Thanksgiving Menus 2002–2011: The Topic

[Dave the Cook]

We finally ended up with 11 people and way too much food:

Smoked trout and creme fraiche on corn crisps with caviar

Oysters with three sauces (Tom Douglas)

Relish tray

Grill-roasted turkey

Sour cream mashed potatoes

Corn pudding

Green beans with roasted garlic and grape tomatoes

Melange of onions, chestnuts and prunes (Sandra Levine)

Maple-glazed sweet potato medallions with marscarpone cheese and pecan topping

Pennsylvania Dutch bread stuffing

Cornbread-andouille stuffing (Emeril Lagasse)

Scalloped oysters

Pecan pie

Pumpkin pie

Blueberry crisp

Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut

2001 Tiefenbruner Pinot Grigio

2001 Chateau de Monfort Vouvray

1999 Iron Horse Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

2000 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Porto Ramos Pinto

[slkinsey]

I noted an interesting thread from last year where people posted their Thanksgiving dinner menus, or proposed Thanksgiving dinner menus. Rather than tacking this onto last year's thread, I thought I'd toss in a reference and start with a clean slate.

So... what's it going to be for everyone this year? I am especially interested to hear how people are organizing their Thanksgiving dinners... whether or not there will be multiple courses or everything at once... whether the food will be plated or family style... whether the turkey is roasted whole or in pieces, presented/carved at the table or in the kitchen... whether and to what extent sweet foods will be included alongside the savory foods... whether the meal will be "fancy" or "rustic"... to that extent there are traditional family "must have" dishes, and whether or not this is a blessing or a limitation... to what extent non-stereotypical and/or non-traditional flavors or traditions are included, etc.

Please chime in. Inquiring minds want to know.

[budrichard]

I will prepare a dinner for about 20 people. What I have found over the years, at least in our family, is that people expect a traditional thanksgiving dinner. I purchase a fresh non-adulterated turkey of at least 20+ #'s. I used to get them from a local farmer but he's in jail(another story) and this year will go to a live poultry market for my turkey. There will be cheese's, crackers, olives, smoked sturgeon (my own smoking) along with a magnum of sparkling wine before dinner. We always have 5 liter cans of German beer available. Dinner will be a sit down affair, family style with the following.

Turkey roasted with an herb crust.

Leek & fresh herb stuffing prepared in the bird.

Extra legs!(no fighting over the leg!)

homemade cranberry sause

Real sweet potatoes

Real mashed potatoes(Idaho's)

Fresh vegetable

Home made bread

unsalted butter

Gravy made from drippings and giblets

Pumpkin pie

Home made ice cream

64 Chambertin

69 Niersteiner Rebach TBA

Cognac

Cigars for the men

Chocolates for the women & children

The bird is removed and allowed to rest and can be observed by anyone who wants to see it before being tented with foil.

It is carved in the kitchen by me. After I carve, I have a glass of sparkaly!

About 3 hours later I am asleep. Others pitch in, prepare goody bags and clean up. -Dick

Edited October 29, 2003 by budrichard (log)

[Catness]

We usually host the "Lost Souls" Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for our friends. It's true that when it comes to Thanksgiving, people seem to appreciate it when the menu stays more traditional; Christmas is another story. Two years ago we made three different lasagnes from scratch (including the pasta) and that was a big hit. We usually have anywhere from 10 to 20 people over. Since we don't have a dining room table, we serve on two card tables and everyone eats in the living room.

This year our menu so far includes:

Turkey 20lb+ We'll be brining and butterflying it again, since it was such a success last time.

Mashed Golden Yukon potatoes, very basic, just sour cream, salt, pepper, and butter added.

Cheese and Fruit selection.

Fresh baked bread, both a garlic and rosemary potato bread and brioche.

We haven't decided on the vegetable side yet.

For wines we'll probably go with a Reisling, a Pinot Gris, and a Beaujolais (our old standbys), and we have some guests who love to finish with a nice tawny Port.

Our friends will be bringing:

Some sort of sushi or sashimi appetizer from our friend the sushi chef

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Green Bean Abomination. You know this one, I can't stand it, but our guests require its presence every year. Frozen French cut green beans baked in cream of mushroom soup with French fried onion crispies on top.

[Busboy]

Last year, Thanksgiving dinner ultimately developed into such an un-puritan orgy of drunken dancing that I got a letter from my neighbor two days later complaining vehemently about the noise and threatening vague "further action" if it ever happened again.

This year we face an even deeper challenge in the Busboy household, as the prospect of entertaining 20 or 30 people without drawing the police or spawning a divorce. My father- and brother-in-law are coming, for the first time, and they are demanding something that my wife and I, in 20 years, have never cooked. Something horrid and boring, a dish whose presence brings my household no joy, and yet never seems to go away.

They want turkey.

[melkor]

We haven't really started planning our thanksgiving menu yet, but it's format is more or less set.

Start with many bottles of champagne/prosecco and finger foods while we are in the kitchen.

Sit down salad, somehow making use of the duck confit we recently made. No idea what wine we'll have since I've got no idea whats going into the salad.

Then soups, two cream based soups in the same bowl, haven't decided what to use yet. Again it's too early to decide what wine.

For the turkey, it will be a brined willie bird, smoked over hickory for an hour or so, then roasted in the oven to give us lots of drippings for gravy. Mashed potatoes made with german butterball potatoes and an obscene amount of butter, creme, and roasted garlic. Some sweet potato dish, Some sort of cranberry thing, a bunch of veggies, one of which is likely to be an asparagus tarte. Since there really is no good wine pairing for all these things together we are likely to end up with 3 wine glasses per person and each person can decide what they like. Wines will most likely be a german riesling, a cali rhone blend, an older cali zin, it depends on the rest of the veggies.

We'll have the usual pumpkin, apple, and peacan pies, a flourless chocolate cake, and whatever else we end up making.

Finish with coffee and biscotti (the amazing almond/coco nib/frangelico biscotti ms melkor makes)

A lot of this stuff will be decided the wednesday before thanksgiving when we do most of the shopping at the farmers market.

[Varmint]

I'll do some variation of the ultra-traditional meal I did last year, but I think I'll need to hire Klink to smoke some goodies for me. Klink, doing any sausages this year???

[Suzanne F]

I'm probably making reservations.

Busboy, re: FIL and BIL and the dreaded bird: have them help you do a Thompson's turkey, but do the version that requires that you drink at every basting and every other step before and after. You won't mind it a bit.

[hjshorter]

My husband and my brother have decided to deep fry a turkey this year. I have no idea what's got into them.

The rest of the menu will probably be pretty traditional. I have no idea how many people will be here, so we haven't even started thinking about sides and desserts. Two things that will definitely be on the table are creamed caramelized onions, and cranberry/dried cherry compote.

[Catness]

... a bunch of veggies, one of which is likely to be an asparagus tarte.

Asparagus tarte? Oh that sounds interesting. Any recipe in particular?

[Brad S]

I'll be working again

Hope to get some carcass scrapes when I get home.

[melkor]

... a bunch of veggies, one of which is likely to be an asparagus tarte.

Asparagus tarte? Oh that sounds interesting. Any recipe in particular?

It's fairly simple, start with tarte pan with a pie crust pressed into it, blind bake the crust until its golden. Blanch the asparagus and shock them in ice water pat them dry and toss them into the tarte shell. Mix some eggs, half-and-half, tarragon, parmesan, salt & pepper and toss the mixture over the asparagus and bake at 450 until the top browns. Let it cool a little before serving.

You end up with a crispy flakey crust and a custard filling. It's seriously good. For the custard you'll want 1/3 cup half and half and 1/4 cup parmesan for each egg, use however much you need for whatever size tarte your making.

[bloviatrix]

We go to my cousin's house. They will have somewhere between 50 and 60 guests. It's all extended family on both sides, such that my in-laws will be there. In the living room will be 6 rounds, sitting 10 people each (they have a huge living room). And dinner is served buffet style. I think the last time I attended a sit-down Thanksgiving is 1984.

There are always sweet-and-sour meatballs and chopped liver set out for snacks. Hired staff will pass around hors d'ouevres. The dinner menu varies from year to year, but there definitely will be turkey and brisket. Dessert is pot-luck style and all the guests contribute. My mom will inevitably make a fruit compote and a coffee cake. I normally make a flourless chocolate cake but this year I'm thinking an apple-pear crisp might be good.

The food is ok, not great. But it's fun to see everyone and catch up.

[bloviatrix]

.... and cranberry/dried cherry compote.

Sounds good. Can you share the recipe?

[slkinsey]

I might as well give my plan (subject to change, of course)... This is dinner for ten. All the portions are fairly small, as there are several courses. Everything is plated.

1. Crudites and Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico while everyone arrives and mills around

2. Everyone will sit down to one kumamoto (or other small) oyster raw in the half shell with a little dollop of cucumber granita on top. Presented on frozen blocks of slate around 3" square and 0.5" thick with a sprinkling of extra-coarse salt on top of the slate to keep the oyster from rolling around. Wine TBD, or finishing the prosecco.

3. Pureed caulflower cream soup with curry oil and a light sprinkle of minced cilantro. Wine TBD. Last year I did two cold purees (one of cauliflower and the other of red pepper, both barely cooked) poured into opposite sides of the bowl at the same time. It looked cool, but was a little bit more trouble than it was worth.

4. Shrimp and scallop lemon ceviche with mixed herb salad. Wine TBD.

5. Individual roasted corn and stilton souffles (or flans, I can't decide) with brussels sprouts sauteed with guanciale and a herb vinaigrette. Wine TBD.

6. Lemon thyme sorbet, served in hollowed out and frozen lemons. Wine: tiny glasses of moscato d'asti.

7. "Turkey two ways" with cornbread dressing -- this takes some explaining: The turkey is completely deboned several days before. The dark meat is marinated in one bottle each of red wine and port, along with some aromatic vegetables. The breasts are brined. The bones are made into around 1 quart of very reduced tuckey stock. Later, the leg meat and aromatics are braised low/slow in the stock and marinating liquid for several hours until very tender at which time it is coarsely shredded (pulled). The aromatics are strained/discarded and the braising liquid is reduced -- it will later be mounted with copious amounts of butter to form the sauce. The cornbread dressing (a simple affair of cornbread, white bread, fresh herbs, cream and stock) is cooked ahead of time and individual portions are wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves into little "packages" which are placed into a buttered baking dish. These will be moistened with stock and reheated in a warming oven for service. The breasts are browned in butter and roasted around 45 minutes until just done through, then rested. Presentation is a sauced plate, a fan of three pieces of breast over a small mound of braised leg meat, the stuffing package at the apex of the fan, and a small "coin" of foie gras on top of the fanned slices topped with a little carpaccio of black truffle. Wine: I usually serve this course with two different red wines and let the diners serve themselves whichever they like (or mix).

8. Selection of desserts, usually including cranberry cheesecake, pecan pie and bourbon bread pudding. This with a choice of whatever boutique bourbons, grappas, single malts and other things I drag out of the cupboard.

[hjshorter]

.... and cranberry/dried cherry compote.

Sounds good. Can you share the recipe?

Sure thing! It's got cloves too, really really delicious. I'll find it and put it in the recipe archive.

[Varmint]

I might as well give my plan (subject to change, of course)...  This is dinner for ten.  All the portions are fairly small, as there are several courses.  Everything is plated.

1. Crudites and Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico while everyone arrives and mills around

2. Everyone will sit down to one kumamoto (or other small) oyster raw in the half shell with a little dollop of cucumber granita on top.  Presented on frozen blocks of slate around 3" square and 0.5" thick with a sprinkling of extra-coarse salt on top of the slate to keep the oyster from rolling around.  Wine TBD, or finishing the prosecco.

3. Pureed caulflower cream soup with curry oil and a light sprinkle of minced cilantro.  Wine TBD.  Last year I did two cold purees (one of cauliflower and the other of red pepper, both barely cooked) poured into opposite sides of the bowl at the same time.  It looked cool, but was a little bit more trouble than it was worth.

4. Shrimp and scallop lemon ceviche with mixed herb salad.  Wine TBD.

5. Individual roasted corn and stilton souffles (or flans, I can't decide) with brussels sprouts sauteed with guanciale and a herb vinaigrette.  Wine TBD.

6. Lemon thyme sorbet, served in hollowed out and frozen lemons.  Wine: tiny glasses of moscato d'asti.

7. "Turkey two ways" with cornbread dressing -- this takes some explaining:  The turkey is completely deboned several days before.  The dark meat is marinated in one bottle each of red wine and port, along with some aromatic vegetables.  The breasts are brined.  The bones are made into around 1 quart of very reduced tuckey stock.  Later, the leg meat and aromatics are braised low/slow in the stock and marinating liquid for several hours until very tender at which time it is coarsely shredded (pulled).  The aromatics are strained/discarded and the braising liquid is reduced -- it will later be mounted with copious amounts of butter to form the sauce.  The cornbread dressing (a simple affair of cornbread, white bread, fresh herbs, cream and stock) is cooked ahead of time and individual portions are wrapped in blanched cabbage leaves into little "packages" which are placed into a buttered baking dish.  These will be moistened with stock and reheated in a warming oven for service.  The breasts are browned in butter and roasted around 45 minutes until just done through, then rested.  Presentation is a sauced plate, a fan of three pieces of breast over a small mound of braised leg meat, the stuffing package at the apex of the fan, and a small "coin" of foie gras on top of the fanned slices topped with a little carpaccio of black truffle.  Wine: I usually serve this course with two different red wines and let the diners serve themselves whichever they like (or mix).

8. Selection of desserts, usually including cranberry cheesecake, pecan pie and bourbon bread pudding.  This with a choice of whatever boutique bourbons, grappas, single malts and other things I drag out of the cupboard.

Dude, I applaud you for your restraint in waiting 3+ hours after you started this thread to post that awesome menu. You show-off, you!!!

[alacarte]

I have a stack of cooking magazines from the 1930s and 40s and am considering doing a Thanksgiving meal from one of the issues.

The WWII issues are just amazing, and include a group of meatless Thanksgiving menus. I don't like turkey much, so that would suit me just fine.

But the apt point was made earlier in this thread that most people prefer traditional dishes at Thanksgiving -- not sure my inclination to experiment will be appreciated!

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!

[SethG]

Busboy, re: FIL and BIL and the dreaded bird: have them help you do a Thompson's turkey, but do the version that requires that you drink at every basting and every other step before and after.  You won't mind it a bit. 

Suzanne, you kept this wonderful Thompson's variation from me! How could you? Now I have to make it again come Thanksgiving.

And Sam, your turkey is out of control-- I don't know if I dare post whatever it is I'll be making after that!

[slkinsey]

And Sam, your turkey is out of control-- I don't know if I dare post whatever it is I'll be making after that!

Well... the foie gras and truffle is really gilding the lilly -- not that it's difficult to include them. But the preparation of the actual turkey and stuffing couldn't be easier: The leg meat can be braised the day before, moistened with some of the braising liquid and reheated for service. The stuffing is already pre-portioned, and is also only reheating. And I simply throw the breasts in the oven around 45 minutes before I want to serve them with a Polder probe stuck into the thickest part of one breast. No worrying about dry breast meat or underdone leg meat. No hours of tying up the oven. No carving at the table. None of those things that can make cooking a turkey such a chore (not to mention such a hit-or-miss operation). So, the real secret of my method is that it seems much more elaborate and difficult than the traditional version, but the fact is that it's a lot easier. The so-called "simple" method of roasting a whole stuffed turkey is, IMO, the most difficult way to do it.

Full disclosure: my method is adapted from a Ripert technique I read about.

[budrichard]

I am surprised that there is not much discussion about the origin of the main course! In my opinion there are two options, wild and unfrozen, unadulterated bird. To obtain the former, you must hunt or at least have a hunter willing to part with his bird. Since turkey's are very difficult to hunt, good luck. My last wild gobbler was 25#'s live weight shot in the spring, so he was dismembered and we have a breast left which normally would be enough for 6-8 people. The legs, thighs and wings were cooked in sour cream. Wild turkeys are extremely good and they do have a substantial amount of 'white' meat on the breast.

Now on to a 'fresh' turkey'. I have found turkey's marked as 'fresh' and 'All Natural' that have the obligatory hydrolised protein injection. Not for me! It is becoming very difficult to obtain an unadulterated bird. Frozen is even worse as they are subject to even more chemical concoctions. All this is brought to you by the same people who soak your scallops and now fish and pork in preservative to supposedly make the product last longer but we know the reason is to increase the weight. Try browning those scallops!

So where will you get your bird and what kind will it be? -Dick

[jwagnerdsm]

Thanksgiving this year is going to be one of the defining moments of our year spent eating nothing but Iowa grown food. In July, my father-in-law told me matter-of-factly that we would be having dinner at a club here in Des Moines since there would be "nothing to eat" at our house. Since then, I've been carefully culling the best of the markets and our garden to make sure that we would have everything we need to, well, shove thanksgiving up his a**. Our fresh turkey is being raised on a farm northwest of town and my network of farmers have stowed various root vegetables for us to be delivered the we before the holiday. We'll have about 20 for dinner. Our dining room table seats 12 so we'll have a few diners scattered around the house. We always start with people going around the table telling what they are thankful for. This year, we'll sing the Johnny Appleseed prayer, a favorite of ours during this Iowa food year.

Here's the menu:

Soup cooked in a pumpkin with grilled polenta sticks.

Free-range turkey brined in a simple salt/sugar mixture and stuffed with sage and aromatic vegetables.

Sage dressing

Creamed onions

A variation of the famous green bean casserole: beans in a white sauce with carmelized onion topping.

Corn souffle

Sweet potatoes in a bourbon sauce

Carrot ring filled with buttered peas

Crudites, homemade bread and butter pickles, pickled beets, spiced apple rings.

Apple tart and pumpkin pie.

[slkinsey]

I am surprised that there is not much discussion about the origin of the main course! ... So where will you get your bird and what kind will it be?

I'll be ordering a mostly-organic free-range turkey from my local full-service butcher.

I've been carefully culling the best of the markets and our garden to make sure that we would have everything we need to, well, shove thanksgiving up his a**.

Yes!

[Huevos del Toro]

This is the menu a hobby-cook friend is doing this year. She cooks for me pretty regularly and, needless to say, I enjoy it immensely. I expect 5 or 6 people. She will plate it and serve in courses. I have no idea what wines will be served.

Liver Paté with Wild Mushrooms & Cognac

Oysters Rockefeller Soup

Waldorf Style Salad; Apple, Pear, & Bleu Cheese

Herb Roasted Turkey with Apple Cider Gravy

Cornbread, Andouille Sausage, & Sage Dressing

Sweet Potato Brûlé

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar & Pancetta

Cranberry Citrus Sorbet

Popovers with Sage Butter

Caramel Coated Pumpkin Flan with Frosted Grapes

[melkor]

So where will you get your bird and what kind will it be? -Dick

I've been buying willie birds since I moved to california, they are raised an hour or so from here, without any bullshit. They seem to offer mail-order but it looks pretty spendy. I don't know of any better source for turkeys in california.