I know it’s a wee bit early, but I decided to start this thread since my cornbread (which I will freeze) for my dressing is in the oven as I type this.
I am going to use today to menu plan both for TG Day as well as the days before and after. We will go out for Tex-Mex on Thanksgiving Eve. That’s what we like to do. I will plan what we are having for the rest of the week and then make two grocery lists. One for next week when I will get all the staples I will need and one for fresh/last-minute items for the Monday or Tuesday the week of TG. I’ll also make a day-by-day list of cooking tasks for that week.
I’m just starting. My daughter emailed the spread sheet we used last year that had food assignments and a detailed day of tasks for the guests. We have a lot of family coming who want to help. Last year we found that giving assigned chores was helpful over 10 people wanting to wash dishes.
We have to adjust the menu to accommodate one grandchild with severe allergies. No dairy, no egg and no nuts are the three big ones.
I picked up a few things at the grocery today that seem to get picked up quickly.
I’ve never had cornbread for TG, only rolls. That sounds intriguing in that you can freeze them. Do you reheat before serving after they’ve thawed, or just serve room temperature?
I used to make my cornbread stuffing from scratch but Pepperidge Farms makes a gread corn bread dressing. You still add onions, celery etc but it saves a ton of time.
We have rolls as our bread. This is cornbread that goes into my cornbread dressing. My dressing is made with a mix of cornbread and dried out French bread. We do dressing (in a pan) not stuffing (in the bird).
So, today I baked my cornbread, crumbled it up, and put it in the freezer.
This is the recipe I use. I probably use a bit more broth. I just bake it in a casserole dish - I don’t shape it into patties.
Off topic from food, but D26 will be staying on campus since they only get Thurs/Fri off for Thanksgiving. She’s going to spend the holiday with family friends nearby. I’d like to get them a little thank you gift- was thinking Harry & David pears, but that seems kind of generic.
Any suggestions for things we could send as a little holiday ‘thanks for hosting our kid’ gift?
I think a good gift is very appropriate and after the heavy holiday weekend food lears might be appreciated!
A second suggestion might be a breakfast basket - like Wolfermans or something - a way to help that holiday weekend by making a morning meal easy for them or for them to enjoy another morning.
I have like 20 people coming for Thanksgiving and everyone brings something. It usually a fantastic smorgasboard of stuff. My sister-in-law makes a cornucopia out of challa bread, and the stuffs it with 3 different types of homemade rolls. My buddy that I grew up with in Louisiana often brings up a gumbo, and I think this year he’s going to do some creole squash dish.
I’m in charge of the turkey and I do it rotisserie style after brining. I’m also thinking of making a creole butter and inject it into the turkey before cooking. I also make a pecan pie from scratch. My wife makes a cornbread and andouille sausage dressing, gravy, apple pie, mashed potatoes, and whatever we think we need that people aren’t bringing.
We are having Thanksgiving at my Mom’s. This is the first time she has hosted since 2023. My Mom loves hosting Thanksgiving and we always have a great time. I think there will be 20 people for the day. I am on a text chain with my SIL’s and my niece and we will talk about all of the sides and drinks we will each bring. My Mom likes to roast a turkey in the oven and my brother will do a second one on the grill.
I know the day will be a bit emotional for all of us. Thanksgiving 2023 my parents had all of their children and grandchildren at Thanksgiving and my H took some wonderful photos of all of us. It was only 13 months later that we lost my Dad.
We’re heading up to my parents’ house this year, so I’m not doing the cooking (thank goodness)… but if I were, this would be a typical Prezbucky spread:
Turkey a la Tom (brined, buttered, and baked → “Triple B” treatment)
Cornbread dressing (moist and dense with plenty of broth, sage, celery, and onion)
Wisconsin supercheese green bean casserole (GBC plus a lot of sharp cheddar)
Immersion-blended potatoes (glistening, with lots of butter and a little bit of milk and sour cream)
Mashed butternut squash (about 12 hours in the oven, haha)
Turkey gravy (sort of – chicken broth, turkey jus, roux)
Rolls and butter (not homemade at all)
Cranberry sauce (ditto)
Pumpkin pie and either cherry or apple pie (ditto)
For brevity’s sake I did not list all seasonings, but everything savory gets at least S&P. Alas, dad isn’t supposed to have much salt and pepper can upset his stomach, so both will be dive-bombing my plate this year. hehe
I think my older sister volunteered to host.
H and I will do our usual - I’ll do the Cook’s Illustrated make ahead gravy and H will smoke turkey breasts to have with the roast turkey my sister will prepare.
We will go to my aunt and uncle’s as we normally do, but I have no idea what I will bring. Normally I’m the homemade dessert person. BUT, the other day I got a text from my aunt that said her D’s new SO will be making homemade cheesecake and apple pie! I told her she needed to tell him we have roles in our family and TG desserts are MY role. Of course I was kidding, and I’ll figure out a thing or 2 (plus wine). Both of her kids will be bringing new SOs, so it will be interesting. (Her kids are more the generation of my kids, so even though I’m their cousins I’m more like an aunt).
We’re going rogue. My brother’s family is coming from Ohio. They all love lobster, so we will be having a clam bake. Lobster, steamers and clam chowder. My son requested these baked potatoes, so I’ll just make some baked potatoes for those that want chowder potatoes.
I’ll probably make a fall salad and some kind of dessert to round it out
The only thing that is making me nervous is that our store won’t accept lobster reservations and I’ll need quite a few. It usually wouldn’t be a problem, but I don’t know if they’ll get a lot in that week or not. Since I’ll have to get them the night before, I’m going to defrost a turkey just in case.
That will free up my time to be a bit more creative with the rest of the spread!
