It’s Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend.
I thought I’d get the ball rolling on the annual Thanksgiving thread.
What are you making?
I’m making a roast turkey, bread stuffing (apples, dried apricots, pecans, celery, mushrooms, onions, parsley, sage, poultry seasoning), roast sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, Nik Sharma’s maple bacon Brussels sprouts and arugula chard spanakopita. I tend to make most of this for Thanksgiving Sunday.
We have leftover turkey and stuffing on Canadian Thanksgiving Monday , and maybe one dish I didn’t get around to making on the Monday.
Pumpkin pie for dessert.
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I’ve been thinking about it, too!
Our casual Turkey Day dinner last year was such a hit, we’re going to repeat it. The only new addition will be pumpkin pie to go with the pumpkin ice cream:
Grilled turkey-and-Swiss sandwiches on cranberry-pecan sourdough (choice of open-faced or traditional sandwich, with gravy optional).
Crispy, twice-cooked potato wedges.
Grated carrot salad. Pickled green beans. Pickled cherries. Homemade applesauce.
To drink: choice of seasonal shrub, alcohol optional.
For dessert: homemade pumpkin ice cream and homemade pumpkin pie.
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I am speechless with desire! A meal after my own heart.
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You are so kind! We found that the relaxed meal offered plenty of leftovers (a must), and also gave us time to enjoy the holidays with family and friends that week/weekend.
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We do the same meal every single Thanksgiving. The only SLIGHT changes recently are that the vegetable sides are now local summer veg that I blanch, vaccuum-seal and freeze when they are in season (specifically: hyper-local corn and lima beans.) Previously, they were just reg’lar frozen vegetables from the grocery store.
Grocery store turkey, cooked in a vintage electric turkey steamer
Giblet gravy - only Mom can make this reliably, I still can’t
Very Plain stale-bread stuffing, both in and out of the bird
Mashed potatoes, enormous bowl
Lima beans, corn, and glazed carrots
Roasted sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce in the can
Cranberry sauce from my SIL’s family: blitzed cranberries, a whole orange, and I think a packet of jello?
Pumpkin mousse with shaved white chocolate (this recipe used to be widely avail online, but no longer is, but fortunately I saved it)
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Is the grated carrot salad the typical French style…?
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Deets on the turkey steamer? Sounds interesting!
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Simple grated carrots in a standard vinaigrette, with lotsa black pepper.
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I should’ve called it a “roaster” because that’s what it’s called, but what it really does is steam the turkey, and I have come to appreciate it. Doesn’t produce the shatteringly crisp skin of roasting, does reliably produce an evenly-cooked bird with little danger of drying it out. In all the years I was learning/failing at coordinating all the many dishes for a holiday meal being ready at the exact same moment, we’ve never overcooked the bird, even when it was ready (by the thermometer) far in advance. It’s made by a company called NESCO. It’s a big stainless steel box you put on the counter and plug in, and pour some water in the bottom.
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Lucky you! That is a gorgeous unit in the enamel (I peeked on Amazon)! I have an 85-sq. foot kitchen, so such things remain a pipe-dream.
The timing is always the hardest part. I have a multi-page spread sheet to get me there during the years we do have company and a more traditional dinner. Not this year, but maybe next!
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Yeah, the roaster lives at the McMansion - it’s a monster, and gets used literally twice a year.
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My mil has one of those. She only uses it for thanksgiving turkey And we are thankful for it as she is an expert on overcooking everything. It’s huge so she plugs it in in the laundry room.
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This is the kind of stuff that makes the holidays special…
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hah, that made me chuckle. my brother is similarly prone to overcook protein, although he is improving.
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do you like the way the turkey comes out of it, provided she doesn’t overdo it?
Trying to sneak watch MIL and FIL get the bird out of the roaster without being caught is a bit of a tradition. On his first thanksgiving after marrying into the family a BIL thought he should offer some tips on how do this. By some miracle he survived
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Overall the turkey is pretty good- I think the “Steaming” helps as she cooks a very large bird- 22 pounds is small by her standard- but there are 18 of us. Mr Autumm2 is the oldest of 4 . Even if it is a bit over cooked it’s not dry the way an over cooked oven roasted turkey would be.
And it’s nice cause all the drippings stay in the roaster for gravy. MIL makes excellent gravy, which covers up a lot of other culinary weaknesses
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Some background on Canadian Thanksgiving https://fiestafarms.ca/article/the-first-thanksgiving
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No plans, although I’d love to make some or have dinner delivered to me. So far am just planning a get-together with my niece and her partner and likely to be a bunch of charcuterie and snack type items on the table and relax. I do hope so. However, I long for an actual Thanksgiving dinner one of these days. Will keep an eye on this thread for photos of what you ate anyway. Happy Thanksgiving!
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