Thanksgiving Randomness ~

[LORENSWIFE]

Just some thoughts as the FEAST approaches...

The best part of Thanksgiving to me is the 3 days after! I cook nearly every day of the year so cooking HUGE holds no allure for me, and cleaning up after even less.

My side of our family has a traditional recipe that I always thought was beyond strange until one of my bosses said they make the exact same thing...Lime Jello with sliced pears topped with a mixture of Whip Cream and Mayo (told ya it was wierd)

I Spoke with my sister yesterday to find out if they would be offing one of their Turkeys again this year...sadly the answer was no, they are all working really well in the Turkey Races show so she is going to keep them...
http://www.turkeystampede.com/



So let's hear about your Holiday Traditions and Recipes! (How many days til Festivus?)

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Gail

[Lon_H]

After Thanksgiving sandwiches. Although I dont really like turkey, I love turkey sandwiches from the leftovers. A couple slices of sandwich bread, some turkey, microwaved, and a little mayo.

For desert some pecan pie.

[bnjny]

I love Thanksgiving... A holiday to spend with family and friends with no pressure of gifts... I enjoy the cooking... We take turns in who cooks the turkey. This year is sides and another main course like rib roast or leg of lamb... Not everyone enjoys turkey...

I can eat turkey all year long and not get tired of it...

[pdub]

The only turkey is fried turkey. If you've ever had it, you'll never ever go back to baked. I essentially wore out a turkey frier over the course of about 5 years.

And with it gone, I won't get another one. I can't bear the thought of...talk about a mess? And you're guaranteed to set fire to the yard and anything else around the cooker, so safety first. But frying turkey really is a great drinking sport. It's so good to eat, short-lived rolling flames that scare the bejeezus out of the womenfolk when you first put the turkey into the pot, and if you cook more than one (like an assembly line for a really big gathering) it's for sure the 5th one will not get nearly the measured scientific treatment that the first one did.

And it doesn't matter. They all come out just as good.

[BangShift McT]

THINGS YOU CAN ONLY SAY ON THANKSGIVING:
1. Talk about a huge breast.
2. Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist.
3. It's COOL WHIP time!
4. If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst.
5. That's one terrific spread.
6. I'm in the mood for a lil dark meat.
7. Are you ready for seconds yet?
8. Its a little dry, do you still want to eat it?
9. Just wait your turn. You'll get some.
10. Don't play with your meat.

[70chevyC-10]

Bada Bing !!!

[Monk]

I get to spend more than 4 nights in a row at home.......with the kids and grand kids......watch some
a great SEC game on Friday.....all with a great turkey smoked by my son.

Oh.......and the shoebox gets to come home on Saturday.

[Barry Donovan]

lime jello with mayo and a pear and whipped cream.

something must be right about that.
I do not have tradition, but do cook all my own stuff.

I can't do pecans. All that nut stuff.. someone told me a story of hardwoods in CT.

funny thing with me.. my family is nothing but new england, entire history in america... not much for thanksgiving.

a routine written.

I'll try something different.
food is not exactly natural anymore.
my greatest satisfaction is getting a ten pound box of meats at the meat market.

[Brian Lohnes]

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the high school football game. In New England, Thanksgiving day football rivalries are paramount. The Abington Green Wave will be facing down the Whitman-Hanson Panthers for something like the 103rd year in a row. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the United States. We lost 15 years in a row...during the period I was in the school system! It was big stuff when we broke that streak.

There's also the ritual of meeting my buddies from high school at like 7:30am and chugging beer before the game.

[Monk]

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the high school football game. In New England, Thanksgiving day football rivalries are paramount. The Abington Green Wave will be facing down the Whitman-Hanson Panthers for something like the 103rd year in a row. It is one of the oldest rivalries in the United States. We lost 15 years in a row...during the period I was in the school system! It was big stuff when we broke that streak.

There's also the ritual of meeting my buddies from high school at like 7:30am and chugging beer before the game.

The high school get together is a annual thing around here as well......all my kids participate

The annual turkey game must be cool

[DanStokes]

When we were in Ann Arbor we often gathered up "strays" - folks who had no place else to be. Then I cooked them. Um, no, I'm not supposed to say that, am I?

But seriously, I'd cook up a big spread and we'd all chow down. Had to have mashed pots, dressing (ME won't eat it if cooked in the bird), green bean casserole, turkey (of course), and I HAD to have jellied cranberry sauce, which I ate and loved. On a couple of occasions we had the joy of introducing non-American born friends to Thanksgiving and that's AMAZING - a privilege for us, for sure.

Since moving here we don't do so much and this year ME and I are the strays, going to dine with nearby friends. They are natives of this area and I suspect there will be new Southern dishes introduced to my decidedly Yankee pallet. I'll wager it'll be good.

This will be my first non-medical foray into the world, post-op. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the house a bit.

Lots to give Thanks for, including my BS buddies.
Dan

[Scott Liggett]

Growing up in Omaha, the rest of the Liggetts lived in Minneapolis and Kansas City so we would all gather at someone's house. It was noisy chaos, but truly wonderful. Those days are some of my fondest memories growing up. We'd ride motorbikes, atv's, snowmobiles, and whatever construction toys my uncle Terry had on hand.

As for the food. When my grandmother cooked; people needed to be carried away from the table. Her deviled eggs were the best ever. Never had equals. She also made this fudge that was barely an inch thick, but would put us on the ceiling for hours. I never liked stuffing, but everything else is great.

After moving to Cali, getting together meant my mother's side of the family. It has been hard as I work in the service industry that operates every day of the year. Also, as families grow (marriage, kids, careers.) it gets harder and harder to get everyone together.

This year, I'm on the schedule to work on Thursday. I didn't take the day off. That doesn't mean I'll actually work. Also this year, is the first time in a decade that I don't have local friends offering up a standing invitation for dinner. So, this year I may have to fend for myself. I've never cooked a whole turkey dinner myself and cooking that much food for one person sounds ridiculous. I'd be eating turkey for a month.

[LORENSWIFE]

YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!
I started this discussion and reading my first post I really was a little bah hum-bug but after reading all of your traditions, plans and cooking activities I am pumped up now! THANK YOU!

lime jello with mayo and a pear and whipped cream.

something must be right about that.
my greatest satisfaction is getting a ten pound box of meats at the meat market.

AAAHHHHH MEAT!

The jello thing is good, I am about the only one now who will use the "dressing" that is the whip cream/mayo thing, with out it though it is just jello, which my lovely sister will say "There's always room for".

I have a very large fresh Turkey that will be going in the oven Wednesday 5p at 160 degrees stuffed with fresh herbs, white wine an apple and a pear. It will cook for nearly 24 hours very slowly and will reach the eating temperature but remain moist and tender... I would love to try the fried thing but I am kinda a gravy fiend! Our youngest will be preparing the fresh cranberries in the absence of our oldest, who will be celebrating in Phoenix with fiance and friends.

Champagne with Pomegranate seeds in the bottom of the glasses, very festive. We have a 25 year old Pomegranate tree and last Sunday I pulled about 15 grocery sized bags off of that tree. Maybe 200 lbs worth. There are a ton more, and they will be pulled Friday for an event at my sister's Camel ranch this weekend where the public comes to feed Pomegranates to the camels. Ours Poms are huge and perfect shiny red much better than the ones in the store that sell for $5...

And get this...I know this is San Diego but we live up in the hills and this morning it was 27 degrees...

Happy Thanksgiving ALL!

~Gail

[nesabo]

Unless we get a phone call from a certain relative, we will be making our first Thanksgiving dinner at home. Will be just Wife, the two girls and I.

[pdub]

Gail, the Turkey Stampede looks like a heap of fun and laughs!

Dan's already described here how to hotrod a horse, but how do you hotrod a turkey?