Thanksgiving morning, so I decided it was time to really meet the neighbors I had been waving to. I knocked next door and, sure enough, my friend, Leah, answered the door. She was having dinner elsewhere and was happy to smell turkey cooking in her house. And thus began a truly beautiful friendship. So, there's something to be said for not having an oven on Thanksgiving.
rob333 (zone 7b)
8 years ago
Aw, Mary you made me cry tears of joy. Sounds like the best friendship. So cool
eld6161
8 years ago
What does SWMBO stand for?
westsider40
8 years ago
She who must be obeyed.
lindac92
8 years ago
All will be fine....the stove will be delivered, there WILL be an oven. But you may have to plan a few appys ahead in case it doesn't get installed until about 5:00 Pm.
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
And now the drain fitting of our clawfoot bathtub is leaking. This is the only bathing device in my house, unless one enjoys spit baths in the laundry sink. So we are limited to showers short enough for the bowl that fits under the tailpiece to catch the leak. Plumber is, we think, coming Friday.

I'm worried that the whole house is conspiring against me. What's next, maybe the furnace will go on strike?

(I've tried to fix the leak, thought I had it licked a month ago, but it has come back for some unknown reason, and my patience has run out. My rule is that water should not be dripping through my ceiling all that often.)
lindac92
8 years ago
Silicone caulk....lots of it....get a caulking thingey and a tube of the stuff and squirt it all around where you think it may be leaking....then when the plumber comes, peel it off and let him replace the seals>
Shhh! Don't let the furnace know you are thinking of it!
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The tub is a sort of funny story. SWMBO was filling it one day when the rear legs flew off and the rear of the tub came crashing down, pulling the tailpiece out of the floor drain pipe. When she tried to drain the tub, many gallons of water were dumped onto the bathroom floor and started dripping through the kitchen ceiling, before she realized what as going on and replaced the drain plug. I rushed home, bailed out the tub into the toilet, grabbed my floor jack from the garage, jacked up the tub and got the drain reconnected, reattached the legs. So that solved the problem, for the moment, but the drain hasn't been quite the same ever since.

Sigh. I live in a 104 year old house.

In fact, because I live in an old house, I was looking for a vintage Keefe & Merrit or Wedgewood range to replace my dead range. That would match the house well. But I couldn't find a good one locally in the short time available.
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Delivery and install crews arrived exactly on time, and new range is being installed now. Relief!

This morning I'll burn off the oven, then start my make-aheads.
morz8 - Washington Coast
8 years ago
Congratulations on your stove, fingers are crossed there are no installation issues. If that had been any one of the rest of us, the stove would have shown up on Friday ;)

I left my 95 yr old house behind 3 years ago. This one is a baby in comparison, constructed in 1955. It's more solid than I am, someone had thought things through very carefully in building it.
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Range works great!

I had to move a base cabinet over to make room. Kitchen remodel coming post holidays.
plllog
8 years ago
Phew! Sometimes things actually go right. :) Looks great! Congrats.

Happy Thanksgiving!
annie1992
8 years ago
Ooh, nice range, I like it. Have fun breaking it in and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends. Dinner menu remains the same, I imagine?

Annie
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Yes, no changes to menu.

Menu (who makes) [status at T-7]

Hors d'oeuvres:

Cheese

Bacon wrapped watermelon rind [rind made]

Steamed dumplings (pork/shrimp, and mushroom) [fillings made]

Roast chestnuts [cut and soaking]

Starters:

Borscht (daughter making)

Onion torte (friend bringing)

Mains:

Roast turkey (sister bringing)

Short ribs [slow cooked, ready for deep frying, sauce reducing]

Sides:

Cauliflower gratin (friend bringing)

Creamed spinach

Green bean casserole (SWMBO)

Butternut squash casserole (SWMBO)

Desserts:

. Various pies (SWMBO) [in progress]

Edited with menu, above.

Daughter san is home from college with a nasty cold, so she may not be cooking all that much except the borscht. I'm feeding her cupfuls of hot salty chicken broth. Range burners are scary hot, I'm trying to learn how to use them without burning up the microwave above the range. That will go away in the remodel, I'm getting a real hood.
Islay Corbel
8 years ago
Lovely, shiny and new! I bet you'll have fun cooking on that.
annie1992
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I hope daughter-san feels better soon so that she can have the "pie and cake" that she was longing for. I still think those fried ribs sound interesting and good, I'll be waiting to hear your final analysis on those.

What a perfect time to break in a new range, put it though it's paces!

Annie
westsider40
8 years ago
John, what a touching and meaningful story. Yes, we Americans have much to be thankful for.
annie1992
8 years ago
John, we do have much to be thankful for and we take a lot of it for granted. My Aunt Yoshiko, who came here from Japan when she married my Uncle Chuck, always told us how wonderful this country was, how good it was to her, what a wonderful life she had here. She was the proudest American I've ever known, and wasn't even a "legal" citizen until she was past 70.

Annie
mustangs81
8 years ago
John, Amazing family history. I'll bet with your family's history it's hard to rationalize having that fabulous stove.

While not nearly as challenging circumstances, my mother's family had to depart Italy to come to America where they too became proud Americans.
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Here are some pictures from our dinner.

Bacon wrapped around sweet pickled watermelon rinds

Plated and served by dear son, who looks very pleased with himself

He also made the dumplings

Which turned out okay
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Here are the short ribs, after deep frying

And sauced for service

Here is daughter san's borscht

And the creamed spinach, about to receive almonds and Amaretto

The new range, earning its keep - I did wish for another burner or two, but it was fine, and the oven is huge, we baked six things at once
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Finally, the table, awaiting guests
annie1992
8 years ago
John, the table is lovely, and the food all looks delicious. With that plate of bacon in his hand, no wonder your son looks pleased, LOL.

My Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow. Well, today now, I guess. My table won't be as beautiful as that one, I'm so not a decorator.

As for that stove, it's still bigger than my cooktop. I have 3 regular burners and one completely useless simmer burner. We'll replace the cooktop, like we replaced the tiny little oven, but we haven't "gotten around to it" yet. I'm envious of your burner space!

Annie
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
How come your dinner is a day later?

For about 60 seconds, we were considering a 48" range. But the cost is really beyond reason, my version of reason anyway. Eight burners and two ovens would be occasionally nice, but never necessary.

I previously had four burners, two small (simmer burners, basically) and two not-small (but not large either). The self igniters were failing. I had to use the burners full blast to do anything, had to preheat cast iron pans for a long time, cook in batches, etc. I had to stirfry in tiny batches, like a child's handful. When I boiled stuff, I would use the electric kettle to heat the water, otherwise it took to long to boil water on the burners. So irritating, but we lived with it for almost ten years. I'm not sorry to see the old range go!
mustangs81
8 years ago
Amazing especially consider that it might not have come off at that spectacular level.
jakkom
8 years ago
Congratulations, John! Everything looks sensational.

My nephew just bought his dad a GE Profile induction range to replace an old '50's Westinghouse electric, with half the burners broken and an oven that fluctuated temps wildly. We always have the family parties at his dad's home as he's got the biggest house for entertaining a crowd - but we all hated his stove!

I asked my ex-BIL how he liked his BD/Xmas present, and he said, "Well....it's a little complex. I have to use my smartphone to control it!"

I think I'll stick with gas, LOL. Your American range performed wonderfully for you, how great it lived up to your expectations! I'm hoping next year to swap out my Kenmore for a 24" Bluestar, fingers crossed.
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
Oooo, the 24" Bluestar looks awesome. Are you going to get a color?
Compumom
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Everything looks fantastic! DS is so grown up and looks to follow his sister's footsteps in the kitchen! Enjoy your new toy. I know that you're going to give it a workout. Tell SWMBO that the table and décor are lovely!
annie1992
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
John, I diligently rescheduled everything so I could suit everyone else's time requirements. My son in law, Kevin, is a police officer and had to work on Thanksgiving. My daughter, Amanda, is a CNA at a nursing home and had to work the midnight shift the night before. Since she has a seizure disorder and her triggers are stress and fatigue, her being allowed to sleep is tantamount. Plus Bud got his tonsils out last week Wednesday and we wanted to give him a couple of extra days to heal up so he didn't miss the meal altogether.

So we just had dinner a few hours ago, with everyone being able to attend and we got an "extra" in the form of Dave and Amanda's nephew Tommy. Not a problem, there's always enough food here for at least a couple of extras. The only problem was seating, so I put everyone around the table to eat together but the food stayed on the counter and everyone filled their plate buffet style. It worked....

I do have one burner that works really well, but with my new double ovens I try to do as many things in there as I can. The real issue is that the cooktop is on a homemade (and extremely ugly) "island". We're planning to rip that out this winter. For some reason that cooktop is situated on the end of the island, but perpendicular to the work surface, which is also several inches lower than the end that holds the cooktop. So, it's kind of like a "t" with a step down, and it gives me no work surface at all other than about 4 inches on each side of the cooktop. It's extremely inconvenient. I'm not living with it for 10 years, since we just bought this place last year. This year we tear that out, or I'm hiring someone!

Annie
sally2_gw
8 years ago
John, I'm just catching up with this thread, and loved reading about your Aunt, Grandfather, and family history. It's a good reminder of just how good we have it here.

Your food and table look beautiful.

Sally
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
8 years ago
A very comforting Thanksgiving dinner!

https://mainstreetmusingsblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/rockwell-thanksgiving.jpg

dcarch
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
8 years ago
Beautiful oven and timely installation! ...and family history is fascinating...

I had an oven stop working the day before expecting 25 people. It was the first time we ever purchased the 'extended warranty'. (our first ever 'new' appliances) as we always visited the used shop. It was replaced on the spot by a brand new one....then three more times....what a lemon those first fridgedare gallery series were.

That was years ago.

Using a new oven and cook top is a challenge at first! You seem to have done it all well. It took me a few months finding the right burner for a specific task. Well done and congrats.

(lock your doors! i don't want the family jewelry,,,i want your beautiful cookware!)
annie1992
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
LOL, sleevendog, I was thinking the same thing, I quietly lusted over those copper pans. (grin)

Thanks for that picture, dcarch. The woman greatly resembles my own Grandmother, who has been gone for a lot of years, and I smile when I see that.

Annie
John Liu
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The oven that failed on me was in a Frigidaire Gallery range!. It lasted 15 years. Parts were no longer available. The repair guy told me modern ranges do well to last that long, the electronics degrade from heat and fail, faster if you use the self clean. So I got a range with no electronics, no self clean, as manual as possible. I would like to never buy another range again.

I looked for a vintage O'Keefe & Merrit but couldn't find one in time. Plus I learned that the burners on those aren't very hot.

After the holidays we will start redoing the kitchen. It will be a piecemeal job. We will start by tearing out the floor covering (rough slate) and the cabinets on the range wall, and demo'ing some little alcoves. Then put in a new floor (thinking cork) and figure out what to do about new cabinets. We'll be cooking in a half-built kitchen for awhile.
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
8 years ago
Very interesting about the self clean, although I know from experience about the electronics- replaced once. I will be replacing my range soon enough ( it's 15 years old) and all info is so helpful..
jakkom
8 years ago
>>...24" Bluestar looks awesome. Are you going to get a color?>>

Not sure yet. I don't think color on the smaller range looks quite as good as it does on the bigger ranges, or the Lacanche Rully (sigh) which is my real passion. We'll see.....!

We've just spent a small fortune on our MBR, so I was afraid to tell my DH I wanted to spend another $5K for the Bluestar, a new hood, the usual extras, etc. But then we went to a furniture store to look for a new side chair, and he fell in love with a leather recliner that was the most expensive chair in the store! So now I don't feel so guilty :))