Ooooof! Yum!
I’ve been begging for scalloped potatoes to come back. Or be an addition. But somehow in the past few years we have been stuck with mashed. Sometimes goose/duck fat roasted. Not that I’m complaining about either.
BUT. I am annoyed when I get the response “but we always have ___” when, in fact, NO, we do not!
Really, I would just like ALL 3 KINDS.
In that bottom image is their cranberry curd tart. I made that once and it was might tasty and absolutely stunning to look at.
Ditto!!!
So pretty, right?!
Lemon curd/tart is kind of my aunt’s thing (but not for thanksgiving) - I don’t want to step on toes…
I just tried a very tasty orange olive oil cake, might do another version of it for thanksgiving - delicious but non-threatening
I love sour desserts myself, so I had no hangup about doing it at T-day. I always end up doing a free form apple crostata for Thanksgiving. And if I do a 2nd thing, it has varied. Pumpkin pie w/ or w/o the traditional warm spices, a cardamom cheesecake once, chocolate and caramel bread pudding. Oh the calories 
There is nothing wrong with this potato presentation. Nothing at ALL! I’m in…
I went to the grocery store today and Thanksgiving sales are already in full swing - I picked up the canned cranberry sauce my stepdaughter likes, a can of pumpkin for pie, etc. - all on sale. They were running a great sale on King Arthur flour but had already run out! Luckily I am stocked up. I bought everything non-perishable that was on sale but I’ll have to go out next weekend for all the perishable items I need.
Speaking of which, I am thinking I might want an additional green vegetable to round out my menu, which currently includes sauteed haricots verts in butter, with lemon and toasted almonds. Maybe something raw/light/crunchy. Ideas? Shredded Brussels sprouts salad? Or should I lean into the richness of Thanksgiving and do something cheesy/creamy?
We love peas and pearl onions. Both from the freezer section. Regular sized peas, not petite. Microwave together 2/3 peas, 1/3 onions (no added water). I use Penzy’s Shallot Pepper mix and a little bit of butter to season once they’re cooked.
I have no ideas yet, but a balance sounds good. What is the rest of the “menu”? Sorry if I missed it.
Actually, I don’t know if I posted it!
Duck two ways (confit thighs and seared breast)
Elderberry sauce
Turkey legs (DH loves a drumstick!)
Rustic roasted vegetable stuffing
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Sauteed haricots verts with almonds and lemon
Parker house rolls
Pumpkin and apple pies
The green beans will be al dente to provide some texture, and my stuffing has a lot of crunchy bits as well - it’s not the homogeneous bread pudding style. There will only be four of us, so another vegetable may just be overkill (and will undoubtedly be ignored if the preparation is too healthy, lol).
This sounds so good! Please do share your technique and/or recipe!
I think I already did…oh yes, here it is from upthread:
Mine is more of a loose texture, almost like a panzanella. I make my own crusty baguettes and tear them into bite sized pieces, then allow them to dry out for a few days. They absorb plenty of stock and vegetable juices but still maintain their integrity.
For the other stuff, I process my aromatics (carrot, celery, garlic and onion) in the food processor for a very fine texture (so they kind of melt away into the finished product), then saute in butter until softened. I roast chopped fennel, halved shallots and cremini mushrooms in larger pieces, then add all the vegetables to the bread along with cooked, crumbled sausage (sage breakfast type), some reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms, a ton of chopped fresh herbs, and enough stock and porcini soaking liquid to make it moist but not super wet. Dot the top heavily with butter and then bake.
General proportions are:
2 10-12 oz baguettes, torn and dried
1 large onion
2-3 stalks celery
1 large or two small carrots
6-8 cloves garlic
1 large bulb fennel
15 large shallots, halved
1 pound cremini mushrooms
1 pound breakfast sausage
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, soaked
2 T. Each chopped fresh thyme and rosemary
1/4 c. Chopped fresh sage (plus some dry if necessary)
1/2 c. Chopped fresh parsley
2 sticks of butter
1 cup porcini liquid
2-3 cups chicken or turkey stock
Thanks for repeating it! Sounds delicious.
What I miss from CH, more than anything, is the holiday family angst threads – like MIL sabotaging the turkey, and just happening to have another in the oven down the street, ready to go. Or the guy who sat down in the living room before dinner with the giant bowl of chocolate mousse, and started eating it with the serving spoon. Great entertainment. Then along came the moderators, banning that kind of thread…
Oh… sounds yum (two thumbs up!!) Mine is similar, just with shitaki mushrooms as well as cremini, no sausage, a bit less stock and I put the bread overnight in a 400-degree-then-turned-off-oven so they are a bit toasted. But an herbs-mushroom-baguette stuffing combo is the bomb.
They didn’t ban those threads. They’re up there this morning.
There’s no reason to not put our own rants/disasters even, on this thread is there? After all, rant is included in the title.
I’ll start with a story. It was 2 years ago, the 1st year I imposed a gag order on myself. Everything was going perfectly and well synchronized. H, who is in charge of the turkey 
told us approximately what time he was going to pull and carve it. So we got all the sides out and put them all on the table, heated the rolls and had all else at the right temperature. All good so far, in fact perfect!
Despite H cooking turkeys for multiple decades AND having a Thermopen, when he started to carve, the pinkish/red juices started to flow and back into the oven it went, and sides were removed from table. We just drank some extra Prosecco and wine while waiting, and went through the rewarming drill with the sides. We were all pretty relaxed and happy at dinner. If I hadn’t been under the gag order, I may have questioned the turkey…but actually one of our best T-days in the end.
Any rants, disasters, and misadventures you want to share? Also how your standard SOP’s may have evolved over the years?
I’m talking like around 2012 or 2013, and they sure as hell did specifically ban that kind of thread. Care to show where they are now?
Wow! I don’t remember that!
I found “Thanksgiving Day Live” reminiscing about spending Thanksgiving day on Chowhound. I found a bunch of good memories in the process, but was downright terrified by how seemingly unnoticed the years have passed.
The link is now behind a paywall, but I’m always looking for this Russ Parson link from the Thanksgiving 2015 thread.
This isn’t it, but I lost it again!
Neither is this.
Here it is! Thanksgiving 2015!
