Thanksgiving

Parent Cafe
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<p>LasMa- I wish my list of thankful could have been yours. I burned the hell out of my hand check on the turkey; I hit the top element of the oven with two fingers. When pulling out the turkey that was warming which we had sliced in a pyrex with juice, I spilled the juice all over the floor as I tip the pyrex. Lastly, if you check my recent post titled virus or food poisoning, you will find that we indeed might have managed to give food poisoning to at least 7 of those attending. </p>

<p>Glad your Thanksgiving went better than mine!! Actually, until everyone got sick today, I was very pleased with our evening.</p>

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<p>I did it! The jello mold…blended the recipe with my memory (which hasn’t failed me entirely yet). I added grated carrots, pineapple and cranberries. It was a work in progress. Good…not great.</p>

<p>You know the LOOOONG discussions about cooking turkeys…letting them sit etc? I had it planned…the timing for the turkey was an hour before food serving. My oven thought otherwise and shut down. Instead of the ready in one hour with an hour of resting…slow roasting…I changed ovens and threw up the temp to 425 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes before serving I pulled the turkey out…fabulous…not dry…cooked through.</p>

<p>Had it been my first round up…I would have lost it.</p>

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<p>I can’t remember who posted the make-ahead crockpot mashed potatoes, but thank you–they went over very, very well. We keep kosher so I used Tofutti vegan sour cream and cream cheese and they were still fabulous. Added a big spoonful of Earth Balance margarine (butter equivalent). Everyone raved that they were fabulous. I loved the last-minuteness.</p>

<p>The other big improvement was putting up a list of all of the tasks that had to be done prior to dinner. That way, family members could take a look at what was on the list and just choose what they wanted to work on…and then cross that off the list when done. That works much better than asking the two hosts “what now?”</p>

<p>Our convection oven probe went wonky and didn’t go up past 120 degrees. After almost three hours, I got suspicious and pulled out (unstuffed) turkey #1 to do a temperature check with an instant read thermometer. Yikes, 200 degrees! :eek: The white meat on that bird was a little overdone but the dark meat was perfect. For (stuffed) bird #2 I knew to check earlier, and that bird got done perfectly. </p>

<p>Kosher birds are often notoriously underplucked, with pinfeathers and bits of quill. These two were especially in need of a thorough going-over with tweezers and needle-nosed pliers, so it’s a good thing that I did that on Wednesday night. I discovered that D2 likes doing the plucking, so I’ll know for next year to give her that task. That allowed the birds to sit uncovered in the fridge and airdry a bit, making for crispier skin.</p>

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<p>^^ Love love LOVE your idea for a chore list! I’m doing that from now on!</p>

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<p>My daughter worked up from last Sunday until Thanksgiving noon . She is ususally the one who helps me cook …she was involved with the Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia and we were given tickets to the event…I decided to cook everything ( except the turkey , which was brining ) the day before and SOOO glad I did.
It took me all day , but T-day was so relaxing for me this year
My husband stayed home and rinsed the bird and put it in the oven.
I am going to do this next year too</p>

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<p>Can you stuff the bird and then put it in the roasting bag?</p>

<p>Also - can someone give me a guideline for how much liquid you’d add if making stuffing in a casserole? I’ve only ever made it in the bird - but was curious, if I ever just wanted to cook up a turkey breast with some dressing, could I just use my stuffing (non)recipe and add some turkey stock/broth and cook it separately? </p>

<p>Also, love the idea of adding a jar of prepared gravy to the pan. I think I’ll do that at Christmas.</p>

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<p>JustaMom: I cook turkey separately from the stuffing quite often. I find the amount of stock you add to the stuffing depends on individual tastes. You want to make sure the stuffing is moist, but beyond that, it depends. My DH likes the crust that forms on the edges and top, so I bake the stuffing uncovered in a fairly shallow pan. I mix an egg or two into the stuffing to bind it all together.</p>

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<p>SlitheyTove, I love your great idea of creating a ‘to do’ list! I’m going to try to remember to do that next year. Can you share items from your list to get me started?</p>

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<p>My mother and I also do a to do list; you would be surprised what you can forget when you get busy and have a house full of guess. I have forgotten to serve ice cream with a birthday cake during a celebration; no one wanted to ask if I had any as they just assumed I wasn’t going to serve ice cream! One year I forgot to put the butter out on the table for Thanksgiving.</p>

<p>I try to make my list in order of the time I need to get it done, and I make it days ahead while my brain is not on overload :wink: My list also includes my errands to be run and things to buy. My SIL is great about writing down what she serves on large holidays and which family member made what; she then makes a note after the event as to whether we needed more or less of an item. I would put this as a word document and then save it on the computer and also make a print copy. When your holiday comes around again next year, you don’t need to struggle to remember if you needed one or two pans of dressing, or an extra turkey breast. </p>

<p>My daughter laughed when she saw my list this week that included washing my hair Wednesday night. My hair takes forever to wash, dry, and flat iron so I wanted to make sure I did it the night before as Thursday tends to get crazy around here. When I get into holiday mode, there is no telling what I can forget and not remember until it is too late!</p>

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<p>LasMa, Beil, glad to hear you like the list idea! I typed it up on the computer so I’ll have it for next year, and I’m already amending it with the notes I scribbled on the hardcopy that was put up on the fridge. That’s also where I put up printed-out copies of recipes. I only made a list to cover the day of Thanksgiving. Next year, I will probably extend it to cover the day before.</p>

<p>We scheduled dinner for 3 PM, and amazingly everything was ready to go at 3. </p>

<p>ONGOING: WASH DISHES</p>

<p>ANY TIME:
Snap green beans
Blanch green beans, put in ice bath, drain
Make cherry sauce, put in glass bowl, put in fridge
Put drinks in fridge</p>

<p>10-ish: First turkey out of oven
Slice up turkey</p>

<p>10:30 AM: Start Mashed Potatoes (1.5 recipes worth)
Boil potatoes (whole, in skins)
Skin, mash, etc.
Put in crockpot to cook (can hold for four hours)</p>

<p>11:00: Pick up Stuffing AND CARVING KNIFE and take Costco stuff over to parents</p>

<p>11:45: Stuffed Turkey goes into oven</p>

<p>2 PM: Spicy Garbanzos and pistachios ONE THIRD SPICE</p>

<p>Make Green Beans With Lemon and Garlic</p>

<p>Sweet potatoes: scrub 3, rub with oil, put in oven</p>

<p>Extra stuffing goes into oven in casserole dish.</p>

<p>Make gravy</p>

<p>TABLE/BUFFET:
Set up buffet order w/post its: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes/green beans (those two in chafing dish), acorn squash, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, cherry sauce. Put out serving utensils, trivets, etc.</p>

<p>Set up tables
Make seating chart, make place cards.
Table cloths
Plates (13 + two in highchairs, + 4 more for dessert)
Silverware
Glasses
Candles for centerpieces </p>

<p>Pitcher of ice water
Put out appetizers (pecans, olives, spicy garbanzos)
Have calvados out
Have dessert plates (glass) out</p>

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<p>^^ Ohhh, so you even had them cooking some items, thus the recipes on the fridge.</p>

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<p>We have quality help. :smiley: :slight_smile: They were actually vying for the bean snapping. Maybe we will take a page from Tom Sawyer and have folks bid for the job. ;)</p>

<p>The toughest job ended up being making up the seating chart. That took five people about 20 minutes to work out.</p>

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<p>Does anyone else have a sil like mine? She comes late, when everyone is waiting to eat, and first asks me for platters and dishes and proceeds to “make” her contribution to the dinner table. So, we eat about 45 minutes later than planned.</p>

<p>I’ve brined Turkeys in the past and made them many different ways over the years. The way I made it this year was the easiest and tastiest I’ve ever tried.</p>

<p>Prep the night before. 20 lb. Turkey, slathered it with olive oil and spices and garlic. Stuffed Rosemary & Sage into cavity, along with a cored apple. Turn over so that the breast is down on the rack of the roasting pan. Cover tightly with tin foil. Roast for an hour at 250 degrees and then proceed to turn down the temperature and roast it at 200 degrees until you’re ready to serve. We were scheduled to eat at 2pm. It roasted all night at 200 degrees and it was moist and falling off the bone when we went to carve it! I put it on broil for a few minutes at the end so the skin could crisp up a bit, without the tin foil. Easy peasy. I let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.</p>

<p>After this way, I will never bother with any other way again!</p>

<p>See, Mom60: You’re such a pro now…Thanksgiving will become “your” holiday to host!</p>

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<p>Chocchipcookie, glad the dish worked out!</p>

<p>My SIL was out of town until Monday evening before Thanksgiving - gotta admit I was disappointed to see this was the ONE dish she chose NOT to make!!!</p>

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<p>The only problem with my SIL was that she brought a large round tray of individual fruit tarts (from a store) that had to be refrigerated - it was a trick to fit into the fridge without tilting with all sorts of odd shaped items already in there.</p>

<p>I made this recipe with a 15lb TJ turkey and it was great - looked fabulous. There were a couple of steps in the recipe that I hadn’t done before - air drying the turkey for an hour or so before roasting, and adding a cup of liquid to the pan when starting basting.</p>

<p>[Cider-Glazed</a> Brined Turkey with Apple Brandy Gravy | Cook It Allergy Free](<a href=“http://cookitallergyfree.com/blog/2010/11/cider-glazed-brined-turkey-with-apple-brandy-gravy/]Cider-Glazed”>http://cookitallergyfree.com/blog/2010/11/cider-glazed-brined-turkey-with-apple-brandy-gravy/)</p>

<p>I made Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Hazelnut butter, and Lawry’s creamed corn, the day before. While the rinsed turkey was air drying, I made and baked the Challah-apple stuffing - first time out of the bird for me! I tried inserting a meat thermometer but it hit over 200 in the first hour so I gave up on it, turned the temperature down to 325 instead of 350 after the first hour, and just trusted to timing, which worked. While the cooked turkey was resting, I turned the oven back up and heated the sweet potatoes and stuffing and made the gravy. It all worked out beautifully and everyone was happy. Our galley kitchen is too small for more than DH and me to work so I put DS in charge of drinks and the rest of my family just sat around, which is what they usually do anyway.</p>

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<p>^^^As much as I love to make new dishes for each holiday meal, it’s still a “letdown” when you love a dish so much and then it doesn’t appear on the table when you expect that it would! :frowning: Abasket…maybe you can get her to make it again for another family meal so you don’t have to wait another year! :wink: Christmas???</p>

<p>Thanks again, we will definitely make it again and improvise a bit with the ingredients…bought the wild rice from Trader Joe’s and it was wonderful! :slight_smile: A new favorite in our home!</p>

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<p>Truly best turkey EVER this year: from Whole Foods, the Pastured one.
The skin was amazing, like bacon: tender, crispy and gooey and caramelized. ALL types of meat were yummy and held together and not dry.
Cooked it at 350, not starting at 450… may also have made a difference. No tent or foil. Just basted every 15-20 min.</p>

<p>p.s. Doggies will get their big treat next: simmered entire carcass and skin for 2 days, removed bones that were not melted. They will get a dollop of this turkey goop in each meal for the next week or so, to their great joy. Turkey soup is not liked by some two-footed family members here, so this is the best solution. You know, I love to cook for my dogs- they are always thrilled with the results LOL</p>

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<p>Somebody recommended bagging the turkey, which I had never heard of before - did it to a stuffed turkey, and it was the best and easiest one ever. Minimal basting, and a perfect finish!</p>

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<p>The cooking bags come with instructions for stuffed or unstuffed. The cooking time is a bit longer stuffed.</p>

<p>Our family prefers the stuffing to be baked separately. (It’s handy too - my mom brings her well-loved sausage stuffing pre-cooked. It initally stays on a hotplate. Then when the turkey comes out of the oven, the stuffing goes in uncovered for a final browning). Per our tradition, we partially fill the turkey cavity with chunked apple, orange, onion, celery before putting it in the bag. </p>

<p>Reminder - Always check front and back of turkey for wings and giblets. One year we almost missed the “rear package”.</p>

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<p>WNP2–I made your cranberry relish for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. In fact, there wasn’t any left at the end of the meal. Everyone asked me to make it again so they could eat it with turkey sandwiches. It’s a great recipe. (I used currants because I didn’t have raisins–that seemed fine to me.)</p>