Thanksgiving Menus

[DammitJanet]

My mom made a wonderful pumpkin bread that she baked in coffee cans. Have no idea where she got the recipe but I remember eating it back when I was a kid. She really could cook but she didnt keep many recipes that I ever found.

 

[jal]

I grew up with creamed onions @ the Thanksgiving table! Didn't take a liking to them until about 5 years ago.

Roasted turkey
Sausage & apple stuffing
Sweet potato souffle with-walnuts & brown sugar
Mashed potatoes
Green beans with-almonds, lemon & shallots
Creamed onions
Garlicy Cranberry Chuntney
Grandmothers homemade rolls

 

[Flutterb]

This year we are opting for a Thanksgiving breakfast ; as this is when everyone is actually at their best. So, fresh fruit , gluten free pumpkin pecan waffles drizzled with honey ( courtesy of my sisters bees), eggs and ham.

Keeping it simple allows us to enjoy the day together a bit more.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Like Trinity... T-day was a month ago!
And we didn't even notice. (too much else going on...)

But usually, for any Turkey-day (3x/yr)... that would be something like:

Roasted half turkey (grocer cuts frozen ones in half for you, and vacuum wraps both halves)
stove-top stuffing
home-made cranberry sauce (can't stand the canned stuff either)
Mashed potatoes
Squash (usually butternut)
broc and cauli (cooked in same pot)
grated cheese to go over broc & cauli
raw veggie platter
tossed salad, dressings on the side
homemade buns (of COURSE they have to be home made, no?)
gravy

And for desert... your choice of (yes we can make all of them, depending on number being fed)
- apple pie
- pumpkin pie (of course)
- lemon merangue pie
- butter tarts
- chocolate chip cookies (gotta have chocolate in there somewhere)
- fruit salad
- ice cream
- whipped cream

There. Stuffed yet?

 

[Hound dog]

I think I'm going to give the creamed onions a shot. They sound yummy. I think it's only fair when easy child is trying out a new recipe that involves putting pineapple in with the sweet potatoes. I told her not to mess with my sweet potatoes. lol So one batch with pineapples and one the normal way.

MMMmmmmMMMM All this yummy yummy food. I think I'm gaining weight just reading the menus.

Janet, I've tried not to ask, but was there a reason your mom baked her pumpkin bread in a coffee can? lol

 

[Renea]

These menus all sound SO yummy! We've decided to skip the feast this year and head to a local amusement park for the day. I hope I don't regret the decision.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Mmmm, sounds yummy! As usual, I will go to my cousin's and celebrate with her and my aunt and uncle. The kids will go to mother in law's house.

We have a very traditional meal at cousins. I always bring the mashed potatos, relish tray, and homemade cranberry/orange relish and stuffing. This year I decided to make two kinds of stuffing. My uncle loves cornbread and loves spicy food. I'm going to do one cornbread stuffing with hot sausage and onions and then the traditional sausage, onion, celery, sage sausage with the addition of a finely chopped granny smith.

Also on the menu will be turkey, homemade sauerkraut (a traditional in my dad's family - uncle is dad's bro), sweet pot casserole, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and choc chess pie. Oh, and lots sparkling burgundy of course!

Sharon

 

[Malika]

It all sounds so delicious! I am curious... in the States, do you do it all again for Christmas dinner, or is that a more low-key affair?

 

[SRL]

It all sounds so delicious! I am curious... in the States, do you do it all again for Christmas dinner, or is that a more low-key affair?

Typically we do it all again at Christmas, only substituting ham for the turkey and another dessert. Otherwise it's a duplicate menu at my inlaws.

 

[Star*]

Times bein' what they are an my paycheck being sparse - we have opted for a family affair fare.


Roasted 'possum er skwirrel - not sure yet what tha dogs er gonna fetch but it will be a bounty and a blessin from God.
Pa got his knee replaced a few weeks back so no ones able ta shoot a turkey. Guess that means no giblets either lessen we gits a boy skwirrel.
Yams or taters somes still left in the garden and somes even good still without black spots we'll jus cut the bad spots out
The deer et mos of the corn already but a few ear still look good, I sent Pa out ta fetch what he could and I'll shuck that.
Nuttin fancy like cranberrys or nothhin but the neighbor lady give us a can of peaches, I'll put them out I suppose.
I'm makin' biscuits - got the cat right here with me - she's helpin' make biscuits too.
Saved some PEEKans from last Winter and I'm makin us a PEEkan pie for dessert.
Coffee - got to have some coffee. Lord knows ya need something ta push that skqirrel through. (sorry maybe thas too much information)

Thas about it I think. We' wuz gonne try an make some home made ice cream on the back porch but we used up all the salt in the
snow storm back in February, so that ain't a happening. I'm pretty sure I don't have any peaches anyway.

I'll be gitting out the good linen table cloth Mama sewed from stopping at all those Sunoco gas stations and cuttin the hand towel
dispensers then sewin them together.....so perdy...and I spared no expense and got Chinet a month or so ago with a coupon and saved
them black Solo cups from Halloween - should be real nice.

Well that's our day - thanks fer askin! Hope ya'll have a wonderful THanksgivin' pray for our dogs.......our supper kinda depends on it.

 

[AnnieO]

It all sounds so delicious! I am curious... in the States, do you do it all again for Christmas dinner, or is that a more low-key affair?

Our family gets a little weird at Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we have rellenos, enchiladas, tamales, refritos and (sometimes) rice, homemade guacamole and salsa, and so on, then we light luminaria on the front walk. Christmas Day is bacon, eggs and toast in the middle of presents, then afterward is a buffet-style of ham, cheese, rolls, and fruit.

Our Christmas Eve dinner came from 2004. My Grandma passed on Dec. 21 - Mom was there (in Las Cruces, NM), and Dad and I were supposed to fly down for Christmas anyway, and Ohio got a HUGE snowstorm. So, husband (then DF) with his 4WD, drove Dad and I to the Cincy airport on the 22nd (90 minutes turned into 5 hours, and I don't do well in the backseat OR in bad weather) - flight was to go out the 23rd, around 9 AM. We stayed in a hotel near the airport. Well... Flight got cancelled. We got another one for that afternoon. Flight got cancelled. We got one for the afternoon of the 24th out of Columbus, so we went home. My car was a bump in the rest of the snow! husband took us to Columbus, and we arrived at the El Paso airport at 11:56 PM on December 24. Mom picked us up, we went to the hotel in LC, and had enchiladas for dinner there from Roberto's (the best "fast" Mexican food joint on the planet). And so now... In memory of Grandma.

 

[hearts and roses]

Christmas Eve dinner is about the only thing I miss from my exh's family - LOTS of delicious foods!!! My exmil used to make manicotti from scratch and omg, yum. She would also make a huge turkey and ham, all the fixin's, plus the traditional old world italian antipasta (looked gross, but tasted great) and seafood. It was quite a spread.


For Christmas, I usually have a big dinner the day before consisting of ham and a bunch of sides - then on Christmas day we have a big breakfast, chill for a bit, hit up the movies, and then just nosh on the leftovers when we get home for dinner. It's very laid back - except on the years I entertain the entire family!

 

[Numb]

Appetizers
Hot apple cider (in a crock pot with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a shot of spiced rum(on the side) for those who want it)
Vegis and dip tray
Cheese and crackers tray
Cheese fondue with apples and bread
Homemade humus(sundried tomato and roasted red pepper) with pita chips and/or baguettes slices
Various other apps – sweet pickles, stuffed olives, sesame sticks, ginger bread marshmallows

Dinner
Roasted turkey
Ham
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Sweet potato casserole (with pecans, butter, brown sugar and vanilla)
Cranberry sauce
Herb stuffing(for the vegi-me)
Sausage stuffing(for everyone else)
Watergate salad
Rolls

Desert
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate fudge pie
Pumpkin cheesecake(new recipe, hoping it turns out)
Fresh whipped cream
Vanilla ice cream

And it wouldn’t be complete without the special ingredients of a few cat hairs, and a dog hair or two (try as I might to keep them out).

This is family affair and all are doing their part and bringing some of the yummy items listed above.

Having been so stressed the last few weeks, that I lost 10 pounds, I am looking forward to putting some of that back on; I shouldn’t have any problem with that…

(I'm going to have to try the creamed onions; those sound really good.)

 

[hearts and roses]

Numb, can I come to your house for dinner????

 

[Numb]

Numb, can I come to your house for dinner????

Absolutely! You wouldn’t have to bring anything but a smile.

I come from a large family and we have always joked that a strange face could show up, walk in, sit down to eat and we’d just ask them to pass the bread; we wouldn’t even notice.

 

[trinityroyal]

Numb, that menu sounds WONDERFUL. I think I'm going to try out your dessert menu for our annual New Years' Eve party.

And Malika, we do the whole shebang over again for Christmas in Canada as well. Turkey, stuffing, vegetables, salads, cranberry sauce, the lot. The only difference is that I go crazy with baking around Christmas so there is usually a lot more dessert on the menu.

With the Christmas dinner and New Year's Eve party so close together, we try to keep our Christmas Eve menu pretty simple. For the last 5 or 6 years we've had:

Jumbo shrimp, usually in thai chili sauce, but sometimes in spicy tomato salsa
"Kid Friendly" salad: romaine lettuce, cooked chilled corn, carrot slices, cucumber slices, mozzarella cheese (none of the exotica like olives or pine nuts that I like in my salads), with balsamic vinegar dressing
Homemade tortilla chips: tortillas, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with a favourite spice blend, baked in the oven and then cut into chip shapes
Some sort of meat for the carnivores: beef or pork, whatever we have around that can be barbecued. Our BBQ is on the covered back porch, so this is not as great an endeavour as it sounds.
Dessert: Whatever recipe I've been experimenting with that needs taste testing. I make a trial batch and try it out on my Monsters. If they like it, picky lot that they are, I know it will pass muster with the rest of the world.

 

[Hound dog]

Do we do the same meal for xmas?

Um well........not exactly. I won't do turkey twice. And some of the dishes get subtracted and sometimes new ones get put in. But the main ones are still there.

Ham
augratin potatoes
broccoli casserole
sweet potato casserole
usually another veggie of choice
bread
pies ..... at least one pumpkin
shrimp cocktail
various cookies baked by the grands and other treats we have left over from making baked good gifts.
chocolate pudding cake and ice cream

Now to be totally fair, my girls and I split up the cooking evenly for the most part unless there is something one of us does better than the others. And when you're not the only one doing all the work it's much easier to have a larger menu. Plus we have a lot of people to feed. I'm thinking about inviting Nichole's bff as it won't mess with her family plans because we do it sat after thanksgiving. And I want to get my hands on her new baby girl. lol

 

[AnnieO]

"Kid Friendly" salad: romaine lettuce, cooked chilled corn, carrot slices, cucumber slices, mozzarella cheese (none of the exotica like olives or pine nuts that I like in my salads), with balsamic vinegar dressing

Kid friendly... I'll send Jett to you so you can explain that romaine, carrots, and cucumbers are tasty... He despises salads of all sorts, even drowned in dressing...

 

[Fran]

Our thanksgiving and Christmas menu's are different
This year Thanksgiving is
Turkey(I'm going to brine it this year for the first time)
Chestnut stuffing
Sausage apple stuffing(new)
Cranberry sauce from scratch
garlic mashed potatoes
Sweet potato casserole(new- mashed with a pear puree)
sesame green beans(new) My family love the traditional green bean casserole but I'm trying to have something a little less creamy)
crudites
gravy
Homemade pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream
Proabably apple pie with ice cream
I'm going to have pumpkin choc chip cookies and cranberry walnut bread for snacks.
I haven't done Thanksgiving for 3 years so I'm looking forward to it.

 

[trinityroyal]

Kid friendly... I'll send Jett to you so you can explain that romaine, carrots, and cucumbers are tasty... He despises salads of all sorts, even drowned in dressing...

Little easy child, was the little boy who used to do a little happy dance in the aisle at Costco, saying "Yay, Broccoli!", when I put the bag in the cart. Tyrannosaur eats all of the black olives out of my salads, and Tyrantina was singing this morning, "Nomahnoes, nomahnoes, nomahnoes...ME!" (her pronunciation of tomatoes) because she saw them in the fridge and wanted to have them for breakfast.

Honestly, their love of vegetables isn't really my doing, other than whatever-mummy-is-eating-must-be-delicious. They've liked them since they've been able to eat solid foods. I'm convinced it's an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) spectrum thing in their case, as it was for me when I was a child.