Thanks for that!! 
shrinkrap - my math says you’ll need 2 pans for half-turkey on each. Hope your oven racks positions work out.
1 Like
@shrinkrap I just got my 14+ pounder prepped and it fit on the half-sheet with at least 1” on each side. I’m confident you will be fine!
(Now, if anyone can tell me how a turkey could have two necks and no giblets… that would be a weird-looking bird!)
5 Likes
Thanksgiving breakfast: my Grandma’s nut patties, known to the rest of the world (or at least Canada) as buttertarts.
I switch mine up a little by using maple syrup instead of sugar and dried cherries instead of raisins. Dynamite! The leftover pie crust got turned into little cookies for DH to enjoy with his ramekins of pumpkin pie filling.
18 Likes
Hmmmmmm! …Relieved or wishful thinking? Well I suppose if it doesn’t fit, I will cut it in half. What I’m calling a “cookie rack” fits just right in the oven, and measures 50 cm (@ 19.75 inches) x 37 cm( 14.5 inches).
‘‘Twas the night before thanksgiving… and I’m done with my part of prep (which was a lot less than in past years, phew)!
- Orange olive oil cake
- Brownies
Earlier today I made a double batch of stuffing balls, with a new-this-year addition of (chicken) sausage which offends no one (apparently mushrooms would have caused angst for at least one, so I had to forego them). These will be baked tomorrow, while the turkey rests, so they are still nice and crunchy on the outside when we eat them.
I also assembled the Brie en croute: medium-sized wheel of brie, ancho chile jam, puff pastry. The puff was not as cold as it should have been (which is a mystery given that it was in a very cold fridge) and so it’s probably not going to turn out as pretty as it might have… but oh well. Will be baked around 11:30am to be ready for grazing around brunch.
No mini quiches - idea was nixed by the hostess.
That’s it for me as far as I know, others are doing the rest. However in past years that has not always actually happened, so there may be more to do in the morning.
I’m not super excited that the vegetables are being roasted in the morning elsewhere, but again, oh well.
Good rest tonight and happy gathering tomorrow to all!
8 Likes
Instead of having to be somewhere for Thanksgiving day, and facing what “they” say is the worst traffic of the year, we decided to get together with family this past weekend to celebrate. Since the rest of family lives in the Boston area, and we live in New Jersey, the Berkshire Mountains seemed like a good idea. We rented an Air BnB outside of Pittsfield, MA which was not quite in the middle but avoided the worst of the traffic. We picked it for the double oven, six-burner stove and hot tub. We were ten people ages 24 - 92, with lots of food issues. Needless to say the meals other than the actual Thanksgiving dinner were quite the production. Luckily TD was our classic dinner which always has a few minor variations. This year we had:
Cheese and crackers to nibble on while having before dinner drinks. These ranged from red wine to something on the rocks, to a bunch of drinks that included some combo of apple cider, cranberry juice, alcohol of your choice and fall garnishes.
First course - Arugula salad with apples, pomegranate arils, spiced pecans and pumpkin seeds, with a fig dressing. It had fig vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, maple syrup, thyme, and sage.
Roast Turkey - very traditionally spiced
Focaccia Stuffing with Mushrooms
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Butternut Squash Casserole (better known to some as Tzimmes)
Smitten Kitchen’s homemade version of Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes - my BIL’s specialty. Now I know why we needed that extra pound of butter
Gravy
Fresh Cranberry Orange Sauce and a can of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberries complete with the rings
Pumpkin PIe
Apple Pie
Rhubarb Pies
Baklava
The food was good but the company was better
Wishing everyone a very happy holiday
23 Likes
Maybe if someone else is cooking for you 
I don’t find it all that easy to pull off the entire meal, but I enjoy the planning, shopping, prepping and cooking. Inevitably it’s way more work than the time it takes to consume.
7 Likes
What about splitting the difference with ghee?
1 Like
You’re a renegade, you.
Can’t take credit for Kenji making a grilled cheese while stumped about what to write for thanksgiving for the NYT, and… Eureka! 
3 Likes
Do any of you make a cranberry salad with lemon or raspberry Jell-o, fresh cranberries, crushed pineapple, celery and nuts? I heard someone talk about it on the radio today.
1 Like
So plans have changed a bit thanks to kiddos and germs! Big kiddo missed all 3 days of school this week with fever and cough/runny nose and all those fun things but not Covid. So we are now going to be at the apartment for Thanksgiving day as my parents and BIL’s family are scared of our germs. Punting and not making a turkey!
Breakfast: Individual mini pumpkin pies with purchased crust. My rolling pin is somewhere at the house TBD
Lunch: Sliced deli turkey sandwiches, toasted, with cranberry sauce. I think I have a box of Stove top somewhere
Dinner: Store bought lasagna, salad, garlic bread. Bubbly. Key lime pie
Hoping to head to my parent’s on Friday. Kiddos are asking about Christmas plans and all I can say is I want to get back Home! Feeling kinda grinch like but I want to be home!
15 Likes
I can think of far worse fates than lasagne, bubbly, and key lime pie for Thanksgiving dinner! And I love that you’re working in pumpkin pie, turkey, and cranberry sauce. And I harbor doubts about anyone who’d begrudge your wanting to be in your own house again.
9 Likes
I’m thinking we are about to have a super spreader event. Fortunately no major Covid or flu risk, but mild “cold” symptoms seem to spreading among the already assembled clan.
2 Likes
Some nice neighbors whom I know slightly (neighborhood holiday party last December, couple of dinners since) just this morning invited me to Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily thanks to discussion upthread I have the wherewithal to make and bring a tray of spinach and Boursin stuffed mushrooms. Chopped marcona almonds instead of pine nuts. Thawing my spinach now. Had a decadent holiday breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs with crispy bacon and a fantastic buttermilk yeasted roll from the local bakery. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
17 Likes
Me, too. And I’ve just ordered a new one. After 15 years of faithful service, the door on mine won’t stay closed anymore. It’s where almost everything gets cooked - did the pan of stuffing just now.
1 Like
Hope you all stay healthy.
People who have runny noses and coughs should really stay home, and stay away from any infants, elders or the vulnerable .
Lots of RSV spreading around here, and the children’s hospitals are full. Any children over 12 years old or over 100 lbs are being sent to our regular hospitals for adult patients in this part of Canada right now. Surgeries for children and adults are being postponed or cancelled because of the number of unwell children filling our hospitals.
4 Likes
Understood. Fortunately there are no children. Unfortunately, we are all already here, and have been for several days, and "home for most of us is hundreds to thousands of miles away. 
1 Like
