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Thanksgiving Menu! What's yours?


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What's reindeer mash?

 

 

 

 

Hmmmm...it is kinda like chex mix, but I use the quacker oatmeal squares. In a large skillet I melt enough butter to coat the cereal, (sorta sauteeing them) and then I add dill, lemon pepper, garlic and whatever else strikes my fancy. ;) Because of the dill they usually come out greenish, hence it becoming a holiday snack.

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Holy moly mouse, between the two of us we could feed a thousand people.

 

Ours keeps growing. My mother found a 28 pound turkey LOL.

 

Main - Turkey, spiral sliced ham

 

Sides:

Stuffing - bacon and leek , and some stuffed in the turkey

scalloped potatoes

fairly plain sweet potatoes

homemade buttery sourdough rolls

A vegetable gratin

 

a relish tray with deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, olives/pickles

 

Pies:

apple

cherry

pumpkin

sernik - a Polish cheese cake made with fresh cheese

 

ETA: OH yeah and something with butternut squash. And I'm very proud that we grew the pumpkins for the pies this year

 

You just made me realize I have leeks coming in my Azure Standard order tonight. Yeah!!!! I can add leeks to the stuffing!!! :D I knew there was a great reason to start this thread.

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Our church is holding a Thanksgiving Dinner at noon on Thursday. They are providing the turkey and ham, and we are bringing creamed onions, mashed turnips, crandberry chutney, gf cocolate peanut butter cookies, and sugar cookies. I'm looking forward to seeing (and tasting) what everyone else is bringing!

 

Okay, what are creamed onions? :)

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It's just the kids and I this year and I wanted to pare it down but the kids nixed that idea.

 

 

 

 

Exactly! If I didn't make what I'm making, they'd all be like, "But where's the____? Aren't you going to make____? It's just not Thanksgiving without_____!" I've tried it, believe me.

 

If I make tunafish for lunch, the kids will ask where the pickles are, and my Dh will ask what happened to the chips.

 

Food is important here. Not much else is. :tongue_smilie: I acquiesce because we all hang out around the table talking and enjoying eachother's company during the meals.

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Chinese food, at the beach, if the weather cooperates. If not, Chinese food in front of the fireplace at home.

 

Yes, I'm serious. My mom and sister are doing Thanksgiving with their church people, my brother goes to a friend's, my MIL is busy, etc., so it is just the four of us.

 

We might do a "second string" Thanksgiving later on, with roasted chicken, cranberry relish, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, a big salad, pumpkin pie, and the Winter Mince pie from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors.

 

I'm busy planning out my XMas Eve menu, when all the family comes over, so I'll share that instead. We do lots of finger foods:

 

Baked ham

Bacon-wrapped jalapeno thingies

Tomato-parmesan tartlets

Cucumber-salmon bites

Caramelized onion bruschetta

Mushroom turnovers (Trader Joe's, these are the only appetizers I don't make myself)

Crudites with a Greek yogurt dip

A big green salad with avocado, fresh mandarin orange wedges, and a citrusy dressing

 

Mini salted caramel cheesecakes (I'm making them in a mini-muffin pan, so they'll be very small)

Winter-mince tartlets

And a Buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms. I add crushed candy-canes to the filling.

 

Oh my, this sounds delectable. I think I will try some of these. Thanks for the links!

BTW, I also do a buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms. I use a recipe from The Cake Bible, Beranbaum.

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We’re hosting but I’m not sure what everyone else is bringing.

 

My BIL is deep-frying a turkey and I think he might be doing sweet-potato fries.

 

I am making:

Baked Brie appetizer

mashed potatoes

Cranberry sauce

Pumpkin cake for dessert.

 

There were various emails about what everyone else is bringing and some arguing over who has dibs on which dish. :) But I think there will be a green-bean casserole, creamed spinach from Boston Market and maybe stuffing. Probably an apple pie. It’s very traditional and a little boring but it’s also the kind of family where everyone will say where is _______? about their one particular favorite dish so it’s easier just to have what people want.

 

Every year my dh wants something non-traditional. He would love to have Asian food of some kind and tries to guilt me into thinking I’m too conventional. But it’s his Chinese-American family that wants the traditional food. We could have bulgogi but we’d also have to have turkey. He may still do something outside the box but he volunteers at our church's Turkey Trot in the morning so doesn’t have a lot of time. He may buy spring rolls from his favorite Vietnamese store if they are open.

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Spiced Pumpkin Soup (from local gourmet shop)

 

Herb Roasted Turkey, Shiitake Mushroom Gravy

Sausage, Chestnut & Apple Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce & Cranberry Relish

 

Roasted Vegetables (baby potatoes, shallots, carrots)

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Maple-Sage Glaze

Braised Brussels Sprouts with marjoram and pine nuts

Onions with Currant, Port and Balsamic Glaze

Mashed potatoes, if dc insist

 

Watercress, Pear, and Walnut Salad

 

Sweet Potato Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze http://www.epicuriou...ar-Icing-104322

Cranberry Upside-down Cake

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Fruit bowl

maybe buy a pie of some sort

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There's only three of us this year, and one of us has a stomach the size of a walnut, so we're not having too much food, though we'll still be eating leftovers for days.

 

Honey-glazed ham

Mashed potatoes

Cranberry salad

Green bean casserole

Homemade dinner rolls

Pumpkin pie

Blueberry pie

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We were supposed to be in our new house but we are not yet. :( We are keeping it simple -

 

Turkey breast from Honeybaked Ham store

Zucchini casserole

Mashed potatoes

Rolls

Cranberry sauce

Pumpkin Pie

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Just the five of us this year. And a torn-up kitchen :glare: as we wait for our new sink and counter to be installed AFTER Thanksgiving. (Then why did you tell me to go ahead and demo the old tile??!). I suggested going out for dinner this year and was immediately out-voted. "We can do this!" So, with plastic sheeting on the exposed plywood and spices packed in boxes in the bathroom...

 

Turkey (DH grills it on the Weber each year—yum!), gravy from drippings

Mashed potatoes with carmelized shallots

Stuffing

Green Beans with toasted almonds

Fresh Orange-Cranberry Sauce

Biscuits (I've done homemade, but DD and DH prefer Pillsbury!)

I'll probably add roasted brussels sprouts and a green salad

We'll nix the sweet potatoes this year; no one eats them

 

Pumpkin Cheesecake; maybe I'll put a splash of my homemade vanilla in the whipped cream (hope it doesn't still taste like vodka! :laugh: )

Chardonnay or Pinot Noir for adults

Martinelli's for kids (and no knock-off will do for DD)

Coffee

 

My kids all love to cook and have chosen which items they want to make, so I will probably mostly be hovering and sampling.

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You just made me realize I have leeks coming in my Azure Standard order tonight. Yeah!!!! I can add leeks to the stuffing!!! :D I knew there was a great reason to start this thread.

 

 

I have leeks in my freezer. Reading that made me want to pull them out, too. Mmmm...

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We do things a bit differently... but it's Thanksgiving dinner just the same!

 

Chickpea cutlets with mushroom sauce

Roasted broccoli

Mashed potatoes

Broccoli salad - yeah, we really love our broccoli around here!

Sausage apple cranberry stuffing - our first year attempting this with a vegan sausage

Dinner rolls

Cranberry sauce

 

I have a couple of vegan pumpkin pie recipes that we wanted to try out so the kids and I drew numbers. We're each going to make one, from a different recipe, and then vote on which recipe gets to stick around.

 

Wine for DH and I, spiced apple cider for kiddos. We'll probably all end up with water, though. Maybe hot chocolate later in the evening with pie.

 

ETA: Butternut squash soup! I can't believe I forgot to put that in there. We LOVE butternut squash soup!

 

 

 

My new SIL is doing most of the cooking so I don't know details, but at least I have a menu.

 

Turkey

bread stuffing

mashed potatoes

pan dripping gravy

steamed green beans in a garlic butter sauce

candied sweet potatoes

rolls

sweet corn and/or early peas

cranberry gel and relish

fruit salad with whipped cream and marshmallows

 

pumpkin, pecan, apple pies

lots of coffee

 

 

How do you make the roasted broccoli?

 

Steamed green beans and garlic butter sauce sounds good...how do you make it exactly?

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Spiced Pumpkin Soup (from local gourmet shop)

 

Herb Roasted Turkey, Shiitake Mushroom Gravy

Sausage, Chestnut & Apple Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce & Cranberry Relish

 

Roasted Vegetables (baby potatoes, shallots, carrots)

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Maple-Sage Glaze

Braised Brussels Sprouts with marjoram and pine nuts

Onions with Currant, Port and Balsamic Glaze

Mashed potatoes, if dc insist

 

Watercress, Pear, and Walnut Salad

 

Sweet Potato Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze http://www.epicuriou...ar-Icing-104322

Cranberry Upside-down Cake

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Fruit bowl

maybe buy a pie of some sort

This sound heavenly!!!! Dh just walked in with Brie and crusty bread. He knows that in my family you do not eat before the meal except for a snack tray of fruits, brie, french bread and wine!

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We are going to try and stay as close to Paleo as possible....

My baking will be grain and dairy ( but not egg ) free.

 

Turkey

sweet potato stuffing

Paleo rolls

Asparagus

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Large tossed salad

Mashed potatoes

Carrots

Apple sauce

Cranberry sauce

 

Raw Chocolate un-cheesecake

Pumpkin pie ( using coconut milk rather than dairy milk )

 

Dd is making pumpkin lattes and I am making pumpkin shots :-)

Wine, beer and apple juice.

 

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I would love to try everyone's menu. They sound so good. This is what we are having:

 

Deep fried turkey

Ham-one with a peach glaze, still not sure on the other one

Corn bread dressing

Yellow squash-from mom's freezer

Turnip greens

Corn salad

Cranberry sauce-from a can:)

Broccoli and rice casserole

English pea salad

Rolls

Carrot cake

Cranberry salad -cool whip style

Pecan pie

Buttermilk pie

Key lime pie

Cranberry salad

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Oh my, this sounds delectable. I think I will try some of these. Thanks for the links!

BTW, I also do a buche de Noel with meringue mushrooms. I use a recipe from The Cake Bible, Beranbaum.

 

Why have I not heard of this buche de Noel? Obviously there is some history behind it. What is it?

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How do you freeze your leeks?

 

Well, I just trimmed and cleaned them and put them in a ziploc. This is actually my first time trying it, so I'm hoping they come out. I read a few places on the internet that you could just do that. Other places said to blanch them, but that was too much work for me if you can just put them in as is. I hope they froze ok!

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My rote feast is as follows:

 

20+ pound turkey roasted in convection oven

Two pans of green onion and cornbread dressing

Whole berry cranberry sauce

Already prepared brown gravy

Dinner rolls

Green beans

Mashed potato casserole

Corn casserole

Roasted brussel sprouts

Roasted sweet potatoes (maybe)

Fruit salad

Two bakery apples pies

Vanilla ice cream

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Why have I not heard of this buche de Noel? Obviously there is some history behind it. What is it?

 

We always called them Yule logs. My dad's family (British) always had one when he was growing up and he kept up the tradition in our family. Buche de Noel is the fancier (probably original), French name. It's cake baked in a jelly roll pan, usually rolled up with cream and sometimes cream and jam, and iced with log-like flourishes. Ambitious folk make little stumpy branches and elements like piped and baked meringue or icing mushrooms.

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Spiced Pumpkin Soup (from local gourmet shop)

 

Herb Roasted Turkey, Shiitake Mushroom Gravy

Sausage, Chestnut & Apple Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce & Cranberry Relish

 

Roasted Vegetables (baby potatoes, shallots, carrots)

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Maple-Sage Glaze

Braised Brussels Sprouts with marjoram and pine nuts

Onions with Currant, Port and Balsamic Glaze

Mashed potatoes, if dc insist

 

Watercress, Pear, and Walnut Salad

 

Sweet Potato Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze http://www.epicuriou...ar-Icing-104322

Cranberry Upside-down Cake

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Fruit bowl

maybe buy a pie of some sort

 

*swoon*

 

Have you tried David Lebovitz's pumpkin ice cream? holee chipmunks. I still have a hidden stash in my freezer...

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We always called them Yule logs. My dad's family (British) always had one when he was growing up and he kept up the tradition in our family. Buche de Noel is the fancier (probably original), French name. It's cake baked in a jelly roll pan, usually rolled up with cream and sometimes cream and jam, and iced with log-like flourishes. Ambitious folk make little stumpy branches and elements like piped and baked meringue or icing mushrooms.

 

The whole "mushrooms" thing is throwing me off! :) I am off to google.

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Cajun Turkey

Honey Baked Smoked Ham

Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Giblet Gravy

Green Bean Casserole

Corn on the Cob

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Fruit Salad

Chocolate Cheese Cake

White Chocolate Cheese Cake

Cheese Cake

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Chocolate - Cheese Cake Dream Pie.

 

My nephews fiance is bringing deviled eggs.

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We are going to try and stay as close to Paleo as possible....

My baking will be grain and dairy ( but not egg ) free.

 

Turkey

sweet potato stuffing

Paleo rolls

Asparagus

Roasted Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Large tossed salad

Mashed potatoes

Carrots

Apple sauce

Cranberry sauce

 

Raw Chocolate un-cheesecake

Pumpkin pie ( using coconut milk rather than dairy milk )

 

Dd is making pumpkin lattes and I am making pumpkin shots :-)

Wine, beer and apple juice.

 

 

Do you have a recipe for the Sweet Potato Stuffing? That sounds really different!

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Why have I not heard of this buche de Noel? Obviously there is some history behind it. What is it?

 

Bûche de Noël -- to put the accents in -- is very French. It is time consuming to make, as you have cake, filling, frosting, and (optional) mushrooms. The Cake Bible takes you through it step by step in four multi-page recipes. No extraordinary skills are required, just patience.

 

Pix is our last year's buche de noel -- sort of harsh lighting, because it is just in the kitchen, but it gives you the idea, I hope. I have no idea how to make the pix bigger....

 

post-6237-0-04943800-1353470304_thumb.png

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Bûche de Noël -- to put the accents in -- is very French. It is time consuming to make, as you have cake, filling, frosting, and (optional) mushrooms. The Cake Bible takes you through it step by step in four multi-page recipes. No extraordinary skills are required, just patience.

 

OMG, I was able to copy & paste! It was so easy. Pix is our last year's buche de noel -- sort of harsh lighting, because it is just in the kitchen, but it gives you the idea, I hope.

 

 

Well, it showed up for me on preview post. I will try again.

 

post-6237-0-04943800-1353470304_thumb.png

 

Awesome! I love cake decorating, but have been feeling very BLAH about it lately. Maybe it is because I am French, but this is one cake I would like to make a tradition for the kids. It has been years since I have had one.

 

In my family, Grandpa always made crepes on Christmas morning. :)

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*swoon*

 

Have you tried David Lebovitz's pumpkin ice cream? holee chipmunks. I still have a hidden stash in my freezer...

 

No (not yet). I bypassed the Edy's and got something from Adirondack Creamery -- new brand for me. I will look for David Lebovitz -- but I see from his website that he seems to live in Paris, where I (unfortunately) am not.

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Awesome! I love cake decorating, but have been feeling very BLAH about it lately. Maybe it is because I am French, but this is one cake I would like to make a tradition for the kids. It has been years since I have had one.

 

In my family, Grandpa always made crepes on Christmas morning. :)

 

Oh, you are French -- what a great heritage! The buche is not difficult. My only advice would be to use good chocolate for the ganache frosting. Personally, I like Lindt bittersweet.

 

http://www.lindtusa.com/product-exec/product_id/86/category_id/21/nm/Swiss_Bittersweet_Bar

 

Cheap chocolate -- obviously not. But there can be problems (not creamy enough) with chocolate that has too high a cocoa content -- at least for me.

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Turkey

Stuffing (with cornbread of course)

mashed potatos and gravy from the pan drippings

green bean casserole (my dd had it at my sis's house one year and now it is her must have, lol)

homemade rolls

cranberry sauce

24 hour fruit salad (traditional dish from dh's childhood). I wish we could have a really fresh fruit salad, but tradition requires marshmallows, sigh.

raspberry pretzel salad

brown sugar glazed carrots

roasted sweet potato

roasted brussel sprouts

creamed onions

pumpkin pie

blackberry pie (made with blackberries we picked this summer!)

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Turkey

Mashed potatoes

Gravy

Stuffing

Spiced sweet potato casserole

Corn pudding

Butternut squash purée

French green beans with almonds

Cranberry sauce

Rolls

Butter (made by my dds in glass jars-a tradition they insist on)

 

Pumpkin pie

Pecan pie

Whipped cream

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Ham (sorry, I prefer ham!)

Cornbread dressing

Green bean casserole

Sweet potato soufflé

Cranberry sauce

Chocolate chip pecan pie

Pumpkin pie

 

It is just the five of us this year, so not doing an insane amount of food.

 

We are ham people too! :D

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