@threeofthree I do boil the potatoes. While I don’t know if it makes a differences, I don’t bake it off until the day of. I take it out of the freeze usually a day or 2 in advance as they take a while to thaw if I use my 10x15 Pyrex. My mother over the years has baked it off part of the way so it doesn’t have to spend as much time in the oven the day of. Either way, they both taste the same; the cream cheese and parmesan might help with the creaminess!
As my mother has had a break the last several years from cooking, we are still required to make her original recipes, otherwise she complains. Luckily, now that my cousin has taken over my hosting as my husband passed away, we get to do things a bit differently. Mom can’t really tell my cousin what she can and can’t serve; well she could, but she knows to hold her tongue!
Several years ago I did Thanksgiving by Costco. It was just me and my kids and it was very easy and pretty good. Bought a rotisserie chicken, the stuffing and potatoes in the boxes, and several veggie choices and pie.
I think we’ll be doing that this year as we are going to my daughter’s house and she’s not much of a cook, plus just moved into her house so not sure what the pots and pans situation will be. We’ll be there most of the week before so many meals to get through.
Went to the chichi supermarket during lunch and saw they were selling smoked turkey legs! Scored a couple for Mr. who always complains that turkey doesn’t have enough legs.
Not sure if anyone is looking for a shortcut, but at holiday time Costco always has 5 lb trays of organic Yukon gold mashed potatoes in the deli section for a little over $10. They are really excellent. Much better than the Reser Main St Bistro kind in the refrigerated area.
I heat them in the microwave and then keep them warm in a crockpot. I get a tray of them every year for Christmas.
Well I got a free 14# turkey from local grocery store for 500 loyalty points. It should be just the right size for the group, since a good portion of them are vegans. I told them we can cook it & bring it whole for someone else to carve. Haha! The toughest thing was making space in freezer for turkey. (I had space in fridge.)
Looks like SIL will be inviting several of his colleagues from his side gig workplace, plus his post-doc and a new faculty member he just hired (all singles except for 1 or 2 couples) over for a Friendsgiving. The majority of the guests are not Americans so Thanksgiving really isn’t a thing for them. But Thanksgiving is long weekend and a US holiday so SIL figures it’s the polite thing to do. We may end up with as many as 12-15 people, including the 6 of us.
No TV football games will be watched because none of them follow American football. Not even the Americans. (Footy, possibly. Football, hard no.) Discussion topics will largely be physics and math.
The kicker— almost all of them are vegetarians or vegans.
(Sigh. I just can’t get a break. No one wants to eat turkey. Except me…..)
Dinner will probably be a buffet. D and I will bake pies, make salads and maybe a vegetarian main or two. SIL wants to order pizza. Guests will bring…whatever.
If I was the only one who liked turkey in the group, I’d make the portion of the turkey I liked (thighs) and not bother with the whole bird. That way the portion I cooked would be perfect and not dry or raw. Actually, who knows? Some of the guests may never have had turkey and decide they like it. Maybe just get a small one so you won’t have endless leftovers if you aren’t just going to buy the portion you like best (or get a smoked one if you like that).
I’ve been looking for turkey thighs at the supermarket, but haven’t had any luck yet.
I fully plan to braise a turkey thigh (assuming I can find one) & make stuffing and gravy just for myself. I did last year–though it was a half turkey breast because I couldn’t find a thigh.
If I get desperate, I’ll just buy a small fresh turkey (under 10 lbs) and butcher it myself. I learned how to dismember birds while still in high school and have no qualms about breaking down a bird. I have a really good boning knife. I’ll cook part, freezer the rest for future use, and use the back & wings to make stock.
Ran to Costco during lunch to pick up my cats’ insulin so did some shopping and walked out with a 13 lb organic turkey and a smoked turkey of a similar size! Yay! The cashier said they just got turkeys. Also grabbed some tinned smoked trout by Fishwife. My husband loves that stuff!
I’ll buy turkey parts late next week to make the stock for the Cook’s Illustrated make-ahead gravy. My plan at the moment is to make the gravy that weekend, vacuum seal it, and refrigerate until Thanksgiving. Before dinner I’ll make gravy using the bits from the freshly-roasted bird and add the make-ahead gravy to it. We haven’t run out of gravy in the years since I started this method.
H used to smoke a small, whole turkey to go with a roasted bird, but we’ve switched to him smoking two or three boneless turkey breasts instead, vacuum sealing, and then reheating using the sous vide on TGiving morning. He can do this days ahead of time and it comes out like it was fresh.
Mr. B axed ordering TG sides. He wants my homemade spread, lol. So I have acquired fennel and celeriac to make my signature roasted roots in addition to mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Will serve with green salad- Mr. doesn’t like green beans. And no stuffing as Mr. doesn’t like it either. Makes my life easier lol.
