Thanksgiving without turkey...ideas?

[haresfur]

7 hours ago, pastameshugana said:

Thank you for all the great ideas to ponder!

 

Do let us know what you decide

[Shelby]

4 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

I agree that a good lasagne is an excellent entree for TG. We've had many of them for veg entree's alongside the requisite turkey, some good, some awful, depending who volunteered. With your Italian holiday dinner may I suggest a red checked tablecloth and a nice chianti?.Affogato for dessert, or Amalfi lemon cake? 

You know, since it's probably going to be just us, I may do that!  

[JohnT]

@pastameshugana The norm for South Africans in the summer months is to have a braai with different meats or even a snoek (local fish) cooked on the grid and basted with a lemon, butter and garlic baste. The other alternative is, as was pointed out above - a variety of cold meats and a selection of salads. A starter can be a salmon mousse and dessert can be a selection of a few different cold ones. Turkey is not very popular in most South African regions and neither are pumpkin pies.

[pastameshugana]

So, we had our 'Thanksgiving' early because the in-laws were in town (leaving today).

 

Our big plans kept getting simpler as the schedule got fuller. Seeing the lions, family pictures, shopping, etc etc etc.

 

So, on request, I re-made my 'not-shepherds-pie' from the dinner thread (with chicken and various veggies). Got a much better color on the top this time.  I realized why we like this so much: It reminds me of the 'after thanksgiving' sandwiches we would make with all of the components of the meal between bread. For lunch today, I'll be putting this on bread with some cranberry/fig jam!

 

 

Then Mrs Meshugana and her mom made some mini 'hand-pies', half were pumpkin, and the other half were blueberry/strawberry. Plus some homemade whipped cream. Those were outstanding.

 

 

 

 

Some rolls and veggie sides. At most of the stores here you can buy fresh dough in a bag, you just refrigerate it until you're ready for it, then bake away. This batch was very yeasty, and tasted great with a real salty butter.

 

Then, because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, the kids all jumped in the pool.

[lemniscate]

On 11/21/2024 at 11:38 PM, pastameshugana said:

 

Then, because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, the kids all jumped in the pool.

Some pools in the Northern Hemisphere are still usable, but my outdoor gym one is closing this week for the season.

Those hand pies look amazing, great job.   I want to do a strawberry rhubarb version, but may have to wait until the next holiday.

 

We are having bison oxtail soup and assorted sides for Thanksgiving.  Can't exactly remember how we came to that meal conclusion, but we are going with it.  Apple gateau for dessert (Trader Joe's version).   We actually may go to the mountains to harvest the tree also, if weather permits.

[YvetteMT]

Turns out I'll be alone for the day (Partner going to his family) and I am working so.... to be determined. The only thing that is set in stone- there will NOT be turkey on my plate (thank heaven!). Im guessing either wings, curry of some fashion or a Yellow Pea Soup from Hank Shaw that I positively LOVE and partner doesnt. (it has ham hocks and rutabaga, there is nothing to not love!)

[MetsFan5]

On 11/10/2024 at 12:04 PM, Shelby said:

I've advocated for years to do lasagna for either Thanksgiving or Christmas to no avail lol.  I think that we are no longer going to get together to do either any more (it's gotten to be too much and everyone seems to have at least two to go to.)

 

Anyway, I'd do a big lasagna, a nice salad,  good bread.....antipasto.....Italian themed.   Doing a lasagna is also nice because you can make it ahead of time and just pop it in the oven.

 

That's my 2 cents.

I’m with you there! My cousin plays college football at a D1 level and has a 12pm game the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So we gathered tonight. 
 

I brought bruschetta and marinated mozzarella, salami and prosciutto. My my brought shrimp cocktail and a salad. My aunt made meatballs and sausage and pasta and broiled salmon (my dad is in a heart healthy diet along with some other relatives). 
 

My (much younger) cousins weren’t able to come— one was obviously playing football tonight, the other works for the MLB network (I posed with his Emmy award!)  and the other is on vacation from the LSATS. Damn over achievers! 
 

I’m thankful for the leftovers and my parents and I will enjoy the “free” ShopRite ham next weekend. 
 

I’ve never really loved Thanksgiving, as my father is allergic to all poultry and I used to eat lobster with him as a kid on Thanksgiving. 

Edited November 24 by MetsFan5 (log)

[btbyrd]

Thanksgiving is fundamentally a harvest festival celebrating the Columbian exchange (broadly construed). Think about what cuisine would have been like in the New World at the time. What the settlers would have brought with them. Serve venison, game birds, trout, oysters, and clams. Do a succotash with the three sisters. Incorporate chili and chocolate. Look to indigenous cuisines, even Mexican cuisines, for inspiration. There are so many traditions and inspirations to draw upon, so many more flavors and techniques and preparations to draw upon than we as a culture seem to be willing to allow ourselves to imagine. 

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, btbyrd said:

Do a succotash with the three sisters.

 

Bingo! Made a simple Three Sisters Stew for lunch today.

 

I was introduced to succotash in grade school, when I was about 10 yo.  Mary, the woman who ran the small lunchroom, would sometimes make a succotash, and I got hooked on it at an early age. I don't make it, or the stews, often enough, as they are fairly simple to make and quite nutritious.

 

In all the time I've frequented cooking sites and forums, your reference to the Three Sisters is one of the very few I've come across unless specifically looking for it.

Edited November 29 by Shel_B (log)

[robie]

We were to go to our family's house.  However, I contracted a URI and the family gathering includes some elderly persons.  We decided to stay home. 

 

Our contribution for the potluck was to be a dish of eggplant, tomato sauce, and feta that we had eaten in Greece and Serious Eats scalloped potatoes. My wife's SIL insists on a smoked turkey from a local purveyor for the main. 

 

So, the two of us had chicken barg, eggplant, and scalloped potatoes on Thanksgiving.  Store-bought carrot cake for dessert.

 

We would have preferred to see our family but the food was good.