It's crunch time!

[conuly]

What's everybody making for Thanksgiving? Any new and exciting recipes? Or, alternatively, tried and true faves?

I'm gonna do a duck again. Jenn pointed out that the kids don't like duck, which is fair, but they also don't really like turkey and one way or another I'm cooking a bird. I might do a chicken too.

Comments

[movingfinger]

Going to a friend's house: I am responsible for appetizers and bread(s). They do a fantastic slow-cooked-on-wood-grill turkey every year, delicious!

I think I'll make stuffed mushrooms and some kind of dip, and the perennially popular gravy-sponge dinner rolls.

[conuly]

Mushrooms. You can have my share.

[alexcat]

Sine there are just two of us, we're doing chicken with traditional sides.

[conuly]

Yum!

[miladygrey]

Doing the traditional turkey and trimmings for the big all-family meal, plus the family recipe Irish soda bread. For just us, some weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we're going to roast a duck, with sausage dressing, brussels sprouts sauteed in the duck fat, and a brandied pumpkin and chestnut pie for dessert.

[readerjane]

Brandied pumpkin and Chestnut pie sounds wonderful. I just looked up the recipe. Maybe I'll take that to Daughter's house.

[larryhammer]

This year it's just us at home plus two or three guests, and we're doing two old standbys:

kosher turkey with Joy-of-Cooking stuffing, roasted in an oven bag
Janni's veggie matzoh ball soup

With diabetic guests bringing diabetic-friendly sides and desert -- from conversation, probably including mashed acorn squash and something broccoli.

[conuly]

If only the kids loved squash as much as I do.

[cactuswatcher]

Cornish Game Hen. I think I'll skip stuffing this year, but will have wild rice.

[conuly]

Wild rice can be good.

Alternabirds

[polydad]

I've got a Vegan friend who cooks a stuffed pumpkin and dresses it up like a turkey. The head and neck are paper and reusable, the "drumsticks" are usually roast zucchini, and the "wings" are croissants. One can use any recipe for the stuffing; James's usually involves lots of mushrooms and walnuts.

Re: Alternabirds

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

That sounds cute. Are the croissants via coconut oil just cold enough to act 'butter'? (Most of the year here at room temp)

[gatheringrivers]

This year's challenge: Cooking (at least some things) for no-sugar-please, no-wheat-flour-please, and lactose allergies. In addition to my own.

That said, a few things will still have sugar, but I've got a flour alternative - and a NON-hybridized flour - that will HOPEFULLY work for pie crust - going to test both of those tonight on a scaled down pie crust recipe. I'm hoping either the alternative WORKS, or that at least the non-hybridized doesn't give me inflammation later.

Organic, no-soy-fed turkey of course, because that's literally the ONLY way I've found turkey skin becomes edible. (and the ENTIRE reason I put on a thanksgiving shindig, because I'm NOT missing out on that turkey for me!)

I'll probably crib a couple ideas from other comments - mashed acorn squash and brussels sprouts in fat - to have extra non-sugary things. :)

[readerjane]

My daughter is hosting for the first time this year! I will bring homemade pumpernickel rolls, plus whatever else she asks me to bring. Maybe pie.

[conuly]

Pumpernickel rolls sound amazing.

[redbird]

We will almost certainly make what we have for the last couple of years--roast turkey with a rice-based stuffing; roast vegetables; cranberry-orange relish; and an apple crisp.

Depending on energy levels and inspiration, or lack thereof, there's likely to be a green vegetable. (The pan of roast roots also gets some Brussels sprouts for cattitude and adrian_turtle, but I don't like those.) Salad? Green beans?

The menu is short because "we" is three people; every so often we consider inviting friends, but haven't in ages (since roadnotes was living in New York).

[conuly]

Green beans are quick and easy, and coleslaw is always nice. (The sort with a vinegar dressing, not the sort with a mayo dressing, unless you love that.)

[greghousesgf]

I wish I knew what I was even doing for Thanksgiving. This year all I've had are a couple of "maybe-invitations" if you know what I mean by that. :(

[conuly]

So stay at home and bingewatch TV.

[jessie_c]

Thanksgiving was over 5 weeks ago. Even the turkey soup is long gone. :P

[conuly]

I should hope so! But what're you doing next year?

[affreca]

I'm going to my sister's new place. I'll probably bring mashed potatoes and something else to snack on. She likes to cook all the rest.

[conuly]

That's the sort of host we all love, the one who does all the cooking without help.

[mtbc]

A couple of turkey crowns. I think the plan is bacon on the skin, butter with herbs under the skin and extra stuffing under the turkey to catch what drips. There'll be some pumpkin pie (premade crust, canned pumpkin but still good) and suchlike, the main question is earlier in the day things. There are ideas, the main ones catching my attention are varieties of stuffed mushrooms, one kind with sausage stuffing and another with crab.

Main question is how to watch the parade as expats given that this year USTVNow seem to have some issue with NBC who now seem to require using some app, it doesn't seem as if we can just cast from a browser to our Roku this time.

[conuly]

I gotta say, living in NYC as I do I've always thought the parade was overrated.

[hafnia]

The usual stuff — I'm spatchcocking a dry-brined turkey, and there will be dressing (wild rice for the gluten-free people; bread for the rest of us), some kind of a green salad, green beans, and mashed potatoes/gravy.

We're having ten people this year, tho, possibly eleven, up from our usual six, so I'm also going to make a pan of macaroni for the first time because why not.

Pies — gluten-free pumpkin pie for my mom, apple for me and my dad, chocolate pie for Max, and lemon meringue for one of our friends. There'll be stuff to nibble before the main meal (we usually eat at 3, so I make a big breakfast and put out cheese/crackers), and, yeah. :)

My mom won't eat the macaroni (I know THAT already), and everything else is either gluten-free by default or I can make a gluten-free version for her, so.

(She doesn't have celiac; this is a new thing she's doing because she Read Something On the Internet that says wheat is bad for you, and...well. I'm not judging.)

[conuly]

At least you don't have to worry about cross-contamination too much.

[dark_phoenix54]

I want to do a large chicken, since there will only be three of us, but the husband can't get over his 'must do something huge' mindset. I'd love to have a duck or goose, but they cost too much. So he's proposing a giant ham, or a bunch of ribs, or something like that. *sigh*

[conuly]

Swedish meatballs? Huge, but not too huge.

[archersangel]

we're having ham because my brother hates turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, chicken-flavored stuffing & canned jelled cranberry sauce. desserts have yet to be determined.

[conuly]

Buttermilk pie turned out to be delicious when I first made it.

[shadowkat]

Usually rock cornish game hens -- it's a small hen, more tender and tasty than chicken or turkey. I used to base with a wine, brown sugar, corn starch, orange juice gravy. But I've moved to just olive oil and herbs. The recipe is in Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book.

I used to make sweet potatoes and apples -- you basically evenly slice circles of apple and sweet potato, and arrange in a glass pan, every other one, cover with molasses, and butter, and cook for a specific period of time. I suck at recipes. I'm an intitutive cook.

Green beans.

And before I had to go off rice -- wild rice.

[conuly]

I thought wild rice was a different species from rice rice?

[rhoda_rants]

Mac n cheese casserole I *think*, although I'm hanging out with a different branch of the family than I anticipated and need to recalibrate for allergies. I hope I can still do that dish, but I dunno. Otherwise--brownies?

[conuly]

Mmm, brownies.

[pauamma]

Thanksgiving (whether the US or the Canadian one) isn't a custom over here, or for me.

[conuly]

You're welcome to steal it if you want to. It's pretty low-key if you don't buy into "MUST MAKE TURKEY!" hysteria.

[okojosan]

I usually fix a duck for my partner and me, but sadly this year I won't be home. Most likely my dad and I will go to a restaurant.

[conuly]

Well, going out can be nice too. Especially if you can buy duck.

[gingicat]

Husband is making a roasted turkey and bread stuffing and roasted root vegetables and...

I'm making cranberry chutney and non-dairy sweet potato pie. https://gingicat.dreamwidth.org/1709859.html

[conuly]

I read that as "non-sweet potato pie" and was a little baffled.

[silveradept]

Turkey, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, a sauce of some sort, can biscuits. Nothing fancy.

[conuly]

But filling!

[thewayne]

Going to the observatory and doing sides, maybe a couple of cakes. The main protein is going to be Cornish game hens, but I'm doing Alton Brown's City Ham for home consumption at the request of my wife.

And then Sunday at 7am flying off to Bethesda, MD for my annual at National Institutes of Health.

[conuly]

Ooof, that's early on a Sunday!

[zesty_pinto]

How about a goose? I wish there was a way to get one of those geese that they donate to food shelters that they hunt off airport runways.

[zesty_pinto]

As for cooking, I'm going to Michelle's parents since they love this event. I'll probably try to make chicken and dumplings to bring over.

[conuly]

Mmm.

As for goose, I don't think the kids will like that more than duck.