Are you smoking the turkey??? Are you smoking anything else ???
May I help you ??? May I help you ???
Best use of leftovers: pulled turkey in a KC style sauce with molasses, tomato & just a scooch of cider vinegar. Freezes in well for sammies too !!!
Turkey, Prime Rib, Mashed & Sweet Potato, Stuffing, Mac n Cheese, Broccoli Rabe and Italian geeen beans and sausage. Oh also cranberries and mini corn breads!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Yum⌠happy TG
got enough food thereâ
Was that PR boneless
It was not boneless but I sliced it off the bone to get more slices out of it. Retained the bones for future yummy use.
I was pretty sure that is what you did
So, how did your feasts turn out? Winners, losers?
The big winner at my table was Alton Brownâs Parker House rolls - they were DIVINE. I generally donât eat bread/rolls at Thanksgiving because I prefer to use my stomach space for stuffing, but these were irresistible. My stuffing was not as good as usual this year, I think because I rushed the baguettes I use to make it. They didnât rise enough and ended up a little dense, and therefore didnât dry out adequately, making the whole thing a little mushy. Still tasty, just not as good as usual.
On the plus side, the gravy was excellent. I broke down my turkey and used the wings and backbone for the stock, which I cooked all day and reduced to a fairly concentrated level, making for extra-tasty gravy. The turkey itself was fine - cooking the white and dark separately ensures that nothing is overcooked. I donât care for it so I just had a bite, but everyone else seemed pleased. The sriracha-apricot meatballs I served for appetizers were another hit. My pies were good and the 40% fat whipping cream I found at Restaurant Depot made the best whipped cream ever!
My guests brought sweet potatoes, which were a pretty big fail - she used Truvia blend sweetener and they were just incredibly fake-sweet tasting. She also didnât mix the eggs in well enough, so there were lumps of scrambled egg throughout. Ugh. At least they brought wine as well, which never fails!
I brought the sides to sis-in-lawâs, who made the turkey, mashed potatoes and dessert. The old standbys (creamed spinach and ginger glazed carrots) came out great but some of the new guys (corn, creamcheese, cheddar and Parm casserole - too cream cheese heavy) and glazed shallots (still hard at end of cook time but softened by the time dinner was over) not so much. However, the guests were voracious non-picky eaters who hoovered up everything, with many compliments. The only new dish I was happy with was cubed sweet potatoes roasted with extra dark maple syrup, bacon and pecans (pretty hard to screw up that combo). I guess this is why you should not make recipes for the first time for guests. Lesson learned!
There is redemption in every fail. 
Light bulb moments are so terrific!
Weird year. BILâs turkey was delicious as always. And his stuffing was moist and delicious . . . really the best I remember for years . . . full of onions and mushrooms and nuts. Fresh cranberry sauce was good
But no corn? No green beans (but the roasted asparagus was delicious). Instead of dinner rolls there were pumpkin biscuits. No mashed potatoesâroasted sweet potatoes with brown sugar. Instead of traditional garden salad there were a quinoa salad and a âsuper foodâ salad of kale, blueberries, cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds and what else (?) in a pomegranate blueberry vinaigrette.
As usual I brought the toffee and chocolate mousse pie. But instead of pumpkin and apple pies, there was an apple crisp and nothing pumpkin (usually thereâs pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread and pumpkin bars).
A nice variety of beers, wines and seltzers. A nice variety of four generations of family. A wise prohibition on political talk to which all adhered. A pleasant day indeed.
I canât understand Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes and gravy. We were talking last night and discussing the âmust haves,â and all agreed on: cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Even turkey is an acceptable omission, but not those four items. Rolls were a close fifth, there really is no substitute.
I actually attended two celebrations this yearâŚ! At the first i was there early to help the hostess prep (sheâs slightly hopeless in a kitchen) and while she was fretting over how to reheat things i made those hot crash potatoes since her plans were to just boil the baby potatoes and serve with butter. I had to leave for the other celebration after bubbles and apps but recieved a text from her saying that was the favorite dish- and since i walked her through it she might actually make it herself one day.
The second celebration my most favorite dish was a russian beet salad (the hostess is âoff the boatâ russian), basically shredded beets with walnuts and garlic. I brought a salad as requested which everyone certainly made a dent in, and the garlicy green beans with toasted pecans were very tasty but still two minutes away from that crisp tender and on the too raw side.
Another guest brought what might actually be the worst stuffing i have ever tasted. I suspect it was stove top only without enough moisture plus a crapton more random dried herbsâŚ? That was a bummer because she made it vegetarian (there were four of us this year!) and stuffing is usually my favorite thing. Iâll make some myself soon because i need stuffing at least twice a year. The rest of the meal was truly fantastic from the bubbly to the chocolate pecan tart
Ttrockwood, you might actually like my stuffing, which is loosely based on this vegetarian recipe from Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rustic-Porcini-Onion-Stuffing-233003
I add sausage and chicken or turkey stock, but it would be delicious vegetarian as written as well. The porcini liquid adds SO much flavor. I also add roasted fennel and LOTS more caramelized shallots in my version. I just love the loose, rustic texture and all the deep mushroomy, savory flavors. I was never a fan of stuffing when I was a kid but this is a whole new world from what my mother made!
BTW, good call on the crash potatoes. I am not really a big potato person but those are truly irresistible.
My husband would agree with you on the potatoes! I donât care for mashed or gravy, and would greatly prefer a gratin or other preparation, but he simply cannot live without mashed at Thanksgiving! I make a gratin for Christmas or Easter instead 
. For me, stuffing is paramount. I donât really care for turkey but I always make it because itâs traditional. However, after this yearâs dinner my husband and stepdaughter both said âeh, I could do without turkey next year,â so Iâm thinking I may do duck or goose next time!
Dayam! So pretty.
Been there done that on the not pre testing new recipes! Itâs one of those hard life lessons of a cook, I think.
Walnuts are used a lot in former Soviet Union foods- I was looking up Georgian recipes and found them coming up frequently in recipes. A lot of interesting and different flavours.
Sometimes, itâs hard for me to tone myself down and realize:
not everyone likes to cook and takes a big interest in it, like I do.
not everyone who cooks is good at it.
I have to tune myself in at times. Iâm never rude about anyonesâ efforts, by any means but its controlling my inner voice.
That stuffing looks delish and similar to what I do.
This is so, so very true.
