So what was your final T-Giving Menu?

[Chiffonade]

Here's ours:

Maple Brined Turkey
Pan Gravy
Bread Stuffing
Corn Pudding
Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed Artichokes
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Streusel Casserole*
Home Made Cranberry Relish

Dessert...
Pecan Date Pie*
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake
Chestnuts
Fennel
Persimmons (the old fashioned kind, not the newfangled hard ones)

And a game of Trivial Pursuit (Millenium Version).

* Cooking Light recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the cooks and guests who were lucky enough to enjoy each other's company around bountiful tables.

[BlueMoose]

Turkey
Wild Rice Dressing with Cranberries and Walnuts
Garlic-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
Streuseled Sweet Potato Casserole
Dilled Vegetables in Sour Cream Sauce
Green Bean Casserole (for DH)
Pear-Cranberry Chutney
Crusty bread

Spicy Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Butterscotch Apple Crisp

Four of the recipes were first timers for us, and I have to say, everything was outstanding!

[yomomma]

Not a "cooking light" day but, here goes:

Deep Fried (20lb) turkey
bread stuffing (from homemade bread)
mashed potatoes
giblet gravey
peas
cranberry salad
cranberry sauce
fried biscuits
candied baked sweet potatoes
deviled eggs
pumpkin pies-homemade
pecan pie-homemade

[wallycat]

We had several untried items, but some were posted here, so I was confidant

2 turkey thighs (Asian barbeque CL recipe, already posted here)
3 turkey drumsticks (tex-mex, recipe off of web)
cranberry jelly (canned stuff for DH)
cranberry-jalapeno relish (from Chile magazine, just OK)
brussel sprouts with blue-cheese dressing and walnuts (posted recipe on different thread...LOVED this dressing!!)
roasted cauliflower (CL recipe, posted here already)
cranberry-cherry pie (from Taste of home 2001 annual)
frozen Mrs. Smiths Cherry pie (for DH, his favorite )
fresh ground cornmeal cornbread (posted recipe already)
red and white wine and Baily's Irish cream

HOpe everyone enjoyed their meals and the company they shared!

we managed to fit our 1 hour walk in before I started cooking; and now I'm still full of pep and am re-seasoning all my cast iron pans(griddle, 10-1/2" grill, 8" skillet, 8" deep fryer/kettle, 14" pizza griddle, 4" tiny fry pan)....I'm now officially horrifed I undertook this project ....yuck

[kwormann]

As I mentioned before, it was just the 2 of us this year, so it was a very tiny meal:

Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Beaujoilas (I think I butchered the spelling) red wine

We watched James Bond movies all day (gotta love that Sean Connery!!!)

Now DH is off to band practice.....

I think Im going to have popcorn for dinner (they had corn at the first Thanksgiving.....)

[slawrence]

Did the veg thing....

Stuffed acorn squash
smashed potatoes w/ turnips and parsnips
savory gravy
kale w/ lemon and butter

All of the above were CL November recipes. The potatoes were definite repeaters-the gravy too.

And, I added cranberry sauce and a baked apple for dessert. We will do "Thanksgiving dinner" when my son has his Christmas leave-he is in South Korea in the Army and will be home for two weeks at Christmas! WHOOHOO!

Before I started this healthy meal, I went to the gym for their "huff before you stuff" 90 minute aerobic class. It was a great way to start the day!

I hope everyone had a blessed and happy day! Sue

[britneyelise]

We had:

City Chickens (family recipe: Pork and Beef on a stick slathered in gravy
Corn
Green Beans
Mashed Potatos with Gravy
Carmelized Onion, Apple, and sausage gravy (From Fine Cooking, homemade the bread)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake(From Chocolatier )
THis was awesome!
It had a thin layer of chocolate cake, then a peanut butter chocolate crunch layer, then a layer of homemade chocolate mousse, then a layer of homemade peanut butter mousse, the chocolate ganauche, and lastly it was sprinkled with peanuts. YUM!!!!

Hope everyone hade a great Thanksgiving!

[Julia1Pin]

We had:

Turkey (my parents recipe that I made myself for the first time)
Stuffing (vegetarian stuffing on the BB)
Yams (bourbon sweet potatoes from foodtv)
Cranberry sauce (from a can - guilty pleasure )
Gravy (package gravy doctored up with turkey broth)
Boiled/Baked potatoes with chantrelle mushrooms, onions and carrots (my MIL made it)

This was the first time I hosted Thanksgiving since we couldn't be with my family for Thanksgiving and it was a bit hit!

[jellyben]

We did the fried turkey thing this year.
It was good, but I can't say I was bowled over. Does anyone know how long the oil is good for?
Spinach Artichoke dip to nibble as the bird fried
Sausage Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider (CL)
Broccoli Casserole
Corn Bread
Mashed Potatoes with an obscene amount of butter
Gravy-cheated, used Williams Sonoma gravy base and turkey stock

Guests brought
Sweet Potatoes-with marshmallows
Apple and Dried Carnberry Walnut Pie
the obligatory Pumpkin Pie

I am feeling full again just looking at the list!
The darn turkey cooked so fast none of the sides were ready in time!

Have a great night!
Karen

[JA]

This was a very different Thanksgiving...we lost our beloved dog this week, so were in no mood for a family dinner...the two of us had a wonderful walk, then I roasted a chicken, made stuffing, and a pumpkin pie and a Virginia Chocolate Pecan pie (sinful - from this bb) for dessert, and a wonderful Hogue fume blanc. I'm actually thinking that I don't want to do family thanksgivings anymore. This made such sense!
Not sure how I can explain it to my mother though next year

[VictoriaL]

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast
Roasted Pear Stuffing (I'll never make another kind-- I think it was from CL Nov. 2001 issue)
Vanilla Sweet Potatoes (another great CL recipe)
Maple Glazed Winter Squash (ditto)
Pear Cranberry Sauce (ditto, ditto)
Jonie's Cranberry Chutney (a member of our Supper Club won a recipe contest with this!)

After dinner we finished watching "Miracle on 34th Street" (meant to be done with dinner by then, but the turkey wouldn't get done! So we brought a small tv to the table-- couldn't miss this classic holiday show).
Then a 45-minute walk through our woods (saw tracks- deer, bunny, cat, fox, turkey, and pheasant!)
Then-- PUMPKIN PIE (from the back label of the Libbey's can-- a tradition)

And now I want to go to bed!
Tomorrow, for the first time EVER, I am going early-morning shopping on Black Friday. Best Buy has a tv/vcr combo that my dad wants for Christmas on big sale and there are a minimum of 15 at each store. This will be interesting to see when I actually get there-- I hate waking up before 7:30!!! And if there are any of the tv's left when I do stumble in!

[Beth]

We were at my mom's today, and she did the turkey and dressing, pumpkin pie and the canned cranberry jelly required by my dad.

We brought mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, asparagus with feta and vinagrette and a mixed field greens salad with dried cranberries, clementines and raspberry balsamic dressing.

My sister brought her annual pecan pie and some rolls. My brother brought wine.

Can you tell the rest of my family would eat exactly the same menu every year -- it's almost required. I think they would have rather had the green bean and mushroom soup casserole than the salad and asparagus. I'm not sure if the asparagus was quite what I had wanted, but I think the leftovers will evolve into a nice pasta dish tomorrow. Everything else was perfect.

[Little Bit]

Our 'Turkey Torture' wasn't low fat either:

Deep fried (cajun spiced) Turkey
Cornbread dressing
Candied Sweet Potatos (my recipe, by my sister's special request instead of the usual praline topped dish. )

Asparagus with a mock hollandaise
Stuffed Mushrooms
Squash Casserole
Corn Pudding
Green Bean Casserole (yes, THAT one, left out most of the fried onions called for, still was too much. )
Cranberry compote (cranberries, an orange, sugar, pecans)
Ambrosia
Cheesecake
Rolls

I did about five of the casseroles, the cheesecake and the cranberry compote and reduced fat amounts when/where possible, and used fat free sour cream in the squash casserole and the cheesecake.

[Jasmine-Rose]

No turkey for us, but we had a menu of things we'd never made before:

Pork Tenderloin with Red Potatoes and Sour Cream-Cider Sauce
Roasted Butternut Squash with Herbes de Provence
Soft Dinner Rolls
Salad (okay, we have had this before )
Carrots (Sweetheart wanted them plain)
Apple Crisp with Orange Juice

It was a perfect meal for us! Not so much food that we stuffed ourselves or have much in the way of leftovers. The squash is delicious (and all mine since Sweetheart won't touch it). As for the pork tenderloin - absolutely fabulous. If you haven't tried it yet, you should. The best pork tenderloin recipe I've tried yet. That sauce is wonderful.

A very nice Thanksgiving meal indeed .

[Kristine]

I didn't cook a thing (well I helped a bit in the kitchen once we arrived), but here is what we had:

Turkey
Honey-glazed ham
Bread Stuffing (Mrs. Cubbison's )
Green Beans (sauteed w/ onions and bacon)
Cauliflower with cheese sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Candied yams (delish!)
Rolls
Waldorf Salad
Dessert: chocolate cake, apple pie, boysenberry pie

Of course, there was NO way I could eat nearly this much food. I mainly stuck with the appetizers (which I didn't list, and the yams)...

On Saturday, the OTHER side of the family is all coming over to our house to celebrate. Fortunately, we're not having another traditional Thanksgiving meal. Here's what we're planning as of now:

Grilled salmon and halibut (from Alaska)
Grilled Rib eye steaks
Twice Baked potatoes
Spniach salad
Rolls
Dessert: pumpkin pie, berry crisp

[MaryH]

Citrus Spice and Chipolte Pepper Turkey (BA 11/01)
Tortilla Soup (from the BB)
Pennsylvania Dutch Tea Rolls (Cl 11/02)
Potato Rolls (CL 12/02)
Carrort Souffle (CL 11/02)
Corn
Mulled Cranberries (fron the BB)
Sweet Potato Cranberry Bake (CL 11/02)

Mashed Potatos*
Stuffing*
Jello with pomegranate seeds*

NY Pomegranate Cheescake (combination of recipes from CL 7/02 and VT)
Pumpkin Pie (CL)
Pumpkin Sweet Potato Bake (CL)

* my SIL made these

Whew. Good thing I did a 5K turkey trot in the morning.

[TamiKnight]

We went to DD's house, who was "hosting" for the first time. She asked me to come over early in the morning to be a safety net. Did you know that safety nets can cook? She finally made the statement, "Mom drove all the way across town to cook dinner at somebody else's house!"

Anyway, we had:

Roast turkey
Mashed potatoes--lots (We made 5 pounds, then DD thought there
wouldn't be enough leftovers, so we made another 5 pounds )
Carmelied carrots (old family recipe requiring lots of carrots
and an obscene amount of butter)
Green bean casserole
Pennsylvania Dutch Tea Rolls (CL)
Green salad
Cornbread dressing
Pan gravy
Silky pumpkin pie (posted on another thread)
Cherry streusel pie
Berry pie

Fell asleep at 6:30 last night, and didn't wake up until 4:30 this morning. This safety net was TIRED!

[SueK]

We had the meal here at our house again this year and had:

CL's Ultimate Roasted Turkey
Pan Gravy
Tossed Salad
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Streuseled Casserole
Green Bean Casserole (for DH)
Apple-Cranberry Chutney
Rolls
Homemade stuffing
Pecan Pie
CL's Pumpkin Pie w/Gingersnap Crust

After that we played a few rounds of Trivial Pursuit, and I beat DH twice so it was a good night.

[claire797]

Chex Mix, CL Caramel Corn, Vegetable Tray for snacking on -- we eat ate at 4:30 so we needed snacks.


Roast Turkey (A Butterball, turned out as good as any brined turkey)
Gravy (Nobody noticed I used Boston Market brand from a jar )
Homemade cranberry sauce
Homemade pecan, sourdough and cornbread stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Sweet Potato Streusel Casserole (CL)
Homemade yeast rolls
Canned Corn (DH insisted)
Steamed Vegetables
Red Zinfandel (Ravenswood)
Snoqualmie Valley Chenin Blanc

Pumpkin Pie (homemade crust of course! recipe from back of Libby's can)

Red Velvet Cake (Cake Mix Doctor's version from "Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor" book)

[Kristilyn1]

Well, the inlaws came to our house and I made:

Turkey (18 lbs.)
mashed potatos
pan gravy
carrots & peas (the only veggies the kids will eat w/out complaining)
Raspberry-Asparagus Medley (CL---definite repeater for us!)
Sausage/bread Stuffing
Homemade french bread
Forgot the Cranberry Sauce!!!!


Pecan pie
Apple pie
Chocolate cream pie

Kristi

[gertdog]

Here's ours. It was wonderful! And I owe thanks to many on the BB who (knowingly or not) contributed to the menu... their influence noted in italics. It was kind of neat to realize how much the BB had played a role in what I chose to make.

Dip with crackers and vegetables (the dip is a mixture of Harry and David's Pepper and Onion Relish and light cream cheese... very yummy)

Mushroom and Caramelized Shallot Strudel (CL)
Vegetarian Gravy
Cranberry Sauce with Apple Cider (CL 11/02) made this thanks to the positive reviews from Greysangel
Parmesan Smashed Potatoes (lightened version of recipe posted by Laura B on the BB- originally from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook)
Soy-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (Deborah Madison's Local Flavors)
Not-Your-Mother's Green Beans (Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home)
Olive and Asiago Rolls (CL 12/02)
Buttery Sage Crescent Rolls (posted by Jasmine-Rose)

Mini-pumpkin cheesecakes with candied pecans (I adapted a recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake posted by Angela, and added a candied pecan to the top of each one thanks to last-minute help from JenZen and Jphilg)
Tarte Normandes (French Tarts cookbook)

My in-laws liked the Olive and Asiago rolls best. I thought the lightened Parmesan Smashed Potatoes were OUTSTANDING-- Yum!!!

[mochadelsol]

We did snacking this year my lovely SD and her husband brought some really good varities of cheese & crackers, fruit, veggies, we ate at 3:30. DH does the cooking I am the follow behing and wash that dish,take out the trash, stir that gravy person.

24pd Herb marinated Turkey (this named Joe Jr.)
Lemon Herb stuffing
Garlic mashed potatoes
Southern Peach Yam Bake
Steamed Asparagus w/lemon, butter, balsamic vinegar
Cranberry Chutney
DH jellied canned cranberries yuck
Variety of rolls

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Gingerbread Cake
All served with Whip Cream
a total day of putting on the pounds

Now what to have for dinner tonight? oh yea leftover turkey

[meslgh]

I want to thank everyone here, because this BB was invaluable as I planned for our first ever hosting Thanksgiving. I'm very pleased with how well everything went.

Salmon mousse (appetizer provided by BIL/SIL)

Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette (This was highly recommended by several last year, and was a big hit at our table.)
Alton Brown's Brined Turkey (We don't have cable, so we never would have found this recipe without this BB. Not overcooked, moist, delicious.)
Madeira Gravy (Thanks to this BB I got the concept of make-ahead gravy, Williams-Sonoma turkey stock, and Martha Stewart's gravy with madeira. Put it all together with tasty results.)
Stuffing (Tryed out several stuffing recipes, discovered that I like plain old bread stuffing, and modified some recipes for fresh bread and herb stuffing.)
Mashed Potatoes (Used our old stand-by, Swanson's Skinny Mashed Potatoes.)
Streuseled Topping over Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Modified the Cook's Illustrated recipe for mashed sweet potatoes and topped it with CL's streuseled topping. Yum.)
Deedy's Cranberry Chutney (Check out the favorite cranberry recipe thread for this one. Excellent.)
Green Beans (NOT as a casserole. Whole Foods had haricot verts, and they were delicious steamed.)
Roasted Asparagus (From Moosewood LowFat Favorites)

Wine: Newton Claret Napa Valley, Snoqualmie Syrah, Chateau Ste Michelle-Dr. Loosen Eroica Riesling, St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc

Pies : MIL provided pecan, chocolate pecan, apple, and pumpkin pie.

And there are plenty of leftovers. Thanks again to everyone here for all the help with recipes, reviews, menus, etc. Couldn't have done it without y'all.

[little_bopeep]

Geez, I feel like such a bumpkin sometimes when I compare my cooking to some of y'all's.

So here's the Bumpkin Family Thanksgiving:

Maple brined turkey (family couldn't stop raving about it. and the best bits of it were at the bottom where they soaked up all the glaze and got browned by the roasting pan. awesome!!!)
my mom's cornbread dressing (I'm so thankful I learned something from her!)
cabbage casserole
deviled eggs
cranberry sauce
ranch-style crescent rolls

mom's sweet potato pie
chocolate eclair cake (quite possibly my all-time fav recipe from this board)

All in all, I must pronounce the day a success.

[BlueMoose]

Originally posted by gertdog



My in-laws liked the Olive and Asiago rolls best. I thought the lightened Parmesan Smashed Potatoes were OUTSTANDING-- Yum!!!

These are the potatoes I made, too, and I added a little garlic. I also made the lightened version. I agree, they were outstanding! (and I'm not usually a mashed potatoes person) I'll be making these again.

It's fun reading what everyone else had...all of it sounds wonderful!

[AndreaU]

Simple, traditional dinner for 4.

7 lb. turkey breast (which came out BEAUTIFULLY in the convection oven... first time I tried it- yum!! Not a single baste.)
Garlic mashed potatoes
Gravy (of course)
Green beans amandine
Maple glazed baby carrots
Savory fruited stuffing (CL 11/01)
Cranberry-Apple Relish (CL 11/01)
Cloverleaf rolls
Mixed green salad

Lots of wine!! (4 bottles for 4 people- is that a bad thing??)

MIL made an amazing Pumpkin cheesecake AND an apple pie. We only dented the cheesecake- the pie is still sitting here, uncut.

[Jeanz]

I had Dunkin Donuts, Domino's and chicken fingers! Actually, yesterday was a travel day for me. I am glad that everyone had such a great meal yesterday!

[LauraBL]

It was just DH, myself, and a former vegetarian-who now eats fish/kosher abiding friend.

Cornish games hens with honey and dried fruit
(this was from epicurious, I altered the recipe for roasting and can't say it really flavored up the birds, but they were good nonetheless.)
New England Sausage Stuffing with chestnuts (I altered this recipe to accomodate vegetarian/kosher needs. Left out the sausage, used veg broth, added some chopped apple and fennel seed.)
Mashed Potatoes (mixed with garlic butter and milk)
Chicken Gravy (CL recipe used veg broth)
Celery Salad (I left out the green peas)
Homemade Multi-Grain Bread
Cranberry Sauce with dried fruit
Kentucky Derby Pie
Libby's back of the can pumpkin pie
Gingered-Pear Tart
Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream
Whipped Cream


We also managed to trim the Christmas tree and put together part of a 1000 piece puzzle.

[boisewinesnob]

we made:
Chez Panisse's Brined Turkey sublime
mashed potatoes and gravy made by DH...I could've had a bowl of gravy as if it were soup it was so good
Garlicky Green Beans posted by Jewel...a perennial favorite
Nutted Wild Rice Salad from The Silver Palate sent to me by Ellyn--thank you!
Mulled Cranberry Sauce BA Nov 99 posted by Gail...OMG! this smelled so good while it was simmering---the kids could hardly wait!
Artisan Garlic Bread w/ Goat Cheese
Potato Rolls
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Sheet Cake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting found on one of the cake mix doctor threads....for DS and I who hate both pecan and pumpkin pie

not only all this, but I hosted supper club the night before (Wed) so I have a bunch of leftover Korean style pork tenderloin, which was really yummy! I had never made a pork tenderloin before and it was so easy and delicious; definitely a repeater

[sunberst]

wow. such fancy recipes!

my family will not touch "fancy stuffing" with fruit, sausage, etc. we had the basic things we do every year. i didnt really cook. i helped out in the kitchen, and made pecan tassies for each place i went to, but went to other people's houses so they cooked. btw- i lucked out and only went to 3 dinners, not 4!

dinner 1 (my dad's)
whole roasted turkey breast
make ahead mashed potato casserole
wild rice
stuffing
green bean casserole
gravy
a nut loaf?

dinner 2 (my mom's)
veggie tray with ranch dip
oven roasted turkey breast
broccoli casserole
mashed potatoes
gravy
stuffing
polish holiday bread
peppermint icecream

dinner 3 (my dbf's mom's)
oven roasted turkey breast
mashed sweet potatoes w/marhsmallows
mashed potatoes
gravy
stuffing
green bean casserole
olives
whole berry cranberries
pumpkin pie