petitefrancaise

For the first time ever, I'm cooking thanksgiving dinner this year..

I have the Turkey and a lovely recipe for cooking it.

Apple pie has won the vote for dessert.

What about "sides" though? My lot had sweetpotato with marshmallows in it at a friend's last year. They loved it whereas I thought it disgustingly sweet....

What are the rest of you eating?

jjmb

Grand-daughter is in New Mexico with her Dad and his family. Son is working and his wife will celebrate with her relatives. Eldest daughter is going to relax at home and visit friends. Youngest daughter is going to possibly 2 Thanksgiving meals but probably one. Thinking along the lines of Duck for dinner as there is just about enough meat on one for 2 for a meal. So just another lazy day except for the 5/10k run we will do in the morning (if it doesn't rain).

Have never celebrated Thanksgiving ourselves although I have been invited to 2. First one in Maine with the family of a friend who lives in Mass, was brilliant and exactly as I imagine it would be. They even played football (us) after dinner and everyone gave thanks before eating. That was the November before we moved over here. After that visit, I resolved never to live in the US again (I had lived in Mass 10 yrs previously). Day I arrived home, my DH announced he had been asked to do a temporary assignment in Texas in the New Year if the company agreed. Actually took 4 months for the company to agree to move and then we were given 3 weeks notice! The 2nd, when we had lived here for a while, was a damp squid.

Christmas is our big celebration as TG means nothing to us, even the TV is rubbish.

Leslie

Prime rib
Mashed Potatoes
Peas in Cream
Sautéed mushrooms
Mac'n Cheese (the real thing)
Dinner rolls

For starters:
Shrimp cocktail
Guacamole and chips


For enders: Clogged arteries, heart attack, ambulance ride.

Rete

We have the prime rib for Christmas Dinner. For Thanksgiving it is:

Turkey
Dressing
Mashed White Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes (not the mashed topped with marsh mallow thing)
Brussel Sprouts with bacon
Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Turkey Gravy

Apple Pie
Chocolate Cake

Apps:

Pigs in a Blanket
Assortment of cheeses and crackers
Veggies with a ranch dressing dip

Going to brine the turkey this year for the first time.

Jerseygirl

I've never cooked a TG meal...to us it's just another day as Christmas is our big holiday. Even though we are now in Canada our daughter likes to celebrate US TG...as she says we have a lot to be grateful for...and she's right of course. So we will be celebrating at our local restaurant.

Leslie

Do whatever sides you like generally. Something green is nice since everything else tends to be brown or white. Asparagus or broccoli is nice.

Rete

I'm a Thanksgiving over Christmas gal. I love having friends and family at the TG table even if we only give thanks silently. Christmas is a mass of confusion with gifts and making sure that no grandchild gets more or less than the other 3 grandkids. Besides, my German heritage meant that we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. We had out German/Polish meal, went to midnight mass when we kids were old enough and opened our gifts first thing in the morning and had a great big breakfast afterwards.

I'm with Leslie re: the sides. Whatever you and your family enjoy eating is what should be on the table to be enjoyed. So many great veggies to be enjoyed from root veggies to the usual suspects of green beans (not that Campbell green bean casserole) and corn. Just as whether you make dressing or you stuff the bird is a personal and sometimes a regional choice as is the choice of what ingredients you use, i.e. chestnuts, corn bread, oysters, apples, cranberries, sausage, giblets, etc. Cater your Thanksgiving meal to your personal likes.

Leslie

Me too. I love Thanksgiving and pretty much dread Christmas. I'm doing prime rib because it's a small group and I'm not going to go through the trauma of a turkey for no reason.

FWIW, I started brining my turkeys about 7-8 years ago and I won't do it any other way now. Huge difference in my mind. What kind of brine are you using?

Nutmegger

Turkey
Yams sauteed with ginger/onion/lemon
Sprouts with bacon/shallots/chestnuts
Rice pilaf with spring onions/pinto beans/pine nuts
UK-style stuffing with onion/celery parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme cooked separately in a shallow dish so the outside is good and crispy

Pumpkin pie and cream

Mass quantities of shiraz

Rete

Found one online which calls for vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary, thyme. Boil the brine first so that salt is dissolved, let cool, add the ice and then the turkey breast side down and place in frig for 12 hours.

Any suggestions?

Leslie

The only thing that I can really think of is that if the turkey isn't almost completely immersed you should turn a couple of times with the last time being breast down. Otherwise you'll get a different texture/moisture in the skin.

Also, be careful of oversalting. Since the brine itself will be salty make sure the vegetable broth is low sodium. Then you might not want to salt the bird itself prior to baking. I almost got into trouble one year but it was okay ... but just barely. The mistake I made was following my normal recipe after brining, which meant I buttered and salted the skin. Also, since I use the turkey drippings for gravy, with all of the other salt I had added along the way, the gravy ended up being too salty. The turkey was good though. Nowadays, if I brine with salt (I use equal parts salt and sugar but you do whatever you like) I will butter the skin with no-salt butter and herbs but not any additional salt. The salt in the brine definitely permeates the skin and meat.

Pica

buttermilk with seasoning & herbs for an overnight brine. if you can't get buttermilk, fullfat milk with fresh lemon juice left to sit a little while.

Rete

I've never salted my bird. I appreciate the advice about turning it in the brine a few things to even things out as I have a 19 pounder this year. I send lots of leftovers home with my guests.

I use the drippings for my gravy, as well. So I will continue with not using salt on the bird itself before roasting and just go with the salt in the brine.

Rete

I've never used buttermilk in my life for anything. I will save this for a roast chicken perhaps instead of the turkey and give it a whirl.

Leslie

You'll be fine then and the gravy will be yum.

It's actually difficult to oversalt a turkey, you have to try really hard. Nobody else thought the gravy was too salty but I knew it wasn't right ... they're all addicted to processed food though so they think everything should taste like a bucket of salt.