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I also might add thanksgiving or any holiday is not the day to try something different ...it might taste awful and or your family might throw a cow ....yep a complete meltdown from you or a family member pass on the new recipes please .
I also might add thanksgiving or any holiday is not the day to try something different ...it might taste awful and or your family might throw a cow ....yep a complete meltdown from you or a family member pass on the new recipes please .
Not for us, we are always trying something new at holidays as it's the only time we would eat a turkey etc. And it's no loss to us as we normally don't like turkeys.
Location: St Thomas, USVI - Seattle, WA - Gulf Coast, TX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by momtothree
Not for us, we are always trying something new at holidays as it's the only time we would eat a turkey etc. And it's no loss to us as we normally don't like turkeys.
momtothree, I come from a long line of ladies deciding to experiment while entertaining. Untested recipe to serve 24? Sure, why not! Where's the fun in doing the same old thing? Anyway, I support you fully here.
The pre-roast steaming in this recipe is interesting, isn't it? I've never been a fan of roasted turkey either, but a great brine and sticking to birds around 12lbs or less (I'd rather do two 9-10lbers than one giant bird for a crowd) has changed my mind. I can't say enough how much a brine helps with flavor and juiciness. I'll never not brine a turkey again. No more dry, flavorless birds in our house. Last Thanksgiving we brined and spatch-cocked with lots of fresh herbs and butter under and on top of the skin. It was pretty darn tasty.
A few years back - around the time my daughter started on solids, we started making a large casserole of homemade baked mac n cheese. My thought at the time was it was easy to pre-prepare thing that the kids would love. I generally double or triple this recipe....
I've been doing the meal for 20+ years for a pretty good sized crowd, started back when I was first married and my husband was a platoon sgt in the Marines and would bring any of his men who were unmarried or not travelling home.
I feel like new recipes would add another level of stress for me. We seem to end up with recent immigrants - I like to invite people who haven't had a chance to have an American Thanksgiving since I feel like it's one of the few things that we have of our own.
One year , my Australian friend asked that I prepare the green bean casserole in the "authentic" way with soup, and canned friend onions and not fancy it up.....
momtothree, I come from a long line of ladies deciding to experiment while entertaining. Untested recipe to serve 24? Sure, why not! Where's the fun in doing the same old thing? Anyway, I support you fully here.
The pre-roast steaming in this recipe is interesting, isn't it? I've never been a fan of roasted turkey either, but a great brine and sticking to birds around 12lbs or less (I'd rather do two 9-10lbers than one giant bird for a crowd) has changed my mind. I can't say enough how much a brine helps with flavor and juiciness. I'll never not brine a turkey again. No more dry, flavorless birds in our house. Last Thanksgiving we brined and spatch-cocked with lots of fresh herbs and butter under and on top of the skin. It was pretty darn tasty.
We don't entertain a crowd so it's no issue here. I wouldn't if it was for many guests!
Oh we have brined, fried, dry rubbed, injected, mojo'd, cajun'd etc etc etc. The most "successful" for us was actually a dry brine but we still didn't love it.
I am interested though in the recipe I posted as it has more bold flavors which is what we favor. Will post results if successful.
I'm outta here about ten days before Thanksgiving. I've done nearly every one for almost fifty years and have been asking for about ten years for someone else to do the entertaining with no results.
Problem is the four of us is all there is. And daughter works as a chef so is usually tied up right up until the meal. I don't think bachelor son even has a kitchen table or a big enough oven! Cousins are scattered all over the globe, last generation is all gone and the kids' aunts and uncles still have their own celebrations.
Actually I love to cook but it's a woman-killer of a meal, massive prep and cleanup and I've always detested getting up and first thing wrestling with a cold, slimy bird.
DH and DD talk of deep frying. Maybe without me around they'll do it this year.
OP, sounds like you may be a bit indifferent to veggies. My family insists we have pretty much the same thing every year with each different thing someone's favorite. My son has to have his carrot casserole. It's sliced, creamed carrots layered with cheese and crispy onion rings. No calories there!
And DH's cousin's homemade oatmeal buns are a must have. (Just thinking about it all makes me tired.)
Have you considered roasted root veggies in place of the sweet potatoes? Or maybe you'd prefer a salad. Mixed greens, thinly sliced red pears or craisins and pecans make a pretty fall salad.
I forgot about the green bean casserole and cranberry. I like to use French frozen green beans and add some allspice, five spice or Cinnamon to the m shroom soup but just a hint. I also add some fresh mushrooms.
I'm going to cheat on cranberry and use canned, add some orange zest, mandarin oranges and a dash of rum
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Anyway, I support you fully here. 
