Thanksgiving, 2022

[blue_dolphin]

3 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Sorry but I kinda made it by taste so no measurements.

That’s what I usually do, too!

 

1 hour ago, heidih said:

I did ginger (grated) and orange once. Well received

Picked up some nice ginger at the farmers market to make a little batch of stem ginger in syrup so I’m all set!

[liamsaunt]

This year I am cooking everything and bringing it to my Dad's house, about 20 minutes away.  His kitchen is small and he hates the smell of roasting turkey (though he likes to eat it), so it will just be easier to cook everything here.  We lost my mom a couple of weeks ago, and she was always my co-cook for Thanksgiving dinner (all large family dinners, actually), so it's probably going to be a lousy meal anyway.  I'm just making what my Dad asked for, and am bringing a bunch of Tupperware to package up the leftovers for him to freeze and reheat for future dinners.  All are repeats from prior Thanksgivings.  

 

roast turkey and gravy

traditional bread stuffing

mashed potatoes

cranberry sauce

cauliflower gratin

butternut squash puree

pumpkin cheesecake

 

And inexplicably, he also wants this horrible-sounding dish that Taste of Home had apparently dubbed the "recipe of the year" in some article he read online.   Whatever.  I will make it and leave it at his place for him to enjoy (or not).  My Dad and his computer are a dangerous combination sometimes.  

 

sourdough sausage and blueberry dressing

 

[Anna N]

So sorry to hear about your mom, @liamsaunt 
strange to hear of someone who doesn’t like the smell of something cooking but he’s happy to eat it when it’s cooked.  Thanksgiving will be challenging this year, there is no doubt. I hope you and your family are able to find some comfort.

I just read the recipe for the blueberry stuffing. Oh dear.

Edited November 14, 2022 by Anna N
Added a bit about the stuffing (log)

[heidih]

@liamsaunt  That stuffing sounds unappealing to me. I am surprised they want business as usual - but everyone mourns differently. Hopefully someone will step up and be a pleasant cooking companion. Food memories can evoke powerful emotions.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at the market this morning that the plump looking Ocean Spray bag of cranberries - standard 12 oz - was $2.50. I grabbed one for now. The marketing on the bag is to buy 2 - one for now and one for freezer.

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

"recipe of the year"

Are you sure it isn't 'worst recipe of the year'?

[ElsieD]

@liamsaunt. I am so sorry to read of your mother's passing.   May happy memories sustain you.

[kayb]

@liamsaunt — I am so very sorry. May her memory be a blessing.

[MaryIsobel]

Adding my condolences for the loss of your mother. All the "firsts" are a bit heart wrenching. I hope you and your family find strength in being together.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

@liamsaunt, you are, as we all knew, a brick and a trooper.    I'm guessing that producing this feast will be healing for you.    And I have to smile as I consider that we each probably will serve a by-demand dish this Thanksgiving that gives others pause.     That's what makes our individual tables "home".  

 

Sharing our TG love with your family.

[Shelby]

@liamsauntI'm so sorry for your loss.  I'm not good at words like the others here are but I know your mom will be with you......

 

We've decided to stay home again for the holidays this year.  It's safer health-wise for us (me especially).  I hope my in-laws understand.....if not then I can't do anything about it.  I'm still making my usual bread and we will drop it off over there on Thanksgiving morning.

 

Anyway, Ronnie bought a turkey yesterday.  It's thawing -it's in the garage hanging up and it's really cold so it's probably not thawing much lol.  We're going to brine it then I plan on doing half of the breast SV and then roasting a quarter in the steam boy.  The rest we will freeze for later.

 

I would like to find a really good gravy recipe......before I freeze the rest of the turkey I could use some bits for that.

 

Still pondering side dishes.  Thank you @Smithyfor linking us to all of the older threads.  I'm going to start reading now to get some new ideas--or some ideas that I've forgotten about.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

some ideas that I've forgotten about

Or some ideas that you’ve never even considered if you’re feeling ready for a change.  Great make ahead that you can reheat on the day of. 
Danish red cabbage

[Margaret Pilgrim]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

I would like to find a really good gravy recipe......before I freeze the rest of the turkey I could use some bits for that.

Wouldn't swear that it's a really good recipe, but it makes really good gravy!    Cut off and save some odd bits of your turkey.    Roast them with some onion, carrot, garlic, EVOO.    Deglaze roasting pan (white wine or chicken broth or water); add meat bits, veg and juices to pot with canned chicken broth.    Simmer on low until broth is reduced and very flavorful.    Strain.   Make a roux of butter and flour.    Add your stock and whisk until thickened.   If not dark enough, add a dash of Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master.  Check salt and pepper.

[blue_dolphin]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

I would like to find a really good gravy recipe......before I freeze the rest of the turkey I could use some bits for that.

 

I believe @Kim Shook is the queen of turkey gravy.  I have a recollection that she did a nice tutorial on her process but I can't find it.  Maybe she can point us to it. 

[Shelby]

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I believe @Kim Shook is the queen of turkey gravy.  I have a recollection that she did a nice tutorial on her process but I can't find it.  Maybe she can point us to it. 

Yeah, you're right.  I remember that!

[heidih]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I believe @Kim Shook is the queen of turkey gravy.  I have a recollection that she did a nice tutorial on her process but I can't find it.  Maybe she can point us to it. 

Here us the start if her gravy. Hope she chimes in with fl process. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/159682-thanksgiving-2019/?do=findComment&comment=2222837

 

[Anna N]

Here is her recipe.

[JeanneCake]

@liamsaunt I am so sorry to hear about your mom. 💔 thinking of you and your family and sending virtual hugs

 

[ZoeG]

Jumping in on the question about mac and cheese at Thanksgiving!  My mother always made Thanksgiving dinner. My mom is an okay cook except her idea of vegetables is canned peas or corn.   But then my parents moved to Florida and my sister or I started hosting. We changed it up!  One year, my niece (who was in college at the time) wanted to make mac and cheese.  It was a huge hit and it just stayed on the menu.  Why?  Because we all like it!

 

Another thing that made an appearance about 7 or 8 years ago...honey baked ham!  My BIL's father hated turkey.  As a kid, my BIL's parents would only go to someone's house for Thanksgiving if they had a honey baked ham.  So one year, my sister ordered the ham.  It was the runaway hit of the day and it has also stayed on the menu.

 

So the traditions in our family since we became the adults in charge:

 

Turkey

Ham

Cranberry sauce

Stuffing (usually with sausage)

Corn Pudding

Mac and Cheese

Potatoes - varies year to year

Brussels Sprouts or perhaps a nice green salad with cranberries

 

Desserts - at the very least, always something with chocolate and something with apple.  Nobody in our group likes pumpkin pie!

 

 

 

[scubadoo97]

As in year’s past, Thanksgiving is a big family affair.   My Mom’s side of the family is very large.   My Dad’s side although large all reside in Mexico City so we rarely see them.   I have 26 first cousins  on my Mom’s side.  Most all will travel to Tampa for our yearly Thanksgiving family affair.  A lot of traditional TG foods as well as Middle Eastern sides as my Grandparents immigrated to the US from the Middle East.  My Grandparents are no longer with us but the large family has been getting together for Jewish and secular holidays since before I was born so  70+ years.   I’m in charge of making  hummus this year.   Between the growing families and a few family friends we can expect upward of 70-100 ppl.   There will be a lot of food.   We rent out the Tampa Garden Club on Davis Island on the Hillsborough River  

 

A photo from about 10 years ago.  We always do a family picture

 

i wish you all a happy and delicious Thanksgiving 

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by scubadoo97 (log)

[heidih]

@scubadoo97 wow what a gathering. So you can cook and cleanup on site?

[Kim Shook]

@liamsaunt – I’m so sorry for the loss of your mom.  Such a hard time with the holidays coming.  Please know I’ll be thinking about you. 

 

Thanks for all the help with the gravy information and recommendations!  If you want to make my gravy, you’ll need to put together the links that @heidih and @Anna N posted and kind of cobble them together.  I could swear that I did a thorough tutorial somewhere, but I cannot find it anywhere.  Not here, not an old blog post, nowhere 😟.  The recipe from my webpage needs updating and I’ll try to do it the next time I made the gravy.  I no longer use the slow cooker to make my stock – I do it in the IP, like in the linked eG post.  Go here if you want to see the finished product.  Please feel free to ask any questions that occur.  I’ve actually walked someone through making this gravy long distance – BEFORE Face-Timing was a thing 😁.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Kim Shook (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Here's a Thanksgiving 2020 post from @Kim Shook that has some good gravy info: 

 

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

Regular mashed potatoes have never appealed to me. At family Thanksgiving for many years my nephew, starting as a teenager, made them. They were godawful. I won't say anything about the havoc he caused every year in the beach kitchen, just when everyone needed to finish their dishes, pull out the turkey, make the gravy, etc. But it was his contribution; not a negligible thing when you have 15 people for dinner. But I my husband's family has the sometimes enviable trait of not criticizing anyone's cooking, nor suggesting helpful hints for fear of deflating anyone's self-esteem. I didn't grow up like that, but they did. As a result, some of them have never learned to cook. Should we need a next generation to carry on as we old folk get tired, we will be up a creek without a paddle.

 

But times have changed. For the last few years said nephew has not been at Thanksgiving and no one has wanted the task. This year I made a couple of great discoveries: one is a potato and cauliflower mash that whips up ethereally soft and doesn't appear to suffer from a reheat. Typically I use at least twice the volume of potato to cauliflower, but adjustment is simple depending on how moist you want the dish to be. We make it frequently and the leftovers are excellent for breakfast.

 

The cauliflower takes a back seat when it comes to flavor. I made this dish for my daughter and her husband, both of whom are cauliflower deniers. They liked it very much and didn't realize there was cauliflower in there at all. Their year old twins also were happy and ate it with their hands, as they were not utensil-adept yet. It is a bit stiffer in texture if you cut back on the cauliflower, but still much fluffier than any mashed potatoes I 've ever eaten.

 

The other revelation was a stick blender. It works supremely well for this preparation. We add the usual suspects: butter, milk or cream, a dollop  of creme fraiche and chopped chives if we have any.. I think the addition of a little creamy chèvre  might be lovely too. Anyway, it is super easy, even though you do have to parboil the cauliflower separately. The fact that it reheats without losing texture means it can be finished before the turkey comes out.   

 

This year I am going to test it out on my husband's brother and my sister in law. So, for those of you who, like me, usually find mashed potatoes dull or mortar-like, this is really nice. 

[scubadoo97]

20 hours ago, heidih said:

@scubadoo97 wow what a gathering. So you can cook and cleanup on site?

Yes

edited to add that there is a sign up sheet for folks to commit to making or buying the traditional  foods and most will be made at home and brought to the garden club.  Although site has ovens they will be used more for warming food than people cooking on site 

Edited November 17, 2022 by scubadoo97 (log)

[hotsaucerman]

i usually just show up to the fam thanksgiving with a dish that can be mostly assembled ahead of time and for the fun of it, i usually try to bring something thats a little different than the usual thanksgiving dishes we see SO this year i'm trying a neat looking stuffing recipe from eric kim's cookbook that came out this year:  cheesy scallion stuffing with sesame seeds. looks like food and wine has the recipe too (link here).

 

sometimes ill make green beans amandine for a lighter side, also would req due to its simplicity + low time to make.

 

also i'll probably batch some cocktail...jeff morganthaler's site (or punch drink) is A+ for good recipes; related for the holidays, i would 10000000% recommend making his anejo tequila based eggnog (link here).