What's your Thanksgiving menu this year?

[muchado 158]

What are you cooking this Thanksgiving? Any old favorites? Last year, I made the turkey, cranberry relish, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe casserole, and an apple crumble.

I hated the green bean casserole--too rich and bland. And my dessert was a flop.

 

So, looking to get ideas. What are you making?

 

I already searched for this topic and found some ideas, but mostly about how to cook the turkey.

[Moondancer 5,723]

For desserts, pumpkin pie and walnut pie.

 

The rest is turkey, sage & celery bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, preiselberry compote, yeast crescent rolls, and maybe chicken and noodles. Need to make something vegan but festive for my daughter, but don't know what

[Reneelovesgreen 643]

Turkey, mashed potatoes, pecan pie, stuffing, wine, rapini and garlic, wine, bread, cheese, wine.... Oh, and did I forget the wine?

[sarabyrd 18,767]

Deo volente, the standard: Cream of mushroom soup, turkey, mashed potatoes, fried apples'n'onions with sow-belly bacon bits, plenty of gravy and possibly a dried berry pie (if I can't find dried berries to soak it will have to be canned or bottled stuff as I didn't put any up myself this summer). Eggnog as aperitif (flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon and anise; nice, old-fashioned spices) and a good white wine with the food, wine being the only concession to modern taste. This is a meal such as my then still English ancestors might have enjoyed on an affluent farm in 1662.

 

If I don't break my arm again two weeks beforehand ...

 

@ Moondancer:

 

 

Need to make something vegan but festive for my daughter, but don't know what

 

I can give you the recipe for the fried apples'n'onions without the bacon, and you can make creamed carrots flavored with cinnamon and anise, using soy milk for the white sauce. A thought: Plump up some raisins in booze and add them to the carrots along with almond slivers.

[perdido 6,083]

We are doing three birds with mash potatoes with a potluck sides to complement it.

[NoBullJim 3,685]

I had a cute pic attached, but due to the fact that I didn't check the copyright, it was removed. As well it should have been. See, the mods are great.

[AmandaUCSC 1,152]

I saw this post today on No Meat Athlete, might help with some ideas and give you some insight into how your daughter thinks about what to eat:

 

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegan-thanksgiving/

 

I'm an almost-vegan (100% vegetarian) and can tell you what he says in that post is basically true - that the side dish variety usually makes up for any meat. Honestly, even before I stopped eating meat, I was not a fan of turkey. I'd usually take a small slice to be polite and then cover it in gravy and/or cranberries, the really goodies! Also, it's super easy to just sub in soy or oat milk + margarine for the butter for other dishes, like mashed potatoes (get a slightly better margarine made for actual eating and not the dirt cheap one made for baking -- there is a taste difference IMO).

 

The only thing that's difficult is if she wants pumpkin pie. I am not keen on the recipes I've tried. But, I also love apple pies and fruit crumbles, so I'd say try one of those but remember to do the substitutions with milk/butter for crusts. Also, ground flaxseed + warm water is a great egg replacer for baking and it's tastier.

 

I almost forgot: a vegetarian friend of mine made a fantastic three-bean (or four-bean?) casserole one year. I'll see if I can find that recipe for you.

 

EDIT: Here's the recipe: Vegetarian Four Bean Bake. You can leave out the taco chips, soy meatballs (my friend never put those in) and soy cheese and it'll still be good. Or, if you're keen on making it with the soy cheese, you might try one of the vegan shops in Frankfurt that probably sells it, listed on the Happy Cow website.

[DDBug 1,665]

 

...This is a meal such as my then still English ancestors might have enjoyed on an affluent farm in 1662.

 

(With the exception of the potatoes, which, white or sweet, weren't heard of in anglo lands at that time)

 

Last year I tried a pure-Pilgrim Thanksgiving based on what would have been on the table that first feast - we had venison, rabbit, white fish, lobster, pheasant, carrots, salads and cornmeal dessert sweetened with maple syrup.

 

It was really interesting but my oldest wants me to do the "Don Riina Turkey" again (actually, he just wants the bacon-wrapped roast dark meat roll). So this year the (meat) highlights will be the bacon turkey roll and lobster, and lots of side dishes. I think I'll add the mushroom soup though this year.

[sarabyrd 18,767]

 

(With the exception of the potatoes, which, white or sweet, weren't heard of in anglo lands at that time)

 

These are my Mayflower ancestors who, although living on the continent known as America, were still subjects of Williamandmary at the time.

[DDBug 1,665]

Yes, but they didn't have potatoes (yet)

[sarabyrd 18,767]

From potatokids.com:

 

 

European immigrants introduced potatoes to North America several times throughout the 1600s, but they were not widely grown for almost a century.

My family has always been very avantgarde

*Besides, you cannot have turkey and gravy without some kind of potato, it's just not right.*

 

EDIT:

 

 

Q. Are potatoes grown all over the world?

 

A. Yes, today potatoes are grown all through the United States—if only in home gardens in some places--and in about 125 countries throughout the world.

That answer is pretty askew. "About 125 countries" is not "yes" as a response to the question as asked. But the page itself is interesting reading.

[PLS 914]

I think I'll be doing the same as last year, as an appetizers cheese ball with crackers and veggies with ranch dip; turkey, cranberry sauce, candied yams, green bean casserole, salad and Pillsbury (Knack & Back) biscuits, for dessert brownies and pumpkin pie.

[ganzgeld 940]

 

For desserts, pumpkin pie and walnut pie.The rest is turkey, sage & celery bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, preiselberry compote, yeast crescent rolls, and maybe chicken and noodles. Need to make something vegan but festive for my daughter, but don't know what

 

Our whole dinner will be vegan, and most stuff is quite easy to make vegan if you substitute vegan butter (we use Alsan) and soy creme (you can buy Alpro Soya Cuisine at almost every grocery store, no need to go to the bio or reformhaus). We're debating getting a turkey from our vegetable box delivery service, since everyone at dinner isn't vegan or vegetarian, but haven't decided just yet.

 

The Menu:

 

-Tofurky (or Sei-turkey): This is the GerMan's domain. I don't really mess with it, except to say whether or not it tastes relatively similar to what turkey tastes like.

-Mashed potatoes: It's become a family tradition to pose with the gigantic mountain of mashed potatoes every year. Ganzgeld family favorite; we're mashed potato people.

-Green veg, either brussel sprouts or green beans. I think this will be delegated to someone else this year, so I'm curious to see what comes on the table!

-Stuffing with chestnuts

-Gravy: Last year we used a brown gravy mix from Bruno Fischer (which is at the bio/reform stores) for the mashed potatoes and tofurky. Obviously when you have a non-turkey turkey, you can't really use the pan drippings to make a gravy.

-Sweet potatoes, again, delegating this one. I personally prefer to eat them without all the frills- a drizzle of maple syrup, sprinkle of brown sugar, a little cayenne pepper, (vegan) butter, salt and pepper.

-Desserts: Pie has been my realm at the Thanksgiving table ever since I've been allowed to touch the oven. This year I'll do an apple pie and have been debating making a brownie pecan pie. Last year we tried a recipe for a vegan pecan pie, which yes, was a terrible idea. Perhaps someone has a better recipe for it or maybe I just don't really like (vegan) pecan pie, or the most frightening conclusion, I've been influenced by Germany and don't enjoy the super sweet desserts as much any more. There will also be pumpkin pie, but I won't be making it.

 

ETA: Cranberry Sauce: Learned this recipe from my mom, which I'm sure she got from a book. One package of cranberries, some sugar (scientific measurement, here), some water, juice and zest of an orange. Let the berries cook in the sauce pan until they begin to burst. Let cool on the stove and mash slightly before serving.

 

Of course there will also be lots of wine and laying about on the floor in misery with top pant buttons undone after eating and imbibing way too much food. (Actually, that last one may just be me.) :ph34r:

[mlovett 8,681]

 

We are doing three birds

 

Kinky.

 

The "soul food/ BBQ" dudes at my local farmer's market are taking orders for smoked turkeys. I might give that a shot, also since they are Jr's babysitter's cousins. Then I can concentrate more on the sides and dessert. Every year I do variations on the traditional recipes. Fresh cranberries will definitely be involved... I don't do canned anything. Neither did the pilgrims nor the natives, right?

[Moondancer 5,723]

We did sort of a smoked turkey on a roterisserie grill once. Came out fantastic. Had it stuffed with onions and lots of sage grown in the garden, then we threw quite a bit of the sage onto the coals too. One of the best turkeys I have ever had.

 

Used to make cranberries every year, but so few people like them that well, and the bowl would sit in the fridge until it went bad. So, last year, switched to the preiselbeeren compot. Much more manageble, and had no leftovers last year.

 

We made a vegan pumpkin pie last year, which came out ok, but it wasn't that special. Daughter liked it though. We made regular pies too. I also did some separate mashed potatoes with soy milk and margerine, and made a small portion of stuffing with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I think we did a big salad too.

 

She is actually pretty good with baking stuff, lots of cupcakes, etc. Uses vinegar as a substitute for eggs and often coconut milk, rather than soy, for baking.

[poohsan 2,486]

oh sweet Mother of God...

 

http://www.thedailymeal.com/bacon-wrapped-turkey

 

[sarabyrd 18,767]

 

I don't do canned anything. Neither did the pilgrims nor the natives, right?

 

Pemmican? Pickles? Preserves?

[Guest]

It'll probably be the usual for me, Turkey, mashed potatoes, 3 bean salad, buttermilk biscuits and cranberry sauce. The only difference is the cranberry sauce, which I'm going to try to make myself this year, I'm just not sure how I'll get it into that traditional can-shape. :P

[muchado 158]

Those of you making pies, care to share recipes? No one in our family likes pumpkin pie and it may be because I've never found a good enough recipe. The walnut pie sounds fantastic too.

[Katrina 4,522]

 

oh sweet Mother of God...http://www.thedailymeal.com/bacon-wrapped-turkey

For the simpler version, Thanksgiving turkey and menu suggestions. You'll burn your hands doing it the Daily Meal method, better off doing the lattice on a cold turkey then covering with foil for the initial roast OR letting it cool in-between - plaiting anything on a turkey just out of the oven is asking for trouble.

 

Am trying to bully persuade my pal to host by bribing her with pie, most likely pumpkin or potentially crack pie.