American Thanksgiving

[aliantha]

Dunno exactly what we're having this year. We're not going shopping 'til I get down to the girls' place Wednesday night. But I'm sure there will be some version of turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes (or Batty will disown us), sweet potatoes, broccoli, crescent rolls from the can, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and chocolate pies, etc. The usual stuff. Altho Shara_Lunison is planning to add something called a Pig Piggin' Cake -- she got the recipe from a co-worker and she says it's really good. We shall see.

[Menolly]

Has the bird itself been bought so it can defrost, ali?
Even "fresh" birds can be rock hard nowadays...
Just ask Alton Brown.

[aliantha]

Yes ma'am, no worries on that score, the girls picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Tho I suppose I should remind them tonight to pull the bloody thing out of the freezer, else we'll be having Pig Piggin' Cake as the main course....

[Menolly]

oh yeah
a 12lb. bird takes three days to defrost.
if it's bigger than that...

[aliantha]

It's 20. I told them four days of thawing at least.

[Menolly]

Wow.
Is their oven big enough for a 20 lb. bird?

[aliantha]

Full-size oven, yes indeed, and the bird's been thawing since Friday night. No Thanksgiving disasters in the making here this year, nothing to see, move along, move along.

[Menolly]

Perfect!

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Apple pie cooling. Pumpkin pies and chocolate pies made. Pumpkin cheesecake bars with caramel already made and in fridge. The infamous Paula Dean Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle is made.... to be joined by pineapple upside down cake, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.... oh yeah, and some sort of savory dishes somewhere along the way, too, I think.

[Savor Dam]

You misunderstand, Orlion. Keep an abundance mentality foremost in your thinking.

Hers is a magical self-replenishing pie. No matter how many wedges she proffers (to our consistent acceptance), there always remains an entire pie to be served.

bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
me thinks you're going to eat them words, mister.

Having now seen the entire sequence of pie-atars Menolly has featured over the last six weeks or so, I have to admit she was right. The pie is gone, utterly and completely consumed...

...and it is clear *who* ate it.

[Fist and Faith]

I could swear I posted this... I made a double recipe for Thanksgiving. Then we put it on a little side table, because the main table with all the food to choose from was full, so hardly anybody noticed it.

But I made it today, for dinner at my brother's. And it was a big success!

[Menolly]

I could swear I posted this... I made a double recipe for Thanksgiving. Then we put it on a little side table, because the main table with all the food to choose from was full, so hardly anybody noticed it.

I know you told me this via text. I don't recall seeing it here though.

I made it today, for dinner at my brother's. And it was a big success!

Yay!

Oh speaking of texts, my phone is constantly giving me the blue screen of death. I am letting it sit off overnight, and we'll see if it works tomorrow. Otherwise, I may be out of touch via text for a bit, until I can get a new phone...

[Menolly]

Only a week away! What are everyone's plans this year? Mine are drastically different from the usual for us...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays to cook for, along with Passover. I love dry brining my turkey; roasting it a la Alton Brown; and having planned over meat and the carcass for soup, stock, and various dishes built upon cooked poultry.

However, I was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and my surgeon had scheduled me to have my thyroid removed this coming Monday. So, not knowing what recovery and/or further treatment would involve, we scratched any plans for me to cook this year.

This is the first year Beorn is away at college, though. After discussing this with my doctor, she was persuaded to postpone my surgery until the Monday after Thanksgiving, on November 28th. This way Beorn can come home, spend his break with us, and I’ll be admitted the day after he returns so we can spend all of his break together.

hyperception and I decided we will make reservations to go to the Best Western Gateway Grand’s Thanksgiving buffet. Their menu looks awesome and the price is reasonable. I will miss having my planned overs and stock, but I have already purchased a small frozen turkey for me to prepare once I have recuperated.

So, I foresee me watching the Macy’s parade; going to the buffet midafternoon; hanging with the homies while looking through the sale flyers and planning my Black Friday strategy; and just overall taking it easy.

After all, most importantly, this holiday is about family and gratitude. With an upcoming battle for my health approaching, I will indulge in and be thankful for as much family togetherness as I can.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Mini-Thanksgiving at my house this Sunday. The foods I am providing are:
Butternut Squash Bisque
Brined Roasted Turkey (a petite 10lbs)
Bacon & Herb Pumpernickel Stuffing
Dbl-Cream Mashed Potatoes
Turkey Gravy
Pumpkin Pie Streusel Bars

Also coming to the party are:
Green Salad
Bourbon & Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding

dw

[DukkhaWaynhim]

Forgot to mention that the stuffing will be served in the form of stuffins.

dw

[aliantha]

Bless your heart, Menolly. I am sorry to hear about your health issues.

You may be too tired to cook much of anything for quite awhile. I remember how many months of tweaking Duchess went through after the docs irradiated her thyroid; I can't imagine having the thing taken out will be any easier to adjust to. Hope all goes well for you. And good job talking the doc into putting off the surgery 'til after Thanksgiving.

As for our Turkey Day, the only thing that will really be different this year is that the girls are coming home. So I get to cook the 20-lb. turkey in my own oven this year, with my own cookware utensils, plenty of counter space, and an actual dining room table to sit at. I am freakin' ecstatic.

I don't think I've shared with y'all my holiday-meal fails over the past few years:

Thanksgiving three years ago: Cooked the bird at the girls' first apartment in Roanoke, got ready to carve it, and discovered the biggest knife they had was a paring knife with a 2-inch blade. Made a mad dash to Kroger, which had just closed. Ended up at the 24-hour CVS, which -- thank goodness! -- was selling of those "As Seen on TV" 24-piece knife collections in the Christmas gift aisle. Turned out fine, except that I forgot my share of the leftovers in their fridge.

Christmas two years ago: Cooked the bird in the girls' teeny-tiny kitchen in their teeny-tiny apartment in Denver. In order to put the bird in the cooking bag (yes, I stew my turkeys -- got a problem with that? ), Shara_Lunison held it open for me and the bird sort of slipped out of my hands, and the bottom of the bag split. Picked the turkey up off the floor, rinsed it off, and got out another bag. Turned out fine.

I don't remember any major fails from last year, but I'm sure there must have been one....

[DoctorGamgee]

Menolly,

I am sorry to hear you are having difficulties, but glad to see that you have made plans to adjust to the circumstances.

Our Thanksgiving dinner is insane. We are a family of four (two kids 7 & 2), but we have a lot of friends who do not have family near, so they end up at our house. We usually have the following:

One slow roasted Turkey (brined with additional pomegranate, orange juice, limes (from our tree) jalapeno, serrano, chipotle peppers and cumin) and cooked with rosemary garlic and onion inside (though not enough to truly call it stuffed....)

One Deep fried Turkey with Tony Chachery's cajun rub and injected with garlic/onion/butter and spice...

Sausage and Apple Cornbread Dressing

Homemade Cranberry Relish

Spicy Corn Pudding (cheese and chipotle included!)

Southern Green Beans

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Pineapple Casserole -- the first time my wife told me what was in it, I thought, "REALLY?!? UGH!" and then I tasted it..it is amazing. A mix of pineapple chunks, mini-marshmallows, cheddar Cheese squares topped with buttered bread cubes baked until it is golden brown to give it crunch.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Butter

Rolls and Salad

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Homemade Chocolate Espresso Cake with Caramel Ganache

Homemade Whipped Cream

I do a LOT of the cooking and baking, my wife does the rest. I love all the time in the Kitchen...and the next day we get together with friends and make Stollen for Christmas...yummy!

[Savor Dam]

Menolly...thank you for coming out and telling the Watch what you are facing.

Keeping it to myself this past month has not been easy; many Watchers have probably connected the dots and figured out that we are pretty close friends. After a few years of pestering you about your health , that you have started looking after yourself this year is high on the list of things I am thankful for.

As you know, Dam-sel faced what you are facing thirty years ago and has been cancer-free since. You can do this. We will help you all we can. We told you that when you were here a few weeks ago, and that commitment is solid.


As for cancer, which has taken so many friends and family members,
we hates it forever

Edit -- our gracious but strict mod has ruled that I should say something about my own Thanksgiving plans and preparations. I have not done a whit of planning, much less shopping, yet. It is just Dam-sel, Dam-et and me...and I will probably do the usual things. Putting on Thanksgiving for three people is quite the exercise in balancing moderation and excess...

If I should get so lucky as to get a job offer between now and next Thursday, we will have one more thing to be thankful for...but Menolly's health will still be foremost in our minds. Jobs are replaceable (my experience over the last three years notwithstanding), but dear friends are not.

[Ananda]

Sorry to hear that, Menolly. I hope your treatment goes perfectly.

Hope everyone has a great time with all the food preparation. It sounds fun and I am a little jealous. Vader, I hope you make pictures of your dishes!

Edit: And I just read that Vader is german, not american! So, maybe he could go to someones house and take pictures there to post instead? Either way, we still want pictures.

[stonemaybe]

Menolly