Only Two Days to Go and NO ONE started the Annual Turkey Day Menu Thread

Hello fellow Rfers,
 
I have missed you all, things here have been......
 
This year I am not hosting my big family event (after the last time and enough food for 30 and only 4 showed up) My mom has moved to a Nursing Home in Ft Wayne and is closer to my sister there, I cant stand some of the cousins so I am not having the big feast this year.
 
Instead i am going to a friends house, he is hosting the event, this is the first major Holiday since they lost their son on July 4th.  It is a pot luck event but we have the "menu" down to:
 
Roast Turkey
Deep Fried Turkey
Smoked Turkey
Baked Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Sausage Dressing
Oyster Dressing
Stove Top Stuffing
Baked Sweet Potatoes with marshmellow cream (YUCK)
cheesy corn casserole
spinach bake (mine)
green bean casserole
corn (from their son's garden) :-(
Cranberry sauce - canned
Cranberry Relish (mine)
Rolls
Devilled Eggs
Pasta Salad
gravy - giblet
gravy - white
gravy - brown
 
Desserts
 
Pumpkin Pie
Cherry Pie (mine)
Lemon Chess Pie (mine)
Chocolate Chess Pie (mine)
Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie (mine)
NY style cheesecake with chocolate Ganache and Red Raspberry Coulee (mine)
Fudge
Cookies
Ice Cream
Mincemeat pie
Pecan Pie
Key Lime Pie (mine)
Lemon squares
Mississippi Mud Dessert
Strawberry Margarita Pie (mine)
 
I only hope there is enough desserts :-)

Sounds awesome!  However, if BB, CTD, TTM and myself were to show up, "have fork, will travel" style, then your dessert menu might get us through the first 5 minutes but what about the rest of the evening?

I am sure I could whip you all up something or three
 
I wanted to do a buttermilk pie but it was too close to the flavor of the chess or the hoosier pie
 
I do have the supplies for a
Chocolate cream pie
Red Raspberry Pie
Deep Dish Apple Pie (You would love that one it is almost 9 inches tall)
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Pie
Custard Pie
Lemon Chiffon Pie
Lemon Custard Pie
Triple Berry Pie
Peach Pie
Peach Cream Pie
Banana Cream Pie
Banana Puddin
 
So I think if you show up we got you covered, dinner is at 1pm
 

Frisch's (has to be Frischs) chocolate cream pie sans sprinkles

CK, you're slayin' me. man!  Kickin' Turkey Day Brooklyn-style in Park Slope with my GF and her family.  Just making the mashed potatoes and apple pie this year.  Easy peasy.  Have a great Thanksgiving!  

As usual, we will be eating Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant, so I have nothing to add, other than it is great to see my friend CajunKing posting again.  Happy Thanksgiving CK and welcome back!!!

I'm cooking for just the two of us this year, although you can't tell by the menu. Roast leg of lamb, roasted cauliflower, green bean casserole, sweet & sour red cabbage, my grandma's special tossed salad, Grands Southern buttermilk biscuits (I am biscuit inept), and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. It really is a smaller version of my normal dinner...there are no mashed potatoes, no gravy, no stuffing, no relish tray, no baked sweet potatoes, no bread, and only one kind of pie. We also decided against wine this year since she really shouldn't have any and I'm still taking narcotics.

Hi Don!
 
We're going to Rancho Mirage as we have the last several years. 
 
We'll be having this:
 

 
But I won't be wearing a skirt.
 
I began baking today.
 

 
Chocolate-Whiskey Pecan Pie • 1 cup light corn syrup• 3/4 cup light brown sugar• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted• 3 large eggs• 2 tablespoons whiskey• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt• 2 cups pecan halves• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips• 9-inch basic flaky piecrust, unbaked1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Whisk together corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, eggs, whiskey, and salt; fold in pecans and chocolate chips.
2. Pour mixture into the piecrust and bake until the center is set but still slightly wobbly, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool before serving.
 
I don't trust my own crusts so I cheated and used a store bought crust.
 

 
I thought these would be perfect for a Desert Dessert:
 
DATE NUT BAR COOKIES3 eggs1 c. sugar1 c. all-purpose flour1 tsp. baking powder1/8 tsp. salt4 tbsp. butter, melted1 tsp. vanilla2 c. chopped dates1 c. chopped nutsBeat the eggs until light, then gradually add the sugar and blend well. Add flour, baking powder and salt to the egg mixture; beating well. Beat in melted butter. Stir in vanilla. Fold in dates and nuts. Pour onto greased and floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. When cool, cut into bars. If desired, sift confectioners' sugar on top. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.
 
Still need to cut them.
 
Tomorrow I bake a cauliflower casserole and my traditional cranberry tarts.
 
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Cajun King,
And which Battalion of The United States Army has been invited to this Food Orgy??????
MAR,
I saved your Pecan Pie Recipe. Looks terrific!!

Our Thanksgiving menu looks a lot like the ones listed here.  What's unusual is that my daughter gave birth this afternoon to my first grandchild and we will be gathering at her house in Chattanooga, along with grandparents from Knoxville and Seattle, and great grandparents from Kansas City. 

Carlton
Congrats on the addition, another reason to celebrate.
 
Foodbme
My friend has quite a family 9 brothers and sisters, their husbands/wives each has 3.2 children, and friends and friends of friends and strangers I hope we dont run out of food. :-)  The last actual hard count I heard was 33 for 1pm with another 20 to 30 stopping by later in the afternoon and before the BON FIRE.
 
Mar
The date bars look deelishus, i will take you word on the pecans though.  I will make them but I aint ettin them.
 
Felix
With my family wine and narcotics are required! :-)
 
BB and BB
Come on over there is plenty of room, you may have to eat in the garage with the rest of us, but there will be food a plenty.
 
TJ
I agree on Frisch's Chocolate pie, too a point I like mine a little more chocolatey.

also: Sierra Mist Cranberry (has to be cranberry)
 
(and no, I am not trolling here) :-)

TJ Jackson


also: Sierra Mist Cranberry (has to be cranberry)

(and no, I am not trolling here) :-)

I have 2 2 Litre of the Diet version in my fridge as we speak
and also
Canada Dry Diet Cranberry Gingerale (It was at krogers)
 
I wish Trauth would not have sold out, because they made the best EGG NOG ever.
A tradition with my uncle and i was to have egg nog on Thanksgiving.

CajunKing

Felix 
With my family wine and narcotics are required! :-)

 
If it was my whole family, absolutely! But it's just me and mom this year.

As "empty-nesters", here's ours:  http://www.southlakecopelands.com/cajun-fried-turkey.aspx
 
It's so good, they have it available year-around; going there has been our "Thanksgiving tradition" for six years now.  And their sides are also truly wonderful. 

Last year, my family in Central NY didn't feel like cooking so they ordered their dinner from the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY and loved it so much that they are doing it again this year.  
I went to their site and here is the description (the text in parentheses is my add-in):

Thanksgiving Dinner To Go (at the Turning Stone Casino & Resort)  

The Meal Includes:
A 12 - 14lb herb roasted turkey, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, candied yams with marshmallows and walnuts, herbed sausage stuffing with dried cranberries, green bean casserole with fried onions, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls with butter and a pumpkin pie! All for just $99.99
Meal will serve 8 - 10 people and will be hot and ready for pick up at Valet on November 21 or 22, according to your selected time slot.
 

I'm curious why only 4 people showed up when you were expecting 30. That happened to my Mom one Christmas, in the mid 80's. She was in Brooklyn, family was coming mostly from NJ and Long Island. It was 2 degrees out with slippery roads. My wife and I had to bail out from NJ, we could get neither of our cars started, and AAA was unresponsive on Christmas Morning (I've never forgiven them, haven't been a member since). Her sisters and brothers who were getting on in years were reluctant to drive on tricky roads. Only the local Brooklyn people made it. Nearly 30 years later (Mom passed a few years ago) I still feel bad about it.  

Its just Bob and I this year so our menu is simple:
Turkey
Sausage/Sage stuffing
Mashed Potatoes/gravy
Lima Bean casserole( this is a tradition)
Cran/orange relish
Pumpkin Pie
Bobs homemade clover leaf rolls
I have to work Thanksgiving morning, so I kept the menu simple......Bob will actually be the one tending everything while I am gone! Pray for me.....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We've hosted the last 2 Thanksgivings (just 12 people last year) so we're guests this year.  My employer hands out turkeys every year so I donated it to the dinner and my daughters are in charge of the green bean casserole (which means I can be sure there are enough fried onions on top), but other than that I'm doing absolutely nothing.
 
The best part is that it's at my aunt and uncle's house, and since they no longer live in Milwaukee what used to be a nearly 2 hour drive each way is down to 30 minutes.  Now that's something to be thankful for!

Brad...we are actually happy to not be guests this year-Bob is such a leftover freak that he was always disappointed at what was sent home with us( usually the stuff no one wants.LOL!) Glad your drive is so much closer.....our family is so splintered now that a 2 hour drive( to my bil) is just not worth it as i always work the next day.

There's 7 of us with my brother doing the cooking.  Turkey, rice and gravy, green peas, sweet potatoes, cauliflower with cheese sauce, crawfish dressing (something new this year he's buying, over his usual French bread dressing.)  His mother-in-law usually brings an asparagus casserole.  I'm making a lemon meringue, and pecan pie. 

CK: be gentle and understanding with your friends, don't crowd them, it'll be a tough time for them. Funny thing, you need people but you also need space.

felix4067


I'm cooking for just the two of us this year, although you can't tell by the menu. Roast leg of lamb, roasted cauliflower, green bean casserole, sweet & sour red cabbage, my grandma's special tossed salad, Grands Southern buttermilk biscuits (I am biscuit inept), and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. It really is a smaller version of my normal dinner...there are no mashed potatoes, no gravy, no stuffing, no relish tray, no baked sweet potatoes, no bread, and only one kind of pie. We also decided against wine this year since she really shouldn't have any and I'm still taking narcotics.

Very smart, IMHO............These PPl who make this day into what looks like a Chinese Buffet run by Miles Standish are off base IMHO.  The day is about good family/friendship and SOME good food.  Yes..nice to have some leftovers for Sandwiches, but some of these menus..........4 different meats......12+ sides.....5+ desserts.................That is a meal for 50 or more IMHO
 
We usually have somewhere between 5 and 20 ppl.  This year it is just 3. So.a turkey breast,stuffing, gravy.... Mashed, Green Beans, Caramalized Onions ( a family fav)......and apple Crisp.  One type of wine..and MAYBE a few muchies before hand for a type of lunch/wait for it bit.
 
The Curmudgeon will not get off that soapbox and see if the damn bird has defrosted yet

CajunKing


I am sure I could whip you all up something or three

I wanted to do a buttermilk pie but it was too close to the flavor of the chess or the hoosier pie

I do have the supplies for a
Chocolate cream pie
Red Raspberry Pie
Deep Dish Apple Pie (You would love that one it is almost 9 inches tall)
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Pie
Custard Pie
Lemon Chiffon Pie
Lemon Custard Pie
Triple Berry Pie
Peach Pie
Peach Cream Pie
Banana Cream Pie
Banana Puddin

So I think if you show up we got you covered, dinner is at 1pm

Holy mackerel!  That's amazing.  You married???  (j/k)

What soapbox? What frozen bird? Out turkey is fresh. I picked it up yesterday.
 
CK, it's great to see you posting again.
 
It'll be just the two of us for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, although my grandson suggested that he might drop by if he's in town.
 
I've laid in enough Wonder Bread to get me through the obligatory turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce sandwiches during the next few days. I might even save enough for a couple of deer-hunting lunch sandwiches for the gun season that starts on Monday.

I snagged a bunch of Wonder Bread for Bob, too! He looks forward to the leftover sandwiches, i think, more than the dinner itself. Deer hunting-must visit Janet AND you for venison!!!!!!
 

I'm not guaranteeing anything this year. The way my hip has been hurting it's a bit difficult in the woods. lleechef might manage one or two, though.
 
I hope.

BelleReve


There's 7 of us with my brother doing the cooking.  Turkey, rice and gravy,

Is that white rice or a white/wild blend in lieu of mashed potatoes?  I love potatoes and gravy but rice and gravy are also quite good!

I smoked  a whole turkey and a half one.   The half turkey had been in the freezer for 6 months.   Anyway these were smoked for 2 hours with a little pecan wood. The turkeys were injected with a mixture of: 1 cup water; 2 TB salt; 2 TB Brown sugar; 1/4 cup (less ?) of homemade wine vinegar.  Then seasoned with Lawry seasoned salt.
The turkey was put on the grill/smoker at 7:30p, then moved to the roaster at 9:30pm; went to bed.   the roaster was set at abt 170/175; then turned down at 4:30am to 140/150 F.
 

First Thanksgiving with just the 2 of us in about 25 years when we got snowed in one year, the rest of my family is coming Saturday. No turkey, my partner is vegetarian and I'm not that crazy about turkey so we are going back to the original harvest feast and serve what the Native Americans ate..... lobster! Serving it with Minnesota wild rice and champagne.