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Holidays:  Let's talk about Thanksgiving  |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 07:40:45 AM
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Who's cooking this year? What are you making? I'm having friends over, but I'm not sure how many yet. My parents don't come to me, because they're divorced and go to their significant others' families. The menu will be:
Roast Turkey (kosher)
Eisner family Jewish-style stuffing (we make it with challah and fry it in chicken fat before we stuff the turkey)
Perlman family apple-squash casserole (this is a lot like a
Jewish tzimmes, but probably easier. You just put apples and butternut squash and a few other things in the oven and cook them for a long time. I add raisins)
Green salad
Whatever vegetable I can find nice that week (if brussels sprouts look good, I might steam them and then toss them with olive oil, thyme and balsamic vinegar. Otherwise, asparagus or broccoli)
Homemade cranberry sauce with orange sections
Italian bread with olive oil & herbs
Sweet potato pie
Either coffee-spice cake (a friend gave me this recipe) or the recipe for Kentucky Derby pie posted by another poster here in the kitchen section.
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thehouseminder
True Blue Farmgirl
361 Posts
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 08:52:50 AM
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Hi Amanda,
I'm having Thanksgiving at my house for the first time ever. I'm terrified of course! I'm used to cooking for two. Now it will be sixteen.
Now that I've read your menu, I'm dreaming of ditching my own plans and crashing your party. Tee Hee
Here's the Menu so far.
A relish tray
Mulled Cider
Curried Pumpkin Soup in Roasted Munchkin Pumpkin Shells
Roasted Turkey
Dressing "muffins" - that way everyone gets a little of the crunchy part
Aunt Irene's Cranberry Ice
Grandma Bernice's Butterhorn Rolls
Broccoli and Carrots with Orange Glaze
Dessert - homemade, from my apples, apple pie with homemade "red hot" ice cream
I can make most of this ahead. The ice cream is already done. The cranberry ice is a frozen item to. I didn't put anything the the menu that I have not made before.
Any holiday cooking/baking hints are welcome.
I've also made sure I have plenty of wood and kindling ready for the fireplace and I've made pinecones dipped in wax and rolled in different kinds of salt so that they will burn blue, orange, and green.
Lucinda
When we were young, there were moments of such perfectly crystallized happiness that we stood stock still and silently promised ourselves that we would remember them always. And we did. --Holly J. Burkhalter , "Four Midwestern Sisters' Christmas Book"
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Edited by - thehouseminder on Nov 02 2005 11:10:44 AM |
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Mari-dahlia
True Blue Farmgirl
269 Posts
Marianne
Hoosick Falls
New York
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 10:03:24 AM
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Amanda,
I like your squash casserole. We do kind of the same thing using sweet potato and pear with a little cinnamon. The pear cuts the overly sweet sweet potato and gives a texture mix. It's a great idea mixing fall fruits in these dishes. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 10:31:26 AM
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I will no doubt be cooking. I wish it were ALL muy kids who will be here..but may just be the 6 of us and whoever needs a meal. WE will see.
I know what I will cook..always the same..
Roast turkey...
cranberry sauce..botht kinds..some like whole berry some like the jellied kind
cornbread stuffing with lots of celery and onions
homemade rolls
mashed potatoes and giblet gravy
fried okra ( in honor of my grandma and my Okie roots)
broccoli and carrots
candied yams..for everyone but me
relish tray with lots of veggies and a cheeseball and crackers
pumpkin pie with fresh whippped cream
I love to make Thanksgiving dinner since there is so much less going on that day than Christmas dinner. We eat at about 4 or 5 pm and snack on stuff all day. I coook the biggest turkey I can find since I like to can up some turkey vegetable soup and also have plenty for turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce. I love thanksgiving!!
I collect pilgrims (only the women ones ..hee hee) and decorate the table with them.
Jenny in Utah
Put all your eggs in one basket..and then watch that basket!! Mark Twain |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 11:02:40 AM
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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I love cooking the meal and I love the fact that we get together for fellowship with friends and family. It's nice to be able to focus on relationships, unlike Christmas where it is about the gifts (at least with my husband's side that is).
My menu will be mostly the same:
Roast turkey
Bread stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Turkey Gravy
Scalloped corn (I'm from the Mid-West and you have to have corn!)
Relish tray with veggies, olives, dip, etc.
Cheeseball with crackers
Assorted other appetizers
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
Chocolate Cream pie (for the non-pumpkin lovers)
Homemade rolls
http://rusticcottage.blogspot.com/ |
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Utahfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1940 Posts
Portland
Oregon
USA
1940 Posts |
Posted - Nov 02 2005 : 5:41:16 PM
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This is the first Thanksgiving for us in Salt Lake and the first in many years with my son Patrick and his family. I'm so excited! We're having Patrick and Tina, his wife, and their kids Joey and Trillian, our daughter Christina and her new fiance, Jason (his last name is Majick - it's Polish and pronounced "magic" How cool is that? Christina Zotti Majick), and our friend Alvita from L.A. I'm using my mother's china and silver, crystal glasses I bought in Conn. last year at a Lenox outlet store, and a new tablecloth and napkins. I also made a lovely quilted tablerunner with a Thanksgiving scene (including a turkey carrying a sign saying, "Eat more pie").
I'm serving in my family's Italian traditions but I'm skiping the pasta course because I remember everyone would fill up on pasta and be too stuffed to eat the main course. We'll have antipasto (means "before the pasta course")Stu makes with Italian cold cuts, buffalo mozzarella, green and black olives and provolone and parmigano reggianno cheeses. The Primi course will be the turkey will my mother's Italian sausage (only from the Italian deli - never the supermarket! She'd haunt me), ground beef, Italian bread, eggs, and more parmigiano regianno. The sausage makes an incredible gravy. I'm thinking about throwing in some chestnuts, too. I'm also making a sweet potato brulee (new this year, looks yummy), a green salad with oranges (another Italian thing), mashed postatoes, cranberry-orange and jellied sauce, and Stu's whole grain bread. Patrick's bringing asti spumanti (which he knows is my favorite) and another wine of some kind. He's into wine and always comes up with something interesting.
Dessert will be my homemade cheesecake (recipe is my former mother-in-law's - I've been making it for 40 years - it's the best I ever had), homemade apple and pumpkin pies with Stuie's special crust recipe, poached fruit compote and my daughter-in-law Tina's pizelles (Italian cookies - they look like thin waffles and usually are anise flavored) plus the usual coffee and tea.
I think my Mom will be proud. I'm so happy to have almost my whole family together this year. (Son Pete and wife Beth are in Florida). That's what I'm grateful for most of all.
Happy Wishes! |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 10:25:57 AM
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| Patricia, that's one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving: we bring in our immigrant traditions. It's the thing that makes the holiday truly American. As I mentioned above, my Jewish upbringing has a lot to do with what I cook. I've heard of Italians making lasagna to go with their turkey, Swedes making meatballs, etc. A Korean girl I worked with said that her mother sometimes makes duck instead of chicken. I think it's great. |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 10:59:56 AM
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I'm with you Kay~~~ Cant forget the "Green Bean Casserole"~~~
Jan |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 12:22:07 PM
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Its going to be at my place this year and we will have a minimum of 12 people here, but up to 19 depending on if I feel brave enough to extend the invitation to my Step family or not.
We will be having:
Turkey of course
cranberry sauce and cranberry relish
sweet potatoes
mashed poatoes
herbed stuffing
a relish tray
rolls
green bean cassarole
gravy
brown sugared carrots
fruit salad
pumpkin pie
either rhubarb/strawberry, apple, plum or huckleberry pie.. I have the makings for all but it will depend on what I feel like.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 1:08:23 PM
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| You can get rhubarb at this time of year? Lucky you. |
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Kate
MaryJane's Farmgirl
135 Posts
Kate
Moscow
ID
USA
135 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 1:32:43 PM
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Ummm "Green Bean Casserole" I love it. My mom makes it every year. I'm so excited about this Thanksgiving because my boyfriend, Emil is coming home with me!! Friends, Family and Food what could be a better holiday??
Kate
Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.....unless they are spelling mistakes. |
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Kit
Farmgirl in Training
27 Posts
Mechanic Falls
Maine
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 2:23:30 PM
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Well, we just decided to have thanksgiving dinner. :P Hehe, hummm, but yeah, we're having thanksgiving dinner on friday instead of thursday 'cause of everyone's work schedules. About the only thing we've decided on is we're going to roast an abandoned Turkey and I'm making my cheesecake. Other than that ... well ... yeah ... we'll come up with something. There's a good chance that one of the girls will make bread of the garlic, cheese, herb, and/or any of the above mixed together variety.
~giggle~ |
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tiffany01
True Blue Farmgirl
134 Posts
Tiffany
Indiana
USA
134 Posts |
Posted - Nov 08 2005 : 3:52:37 PM
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| I'm not cooking this year but am traveling to my uncle's for all the traditional fare. and I'm still waiting on my cooking "assignment" of what to bring. Although I LOVE Thanksgiving, it's never been the best eatting holiday for me, I pass on the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie and it took me until adulthood to appreciate the stuffing. Now, to make things even more interesting, we've become vegetarians. And yes, we have partaken of the Tofurkey in years past (not bad, and the gravy is to die for!) but since we are on the road this year, we'll travel with just the gravy. Everyone is making so many good things! Maybe we should start a Thanksgiving recipe thread in the kitchen forum. |
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CityCat
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Catherine
Toronto
Ontario
Canada
198 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2005 : 9:44:42 PM
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Um, pardon my ignorance, but what is Green Bean Casserole? I guess it contains green beans and it gets baked?
- Cat |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2005 : 9:45:28 PM
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Ivmeer, I just premade 4 bags of rhubarb pie filling and stuck it in the deep freeze :) My rhubarb plant bit the dust for the year some time ago :)
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Nov 09 2005 : 9:49:14 PM
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citycat, green bean cassarole varies but the kind my husband HAS to have every year because thats what his mom used to do is simply canned green beans mixed with cream of mushroom soup sprinkled with chedder cheese and spiced bread crumbs. You just bake it at 350 till the cheese bubbles and the bread is browned. This year his mom is coming to our house so she will make it herself so he will be in little hoggy heaven.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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thehouseminder
True Blue Farmgirl
361 Posts
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 06:32:58 AM
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Never had Green Bean Casserole! You poor deprived girl!
We make our with green beens, cream of mushroom soup, and Durkee brand French Fried Onions.
Here is the "official" recipe from Durkee:
Green Bean Casserole Recipe Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Ingredients:
2 - 9 oz. pkgs. - frozen cut green beans, thawed & drained
OR
2 - 16 oz. cans - cut green beans, drained
1/4 cup - milk
1 - 10 3/4 oz. can - condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/8 tsp. - ground black pepper
1 - 2.8 oz. can - Durkee French Fried Onions
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, mix the beans, milk, soup, pepper and 1/2 can French Fried Onions and mix well .
Pour into 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated through.
Top with remaining onions and bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until onions are golden.
Get thee to the store
Lucinda
When we were young, there were moments of such perfectly crystallized happiness that we stood stock still and silently promised ourselves that we would remember them always. And we did. --Holly J. Burkhalter , "Four Midwestern Sisters' Christmas Book"
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thehouseminder
True Blue Farmgirl
361 Posts
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 06:44:41 AM
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I've had three e-mail requests for Aunt Irene's  Cranberry Ice Recipe so I thought I'd post it here.
NOTE: I always double this recipe for company.
1 pkg cranberries
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. orange juice
Bring a stock pot of water to a boil and add the cranberries. Cook 'em til they pop and then put them through a sieve
Add the sugar, lemon juice, and orange juice and stir. Freeze.
That's it. I spoke to my Auntie last night and she is just pleased and flattered that any of you would ask.
When we were young, there were moments of such perfectly crystallized happiness that we stood stock still and silently promised ourselves that we would remember them always. And we did. --Holly J. Burkhalter , "Four Midwestern Sisters' Christmas Book"
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 06:49:00 AM
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Lucinda, That green bean casserole has been a staple and a favorite in my family for 40 years. I wonder if it is a "midwestern thing"? Oh that cranberry ice sounds wonderful, thank your Aunt Irene for me!
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. |
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ivmeer
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Amanda
Pawtucket
RI
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 07:40:28 AM
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| So, Lucinda, do you freeze it in an ice cream maker or do you just put it in the freezer as is? |
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theherblady
True Blue Farmgirl
510 Posts
Jan
Glasford
Illinois
USA
510 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 07:46:34 AM
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Yep-Green Bean Casserole has been a staple at our family gatherings for generations~~
Have you seen the comercials at holiday time on tv...where the girl comes to the door and says .."I brought the green bean casserole..." ?
I make mine with the recipe on the Durkee Onion container..You can also subsitute cream of celery for a little different flavor...or I suppose any other cream soup would work too~~
Jan |
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owwlady
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Jan
Tomahawk
WI
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 08:11:13 AM
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| I think Thanksgiving this year will be a TV dinner in the microwave. My oven hasn't worked for about 2 months so everything is cooked either in the microwave or on the stove. I can get away with this though 'cause I live alone. No clean up!! |
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thehouseminder
True Blue Farmgirl
361 Posts
USA
361 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 08:21:25 AM
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Hi Amanda!
I freeze a small batch in a 9x9 glass baking dish and a large batch in a 9x13 dish. Nothing fancy.
I do do scoop it out with an ice cream scoop (not a spade) so that it comes out in nice rounded scoops.
Meadowlark: I sure hope you are feeling better today!
The G B casserole might be regional....hmm. Maybe our eastern and western Farmgirls can give us some insight. Meg did say that Mary Jane makes it.
I'll be sure to thank Aunt Irene. You would all love her. She is a true Farmgirl from Iowa. She and my dad had some really wonderful farm adventures like carrying their lunch to their little one room country school in a milking pail and ice skating to town on the ice in the road ditches
Lucinda
When we were young, there were moments of such perfectly crystallized happiness that we stood stock still and silently promised ourselves that we would remember them always. And we did. --Holly J. Burkhalter , "Four Midwestern Sisters' Christmas Book"
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Edited by - thehouseminder on Nov 10 2005 08:30:10 AM |
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Anna
MaryJane's Farmgirl
27 Posts
Pullman
WA
27 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 08:30:52 AM
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My mom has realized that it pays off to make two batches of green bean casserole instead of just one because my brother and I love it so much! I won't get to be with my immediate family for Thanksgiving because they live in Hawaii but I'm headed to Florida to visit some of my dad's side of the family. Chances are, the meal will consist of a huge table of food set up buffet-style in the middle of the living room, which opens right out to the pool. There will be kids running in and out of the house in their swimsuits grabbing bites to eat and the adults (I guess that's me now) will be hanging out in pool chairs chatting. I haven't been down there in years for a holiday and I'm really excited!
The Sewing Girl at MaryJanesFarm :^) |
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KJD
True Blue Farmgirl
402 Posts
402 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 08:57:25 AM
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| Green bean casserole is ever-present at our Texas Thanksgiving, but I guess I'm the odd man out here - I can't stand it! Mom makes it every year. I've added some new side dishes to the old traditions and my family (the five of us, plus Mom and Dad and sister and her husband) have all welcomed the new stuff, because Mom still makes the usual things, too. My additions include pearl onions baked with rosemary, sundried tomatoes and olive oil, and a wonderful baked creamed spinach. My husband deep fries a turkey and I roast one as well. We buy 10 lb. turkeys, so the leftovers aren't what you'd think. Mom makes chicken and dressing, onto which we put a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sweet potatoes, corn, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole. My sister who doesn't cook is in charge of bringing the rolls and making sure they don't burn. Mom always has some in hiding for the years Sis forgets to bring them, or forgets to take them out of the oven in time! Then, pecan, sweet potatoe and chocolate pies. Can't wait!! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Nov 10 2005 : 10:06:10 AM
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OOOOH..baked creamed spinach..now that is my kind of comfort food. I may think about doing that this year. I am not a big fan of green bean casserole either and I usually have someone else bring it if we have company..but my husband adores it. BUT..all but one of us would love the spinach like that..I htink I have to add that to my feast!!!
Jenny in Utah
Put all your eggs in one basket..and then watch that basket!! Mark Twain |
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Holidays: Let's talk about Thanksgiving |
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Let's talk about Thanksgiving
