Thanksgiving thread? Tips, cooking, stories?

[RICHARD]

Oh boy!

I thought a good Thanksgiving thread would be in order, You know-some way to share a holiday- a one stop thread for all things 'thankful'!

Our Canuckian friends just celebrated and I hope that they can give us some tips, stories and contributions to help us out.


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Looks like this will be a Richard/Easily amused production. I have the turkey thing down pat. I do plan on keep it simple!

Green bean casserole, veggies, rolls, too!


Anyone else?

[Medusa]

I'm almost positive I posted this somewhere before but my tip is: never roast a turkey, especially a large one, on a cookie sheet. Reason being? It slides off.

When I was first married, my husband was in the AF and we made it a practice to invite airmen who weren't able to make it home for the holidays. I didn't have much cookware and even less money to buy some, so I made do w/what I had. We invited several men to Tday dinner along w/my parents who drove from PA to our place in VA.

The entire group, my husband and toddler son included, were patiently waiting for me to bring out the turkey to the dinner table; everything else was there. I took the turkey out of the oven and, of course, the juice from the turkey was all over the cookie sheet. You know what happened next. The turkey jiggled around, slid off the cookie sheet and onto the floor. Our apt. was in an old renovated southern mansion and the floor was covered in old linoleum. There were 3 steps next to my oven leading down into my son's bedroom. The turkey then slid across the floor, down the steps and under my son's bed. I had to crawl under his bed to retrieve the turkey, wash it off and serve it, all the while w/a straight face and pretending that nothing unusual had happened. I was near hysterical w/laughter through the entire dinner, much to my husband's irritation because I wouldn't tell him what I was laughing about. He would have been furious. (He had no sense of humor when it came to such things.)

Every year at Tday dinner, I think of that day and this year it will be even funnier to me because this is the first Tday in 11 years that my son has been able to come home.

[RICHARD]

I think of that day and this year it will be even funnier to me because this is the first Tday in 11 years that my son has been able to come home.

And where is he sleeping this time?

[Medusa]

And where is he sleeping this time?

Say what? That went right over my old blonde head, Richard.

[RICHARD]

I was curious, IF you toss the turkey under his bed this year....

[Medusa]

I was curious, IF you toss the turkey under his bed this year....

Oh got it! No, I'll have to toss it up the stairs this year.

On a more serious note, (I know you probably didn't want serious stuff, Richard), I just want to say to all my PT friends to really enjoy the company of whomever you have the pleasure of sharing Tday with this year. I've been fortunate enough to have a good meal every year and having my son here will make it so much more tasty. I'm so thankful for all that I have, not just materially, but for everything that we sometimes take for granted. And I imagine, Richard, that Tday will be just as sweet for you, knowing that your mom is doing so much better and is at home now.

[RICHARD]

OH no....
THis is an all purpose thread. I just thought that we could mush it all together. A one stop thread for all things to give thanks for!

[Hellow]

My mom has to make the best stuffing I have ever tasted! I forgot what it is called, although I will try to find out soon and show yall the recipe.

[Karen]

We used to have at least two kinds of stuffing for our turkey - for Ma, the more guests the merrier, so there was usually a pretty darned big turkey being cooked. The "bread-based" stuffing was probably like most people's, but the other was just our French-Canadian grandmother's recipe. We all tried hard to reconstruct it from memory, as none of us could ind the recipe, we knew it had hamburger, onions, and mashed potato and certain spices. Lady's Human finally found the recipe in the box he got from Ma. Sadly, I cannot have that stuffing any more, as I am allergic to beef, but it sure was yummy!

We always also had two kinds of cranberry sauce - the jellied kind and the "whole berry" kind, and Grandma would make cranberry relish with fresh craberries and oranges, that was really yummy. Now I cannot have any of that, as I am so allergic to cranberries it literally went "off the chart" on the allergist's test sheet. Sigh.

One thing I have not ever found a good recipe for that we only had for days like Thanksgiving was tomato aspic. It was spicy and yummy, but made a small amount, so we each go one little wedge ... don't think any of my siblings have that recipe. I wish we did, because that I could still eat!

We usually now spend Thanksgiving with Paul's family, so their traditions are more, well traditional!

[kuhio98]

My tip ~ If you buy a frozen turkey, make sure to thaw it completely and take out any of the plastic bags of "parts" that might be inside.

If you discover them after several hours of cooking, throw the thing in the garbage and order pizza. No one enjoys the flavor of turkey basted in plastic bag residue.

[Queen of Poop]

Throw a bay leaf in the roaster with the turkey, it seasons the turkey drippings and makes a yummier gravy.

[Medusa]

Throw a bay leaf in the roaster with the turkey, it seasons the turkey drippings and makes a yummier gravy.

Ah, and there it is. How to make gravy. I'm a pretty good cook but I've never mastered gravy. It's either soupy or like quick dry cement.

[Queen of Poop]

Ah, and there it is. How to make gravy. I'm a pretty good cook but I've never mastered gravy. It's either soupy or like quick dry cement.

The true secret to a good turkey gravy is a few drops of soya sauce. It adds flavor but gives it an awesome COLOR. And we all know presentation is everything.

Mix water with your flour before adding it to the drippings to make a thin paste, then your gravy won't be lumpy. Heat just until it begins to thicken then turn the heat off.

[pomtzu]

Mix water with your flour before adding it to the drippings to make a thin paste, then your gravy won't be lumpy. Heat just until it begins to thicken then turn the heat off.

I use cornstarch in place of flour - guaranteed lump-free!

[RICHARD]

My GF used to make cranberries/sauce from scratch.
While I am not a fan of the canned variety, but I loved the home cooked kind!

The other thing that I can hardly wait for-I could fix up a batch right nowb, but it's sooo much better on Thanksgiving - is green bean casserole!

MMMMM!