Lord Lionheart

There's a joke in there somewhere, "Jamie, access to fresh sausage, stuffing, fragrant "

AmerLisa

Oooh thanks Rushman, I wondered why mine weren't rising.

yorkshirelass

We just do a traditional English Christmas dinner minus the crackers and pud for our Thanksgiving meal!!! Just add pumpkin pie with some freshly whipped cream and you are done!

Just Jenney

Ok, here's what I usually do for Thanksgiving...

TURKEY
The key to making a great turkey is making sure is stays MOIST. Several years ago I got a tip from a friend on how to do this; he got this tip from watching a Julia Child cooking show on tv and was too lazy to look for the remote to change the channel...

After you wash the turkey and all that stuff, you want to take your hands and VERY GENTLY separate the skin from the bird. You don't want to totally remove the skin -- just open up some space under there. Then wash your hands thoroughly.

Then, get a big bowl out and fill it with softened butter (although I usually use margarine right out of the tub; much easier). The amount of butter/margarine you use will depend on the size of the turkey, but figure about 1-2 cups. Add whatever spices you like. Salt, pepper, garlic salt, poultry seasoning, etc. The amount of spices you put in depends on the amount of butter/margarine you've put in the bowl. I just eyeball it, really.

Now for the fun/messy part: Using your hands, smush it all together, mix it up really well. Then take wads of it and CAREFULLY push it under the loosened turkey skin. Do this all over the turkey, as far back as you can reach. And don't be stingy about it -- get that butter layer at least 1/4 inch thick.

Once you're done, the turkey is ready to go in the oven. (Some people stuff it, others don't; that's up to you. But if you do stuff it, do so AFTER you put the butter on.)

As the turkey roasts, all that butter will melt and the turkey meat will soak it up like a sponge. Some people I've told about this method think it's disgusting, but I'm telling you, it really keeps the turkey moist. You don't even have to baste it because it's essentially self-basting already.

A co-worker told me once that what she does is put strips of bacon all over the top of the turkey before she cooks it, and that also keeps it moist (plus adds a bit of extra flavor, I guess). I've never tried that method but maybe will this year.

YAM/MARSHMALLOW THINGIE
The other thing I'm always in charge of making for Thanksgiving in our family is the yam/marshmallow thingie. I buy some canned sweetened yams and mash them up in a bowl, making sure I take out any "eyes" that happened to sneak in there. Then I add some maple syrup and some brown sugar, and that's pretty much it as far as that part goes. Again, I just eyeball everything so I don't have exact measurements. It's easy enough to do a taste test as you're making it. Some people like it really sweet, others don't; I like it somewhere in the middle. Once the yam concoction is ready, I spread it in a casserole dish, cover it with tiny marshmallows, then bake it for about 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are toasted. Yum!

~ Jenney

geordiegirl2

only if you have a certain kind of mind!!!!

Celsius

You may be experience altitude problems...

Sophia_S

I also seperate the skin from the breast and rub in a mix of lots of garlic and Mrs.Dash (garlic/herb blend),and butter,it definately helps to keep the turkey moist,I also use the roasting bags,and sit the turkey on top of some chunks of carrot,onion and celery in the bag as well(I also heard, or saw, something about starting roasting a turkey or chicken breast-side down then turning it right side up!...it works!....but...turning a huge, steaming, hot turkey is not the easiest thing in the world!,so I went back to using the bags!)
I also do roast potatoes and roast sweet potatoes,I wash the potatoes but I don't peel them just chunk them,and peel the sweet potatoes and chunk them,put them into a microwave safe bowl cover with cling film and cook for about 8 minutes to soften them,then drain them,toss them with olive oil,season them with the same garlic herb blend,and roast them in the oven as well until they're golden and crispy,I also cook either acorn or butternut squash,in the microwave(I peel the butternut squash before chunking it and cooking it),then mash it with a little bit of butter and brown sugar,and always do the famous green bean casserole,but I use thawed frozen french-cut green beans and mix the french's fried onions in with the mix,and,of course,cranberry sauce and gravy.I don't eat dessert,but the Don's(husband and son) have pumpkin pie and cool whip....I never understand how they have room for it after the Thanksgiving meal!...Hope everyone has a GREAT Thanksgiving!......Sophia(IL)

CaliforniaBride

Yep, you're full of it. It's in the water apparently.

CaliforniaBride

Karma for posting about the worst example of what passes for food? Shame on you? Hubby actually had a strop when I told him no way was I serving that crap for my first thanksgiving!!! Shame on you girlie!!!!

CaliforniaBride

That is it!!! I despair!!

CaliforniaBride

For the PERFECTLY moist turkey follow this recipe from Weber's Art of the Grill Cookbook. I bought the book for my barbeque king of a hubby and that recipe just rocks!

It's ALL in the brining!!

• Indirect/Medium Heat
  
• For the Brine:
  
• 2 quarts apple juice
  
• 1 pound brown sugar
  
• 1 cup kosher salt
  
• 3 oranges, quartered
  
• 4 ounces fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  
• 15 whole cloves
  
• 6 bay leaves
  
• 6 large cloves garlic, crushed
  
• 
  
• 1 turkey, 12 to 14 pounds
  
• Vegetable oil for brushing turkey
  
• Cotton string for trussing turkey
  
• Roasting rack
  
• Heavy-gauge foil pan
  
• Hickory chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minu
  
  

• In a large saucepan over high heat, bring the apple juice, brown sugar, and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Cook for 1 minutes, remove from the heat, and skim off the foam. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
  
• In a 5-gallon plastic bucket or other container large enough to easily hold the turkey, combine 3 quarts of water, the oranges, ginger, cloves, bay leaves, and garlic. Add the apple juice mixture and stir.
  
• Remove and discard the fat from the turkey cavity. Reserve the neck and giblets for another use. Rinse the turkey inside and out, drain, and submerge the turkey in the brine. If necessary, top with a heavy weight to make sure it is completely immersed. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
  
• Follow the grill's instructions for using wood chips. Set up the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat.
  
• Remove the turkey from the brine and pat with paper towels until very dry. Tie the legs together with button string. Lightly brush the turkey with vegetable oil, and place on a roasting rack set inside a heavy-gauge foil pan. Cook indirectly over medium heat. When the wings are golden brown, about 40 minutes, wrap them with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Brush the rest of the turkey with vegetable oil. When the turkey breasts are golden brown, about 1 hour, cover the turkey with aluminum foil to prevent the skin from getting too brown. The turkey is done when its juices run clear, the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thighs is about 180 degrees F, and the internal temperature of the breast is about 165 degrees F. Figure 12 to 14 minutes per pound.
  
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board or platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. The pan drippings may be used to make gravy.
  
  

For Veggies try these:

Tori Spelling's Green Beans

10 slices bacon

½ pound fresh green beans

4 tbsp unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until partly cooked but NOT crisp.

Heat a saucepan of water to boiling and add the green beans. Boil for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Arrange groups of 4 to 5 beans in the prepared pan. Wrap each bundle with a slice of bacon.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, until the sugar melts. Brush the mixture over the bean bundles. Bake about 15 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through and beans are tender but a little crisp. Yield 10 servings.

For Cranberry Sauce:

Oh bugger, hubby's gone into Delia mode and is throwing his recipes at me like a whirling dervish, can't cope, may add some later...

Aaargh he's back with dessert now!!!

Rushman

That's about as authentic as "Paris Hilton's knitting patterns"!!!

I bet Tori Spelling doesnt even know where her kitchen is!!

gruffbrown

Conzuela will show her, if she needs to find it

CaliforniaBride

Authentic? If that's what you were looking for you weren't going to find it claimed in my post, please reread.

In the meantime here's something to satisfy that stirrin in yer loins:

...dishes were placed on the table and guests served and carved for themselves. Since forks were unknown in English households, eating utensils were limited to a personal knife, a spoon and a large napkin. The napkin was used not only to clean one's mouth and fingers, but also to pick up hot morsels of food, or to hold a roast for carving. Guests took the food they wished from each serving dish and ate it immediately, or they placed portions on their own trenchers. Trenchers (wooden plates) were frequently shared with a "trencher mate." A typical Protestant grace before the meal was another important element of such a dinner."

And if that's not enough I refer you to Google 'traditional turkey recipes'.

Celsius

Curious. First item on recipe above is bacon. Isn't Tori Spelling Jewish?