O.K. I’m FINALLY getting enthused about cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We have a huge (22 lbs) turkey even though we won’t have that many people. I just think big turkeys taste better—-something about the longer roasting period I guess. Whenever I cook smaller turkeys I don’t like them as well. So here’s the tentative menu:
Roast Turkey—I’ll probably do some kind of spice rub under the skin…don’t know what yet
Stuffing—I usually cook it in the turkey…I think this year I’ll try it separate. I usually add spicy sausage, apples, lots of onions, celery and garlic. I have some good olive bread in the freezer I’m going to add to some basic stuffing mix. Lots of fresh parsley and sage too….
Basic mashed potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes and parsnips. I don’t like sweet potatoes sweetened a whole lot and I also generally don’t like two pureed dishes but I read (somewhere, I don’t remember) about a puree of sweet potatoes and parsnips that sounded great…
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with bacon, dijon mustard and cream (an experiment based on a couple of recipes I read)
Two kinds of cranberry sauce because I like it so much…..one with a vanilla bean and cardomon seeds and one is a relish with jalopenos, mint and pecans….
I’m making turkey stock right now for the gravy—I try to make it ahead so all you have to do is pour in the drippings and you’re done. Good turkey stock with a splash of vermouth or maderia….
Kraft macaroni and cheese. Yup. The boys want it and I’m really thankful for them so what the hell….it’s a holiday…..
For dessert I’m thinking apple pie because my Dad loves it. Brownies and cup cakes because that’s what the boys want. Ernie and I aren’t really dessert people so we don’t care. Sometimes I make Indian Pudding….hmmm, that sounds pretty good, particularly as we have a quart of Custard Cup Vanilla in the freezer….we’ll see…
I usually obsess about appetizers but on Thanksgiving all I do is grapes and nuts in the shell
What do you think???
The menu sounds sooo great, I’m fantasizing about jumping on a plane Thursday morning to get there in time for dinner….Hope you have a wonderful time! Miss you, Gisela.
ohhhh Gisela, I’d love nothing more than to have you sitting there in my kitchen talking to me while I cooked….
Your menu sounds so much more gourmet than mine — and me the self-proclaimed food blogger!
So funny that you say you might try cooking the stuffing separately this time; I had just decided, screw it, I’m putting the stuffing in the bird again! Had done it on the side for a few years for various reasons, and I’m never happy with it that way. It’s just NOT the same as when it cooks inside the turkey.
It appears I’m ranting.
On Simply Recipes the other day Elise had a shredded Brussels sprouts dish that looked great. Your idea with the bacon, cream, etc. sounds out of this world. I thought to try Brussels sprouts, but then decided that based on the people I’m serving, green beans almondine would be better received.
Also funny: At lunchtime today a few of us were discussing mac and cheese and I was considering adding it to the menu, for the little people. It does go well with the dinner as a whole, I think. Of course, food blogger extraordinaire that I am, I’d make it from scratch.
Love the idea of the vermouth or madeira in the stock too. Thanks for all the yummy things to read and think about!
Oh — my menu:
Turkey, upside-down style
Chestunut stuffing
Gravy
Green beans with almonds
Mashed potatoes topped with crispy fried shallots
Fresh cranberry relish
Rolls (store-bought)
Pumpkin pie (store-bought)
And as if this comment weren’t already long enough — about browning the turkey: I thought I’d turn it over breast side up about an hour before it’s done (rather than just the 20 minutes Elise suggests), so that side gets browner. I even saw a recipe on another food blogger’s site that said to cook it breast-side down for just the first hour…
well, the thing is Lisa, is that the boys will most likely only eat mac and cheese and mashed potatoes (I thought my kids would eat everything but I though a lot of things before I had kids…) so I’m really just cooking for Ernie, me and my parents—and possibly my brother in law. So it’s a good time to experiment as my parents are always good guinea pigs. I know a lot of people don’t like brussels sprouts but I’ve managed to convert Ernie by cooking them shredded….oh, and with bacon….
I’m really thinking about trying the turkey breast side down….