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We have a general What's For Dinner thread, but how about specifically Thanksgiving? I'll be starting my cooking and prep work this weekend, so I don't have to stay up all night Wednesday night to get things done for Thursday afternoon. The menu this year is:

Prime rib with a red wine demi-glace
Mushroom ragout
Roasted brussels sprouts with maple-balsamic vinaigrette
Mediterranean spiced butternut squash
Noni Afghani bread
Pumpkin and pomegranate risotto

And my MIL will be providing pies.

This year everyone is going to southern Ohio for dinner, and we can't go, so we won't be doing anything for the first time in years, instead electing to let other people do our work for us.

We've earned it.

--Patrick

We'll be just the nuclear here. We're doing our traveling at Christmas instead. So it'll just be your traditional spread. I like the traditional turkey+sides, because it's one meal out of 365. Well, 10 meals I guess.

We're hosting as usual, so there should be 9 of us all together (Christmas tends to be bigger). It's probably good that I'm writing this out to make sure I didn't forget to pick something up:

Spatchcocked Turkey (best time saver ever!)
Roasted parsnip bread pudding
Candied Sweet Potatoes w/marshmallows
Roasted Cauliflower w/dates and pine nuts
Roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic vingerette
Pumpkin soup

And for dessert we have apple, pumpkin or pecan pie with salted caramel ice cream.

Still trying to figure out what to make for hors d'oeuvres, though.

Having Thanksgiving at my in-laws, so I'm fairly sure the menu will be something like:

Handmade Bread Stuffing
Turkey/Ham/etc
Red Salad
So much cranberry sauce
Like two gallons of allioli (I'm in charge of that)
Surprise dishes?

Celt Z said:

Spatchcocked Turkey (best time saver ever!)

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My favorite chicken recipe is spatchcocked over potatoes.
All the schmaltz!

--Patrick

Celt Z said:

Spatchcocked Turkey (best time saver ever!)

Click to expand...

Whoa, that video.... the turkey looked like something from a horror movie. I guess that's actually not too far off the mark, though.

We're going Italian this year. So it sounds like antipasto, cannelloni or manicotti, meatballs or sausage, salad, bread and I'm going to attempt ricotta cheesecake with apple topping.

My parents paid for airfare for us to visit them, so I least I get free food before I have an aneurism from keeping my mouth forcibly shut when they start talking about "politics."

fade said:

Whoa, that video.... the turkey looked like something from a horror movie. I guess that's actually not too far off the mark, though.

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Ha! I didn't watch the video, I was just linking for the instructions. However, every year when I rip out the spine, I do make Mortal Kombat jokes.

Gared said:

We have a general What's For Dinner thread, but how about specifically Thanksgiving? I'll be starting my cooking and prep work this weekend, so I don't have to stay up all night Wednesday night to get things done for Thursday afternoon. The menu this year is:

Prime rib with a red wine demi-glace
Mushroom ragout
Roasted brussels sprouts with maple-balsamic vinaigrette
Mediterranean spiced butternut squash
Noni Afghani bread
Pumpkin and pomegranate risotto

And my MIL will be providing pies.

Click to expand...

That sounds pretty fantastic! Is this next week?

PatrThom said:

This year everyone is going to southern Ohio for dinner, and we can't go, so we won't be doing anything for the first time in years, instead electing to let other people do our work for us.
We've earned it.

Click to expand...

Nope.
Our destination already has another destination in mind.
So I guess we'll be eating in this year.

--Patrick

Nothing. I'm working both Wednesday and Thursday nights, mom can't do turkey, and there aren't any relatives within 200 miles. So the same as most other years.

My brother will deep fry a turnkey. I will smoke a pork butt.

Sides will be up to a sister in law and Mom.

PatrThom said:

Nope.
Our destination already has another destination in mind.
So I guess we'll be eating in this year.

--Patrick

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You should drive your family all the way over here and have thanksgiving with us.

stienman said:

You should drive your family all the way over here and have thanksgiving with us.

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But if you invite more people you'd have to rent out a full banquet hall. Thats gotta get expensive.

stienman said:

You should drive your family all the way over here and have thanksgiving with us.

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I'll put the idea to the wife, see what she says.

--Patrick

Squidleybits said:

That sounds pretty fantastic! Is this next week?

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Next Thursday, yeah. I got off work a bit early today and have everything I need except for pomegranate arils, and they tend to go bad if you buy them too soon anyway. Tomorrow I'll start roasting beef bones and root veggies for the stock for the demi, and probably roast and puree the pumpkin for the risotto.

DarkAudit said:

Nothing. I'm working both Wednesday and Thursday nights, mom can't do turkey, and there aren't any relatives within 200 miles. So the same as most other years.

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I really wish we didn't live on opposite sides of the country. At the very least, you could have tasty left-overs when you got back from night shift.

Usual fair at relatives house. I mostly end up eating like a can of cranberry sauce to myself.

blotsfan said:

But if you invite more people you'd have to rent out a full banquet hall. Thats gotta get expensive.

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We can seat 25 or so in the same area (dining room, kitchen, and front room connected by large arches), and last thanksgiving had a few more than that. This thanksgiving will be much smaller. As a bonus, anyone bringing kids will find there's a better than 85% chance there'll be another kid here within a year of their age.

stienman said:

We can seat 25 or so in the same area

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Yeah, but that's just standard dinner for you.

Ravenpoe said:

Yeah, but that's just standard dinner for you.

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I'm just glad they aren't all teenagers yet. Like a plague of locusts, I'm told...

But yeah, when I hear other people talk about having 9 or more people over for thanksgiving and indicating that it's going to be packed, I just smile...

My niece and her kids are going to be here for Thanksgiving, so we've got 7 including my wife and son.

We're having:
Roast turkey breast. Everyone gets tired of Turkey by the 3rd day and I end up throwing some out every year, so just the breast this year.
Broccoli salad (which my aunt calls "ants in a tree")--florets cut tiny, sunflower seeds, bacon pieces, vidalia onion dressing.
Green bean casserole (which I've never tried..my wife is making)
sweet potato casserole (with marshmallows on top, of course)
roasted root vegetables (parsnips, celery root, carrots, etc)
9 heads of garlic mashed potatoes, though I'll probably only use 3-4 this year. Roasted garlic, yukon gold potatoes (for creaminess), neufchatel cheese (american style).
Ambrosia salad

My wife was going to make more, but I drew the line at having one dish for each guest.
Of course we have cherry and pumpkin pie, but they don't count as dishes

Oh, and cranberry sauce. The jellied kind in the can. Because I can't get any of my philistine relatives to give real cranberry sauce a chance

edit: and stuffing, and rolls. Damn, we're going to be eating this shit for a week.

blotsfan said:

But if you invite more people you'd have to rent out a full banquet hall. Thats gotta get expensive.

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My parents used to invite enough people that they'd rent out the hall at the local volunteer fire company or the church I grew up attending. The first Thanksgiving we were married Aussie got to experience this. We had about 25 people including us.

My wife doesn't like turkey. We'll probably bake a ham.

stienman said:

You should drive your family all the way over here and have thanksgiving with us.

Click to expand...

PatrThom said:

I'll put the idea to the wife, see what she says.

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She said no. Said she'd be uncomfortable in that intimate of a setting with so many people she doesn't know.

--Patrick

I'm bringing dessert, so I'm making mini pies-- half sweet potato and half apple.

All cop

I did ham for Canadian Thanksgiving so I'll do turkey with all the trimmings for American Thanksgiving.

PatrThom said:

She said no. Said she'd be uncomfortable in that intimate of a setting with so many people she doesn't know.

--Patrick

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I understand, thanks for considering it! We'll have to plan some other get together that has a lower set of expectations and intimacy.

There's a local burger joint in town that does an amazing turkey burger once a year on American Thanksgiving. It's a fresh in store made turkey patty with fried duck meat and skin with this cranberry mayo and stuffing on it. It sounds horrendous but it is literally the best tasting burger I've ever had. I will be having a couple of those and probably ordering a few more to go to last me a day or two afterwards.

We've got two Thanksgiving meals that we do, my wife's family and my family. They are fairly different from each other. Her family is usually rather tame, roast turkey, dressing (it's the south, we really don't do stuffing), assorted side dishes (sweet potato casserole, cranberry stuff, etc.) rather the more traditional stuff. My family goes a little more "country." Deep fried turkey, duck and goose, yes three different birds. Sides like cheesy potatoes (red potatoes boiled with crab boil, put into a casserole with cheese wiz, cream of mushroom and topped with bacon crumble), duck dressing (cornbread based dressing with duck meat added), deviled eggs, corn on the cob and even fried okra. I don't really eat desserts, but have been told that they are at both functions.

Frank said:

There's a local burger joint in town that does an amazing turkey burger once a year on American Thanksgiving. It's a fresh in store made turkey patty with fried duck meat and skin with this cranberry mayo and stuffing on it. It sounds horrendous but it is literally the best tasting burger I've ever had. I will be having a couple of those and probably ordering a few more to go to last me a day or two afterwards.

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That sounds amazing. Add some cole slaw to it and it sounds almost like the sandwiches that I used to make when I was younger except it was leftover turkey instead of a turkey burger.

Too bad it's going to be way harder for me to get drunk here vs. home. Sea level is stupid.

Ordering pizza the night before. Put it in the fridge.

Thanksgiving Day is wife and me eating pizza while watching MST3k Turkey Day marathon on Youtube.

No relatives.

Bliss.

Hand pies, bitches.

Brie and berry, sweet potato, and apple

Cajungal said:

Hand pies, bitches.

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Those are popular in Oklahoma, too

Tinwhistler said:

Those are popular in Oklahoma, too

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Hand pies or bitches?

Cajungal said:

Hand pies or bitches?

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Both.

This is what I'm working on right now..hopefully, in half an hour, they'll be delicious baked apple roses.

Pretty!

They turned out pretty good

Tinwhistler said:

They turned out pretty good

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They look lovely!

---

I just put the ricotta cheesecake in the oven. The recipe called for lemon juice, but I used orange juice and some orange zest instead. The batter tastes so good. Unfortunately I think my springform pan got bent in the move. Some of the batter was dripping out of the bottom once I put it in the oven. I put the whole thing on a cookie sheet and it looks like the dripping stopped, but now I'm afraid the bottom will burn. I probably should have done a bain marie.

The top cracked really badly. Whatever. It's going to taste amazing!

WasabiPoptart said:

The top cracked really badly. Whatever. It's going to taste amazing!

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That's the only thing that counts.

The bain marie woulda helped with the cracking though.

Looks like Spidey's starting his Thanksgiving feast early.

I had to try spatchcocking after @Celt Z mentioned it. I'll report how it turns out. Actually flattening the thing wasn't hard.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you crazy Americans!I am thankful to know you.

Eat some pie for me.

Turkey and green bean casserole have a half hour to go. And then it's on!

I'm so glad I opted for 2 ovens when I got this place. Probably one of the easiest thanksgivings I've ever had.

Ham, potatoes, corn, pie, rolls, and a winter weather warning. It's good to be inside watching football.

The people next door are roasting a pig. I want to go crash their Thanksgiving.

fade said:

I had to try spatchcocking after @Celt Z mentioned it. I'll report how it turns out. Actually flattening the thing wasn't hard.

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I can't make any promises, but every time I do it that way, both the white meat and dark meat are so tender you barely have to cut.

Had that burger I posted about for lunch. Worth the wait.

So this week has been pretty tolerable, especially because my mother has been the one spending two hours making my son do four math problems that he could do without help in 15 minutes if he didn't stare into space and self harm. Maybe this will make her be more understanding when I talk about how hard school stuff is for us to deal with. Maybe.

And now I will eat food that I did not have to lift a finger to help prepare. Win!

Celt Z said:

I can't make any promises, but every time I do it that way, both the white meat and dark meat are so tender you barely have to cut.

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It came out nice. My wife says I have to make it that way from now on.

fade said:

It came out nice. My wife says I have to make it that way from now on.

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1) It comes out nice
2) It comes out so much faster. <----

--Patrick

There's a joke in there but I just can't.

WasabiPoptart said:

There's a joke in there but I just can't.

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Sounds serious. You should see someone about that.

--Patrick

Wife had a minor fail at math, since she doesn't believe in using a timer for things. Good thing I got up when I did.

Turkey (with a little bit of a crispy crust), dressing, mashed potatoes, yams, carrots (she had green beans), gravy, biscuits. Pumpkin pie - with peppermint whipped cream - is for a bit later.

Go Packers.

fade said:

It came out nice. My wife says I have to make it that way from now on.

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Could mean she really liked it!

Could also mean she's hoping to get out of having to cook turkey ever again...

I think it means she liked it because I always make Thanksgiving dinner.

Yay! I'm glad it worked for you, @fade.

Wine and garlic bread and cheese - oh my! Sorry I didn't take pics before we started to eat.

There is still 3 kinds of pie sitting in my fridge (I convinced my friend to take home the scraps of the tiramisu). I loooooooove pie, but do not want to destroy my waistline before the Christmas season even starts.

Celt Z said:

There is still 3 kinds of pie sitting in my fridge (I convinced my friend to take home the scraps of the tiramisu). I loooooooove pie, but do not want to destroy my waistline before the Christmas season even starts.

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Just send'm straight here, no worries, they'll get finished off before you even know who ate'm

Well, it took me 2 hours to get this photo from my iPhone to my computer and then up to the cloud, but here's the spread.



Clockwise from upper-left: red wine demi-glace, Noni Afghani, mesquite smoked prime rib, Brussels sprouts with toasted pecans and a maple-balsamic vinaigrette, Moroccan spiced roasted squash, sauteed mushrooms (bookend on each side), pumpkin risotto, red wine spiced cranberry sauce. It was all delicious.

Pizza was good. Didn't have to prepare it. Had a couple salads too.

The MST3k marathon was mostly good. We watched five of the movies, but took a break at Teenagers from Outer Space, didn't feel like I missed much. They closed out with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians .

Turkey, Turkey soup, Stuffing, Mom' stufing which is more bland, sweet potatoes, okay biscuits, and whatever the fuck we can make out of that afterwards. THANKSGIVING MOTHER FUCKERS! Also I didn't have to follow my fucking brother in law to get a new TV, only to learn half a year later he returned the fucking thing making me wait for dessert- POINTLESS!

Since we didn't do a traditional "dinner," and all the decent burger joints were closed (McDonalds was open, but that would just be admitting defeat ), for Friday it was FIVE GUYS. LBC all the way for me. Little hamburger lettuce, tomato, mayo for mom. And regular fries. Food was had. Food was enjoyed.