Thanksgiving Menus 2002–2011: The Topic

[Cusina]

I'm debating skipping cooking altogether, though. My sister is expecting a baby, and her due date is Nov. 30. Likelihood is high that turkey day will be spent in the hospital waiting room!

I had one of these babies. He turned 4 yesterday, but that was a weird year. You think regular turkey is bland, try the hospital variety.

This is a great thread. Such fun to read other's menu plans.

Our dinner is extremely traditional and will be hosted at my mother's house this year, she and I trade off. There will be 10 of us at the table. The meal itself is a sit down affair with family style service. Dad carves the roast beast in the kitchen (not a proper bird unless it's been cussed at a bit) and it is served on platters in small batches.

She does:

da bird (stuffed and done in a nesco roaster, which is suprisingly juicy and good and leaves room in the oven for other things).

Stuffing, also delicious. Best dish on the table year after year.

Real Mashed Potatoes, which the boys peel while watching the game. (the Pack is on this year, woo hoo.)

Gravy, perfect every time, she is the master.

Apple pie

Home made yeast rolls, also very delicious

I'll bring:

Green beans with a grueyre cheese fondue type sauce and almonds (though I'm seriously considering replacing this with that asparagus tartlet)

Sweet potatoes - done with maple syrup and apple pie spices

Cranberry applesauce

Pumpkin praline cheesecake

Herbed butter

Bachelor brother is bringing:

Beer

Cheddar Ale spread (thanks to JAZ)

Smoked summer sausage from our local butcher, da bomb

Crackers

Mom has some sort of sweetish German white wine that she likes with turkey. Schwartze Katze maybe? Can't remember, but we go through several bottles. Prior to dinner is beer for us, I've been encouraging my brother to bring Sierra Nevada's holiday brew.

Mr. Kinsey, that meal sounds amazing. Very impressive and expressive.

[bergerka]

*double take*

Pumpkin praline cheesecake? Could you be convinced to PM me the recipe?

K

[bloviatrix]

I forgot to add that for dessert I also made a quart of Concord Grape sorbet.

[SethG]

Okay, so my menu is pretty set, I think. I've posted most of it elsewhere, but here it is:

Appetizers:

gravlax, with a mustard dill sauce, and little pumpernickel bread.

cheese & crackers, olives

mimosas, and maybe pomegranate mimosas

Turkey:

One 16 pound turkey, brined, cooked without the stuffing. I keep waffling about this, but that's it. I've made the decision, I'm done.

Two stuffings, cooked alongside, but not in (maybe beneath?), the turkey:

Sausage-crouton

Cornbread

Sides:

Gravy

Delicata squash braised in cider

Garlic, Spinach & rice casserole

Green Beans with Shallot Butter

Creamed Corn

A sweet potato dish my sister-in-law is bringing

Roasted asparagus

Cranberry sauce

Pickled red onions with cranberry & chipotle

Other contenders still in the running: mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, glazed carrots

Dessert:

Pumpkin pie

Bourbon pecan pie

Cranberry swirl cheesecake with cranberry-raspberry compote

My mother and my mother-in-law are bringing wine. God knows what we'll have there. I think I'll pick up some Alsatian Reisling and some Syrah. I was going to get some BN but the review thread on the new BNs has changed my mind.

Edited November 25, 2003 by SethG (log)

[hjshorter]

Wow, Seth, that looks great. How many people? We'll only be eight this year, which sort of limits the number of things I'm putting on the table.

[slkinsey]

That sounds great, Seth. I especially like the gravlax. I used to make gravlax every year for Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll get back to that next year now that you have inspired me.

[wnissen]

As much as I love "special" food, Thanksgiving tends to be the kind of foods that you would throw together out of your cornucopia. So, here's our menu:

Crudite with dip, baked Brie with cranberry sauce, stuffed mushroom caps, and cider two ways: mulled and sparkling. Actually, the plan is for me to carbonate some unpasteurized cherry-apple cider in the mini-keg, so that's a little out of character.

First course: Root vegetable puree soup, rolls. Although, help me, I'm bringing truffle oil for the soup.

Main meal: Rotisserie turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry chutney, cranberry sauce, green beans, and broccoli in spicy orange sauce.

Dessert: Citrus platter, pumpkin pie, apple pie, raspberry jam tart.

I'm looking forward to this meal so much I'm vibrating in my seat. It sure do suck to have a whole day and a half of work left.

Walt

[SethG]

Wow, Seth, that looks great. How many people? We'll only be eight this year, which sort of limits the number of things I'm putting on the table.

We're having nine adults and three young children (the oldest just turned two). I keep going back and forth between thinking I'm making way too much food and thinking I'm not making enough.

[Mayhaw Man]

I have to work on Friday, so we will not be going up to my parents in North Louisiana until Friday p.m., so Thanksgiving dinner at home for the four of us and 3 guests who can't go home as well. The menu is simple as we will be gone for a few days and I don't want any leftovers that I can't either freeze or throw away without feeling like I wasted good food

Relish Tray with all the usual suspects (tiny gherkins, pickled baby corns, pickled okra, celery with pimiento cheese, black olives, etc.)

Cranberry relish (I don't like it, but Mrs. M loves the stuff)

Fried Turkey (see the Daily Gullet on how NOT to cook one)

Sweet Potato Souflee

Cheese Grits

Oyster Dressing (with gorgeous oysters I got last night from a local guy)

Spinach Madeline (yes the one from the Original River Road Cookbook and yes, it does contain Jalapeno Velveeta. And no, it is not as good without it.) No Apologies.

Okra and Tomatoes

Satsuma and Chocolate Chess Pie

Pecan Pie

Alka Seltzer and a diuretic

Have a Great Thanksgiving everybody.

[tryska]

well our mennu has changed since this thread. Seems roomie has decided to reel it in and cook somethign a little more traditional. Can't help but feel this is some sort of competition, now, tho.

in any case here's the updated menu:

Parker House rolls

Roast Turkey with Rosemary and Garlic, plus mushroom gravy (her)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (her)

Mashed White Potatoes (me)

Green Bean Casserole (i kid you not)

Broccoli Casserole - altho now for the redundancy factor, i think i might make it broccoli in a cheese sauce, and call it a day

Cranberry relish (her)

Cranberry in a can (per guest request)

Fried Corn (me)

Chestnut Stuffing (her)

Sausage Stuffing (me)

Flan (her)

Gianduia Pie + Whipped Cream(me)

Sweet Potato Pie (a friend)

[sammy]

Finalized our menu after shopping at Fairway last night. It was a madhouse. The good news is others are responsible for apps and desserts. We also decided to go with more choices but slightly less amounts. We're having 27 people and want to make sure that everyone will be happy:

Fried Turkey and Smoked Turkey & a couple of Sliced Smoked Duck Breasts with some still to be determined chutney

Cranberry Sauce (I cheated, I bought it already prepared at Fairway)

Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing

Wild Mushroom Stuffing

Mashed Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Creme Fraiche and Chipotle Puree

Sliced Potato Gratin with Rosemary Cream

Roasted Carrots with Maple Glaze and Oven Dried Grapes

Corn Pudding with Braised Bacon

Sauteed Stringbeans with Smoked Almonds

Lots of wine (the spiegelau glasses from Amazon came just in time) and some Anchor Steam while the turkey is smoking.

[Cusina]

Mayhaw Man, you cracked me up here.

[KathyP]

I cook just about every Thanksgiving and I don't mind at all. Guests and/or family always want to bring something, so that eases the task. Every years we always have a few 'strays' - those friends or friends of friends stuck in town or such. It never disappoints. Conversation is always lively and fun. Besides the tradition 16 pound turkey (with sage stuffing both inside and separate) this is what we'll have:

Celery stalks stuffed with cream cheese/olive mix

vegetarian bread/apple dressing

giblet gravy

mashed yukon golds

sauteed sweet potatoes with orange/brown sugar

the usual midwest green bean casserole

broccoli/cheese casserole

Bob Evans dinner rolls

homemade cranberry sauce

Pumpkin pie

Orange/Butterscotch cheesecake

2001 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay

an Australian Riesling (Kooki or some such)

1 bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau

some sort of bubbly (which I need to get today)

Grand Marnier

coffee

The sweet potatoes are my mother's recipe. Simple.

Wash potatoes, cut up, boil, cool, peel, slice in 1" pieces.

Melt butter in pan, squeeze in orange, add brown sugar.

Sautee for about 10 minutes. Yum.

[Janedujour]

Well, since my mom is in Thailand (I'm jealous!), our batchelor pal is with his new lady friend and her children, we no longer communicate with my in-laws, and everyone else had other plans, it's just me, my husband, and Max our twelve year old.

I will be cooking, however as if it were a dinner for about 20! That way, we can eat on it all weekend. It's the best.

I've cooked everything from free range fresh organic turkeys($$), fresh store bought, frozen store bought, frozen in my freezer for months, did the Alton Brown brining thing a couple of times, cooked it on the grill, did the 500 degree oven thing (left a smoky kitchen!), and they have all been really good but I swear I really can't tell the difference!

Warning: The "fresh" turkeys in the store are often thawed out frozen ones. You can tell when you pick 'em up and they're sopping wet! Yuk! Since I didn't want an already thawed one in my fridge since Sunday, I got a frozen store brand 18lb one and used my $10.00 off coin from Big-Y our grocery store (cheap bastards,it used to be free!)

I stuff it with an orange, an apple or two, a couple of onions, a head of garlic, some celery stalks, all cut in half and a dried sage stalk from my garden, salt, pepper. This year I'm also going to try Tyler F's recipe with sage butter, bacon draped over the breast 1/2 way thru roasting, and a maple syrup basting glaze.

Since we belong to an organic farm share out, almost all of our veggies are organic, and really delicious! Last Saturday our summer share was gleaning the garden (come with a basket and garden shears and take all you want!) and I got to walk through the fields picking rutabaga, turnips, leeks, and bok choy. My kind of grocery shopping!

My simple menu is:

Roasted Turkey with sage butter and maple glaze

Homemade giblet gravy

Real cranberries with apricots, orange juice and lemon orange zest

Fresh mashed potatoes whipped with just hot milk, butter, salt and pepper

Corn bread, white and whole wheat bread stuffing with dried cherries, walnuts and pecans

Rough mashed root vegetable combo including rutabaga, turnip, carrot, and butternut squash mashed with fresh herbs, cream and butter (also Tyler F.)

Blanched brussels sprout leaves tossed with lemon infused olive oil, butter, and dijon mustard

Homemade pan baked dinner rolls/unsalted butter

Pumpkin bread

Pumpkin pie(me)

Apple Pear spice pie, with dried fruit and nuts(tastes like mincemeat)me

Apple pie (we buy for an AID's charity)

Pecan pie(neighbor's gift every year)

Beverage: Lot's of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and regular cider

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Edited November 26, 2003 by Janedujour (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

Look. I know this is all about the best, and probably more about homemade and finely done. But I feel that there is one thing about Southern Holiday Meals that has quietly changed in the last 10 years or so and that is the use of storebought yeast rolls instead of "Granma's Homemade Recipe that HER Grandmother drug when they moved West from Georgia in the 1850's". (no one in my immediate family has ever lived any farther north than Monroe, LA and any farther West than Austin, so I am giving the Southern perspective here, it may be different elsewhere)

My favorite part of the holiday food ritual when growing up involved yeast rolls. Buttery, delicious, and slathered with Mayhaw Jelly (only Mayhaw, we always had it. I probably went most of my childhood without ever seeing storebought jelly. Other kinds maybe, but always homemade). My Mom made them from a recipe that came from our next door neighbor, Mrs. Aarron. She had been raised in Texas and had the best of both Southern Jewish(Shalom Ya'll)and East Texas food culture in her and man that woman could bake. She also had grown children and MISSED! the sound of fireworks on the holidays and she would often traipse out to deal with the Snopes' Like fireworks dealers and buy them for us to shoot. I loved her and miss her today. She also made awesome pickles, but that's another story.Anyway, my Mom is a consummate cook and learned how to make them better than Mrs. A.

Now the point you may ask (and rightly so since I drifted about aimlessly above)?

The point is listed below. Sister Schubert's Yeast Rolls are as good as any bakery bought or homemade rolls that I have ever had and while there may be some that can't do without the tradition or the Zen of baking old family recipes, I know I have got enough to cook without fooling with them. This gives me something in common with damn near every blue haired grandma in the South. If they are good enough for a "Baptist Sewing Circle" or a bunch of LOLs slapping around Mah Jong tiles they are good enough for me. These things are "da bomb". I highly reccomend them. Sister Schubert's has a great website and it has a link to tell you about availability.

Don't slag me for this gross violation of the "Sanctity of Homemade". I stand ready to defend myself.

I know yeast rolls and these babies are swell.

Buttery Deliciousness

[tryska]

well whaddaya know...that's the brand sitting in my freezer ready to thaw.

[chefette]

Dinner for 10 adults, 2 teens, 2 small kids

Boring Crudite just because

Cheese - assorted

Nuts because they are just so harvesty

Spicy crab salad with flatbread and sweet potato chips

Sparkling wine

Roasted Parsnip & Green Apple Soup with Ginger Custard

with some light white

Butternut Squash Ravioli and sage brown butter

pinot noir

Individual macaroni & cheese casseroles (because we have several young guests who will eat nothing else apparently)

Mashed potatoes

Roasted Yams with citrus and corriander butter

Mushroom dish (to be provided by Edemuth)

Boring stuffing

Sage Sausage Stuffing

Green lentil salad

fresh green beans - with just a bit of butter al dente

Turkey (1 brined, 1 boned and cooked some mysterious Steve way TBD)

gravy

wine TBD

Minted Romain salad with grapes and toasted almonds

Apple and Manchego Cheese ravioli

Apple Pie a la mode deconstructed

Apple pie - to be made and brought by a guest

Pumpkin pie - also courtesy of guest

brownies for those boring kids eating the macaroni

cranberry wine

capuccino or espresso

Edited November 27, 2003 by chefette (log)

[Susan in FL]

Saga Bleu Stuffed Celery

Oysters Rockefeller Soup

Bubbly

Mustard and Garlic Roast Goose

Port Gravy

Mashed Potatoes with Watercress and Scallions

Bread Dressing with Dried Apricots, Pistachios, and Mint

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Blasamic Vinegar and Pancetta

Cabernet

Pumpkin Ginger Rice Pudding

Port or whatever

[Schneier]

Salad

Salad Dressing

Stuffed Cabbage

Turkey

Stuffing

Gravy

Goose Breasts in Wine Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

Rutabagas

Green Beans

Broccoli in Garlic and Oil

Brussels Sprouts in Sesame Seeds and Soy Sauce

Cranberry Sauce - canned

Cranberry Sauce - fresh

Apple Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Black Walnut Pie

Figgy Pudding

Edited November 28, 2003 by Schneier (log)

[jat]

Slkinsey, It's a little punishing to be reading about food after EVERYTHING I've

eaten this week! Your lemon thyme sorbet sounds nice and light. Did you

purchase it, or do you have a recipe to share? Can I swap you my frozen

chocolate mousse? Or creme brulee in caramel wafers? Thanks, jat

[Cook456]

I thought it would be enjoyable to read what everyone is serving on thanksgiving..

What's on your Thanksgiving Day menu?

Here's ours:

Breakfast:

Cranberry Scones

Noontime :

Harvest Focaccia ( made with Grapes, Walnuts and Thyme), Champagne

Dinner:

Salad of Greens with Roasted Pears, Dried Cranberries, and Walnuts

Roast Turkey with Herb Rub and Shitake Mushroom Gravy

Triple Cranberry Sauce

Mashed White Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes baked with Brown Sugar & Jack Daniel's Syrup

Braised Fennel with Chestnuts

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

Broccoli

Grandma's Old Fashioned Stuffing

Fresh fruit and nuts

Dessert:

Cranberry and Apple Pie

Pumpkin Cheesecake

[Rachel Perlow]

We were going to be having Thanksgiving with our Korean/Chinese friends, with lots of Asian dishes. Unfortunately, just as she is getting over bronchitis, he seems to have the flu, so we've uninvited outselves (my parents were going there too, I can't risk my dad getting sick). I was doing a lot of the traditional parts of the dinner anyway, so now I'm just cooking it all and bringing it to my parents' house.

Butternut Squash Soup

Salad of Mixed Greens with Dried Cranberries, Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette

BBQ Roasted Turkey with Gravy and Grand Marnier enhanced Cranberry Sauce

Cornbread Stuffing with Mushrooms, Celery and Onion

Whipped Yams with Praline Pecan topping

(Roast Acorn Squash for the dieters)

Traditional Green Bean Casserole

(Green Beans Almondine)

Dessert is Pumpkin Creme Brulee and Apple Tart Tatin from Patisserie St. Michel.

[NVNVGirl]

Cook, your meal looks divine! We're having my inlaws (mil, bil and sil) and we are very excited. This will be the first Thanksgiving dinner I've ever cooked myself, and since I'm going to be doing meals from munchies Wednesday afternoon thru breakfast on Friday, I'm just a little nervous, but am trying to get as much done ahead as I can (without my dh going behind me eating it all But this is our Thanksgiving Day meals:

Breakfast

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

Cranberry Orange muffins

Toast

Vanilla yogurt layered with blueberries, raspberries and granola and almonds

Mimosas

Coffee

Grazing Buffet:

Shrimp dip and crackers

Crispix crunchy mix

Stuffed grape leaves (yalanchi)

Assorted cookies

Stuffed cherry tomatoes

Borag (cheese filled puff pastry)

Antipasto

Tortilla rollups

Crudites with blue castello dip

Dinner

Roasted turkey with apricot-wild rice stuffing

Grandma's moist bread dressing

Mashed potatoes and turkey (brown) gravy

Cranberry-Orange sauce

Green bean casserole Moderne (Sara Moulton's recipe)

Creamy brussels sprouts

Honey glazed carrots (Marlene's recipe)

Yams (however you make them with the marshmallows on top...I"ve never done them that way before)

Festive Cranberry Pineapple salad

Cloverleaf rolls

Pumpkin pie

Apple Pie

The wines are undecided at the moment, but it's an almost sure thing that most of them will be Beringer. My FIL was a winemaker there years ago and sadly, he died on Thanksgiving 1988. So it's a nice way to sort of have him with us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[NulloModo]

So today I went out grocery shopping with my father (I am heading out to my parents' place for Thanksgiving) and I think the menu is starting to come together. I am cooking some, they are cooking some, and our old neighbors (who still come to have Thanksgiving dinner with us, and in return we go to have Christmas dinner with them) are cooking some. Some will be low-carb, some high-carb, some traditional, some not-so much. Here is what it looks like for now:

Appetizers:

Relish Tray -

Italian Marinated Mushrooms

Italian Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Dill Pickle Spears

Pickled Okra

Hearts of Palm

Anchovy stuffed Hot Peppers

Peanuts

Pecans

Smoked Oysters

Tray of assorted Salumi and Hard Cheeses

Includes various dry-cured salamis, pepperoni, prociutto di parma, 3-year aged Gouda, Parmesan Reggiano, Gruyere, various aged cheddars (including one whiskey infused and one washed with port wine), Marinated balls of fresh Mozerella, and whatever other things pop up. Crackers will also accompany this for the high-carb people.

Tray of fresh cut vegetables and soft spreads

Including Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Celery, Herb crusted Chevre, garlic-herb Boursin, sundried tomato and herb Boursin, various dressings.

Main Dishes:

Deep Fried whole turkey injected with a cajun marinade (this will be my first attempt at this, my father has placed me in charge of the bird... uh oh, no pressure there ;) ).

Ham in an orange and coke glaze (my father is doing this one, the glaze is fairly high-carb, so I will imbibe this in extreme moderation).

Sides:

Squash casserole (involves yellow squash, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and fried asian-style onions on top. It is crispy, cheesey, and oh so decadent, my grandmother's recipe, lightly modified for low-carb duty).

Southern style green beans with ham-hocks.

Southern style collard greens with ham-hocks.

Oyster Bread Stuffing (high-carb, the neighbors always bring this).

Traditional corn-bread stuffing (also high-carb, my father is making this)

Low-Carb no-bread stuffing (based on a recipe from FoodTV's Low-carb and Loving it)

Candied yams (high-carb, with marshmallows on top, this will be hard to resist, but I will be strong. This used to be my favorite Thanksgiving dish).

Faux Candied-yams (canned pumpkin, 'candied' pecan topping, maybe a meringue marshmallow topping as a stand in as was previously discussed).

Low-carb cranberry Relish

Fresh corn-bread (high-carb)

Fresh low-carb dinner rolls (if Honeyville gets me my order in time and my initial experiments work out)

Roasted assorted vegetables

Onion Confit

Creamed Onions

Brazilian Style fried rice dish (high-carb)

Low-carb creamy rissoto of cauliflower with saffron, cardamom, and chorizo.

Desserts:

Caramel Apple Pie (high-carb)

Low-carb dual layer cheesecake/pumpkin pie with macadamia nut crust.

Bourbon-molasses bread pudding (high-carb)

Bossa Nova (a Brazillan Dessert - high-carb)

Home-made ice cream (high-carb, although I might try to make a batch of LC ice cream if I can get ahold of the machine long enough)

Various Coffees/dessert wines.

So, while there will be plenty of high-carb temptations, I think I will be able to manage with the low-carb choices there as well. I am also looking forward to tons of leftovers and not having to cook for a bit.

[M. Lucia]

Snack'ums: NY Bar Nuts, cheeses (borenkaas, a blue, real port salut, cotswold), homemade anise-seed flatbreads, dried figs, etc.

Oysters and champagne.

Tomato aspic with homemade mayonnaise.

Cauliflower soup with curry oil.

Roasted Garlicky Asparagus.

Puree of sweet potatoes with cumin and maple syrup.

Pan roasted baby brussel sprouts and shallots.

3 Onion tart.

Cornbread Dressing.

Brined Roasted Turkey.

Cranberry sauce with orange and port.

Cloverleaf dinner rolls.

Pecan pie (from Texas)

Tarte Tatin

Chocolate petit fours.

wines as yet undetermined, though a gewurztraminer, riesling, and pinot noir are sitting idly by...