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<p>We always gets our turkey from a local organic farmer – H went to get it this afternoon and just called to say he would be a little late cause he had to wait for them to dress the turkey – how’s that for fresh??</p>
<p>For my husband, the entire feast is just the prelude to his Nirvana. - Turkey sandwich before bedtime. I bake all our bread, so it’s fresh plain white bread…a mix of dark and white meat, mayo (NOT Miricle Whip), Dijon mustard, good pickles. He’s happy.</p>
<p>So, that’s a long way of saying that while the rest of us like turkey at Thanksgiving, he’d be happy with just the turkey.</p>
<p>Orsters… (But the Iraqi refugee who lives with us last year made Kuba, and I’d tried the turkey for Kuba any day of the week!)</p>
<p>We’re having gumbo this year for Thanksgiving. It’s kind of crazy because my family has eaten the same thing for Thanksgiving for all of my almost 60 years - the traditional turkey feast with all the trimmings. This year, my niece wanted to make gumbo and we all looked at each other and said, “sounds good.” So gumbo is is. My D is making pecan pie so there will be a touch of tradition.</p>
<p>I also can take or leave the turkey. It is only there as a cavity for the cornbread dressing and the bones for making leftover turkey soup</p>
<p>Sides are the highlight for me!</p>
<p>Totally about the turkey…and sides. I love it all ! I feel for my daughter this year who shares her love of Thanksgiving as much as I do. She isn’t able to come home and is visiting some of my family. She is a very good cook and offered to make the entire meal. She was disappointed that my mother bought a turkey breast instead of a whole bird…making it impossible to make decent gravy and stuffing. Mashed potatoes are on the hit list too. Looks like we will be doing it all up at Christmas too.
I just prepared the brine for the bird and realized that a 13 lb turkey brining weighs close to 50 lbs !</p>
<p>I like turkey but the rest of my family can take it or leave it. So I just buy an already roasted turkey breast from the gocery deli and heat it up. It’s enough for the four of us for one meal without a bunch of leftovers that nobody (except me) is interested in.</p>
<p>I like minor bits of turkey to go with the sides. This year my sig other will do the turkey at his house, as he LIKES that sort of thing, and I will roast a few legs for the smell and gravy fixings. </p>
<p>Vegetarian for many years, I’m far happier to ignore the meat. But a little fat in gravy and stuffing is a magic elixir.</p>
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This is also my position. Sadly (for me), I have had to go to an in-law’s house for Thanksgiving for the last ten years for a “gourmet” meal which includes turkey, but all the sides are weird and ever-changing variations on the standard versions. So, the “gravy” is a thin mushroom sauce. Usually there are no mashed potatoes–instead there will be something like roasted brussels sprouts with shallots. And so on. It’s painful.</p>
<p>I am making roasted brussels sprouts with yams and chestnuts. No mashed potatoes. Never have mashed potatoes.</p>
<p>Mini, I’m with you! Why eat mashed potatoes and rolls when you can have stuffing and sweet potatoes? I don’t really get the whole gravy thing either. I make tasty gravy, but really it’s for guests. I far prefer cranberry sauce with my turkey, and my stuffing doesn’t need gravy!</p>
<p>I’m making roasted brussels sprouts too…one of many sides. There are some things that cannot change, but I don’t mind some variations on the sides</p>
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I don’t want to have to choose–I want all of that.</p>
<p>I’ll have to go to a diner on Friday to get it, though.</p>
<p>Turkey is very important to me.
My MIL loves to host Thanksgiving and we go to her house. She doesn’t make mashed potatoes and that is my kids favorite. I usually bring the potatoes and make the gravy. MIL version of gravy is just the drippings. My younger D would prefer I make the gravy from the packet. Some years I make two batches of gravy. This is my same kid who loves instant potato flakes over the real thing. This year I bought the ready made potatoes from Costco. I hope they are decent. I also bought the gravy ready made from Whole Foods. I figure that is a compromise between homemade gravy and Knorr.
We always end up with way too much dessert.</p>
<p>Thanksgiving is about traditions. If you have always had turkey dont mess with that. </p>
<p>Some side dishes may be tradition but for the most part I think you can change those around for some vareity. Im getting sick of sweet potatoes covered with sugar goo.</p>
<p>We had Thanksgiving at my MIL’s house the year we got married and I literally burst into tears when I saw the goop she was advertising as mashed potatoes.</p>
<p>Hunt, I think you are a saint. I’m not sure I have the fortitude to give up my vision of Thanksgiving every year.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine having T’giving without turkey but I like turkey so…</p>
<p>We are going to one of my cousins tomorrow but I bought a 22lber and will make it on Friday, along with all the sides. We will have plenty of leftovers and eventually I will make turkey soup with the carcass.</p>
<p>I am famous for holiday disasters. One recurring one is the turkey that is cooked on the outside and not really cooked on the inside. I finally figured out that I was overstuffing it. One year I opened the turkey to find that it smelled BAD! I think we found a supermarket open to get a replacement. Same thing happened to me on Christmas when I bought a sirloin tip form a reputable butcher shop nearby. Opened the shrink wrap to find rotten meat. We had Chinese food that year. Two years ago, I was doing Italian food for Christmas and ordered a tray of meatballs and sauce from a restaurant. Opened it Christmas morning to find lots of meatballs but no sauce. Had to make a pot of sauce Christmas morning. Awesome
Now, when I buy the turkey, I do the “smell test” the day before. One year, after the previous rotten turkey disaster, I did the smell test and had to return it to the store! Good catch!</p>
<p>This year’s turkey has been tested and passed the smell test! Now, can I get some advice on gravy? How do you make yours? I make great gravy as long as there are good drippings but sometimes that doesn’t happen and I can’t figure out why. Does anyone have a good back up gravy plan or magic trick? I did buy a container at a local caterer for back up but it looks a little anemic.</p>
<p>You will ruin the turkey if you stuff it because you have to overcook the turkey to make sure the stuffing doesn’t kill anyone. I heard a report from a chef on NPR who said that it’s fine if people want to sacrifice the turkey for the stuffing but if you get the stuffing to the proper temp, you will dry out the turkey. He had a trick in which he cooked the turkey with a can in it to hold the cavity open. He then stuffs the turkey with cooked dressing after the turkey is done and lets the turkey rest for the appropriate time before serving. He said he had been fooling people for years with that trick.</p>
<p>The way to get great gravy is to cook a hen separately for the gravy. Then make chicken salad with the meat.</p>
<p>I was at Costco today and I saw several carts with 3-4 packages of those ready made mashed potatoes… Will someone who bought them report back how they are- I’m just curious…</p>