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| Thanksgiving dinner...; help :) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 19 2010, 06:00 AM (1,524 Views) | |
| MayaTy02 | Oct 19 2010, 06:00 AM Post #1 |
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I know I'm worrying early, but worrying nonetheless! I have never ever in my 41 yrs cooked a Thanksgiving dinner, nor any part of it. Always relied on my mother and then family in general. Have no desire to cook a turkey. HOWEVER husband wants to stay home this Thanksgivng and since home is now Virginia and my family is in CT, I am on my own. We are hoping to get my mother in law to come down, which would be great because she's an amazing cook, but I think I need some supplies, though no idea what ![]() If you were cooking Thanksgiving...what utensils, equipment (mixer etc), platters and pans, would you need? I have easy access to a Williams Sonoma outlet and of course Kohls' where I plan to get anything I need. Assume i have nothing but the basics...no blender, no stand mixer, nothing but the ordinary stuff you use to cook a daily dinner. HELP! ![]() also any recipes and/or advice would be great. Unfortunately I have a single oven and it's small so I am going to be challenged by having my oven used by the turkey. I have a crock pot and would love to at least have something going in there. I can buy a dessert...not a concern. more concerned about the turkey and fixin's. Oh and I'm cooking for 4, maybe 5 people, but we love leftover turkey so doing something different is out. Thanks!! (hating on hubby for this!) Edited by MayaTy02, Oct 19 2010, 06:01 AM.
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| Buryinghill1 | Oct 19 2010, 06:14 AM Post #2 |
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I would cook a turkey now. Small one. For practice. Stuff it and everything. It's really easy. If you buy a frozen one, put it in a roasting pan in the fridge and let it thaw according to directions. Same for Thanksgiving - don't wait until the last minute to thaw! I always prefered a fresh bird, which I picked up at the butcher the day before. Ask the guests to bring dessert. Most folks would be happy to bring a pie. Since there are only 4-5 of you don't get crazy buying food. Think of it as a regular meal - so a small stuffed turkey, a side or two of veggies, and dessert. And tea or coffee (something special), and a few nice bottles of wine (make sure nobody is driving). I would have an after dinner drink available for those who like that stuff. If I were coming over I'd want a bottle of Bailey's I hope MIL will come! Have some nice items for breakfast, like croissants, fancy jam and fresh OJ. And a few good magazines. |
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| Indy | Oct 19 2010, 06:17 AM Post #3 |
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I did Thanksgiving for the first time last year and I cheated (in my defense, we had just moved and our oven wasn't functioning properly and I was afraid I'd kill us all with raw turkey). Every year, my work gives us our year-end bonus in the form of goods from the Honey Baked Ham company. You get a choice of a ham, a turkey, or a gift certificate. Fortunately, the year before last I opted for the gift certificate and wound up holding on to it until Thanksgiving. I took that baby to the Honey Baked Ham store and cashed it in for a delicious, already cooked turkey. All I had to do was pop it in the semi-functional oven and heat it for a few hours until it was warmed. No worries about partially cooked poultry or anything. Even though we'll be in our new house with a functioning oven, I've got my last-years gift certificate all primed and ready to do it again this year If you don't want to cook a bird for hours and hours, I highly recommend cheating.For slicing up said deliciously pre-cooked bird, an electric knife is very nice. Or at least a very sharp slicing knife and one of those long two-pronged fork thingies to hold the meat steady so you don't lob off a finger. If you do want to cook your own turkey, you can get giant slow cookers that will hold an entire turkey. My mom has one with a convection lid to it (I believe it's by Nesco?) and she does her turkey in it every year. It's really handy because the turkey cooks in the roaster on your counter, freeing up your oven for other fixin's. And it makes a very juicy turkey. |
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| MayaTy02 | Oct 19 2010, 06:23 AM Post #4 |
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oh good suggestions Indy...I have no problem with cheating a little...I am not a gizzards and inards and raw poultry type of gal, so I'd be fine with buying something like that. BH1, all good suggestions...the good news for me is it's just for my family, me, hubby and 8 yr old twins. so they don't really care if it comes out or not That said, I'd like it to work out, and I do want leftovers. I am really that mother in law comes for many reasons, not the least of which is helping cook something amazing. Keep the suggestions coming...the electric carving knife definitely not something i have so that goes on the list! |
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| Trialbyfire | Oct 19 2010, 06:26 AM Post #5 |
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Haha, yes, you are worrying too early. Thanksgiving is an easy meal if you want it to be....cooking a turkey requires virtually no work. A good roasting pan w/ rack is worth investing in if you don't have one; you'll never need another one.A basic turkey is: thaw turkey, put on rack, slather with butter, put in oven, baste a few times until done. Eat. But lots of other options if you want to be more complicated. I never stuff my turkey but always do stuffing in a casserole pan. I like it better and the turkey is easier to cook. You can do most of the prep in advance; I've found this out over the years. Don't save everything (or anything!) for T-day morning or you'll be exhausted by dinner. So all the chopping of onions, celery, etc. is done at least one day prior. Bread is cubed at least 2 days prior. Make sure your turkey is thawed by the day before. Cranberry sauce can be done the day before as well. My standard T-day menu is: appetizers that are usually brought by other people OR are easy things like veggies, olives, nuts. Nothing too heavy or people won't eat dinner. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes (in casserole form, or regular, or garlic, or whipped....depending on the year), at least one kind of stuffing, at least one veggie but usually two...this depends on who is coming. My MIL always brings squash and no one eats it. I like brussel sprouts or green beans (not the kind w/ mushroom soup)....my mother often brings a veggie casserole with cheese and probably some Campbell's soup in there, or the green beans w/ mushroom soup thing, so if she does I do something plain. I always do fresh cranberry sauce of some sort. We generally don't do salads or rolls anymore as we've determined that no one eats them. And then I let my guests bring pie and we always celebrate Natasha's birthday because it's generally that same weekend....so I usually have a birthday cake. I have a great stuffing recipe if you're interested: it has bread cubes, herbs/spices, sausage, onions, celery, nuts (usually hazelnuts but I sometimes do walnuts), dried cherries (although I also like dried cranberries), port, and broth. Could easily be done in a vegetarian format if anyone is not a meat eater or you're not doing turkey. Don't stress...have fun! If I only had a few people I might opt for a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey. I've done that before as well....easy to make and easy to carve. |
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| MayaTy02 | Oct 19 2010, 06:30 AM Post #6 |
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thanks TBF good suggestions! and no, I don' thave a roasting pan... what do you guys think of turkey fryers? probably the indoor, electric kind? Like this: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=turkey+cooker&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7GFRE_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8004435083155235192&ei=E529TOGeK8H78Aakgrn8Bg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q8wIwAQ# I am just very concerned about having my oven completely full of the turkey all day and no ability to make anything else that would need to be baked. if I could just stash the turkey somewhere else, I'd be happy ![]() Can you share the stuffing recipe? that sounds really good! |
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| SidesaddleRider | Oct 19 2010, 06:36 AM Post #7 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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I have cooked Thanksgiving for about 7 years now, for anywhere from 3 to 12 people, and have never had a problem with a dry turkey. The key? Always use extra virgin olive oil to keep your turkey moist. Gently lift up the skin on the top (leaving it attached to the breastbone), and pour olive oil under the skin. Rub it in with your fingers. Then do the same on the top of the skin, all over the top of the bird. Bake it covered with tin foil, and then remove the tin foil for the last 15-20 minutes so the skin browns. Do NOT worry about continuously basting your chicken--the olive oil will do all the work, and you don't have baste. You don't need a roaster oven, you can just buy 2 of the tin roasters at the store (buy 2 so they are strong enough to hold the weight of the turkey). I always make yellow crookneck squash soup to start with, then have a turkey, homemade stuffing (very easy and SO yummy--I make enough to stuff the bird and then put extra into tin foil packets and bake them alongside the turkey), peas, corn, lightly sweetened yams (NOT sweet potatoes with marshmallows--ick!), chilled cranberry sauce, and then for dessert I make pumpkin pie. Mr. SSR and I like T'giving leftovers, so I make enough for several days after. If guests are coming, they usually bring a pre-dinner munchie or another dessert. If not, I don't usually worry about having something. If you need any of my recipies, just let me know. I also only have 1 oven, and have no problem getting everything made. |
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| Buryinghill1 | Oct 19 2010, 06:36 AM Post #8 |
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NO NO NO Unless you invite Onwego over as your EMT I read even the electric ones are not safe. The hot oil ones are deadly, and unhealthy (but so damn yummy) |
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| Trialbyfire | Oct 19 2010, 06:46 AM Post #9 |
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Unless you're cooking a 25+lb turkey, you should have room for other things in your oven. Don't forget that you need to let your turkey sit for a while before carving so you have time to put things in the oven. If I have casserole-y stuff I sometimes start it in the microwave and finish in the oven when the turkey comes out. Plan accordingly in your menu - you can do soups, many veggies, gravy, mashed potatoes - all on the stovetop. Avoid choosing things that all need the oven. I usually have 2 pans of stuffing (because I love it) and put one in while we're eating when the oven's free. That is usually for leftovers. I will say, though, that back when we had a mother-in-law apartment it was heaven to use that 2nd kitchen for the turkey and not have it in the main kitchen. Boy I miss that. I still have a 2nd oven but not wired for it in the garage....but think we'll wire for 220 in the garage so I can cook my turkey out there. ![]() I'll post some recipes in a bit. I'd love a new cranberry recipe if anyone has one.
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| MayaTy02 | Oct 19 2010, 07:04 AM Post #10 |
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Thanks guys and SSR and TBF I need all your yummiest recipes see you guys are brilliant - I didn't know the turkey had to rest a bit anyway
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| SidesaddleRider | Oct 19 2010, 07:26 AM Post #11 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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I will photocopy them and give them to you on Friday.
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| Black Tack | Oct 19 2010, 07:34 AM Post #12 |
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MT, don't stress too much Really. It's pretty easy to cook a turkey and pretty dang hard to mess it up. I don't do much if any basting but I do agree on a fresh turkey if possible. They are much moister and you don't have to go the oil and butter routes. I much prefer the stuffing in the bird as I find it tastes better/more moist. Do you have the Joy Of Cooking recipe book? It has a wonderful stuffing recipe and I have used it for hmmm about 30 years as Momma BT did before that. It also will tell you about cooking turkeys and temps and how to tell if they are done. My family actually prefers not to have all of the different things(nuts, sausages, ) in the stuffing. We love just the regular with celery, onions and mushrooms. I also agree with TBF about doing stuff ahead if you can. The family tears the bread while we are watching tv the night before- it's better if it's a bit stale. That's when I try and get the table set. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes and a couple of favourite vegies are what we usually do. I think a stuffed bird takes about 20 min a pound. I still sew mine closed but if you have metal skewers you can probably use those instead. When it's thawed or if fresh just make sure there's nothing inside still like the gizard package and then rinse it out and let it dry for a bit or pat dry with a paper towel. Hubby and I do it together in the morning and it takes at most 45 minutes to make the stuffing and stuff the bird and get it into the oven. We put the temp up higher until it goes in and then bring it down. Also make a tin foil tent and cover it until the last 20 min. And yes, it's easier to carve if it's sat out for 15 minutes or so which is the time you need to get the stuffing out anyway. I second the roasting pan and a rack for it to sit on as well as the electric knife or a good carving set. A plater is nice too We adore left over turkey so I would much rather cook our own turkey. It's not hard and the kids then can help a bit and have some say into what goes into the dressing next time. Becomes a tradition. Have fun!!! |
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| RHowell | Oct 19 2010, 07:36 AM Post #13 |
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I'll be on my honeymoon then, or I'd be elbowing my way into Devon's for the squash soup! But, don't forget my two favorite things about thanksgiving: Mashed potatoes and cranberry relish. They have THE BEST cranberry orange relish at Whole Foods in the prepared section--I would advise looking for a recipe that includes both of these ingredients because they work really well toghter. |
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| MyGiantPony | Oct 19 2010, 07:37 AM Post #14 |
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Is the meadow on fire?
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SSR's squash soup is to die for! If you don't care about having the big pretty browned bird for a presentation, you can do my simmered turkey the day before. Bring a large pot of water to a boil...toss in celery, peppercorns, salt. Cut off legs and wings of bird. Put breast in water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add legs and wings, cover and simmer for another 45 minutes. Let cool over night in the juice. The meat literally falls off the bone and it's really juicy. It's an ugly mess, but you just pull the meat off and arrange it on a platter. If you want it warm for a dinner, just nuke it. I'm not a big fan of canned gravy, but Williams Sonoma makes a good one that I've used in a pinch. If you make scratch mashed potatoes, be sure to warm your milk before you add it. |
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| MayaTy02 | Oct 19 2010, 07:43 AM Post #15 |
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love you guys - now I'm actually getting excited to try it all. Still won't be the same as being with my family though...boring with just the 4 of us. SO if anyone local to NoVA has any suggestions for stuff to do over the holiday weekend, that would be great. |
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I'd want a bottle of Bailey's



7:11 AM Jul 11