<p>It will be a simple cherry pie for me I’m also roasting 2 turkey breasts this year - have been doing the big bird for more than 2 decades and am sick of the mess.</p>
<p>This year we are trading our nut allergy relatives for our “normal” eating relatives with two Vegans thrown in the mix. Vegan is easier than nut allergies imo.</p>
<p>Making a chickpea and roasted cashew dip for appetizer along with a chopped eggplant salad dip.</p>
<p>One cousin who is vegan is bringing sweet potato, quinoa, wild rice croquettes. Yum. Everyone is bringing so much food and there is only 14 of us. I think there’ll be enough food for 40! Also having Brussel Sprouts! Lots & lots of food.</p>
<p>MommaJ – you can NOT talk up that gravy and then withhold the recipe!!! </p>
<p>Also intrigued by the Cooking Light brussel sprouts. I roast mine with pancetta usually and they emerge not in the least healthy but very tasty. </p>
<p>I was thinking of doing my green dish from a recipe I ran across that involves broccolini and fresh peas and swiss chard sort of braised. Also thinking of doing a “roasted salad” this year with beets among other things. </p>
<p>The new empty nest has me discovering all sorts of energy on this that was eluding me the past few years.</p>
<p>Since we are in the middle of a huge renovation, which is not going particularly well, the plan was to have Thanksgiving at a nicer restaurant in town. But I just got a call from DS2, and he has mono. Looks like turkey sandwiches this year!</p>
<p>I actually may have got the idea for the squash here from CC! Can’t remember for sure.</p>
<p>I have NEVER understood how anyone could like mince meat pie. That and fruit cake - there’s not much I don’t like, but I DON’T like those two things!</p>
<p>Has anyone seen or bought the 4 way pie from SAMs Club?? A friend at work was showing me it - a lattice pie, 1/4 each - cherry , peach,apple, and raspberry. (?). I thnk that would make me want FOUR slivers of pie!!! How do you think they do it? Some sort of divided pie pan!?</p>
<p>My usual pitch for the Gourmet/Epicurous “Rich Turkey Stock” recipe ( roast legs wanderings high in the oven for color, then roast veg then simmer, save, and thicken with a hunk of butter-flour paste and pan drippings on T day. </p>
<p>For moist turkey, salt a la “Zuni” chicken three days before, air dry last day before roasting for crisp skin. Takes less room than a brine.I heard you constant with a frozen turkey!</p>
<p>My mother just stopped by and told me she “saw” someone on TV who says you should NEVER serve a salad at Thanksgiving. I said to my mom “sorry, we’re having salad not Brussels sprouts this year.” I told her I was making a pumpkin roll and apple pie instead of pumpkin pie and mincemeat pie and she said “he also said you should ONLY serve pies at Thanksgiving.” Who IS this TV idiot??</p>
<p>I see that Trader Joe’s is selling fresh turkey’s that have already been brined to add moisture & flavor, not salt. They are free of all nitrates, additives, etc. Our store’s price is @$1.99 per pound, which to me is a great price since they are all natural and already brined for me. I’ve never tried this one before, but I will buy one next week. Hopefully it’ll be my new “go to” place for turkey next year too!</p>
<p>The nice thing about this approach is that you can get the gravy done early in the week and just heat it up before serving. The more stuff I can do ahead of time, the happier I am. You could even make it this weekend and freeze it–there were tons of turkey parts for sale in my supermarket today.</p>
<p>
I don’t know how this is possible, since the word “brine” implies salt, and it’s the salt that carries the flavoring and moisture into the meat. So what magic process is Trader Joe using? Would love to hear back from anyone who tries this product.</p>
<p>I love Brussels sprouts, but too many others either don’t or think they don’t–I tried a tasty recipe last Thanksgiving and it went over like a lead balloon. So it’ll be green beans with almonds (again) this year for a green veggie.</p>
<p>Here’s my menu so far: brined turkey breast with make-ahead gravy, Silver Palate cornbread/sausage/apple dressing, homemade orange/cranberry sauce, corn pudding (brought by a guest–it’s a family heirloom recipe), The Pioneer Woman’s no-knead rolls; green beans with almonds, sweet potatoes in a form yet to be determined (I’m bored with my casserole recipe, and would like to find something less sweet), spiced pumpkin pie (Bon Appetit) made with no-roll pie crust (Joy the Baker) and some dessert involving chocolate. (Notice how i gravitate toward recipes with the word “no” in them…) And one guest told me she’d bring “an apple pie I have in the freezer”, whatever that means.</p>
<p>The TV idiot will not survive Thanksgiving in my house. We always have a green salad, and I have never made or had someone bring a mincemeat pie (bleh…)</p>
<p>^^They are probably using salt in the brine recipe, but the taste is not salty, that’s what they are saying. I haven’t tried it yet, but will buy one next week. I have brined in the past at home using an online recipe and again the taste was moist, but not salty even though the brine I used involved salt. So I guess the answer is yes, salt is involved, but doesn’t taste salty, just moist and flavorful from the salt without leaving a salty taste.</p>
<p>Are you guys telling me that I will end up with a dry old bird if I don’t brine it? I just didn’t want any of my high blood pressure relatives to blow a gasket with all the salt…</p>
<p>No, it just makes it easier, with more room for error. </p>
<p>If you read the science behind it I think you will find there is little if any increase in sodium. And for the record, most people with high blood pressure are not salt see sensitive.</p>
<p>Oh wow…the brine issue…we have tried turkey all sorts of way, including almost setting the garage on fire the second year we deep fried. We’ve even sealed the roaster with bread dough to keep the moisture in after a quick brown, we’ve tented, not tented etc. etc. but we’ve never found a better way to make juicy turkey than with an overnight brine. I’ve tried a few, but finely settled on apple cider brine…we don’t use alot of salt in the apple cider brine so it’s not salty. We also rinse the turkey after the brining and before we stick in the roaster. The turkey really does stay moist. I add brown sugar or maple syrup and juniper berries and peppercorns plus some salt to my brine and whatever else my mood brings. After we rinse the turkey we do season with salt, pepper, etc. again.</p>
<p>I am taking a carrot dish that I have never tried. Shredded carrots, green onions, a little sugar and salt, roast for 45 min. I am also making a sweet potato salad that has dried cranberries and granny smith apples in it.</p>
<p>Maybe I will try the brussel sprouts sometime. That recipe looks good.</p>
<p>Either last year or the year before we had dueling Brussels sprouts sides. My mom’s had cream and parm spcheese. Mine were braised from Molly Stevens’ All About Braising. Both went.
The braised green beans with tomatoes, also from Molly’s book are a great side to roast turkey.</p>
I’m also roasting 2 turkey breasts this year - have been doing the big bird for more than 2 decades and am sick of the mess.</p>
We always have a green salad, and I have never made or had someone bring a mincemeat pie (bleh…)</p>