CaliPoutine

I believe they thought it was overcooked because they couldnt cut it with a butter knife. It was a cheap cut of meat so that was probably the issue. I cooked it to 135F and let it rest. There is a pic of it back in January 08. I wish I wouldnt have suggested it. I'm pretty good at making turkey dinners!!

Oh god no, please don't! ← I'm assuming you're saying dont do it the day before. How should I cook it?

I've never cooked a Prime Rib, so how would I do it? Should I do it the day before?

Just got this email: I was just telling Marg what a good response we had to your meal and the whole evening. I was still receiving compliments as they left. So give yourself a pat on the back. We know that compliments are few and far between with these people. I did ask for a response about prime rib and the majority did vote in favour of having it for Christmas. If you see a special, give me a call before you buy. I am checking on someone I know who might help. We probably should try to be a little economical with this next meal as Thanksgiving was a little pricey.

I could have used another turkey roast. I wasnt very generous when I served it and I only made 1 TV dinner. Next time I'll order a small roast in addition to the 2 8lb roasts I cooked. I made 2 bags of cranberries and bought these plastic shot glasses. I love doing it buffet style, its so much easier. They loved the jello too. I'd printed off a few copies of the recipe that I ended up handing out. We plated up the jello and served it before they got up for the buffet. A few people thought it might be dessert and I said " No, its your salad, its from the Crediton Church Cookbook( I thought that might give me more credibility). No pics of the store-bought pumpkin pie. eta: One man did ask " where is the turnip". I swear to God, I can't win!!

The squash casserole was very popular. I had some today for lunch and it was pretty tasty. I used old(sharp) cheddar cheese, light mayo and 6 small eggs for 8lbs of squash. crunchy celery stuffing.

I stopped on my way in to pick up some eggs. I thought this was kinda funny(but sad too). When I got to the church, the tables were set up in long rows. I thought it was nice, but I knew the seniors would be in a tither. As each one came in the doors, they commented about where they were going to sit.

Nope, no "Thank You". But, at least I got " that was very good". I did hear two old bittys discussing the green bean bake. Not sure what they were talking about, but I dont think it was good. These two are known complainers.

The dinner went over very well. The most popular items were the jello, the butternut squash and the stuffing. I forgot the celery/onions that I cut up yesterday so I started the stuffing in the crockpot and added the cooked veggies at 4pm when the coordinator brought them. They were still a tad crunchy!! Everyone was intrigued by the Panko( thanks Christine) on top. I had more than a few questions about what it was. I told Kathy( coordinator) that I should cook Thanksgiving every week. We served buffet style and it was so easy. Pics to come later.

Its poultry seasoning.

This is one of my favorites. I've made it numerous times and its always perfect!!

I went to the office and made the Cherry Supreme jello today. The bottom layer is sugar free raspberry jello mixed with canned cherry pie filling. The top is lemon jello, mayo, cream cheese, crushed pineapple, whipped cream and marshamallows. I made two of these( btw, these are really great Canadian made plastic storage containers). The turkey roasts came out fine. I cooked them for close to 3hrs at 350F. I used some salt, and poultry seasoning. I'll slice them tomorrow and defat the drippings for gravy. I also cooked 7lbs of butternut squash( I bought it already cubed as I'm alleric to the flesh). I also cubed 5 loaves of bread and staled that in the oven. I made cranberry sauce too. The last thing I did was cut all the celery and onions for tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to: slice turkey make stuffing mashed potatoes make green bean casserole make squash casserole bake off the crescent rolls.

If purchasing Friday for cooking Tuesday... I might choose frozen as well. But would be thawing in the fridge/cooler from Sunday onwards. Reason for ordering frozen might be that storing fresh for 5 days seems too long, especially not knowing how long the roasts were stored before purchasing. But I would (personally) hesitate on cooking from the frozen state based on my own paranoia of being late for dinner service. There is an entire thread here about cooking frozen roasts ← Maybe I wasnt clear. The turkeys we ordered are roasts( light and dark combined, boneless, tied with string). They were picked up FRESH on Friday and she's cooking them today(from frozen). Why would she chose to have them frozen when she only had 2 days of fridge time. Mine will be cooked on Wednesday and I left them in the fridge. I asked at the turkey farm and they told me they'd be fine until Wednesday.

I've made a few things from the Splenda.ca website. I think the CC cookies were ok( but might be a tad boring). Btw, as a diabetic, its the CARBS that are the issue, not the sugar.

The other cook is making her turkey( roasts) today. Her meal is tomorrow. They were picked up on Friday and she asked that her roasts be frozen. Why would she want to cook them from frozen? I've never heard of this.

Use a thin knitting needle or skewer to turn over the abelskivers. It works well.

Wow, that pisses me off. They're 24.99 in the US!!

I made this tonight. It was good, but I think it would have been awesome had my kabocha not been so frickin' dry! I should have added some cream like Pookie did, but I just wasn't thinking. Randi, is it possible your seniors behave the way they do because you're an "outsider"? Small-town folk are hard to crack. What were they like with the previous person? Kinda sounds like they're just a**h****, though. ← You might be right. But, I think these folks are just complainers. The community they live in is different from my town. Their community is known as " ritzy" since its a lakeside community and very seasonal.

FYI, Shopper's Drug Mart has salted and unsalted TOMORROW( SATURDAY) only for 1.99lb.

Not so entirely odd, actually. The seniors all know exactly what to do when a sympathy card is required. It's really sad that Randi's guests seem so unable to make a compliment. It's also sad to note that when people pay something for their meal (any amount, even $5), they suddenly have a whole heap of (usually unrealistic) expectation. Feeding seniors is a tough gig. Feeding hungry, impoverished people seems easy by comparison. ← They didnt buy me the card, they just signed their name one right after another in a single row. Not even one little personal note. Weird!!

Dont know if this will help w/ recs, but we've decided to take a 48hr hop on, hop off tour. The areas of the tour: The Uptown Loop Harlem Central Park Lincoln Center Dakota Apartments Museum Mile, and more! The Downtown Loop Times Square Empire State Building Rockefeller Center / Top of the Rock World Trade Center Site Little Italy, and more! The Brooklyn Loop Botanic Garden Brooklyn Museum Antique Furniture District Fulton Mall 5th & 7th Avenue boutiques, restaurants, shops, and more! Night Tour (until Nov 26, 2008) Empire State Building China Town Manhattan Bridge Soho Rockefeller Center, and more!

Your menu sounds like the sort of thing my group would love. I never do roast turkey dinner because of the time/space issue. We have two (non-convection, gas) commercial ovens, which could each hold 2 turkeys. Which would leave no-where for holding hot vegetables, or cooking casseroles. Closest I've come is to chicken with stuffing. FWIW, the people I know who like turkey dinner would be happy to have it twice in a week As for the budget on this one... I would estimate about $4 per person on 35 guests, so am curious to hear how you've fared. Bet your seniors will love their dinner. ← The budget is increased to 5.50 pp for this meal. I also get paid for an additional 2hrs and the seniors pay 12.00 for their meal. I have a feeling I'll be over budget. The turkey is taking up 86.00 of the budget.

I just came home from a trip to the States today and its pouring rain( I'll unload later) My cousin wanted a big box of diapers and UTZ pretzels( in the shape of bats and pumpkins). I got 2 cool area rugs on clearance at Target for 6.48 each. I also got Ghiradelli choc. chips and some cans of Libbey's pumpkin( canned pumpkin is expensive in Canada). I paid 1.08 for 15oz cans in MI. I also have some food for the seniors meal as well as a 10lb bag of red potatoes.

I'm assuming you're in Australia or NZ or maybe even the UK( your use of the word Beetroot?). Anyway, I think a red velvet cake would be special. Its not widely known outside the ( Southern) US. The icing is cooked with milk and flour( so thats different). I think they're might be a thread on here about RVC.

I still think the kitchen is somewhat small. I would have explored the option of blocking off the entrance to the basement( staircase right behind fridge) and opening up the kitchen into the dining room/living room. My spouse thinks the pulldown( for sponges) by the sink is worthless. I also would have gotten a window that cranks open( casement?) instead of double hung. Its a pain to open. I also would have explored a cabinet depth fridge. Although the new fridge that was delivered yesterday sticks out a whole lot less( it also has water in the door, the other one didnt).