4kids4us, I'm with you on one turkey per year, that being Thanksgiving. Christmas gets to be anything else, and I lean either Italian or Mexican.

I like doing an apple-stuffed pork loin for Christmas because all the turkey side dishes work just as well with pork. I've done the whole turkey shebang on New Year's Day. There's nothing else to do so I figured I might as well cook and make it feel like a holiday. By then you're ready for turkey again, but I usually just cook a turkey breast, even for Thanksgiving.

Tina, thank you!! I didn't mean to sound like a candidate for queen for a day!! MIL does have caregivers 24/7, the same four ladies do 6 hour shifts every day. It's been a mixed success....some caregivers are more caring than others, iykwim. One is really sweet but a nut with no sense. They are all from the local office of a national agency. MIL would be better off IMO in a well run assisted living with a private carer four hours each day. It would cost about half of the current arrangement, and although thats not a worry it bothers me that she's not getting value for money. But---SIL promised her mom they would not put her in a "home" and has honored that promise even though it makes no sense at this point. I do a lot of lip biting......you can probsbly tell from GW that's not easy for me :-)

I adore Thanksgiving -- love playing in my pretty, super-functional kitchen with my favorite cookware & gadgets, love baking pies, setting a pretty table in fall colors in our beautiful dining room, love the food despite it being just post-war middle-American glop (nothing gourmet on Turkey Day for us, please). I get excited the day before, savoring the moment in a clean, neat kitchen, and turn on classical music to cook by. It's all so relaxing.

Thanksgiving day, DH stuffs the turkey and starts it in the oven. Then we go to mass or perpetual adoration for a solemn moment of reflection & gratitude. Then we come home and the kitchen smells heavenly already, reminding me of wonderful times at my grandmother's house and other holidays past. DH starts a fire, and we sit and read the newspaper by it because everything's done except the mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts. I love the weather -- never predictable, but even if it's wintery, it just makes the house seem cozy. Dinner goes too fast. After the food coma ends, we'll go for a walk or a bike ride if we're lucky weather-wise. Delicious desserts await. I'll set up pies, dessert plates & forks, and coffee in the dining room on the buffet table. People can wander in when they feel like it and serve themselves. It looks gorgeous and festive. Some years we have company to share all this with, and some years not. It's fun either way.

And it's only a few days long, unlike Christmas which I don't enjoy anymore. Christmas is overblown expectations. And too much stress, too many deadlines, too many parties, festivities, and social obligations. The onslaught of holiday advertising is depressing. Bad holiday music everywhere you go. I try to tune out the hype & commercialism and restrict the holiday season to spiritual things and simple pleasures. Thanksgiving is so peaceful in comparison (for which I am thankful).

Christmas is overblown expectations. And too much stress, too many deadlines, too many parties, festivities, and social obligations. The onslaught of holiday advertising is depressing. Bad holiday music everywhere you go. I try to tune out the hype & commercialism and restrict the holiday season to spiritual things and simple pleasures. Thanksgiving is so peaceful in comparison (for which I am thankful).

This.

I agree about not enjoying Christmas anymore. Even though I have grandchildren, it just seems to be all about the gifts, which is also so hard to figure out what to buy. Everything seems to be about electronics, and just getting the newest version of something.

Ya'll are making me sad! Christmas doesn't have to be like that. Christmas is what you make it. We are very low-key on gifts, for years my side of the family did not do gifts, we instead did something charitable. After my mom passed away, we went back to gift-giving for dad. It is nice to spoil him (which we try to do all the time, but he doesn't like us to buy him things, etc.). Christmas is a good excuse for that. We take chocolates and small gifts to my grandmother at her assisted living - not that she needs anything, but those things make her happy! Christmas for us is a very spiritual holiday and we celebrate that meaning. I love many of the activities in our little town and nearby cities. Our little town even has a parade (LOL!!). Love decorating the house and having family and friends over during this time and will host Christmas for my siblings, their spouses and my dad. Tomorrow night we will have the "Hanging of the Green" at our church and the beautiful music will have me in full Christmas mode! I agree there is too much commercial stuff, starts too early, bad music, etc. but the good stuff is there too! Christmas is what you make it.

Christmas doesn't have to be like that. Christmas is what you make it.

This. ;)

We put an end to the gift giving last year. Parents are gone and it seemed foolish to continue the exchange with siblings. Dh & I haven't exchanged gifts in decades. We used to buy something special for both of us, but haven't even done that in years.

Do enjoy some decorations, a little music, and holiday cheer.

Tina, I see and feel Christmas similarly. Today we are seeing our local ballet school's nutcracker and I will enjoy every moment. Next Thursday night and Saturday afternoon are our choral society's Christmas concerts (this year featuring Saint Saen's Christmas Oratorio, yay!) and afterwards next Saturday is our town parade and Santa's arrival. We do "bigger" cultural activities in our nearest city and I enjoy them but no more than our local events.

I think if the holiday isn't working for you, you should change it to something that does. If that means dinner is spaghetti or whatever, go for it. For me, I haven't been the Thanksgiving hostess for very many years yet as my mom and MIL were reluctant to pass the torch to anyone until they just got too feeble (MIL) or too inept (Mom with Alzheimer's) to do it themselves. So I LOVE to do it and pull out all the stops. I don't find it stressful or tiring. And I make it as easy on myself as possible by spreading things out over a week or so and accepting help from whoever wants to help. And if they don't help my way, no big deal.

If I get to the point where I don't enjoy, I'll alert people and someone can pick up the torch or not. If not, DH and I can find plenty of other fun things to do. Or we'll just have spaghetti, lol.

I'll share how I spread it out if it helps anybody. If that doesn't interest, quit reading. :)

I make the turkey and usually about six hot sides and three colds. I make most things in the several days before T-Day and put them in the extra fridge. I even do the gravy ahead of time by cooking the neck, giblets and an extra turkey thigh I buy for drippings. Mashed potatoes are made the day prior and put in a crockpot in the fridge to come out on Thursday morning and be warmed in the crockpot. Cold dishes are put in the fridge in the serving dishes along with the serving utensil so they can just be hauled out and placed on the sideboard when it's time for dinner. Since Tom needs to rest a good 30 minutes before carving, that is plenty of time to heat up the dishes to be served hot and transfer them to serving dishes. The serving dishes and utensils for them are already set up with post-its on them so any helpers know what to grab without having to ask me what goes in what.

DH and I set the tables the weekend before T-Day and put a sheet over them to keep things clean, and anything else that needs to be set-up prior like the bar area (except for the ice) and the appetizer table is set up and decorated as well.

I ask guests to bring appetizers so they can just bring them and put them on the table when they arrive. And any desserts that might want to contribute. They are served on whatever they were brought in. Some also bring extra food for dinner. That's fine with me as long as they are in charge of it. SIL always brings ham with a ham sauce and she knows she is responsible for heating it all up and getting it onto the table herself at a time when I'm not using the oven. Any food brought is served on what they are brought in as I'm not going to scrounge for extra trays or bowls. I do have lots of serving utensils so I will provide those, if needed.

Really, all I do on the big day is get up and stuff Tom, who was seasoned and buttered the night before, and pop him in the oven. When Tom is done cooking, DH puts him on the carving tray to rest. I remove the stuffing inside and mix it up with the stuffing that cooked in other containers on the side so the turkey juices get mixed into all of it (we like LOTS of stuffing) and then I put a towel over it to keep it warm. DH wranges a few guys to haul from the garage fridge everything that needs to come upstairs. They put the cold dishes on the sideboard and bring me the dishes that need heating up. I let whoever wants help me with putting the dishes in the oven or microwave to heat up and transfer to the identified serving bowls and put them on the sideboard. DH carves Tom and we sit down to eat. I keep plastic wrap and clean towels handy so if DH is taking a long time to carve, food is kept warm until time to whisk the covers off and serve.

After dinner, the guys help DH clear the table, scrape the dishes and put them in the DW (which we make sure is empty and ready to go). They start a load and then a few guests help me transfer food into whatever storage containers I've laid out for them and the guys transfer anything that needs to go into the garage fridge down there. All dishes that went fit in the DW or that I prefer to wash by hand are stacked next to the sink.

Then we sit down with our guests and visit, play games, and go back for seconds and thirds on desserts, as stomach room allows. If the weather is decent, a few of us usually also take a nice walk together and visit.

When the guests are gone, we either go to an alumni dance my town puts on T-Day night or to a friend's house to visit for awhile (an open invite each year). Sometime that night or the next day, we'll load the rest of the dishes in the DW and hand-wash what needs hand-washing. And sometime over the rest of the holiday weekend we'll put away the extra table and sideboard set up for food service.

I really don't do any special cleaning for company. I do my own version of Flylady's routines tweaked to work best for me so no extra cleaning is needed. The house is usually always company ready. The only thing we do is DH does a quick morning vacuum and checks the bathroom to ensure I haven't missed cleaning something in there, and then, after Tom is stuffed and in the oven, DH helps sweep the kitchen floor. Sometimes we do a quick steam mop, too, sometimes not. It depends on how much might have gotten spilled.

I figure I spend about 2-2.5 hours working on the big day itself but it's spread throughout the day so it's not a big deal.

If this helps anyone, great.

Oh, should add that at Noon on T-Day we head to the dividing line between our town and our rival town and participate in the annual Donneybrook.....a water-balloon fight between the two towns. Depending on weather, sometimes only about 30-40 people show up. Sometimes it's well over 100. It's a hoot and-a-half. DH filed over 200 water balloons himself this year so we were well-armed. So the way I spread the cooking out allows me to squeeze that in, too. We usually get home in just enough time before guests start arriving to change into dry clothes. :)

I, too, am sad to hear that the holidays don't bring people joy. One year, due to some family tragedies that happened too close to the holidays for us to get in the mood, we helped serve food at a homeless shelter. I wish we had time for that. Doing for others less fortunate is always a way to make me count my blessings and realize how fortunate I am. Now we usually do two dinners a month throughout the year because Christmas is too busy.

Regarding Christmas, this rotates around a bit more but we still do, at the very least, a nice brunch to eat between stockings and gift openings with special dishes and desserts/appetizers to enjoy before we head out to and/or return from other homes. If we are hosting, it runs pretty much like T-Day. I have always hated shopping so I try to pick up things throughout the year for stocking stuffers and then just give everybody a check so they can get what they want. We usually do at least one gift for somebody that is a series of clues to find in order to find the gift.

I love the holiday season and all the different parties and festivities leading up to it. And I enjoy the day(s), as Christmas is sometimes spread over several different days, whether we choose to be surrounded with family and friends or have a more intimate gathering with just immediate family. As we're all Seinfeld fans, we put a Festivus pole next to our tree, do the airing of grievances (never anything personal, all in fun), and then work off some of the food with contests of feats of strength like thumb-wrestling, leg-wrestling, arm-wrestling, who can do the most push-ups, who can jump highest, who can sit longest against the wall, who can keep their eyes open longest without blinking, who can hold their breath the longest, who can balance longest on one foot, yada yada. Sometimes, due to everyone's schedule the Festivus Celebration happens a few days before or after Christmas itself. We also usually have at least one long battle game of Risk and another of Monopoly sometime during that time. And, like T-Day, weather-permitting there might be a hike or a bike ride. If weather doesn't permit, there's usually a pool tournament or Twister. Sometimes charades. Somebody usually finds a way to incorporate my mom's classic Elvis impersonation into that which brings on the laughs (long story).

When the kids were growing up, I decided it wouldn't be all about the gifts as I observed my sister's family doing that and it grossed me out. When their kids would get 40-50 gifts (Oh MY!), DH and I knew we wanted to do it another way. We focus on having fun, sharing laughs, not the gifts. It works for us. We also give to our local book tree, hat/coat/glove tree, and toy trees. Christmas is about the giving, not the receiving, imho.

We keep Christmas very low key. MIL comes over Christmas Eve. We do mostly appetizers and will usually make a beef tenderloin roast (on the grill if weather permitting). Then on Christmas Day DH and I spend the day watching movies. It's really quite wonderful. All I really want is a day of peace, and I get it. DH has a busy week of work between Christmas and New Year's so he needs the downtime, too.

My parents are deceased, and my siblings are busy with their own children and grandchildren, so it's not like I feel have to travel as I did when my mother was still alive.

I do love Christmas, but not the manufactured assault that begins way too early and never seems to let up. I love the noncommercial, and yes, religious aspect of Christmas. Lots of holiday decorating exhausts me even to think about it. All the expectations and images of happy people in cute snowy houses giving a surprise Lexus with a bow on it.

I almost dread Christmas. I told someone at work the other day I was not a Christmasy-type person and he made a point of coming back to my office later to inquire about it. I hate the hype, just like several other have said. I am religious and resent the extreme commercialization of the holiday.

We do put up a tree and minimal decorations indoors, because our kids and grandson expect it. Our only decorations outdoors are winter decorations (greenery, etc.) and my manger scene. No snowmen or Santas or lights on the house. I am very happy when Christmas is over and I can take down the tree and put it away for another year.

While the true meaning of Christmas is important to me, I much prefer the message of Easter. (And in case you are wondering, I'm Presbyterian.)

I agree with much of what has been said about Christmas. I don't enjoy the actual decorating but love the house when it is done. I love how our grown kids react to the decor when they come home. I love the togetherness of Christmas. I don't even mind cooking for Christmas because there are lots of wonderful, delicious meals which can be put together with somewhat minimal effort. I'd really like to do away with gift giving unless I'm able to find something that I know the recipient wants and would be over-the-moon happy about in which case it's completely enjoyable. Otherwise it's a complete waste of my time and $$$. Most of us have everything we need and/or want.

Now that we've moved on to Christmas.... I am so over gifts. Both giving and receiving. DH and I stopped that years ago. We occasionally buy something for the other but just as a "I saw this and thought you'd like." thing. We don't wait until Christmas or birthdays to give it.

The whole overblown excess of Christmas really stresses DH. Dessert in my family is practically one per person. One pie or one cake, etc. per person when one pie and one cake would be enough to serve everyone. When younger brother hosts you can see how stressed out he is trying to pull the meal together. He is a good cook but it's a lot of work. His wife doesn't cook and he won't accept our help (that would be admitting he's not up to it). You can't just serve a simple meal in my family - partly (or maybe mostly) because the Martha Stewart wannabe in the family sets a high bar. Even I tend to overdo things when I have everyone over. I'm thinking of letting the whole production go on without us this year and just staying home.

We've cut back a lot on family gift-giving, although I love giving them.

My meal will be different than Thanksgiving (dinner, instead of lunch): Brown sugar ham, two-cheese macaroni (my DD's favorite!), and something roasted and green. We keep it simple. I'll do my egg/bacon potato casserole and fruit the night before, and just pop it in the oven for Christmas morning brunch.

I love putting up decor, not so much taking it down. :D But the thing I love most....DD being home from college for a few weeks! It'll be her last one, she graduates in May, so it's bittersweet this year. Empty nest syndrome hitting hard!

We're done with gifts too, except I transfer some money into my daughter's account and she can spend it however she wants. Just being practical.

I don't like the expanded Christmas season. I'll get a real tree about two weeks before Christmas and am usually ready to take it down the day after.

Littlebug, I'm with you about Easter.

I'm also over the whole gift thing, except that (as always) there are family dynamics in play--2 of us 5 sisters are unmarried/childless and the other 3 of us are sensitive to the fact that if we go the let's-just-buy-for-the-kids route, they are then left out of the fun of opening gifts. However now that the youngest of the kids is almost 16, and the others are young adults, that logic is fading as well. This year both my kids needed new phones, and partly because they didn't even think of asking us for help (and the new iPhones are sooooo pricey!) I decided to buy them as their holiday gift. My son and daughter were extremely grateful, it is a useful gift that really helps them and I'm quite happy with that result. I'm getting my husband a satellite tracking unit and annual service plan; he does back country canoeing in the Everglades and is frequently solo in some very remote areas. This is a gift for me as much as him :), because I'll be able to see where he, or at least his canoe, is at all times.

Otherwise, I sit and shake my head at the orgy of marketing and the pushing of all this STUFF at us for the holidays. Sheesh, right now I'm spending what free time I have in trying to get rid of stuff!

I'm getting some good ideas for a different Christmas dinner....Ham, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans.....that sounds like enough when served with a salad and dessert. No more endless sides!! I have one who doesnt eat pork, but he could eat leftover beef from Christmas Eve. But I dont have a recipe for mac and cheese; i dont make it because i dont eat it, but everyone else seems to love it. Any recommendations? Nothing too fancy, i am planning a pared down Christmas meal and dont want to be grating four or five cheeses, lol.

We like Ina Gerten's mac n cheese.

We also like this crockpot mac n cheese, but I usually substitute some Colby jack for some of the cheddar and throw in some extra cheese (maybe and extra 1/2 cup).

Mine is very easy, no grating! :D

I got it from a Land O Lakes cookbook, 20+ years ago. I sometimes double the recipe (9x13 size if I do), but here it is for six servings:

Home-Style Macaroni And Cheese

7-oz uncooked elbow macaroni

1/4 cup butter

3 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

8-oz cream cheese, softened

salt/pepper to taste

2 tsp dijon mustard

2 cups cubed cheddar cheese (Sometimes I buy already cubed, Kraft, I think)

_________________________________________________

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (I tear bread into pieces for this)

2 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp parsley (fresh chopped, or dried)

Heat oven to 400. Cook macaroni, drain. Meanwhile, in 3 qt saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter; stir in flour. Cook and stir over med heat until smooth and bubbly (1 min). Stir in milk, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard ... stir occasionally, until sauce is thickened (3-4 min). Stir in macaroni and cubed cheddar. Pour into 2 qt casserole dish. In small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients, sprinkle over macaroni and cheese. Bake for 15-20 min, or until golden brown and heated through. [If the bread browns too quickly, make a loose foil tent to cover.]

Picture from cookbook :D

Runninginplace said ...

"Because I deserve memories of something other than working a catering gig on Christmas Eve!"

Love it!! Me too.

I made quiches just to have around for company over the weekend, but I still have leftover gruyere and cheddar, so I think I will make some Mac n Cheese tonight, thx!

I agree with those who say you (the generic "you") may need to let your holidays evolve; a tough prescription because it is somewhat at odds with a desire many have for traditions.

I also agree that ThxG should be about more than just food (i love the line about post war glop) and Christmas about more than gifts (if you have to wrack your brain for them, something is wrong!)

Thanks for those great looking recipes! I am sure DH will not mind my using him as a taste test subject :-)

Honestly, it was a revelation to me (strikes forehead accompanied by a loud "duh" here) that we did not need all those extra dishes. What was I thinking??

Now I am almost looking forward to cooking for Christmas. I"ll get the standing rib roast from the butcher already prepared and ready to pop in the oven for Christmas Eve, and if I get a Honey Baked ham for the Christmas midday meal I have cut down my work by two thirds.

Southern Living's special December double issue has what looks like an easy recipe for Chocolate Peppermint cheesecake. I will probably make an apple pie and I can foist the cheesecake off onto our housekeeper. One Buche de Noel cake for Christmas Eve and we are set! Although that sounds like an awful lot of dessert.

Oakley, sorry for the hijack--- but your thread has certainly simplified my Christmas already, so thank you!!

One more mac and cheese recipe. I don't normally like mac and cheese, but with the addition of bacon and leeks, I changed my mind. Mac & cheese

Edited to add: This recipe contains a bit of nutmeg which I hate in savory dishes, so I left it out. YMMV.

That recipe looks interesting Linelle---I would never have used nutmeg with olive oil, that seems a bit contradictory. Do you even taste the nutmeg? I think I might leave that out as its flavor is so delicate and the bacon and leeks are very strong. Did you make it according to directions?

My family (except ds1) would agree that bacon makes everything just that much more yummy!

kswl, I'm so glad you mentioned the nutmeg. LEAVE IT OUT!! GAH!!! If I had typed this up myself, I would have omitted it. The only place I can stand nutmeg is sprinkled on eggnog. When people put it into savory dishes (quiche, creamed spinach, soufflé, lasagna, etc.) I think it's absolutely ruined.

I made it according to directions, except for the nutmeg. I took it as an assigned side dish to a smallish potluck at someone's home. It was a hit. It's grownup and quite rich. A little goes a long way. It's funny, originally the recipe had the leeks/bacon/breadcrumbs as a variation. It came out of an issue of Family Circle. When I finally hunted down the online version, the variation had been incorporated into the entire recipe.

Nutmeg has its place, but some recipes call for way too much. Fresh grated is best.

That's funny, I just made the Ina Mac n Cheese tonite. I thought it was interesting that it called for nutmeg; I usually put a bit of dry mustard in mac n cheese. We used nutmeg, though I doubt it was a tsp (it can be strong indeed); we grated it fresh and it's a pain to measure that way (I also eyeballed the salt and pepper, and no way I used 1T of salt, yikes!). Made it with leftover gruyere, aged gouda and cheddar.

Yum. Kids were impressed as I usually make "fake mac n cheese"; I just cook some elbows, toss in a soupcon of butter and salt, press into a pie dish, cover w grated cheese and broil. A lot lighter, a lot quicker, and they still get what they want most (bubbling cheesy crust).

I love Ina and most of her recipes, but she always uses WAY too much salt. I often halve her salt amounts.

My mom always made M&C with sour cream and green onions instead of white sauce and cheese over the top. It needs a piquant element.

Yes, to relieve the richness.

Oakley, It might be time to change it up. Why make 7 sides (2 the night before) when going next door to your son's house, even if all were requested? Simplify and have the conversation with your family now. Your DH can continue to make the pies and you can continue to buy a cake. What else can you do to make YOU happy?

My epiphany? Although saddened by those not with us this year, we carried on and had a very traditional dinner. Our daughters' all contributed (pies, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes), DH made his traditional cranberry sauce. I roasted a stuffed turkey, made butternut squash, peas and heated store-bought rolls. This year I made a breakfast strata of sausage and egg (per request of one DD who came the night before.)

Sometimes less IS more. For Christmas, we are planning on another family tradition: French toast strata for breakfast, followed by beef tenderloin mid-afternoon with a couple of sides.

My motto: keep it simple, enjoy it more!

I usually omit the nutmeg, though I have made it with it as well. And I admit that unless I'm baking, I never measure salt (and pepper). . . .

I like a bit of nutmeg in super rich dishes. My Italian grandma neighbors taught me to put it in lasagna and manicotti as well. I honestly don't know if it makes a big difference but I like to use it because it smells so good.

I never make mac and cheese although I do love it. I can't bring myself to make it good, Sweetie Pie style!

This was my first Thanksgiving as a retired person! It was so nice to have several days to shop, prep, cook sides in advance - made a world of difference! I shopped on Tuesday, cleaned a little on Wednesday; did all advance work on Thursday (we had our big meal on Friday - extended family issues). I made desserts the day before, peeled the potatoes and soaked in cold water, chopped and diced onions and celery and anything that I needed, made some salads, made refrigerator yeast rolls, etc. I honestly don't know how I ever pulled it off before! For years I had to work Wednesday, but it did get better when we started scheduling Wednesday as part of the Thanksgiving break (school system).

My epiphany occurred last year after eating turkey at my DIL's house where the turkey had been prepared in a turkey roaster when she hosted an early Christmas get-together for her side of the family. I came home immediately and ordered me a Nesco roaster. It has been my life saver; turkey is delicious; cooks faster; very moist and tender; but the BIG PLUS is it frees up my oven. For all you ladies who struggle with oven space, you need a turkey roaster. It works great for ham also.

I am with linelle-- I really dislike nutmeg in most dishes. I understand what it is to do but the taste and smell are just SO sharp to me I have a similar reaction to cardamon but I do like it in small doses-- nutmeg? no.

I was not a big fan of mac and cheese until I made it with cauliflower. It's just too rich and decadent. I make it with cauliflower, shallots, pasta shells (vs macaroni).. i usually use an aged irish cheddar and gruyere. Panko on top. I'd think fontina would work well too. I use fontina and gruyere in my quiches.

We have mac and cheese at TG -- and most family gatherings-- but only because my sister's kids don't like potatoes or stuffing.

Looking up the Nesco roaster, there are reports that it used to be well made but they have cheaped out with the newer ones. Does the unit seem solid to you, Tuesday_2008? Which one did you get? I see a ceramic model but people talk of aluminum and teflon.

I got this one: Nesco Roaster

Oops - Just checked - cheaper on Amazon - $67.20 and free shipping

Love mine; don't have anything to compare it to. My DIL used an older Nesco that her mom had picked up at a thrift store and I knew I wanted one like it. It seems just like the older one - not really sure. When researching, I read that Nesco was the original maker of these type of roasters, so that is why I went with it. Mine will hold up to a 22 pound turkey.

If you get one, make sure you follow the directions to "cure" it on high heat for about an hour before using the first time.

I think it is aluminum.

Is the inside of the roaster ceramic too?

I have a Nesco, it's about 20 years old and I've hardly used it. It doesn't brown meat. Tuesday, did you do anything to get your turkey to brown?

Sorry I've been MIA, we lost power Saturday and got it back last night. Lots to catch up on!

I love my electric roaster (Betty Crocker brand).

No, it doesn't brown exactly like an oven, but we put the turkey in on the highest setting, for 30 min, then turn the temperature down .... that does sear and lightly brown the skin. You can also put the meat in your regular oven the last 30 min of cooking time, to brown it (or under the broiler for a few minutes).

I have a betty crocker roaster too- bought maybe 15 years ago at Home Depot for $29. Came with an electric knife too. LOVE IT! I could not do Thanksgiving without it. I have always had a turkey brown just fine in it. Not crunchy crisp like a deep fried but browned fine over the whole turkey. And so simple! Just prep and put it in and forget.

I never had compliments on my turkey until I started using that roaster ...;) Oh and it is great for making a vat of chili for a crowd. It functions like a giant crock pot.

Funkyart, I don't even understand what nutmeg is supposed to do in savory dishes. To me, it is out of place and discordant, like adding vanilla to creamed tuna.

Not a fan of nutmeg either. I love homemade (baked) mac and cheese, especially the yummy breadcrumbs, but rarely make it. Oh the calories! I'm as southern as they come, but mac & cheese is something I've never thought of for a holiday meal??? I have a good friend who loves the crock pot mac & cheese and I made it once, but (to us) it wasn't near as good as the baked. Too fluffy if that makes any sense!

"Nutmeg is also frequently used in savory meat-based dishes, where it
subtly enhances and rounds out the flavor. You'll see it in sausage
mixes, lasagnas, and ragus. Nutmeg also pairs very well with winter squash and dark leafy greens.

In either sweet or savory dishes, a little bit of nutmeg goes a long
way - especially when you're grating it fresh. Most recipes call for a
mere 1/8 teaspoon!"

Source: nutmeg

I love nutmeg! DH hates it and says it's only okay to put nutmeg in pumpkin pie. I said, "But you don't like pumpkin pie." And he says, "Exactly." What a butt.

Nutmeg is used to enhance other flavors in savory dishes. If you can taste it, you've put too much. DH eats it all the time and has no idea.

Oakley my turkey was lightly browned. The directions says to turn the oven on higher temp for the first and last 30 minutes.