STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

For those who hosted/cooked....

Boots · Gucci

I went to my SIL for the day (I host Christmas.) She did a wonderful job and went out of her way to make sure everybody had a "favorite" on the table (mine was roasted sweet potatoes. YUM!) My brother deep fried the turkey and it was extremely moist. It was the first deep fry turkey for us but he practiced a few times this Fall so he wouldn't screw up the big day!

I was in charge of booze, so I brought a really nice Pinot Noir and made some pre-dinner cranberry martinis with handmade raspberry flavored vodka I bought in the UK.

Yana · Dooney & Bourke

I have to share & recommend: We live in USA for 8 1/2 years now. I never hosted Thanksgiving, we were usually invited to a dry turkey dinner. This year we were on our own, my husband & I & our 2 kids. So, we decided on a traditional dinner, that I'd cook, but I never cooked a whole turkey. So, while in Target I found pre seasoned turkey in the bag by Archer Farms (rather cheap, d on't remember exactly) - sage/celery/thyme seasoning, no need to defrost - just make 6 cuts on the bags for air & stick it in the oven for 4 1/2 hours! Perfect for someone like me! Turned out EXCELLENT! Juicy, spiced just right - salt/pepper/herbs! Looked good too, golden color!

The rest I cooked myself, have to brag about my cranberry sauce: bought whole cranberry sauce by ocean...whatever the brand, reheated it with clementines cut to small pieces with skin, brought to boiling, then 15 min simmer & then add walnuts & lemon zest, cool & serve - DELICIOUS!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

Congratulations Yana, on your first thanksgiving feast going so well!

We brine the turkey (well, turkey breasts) and this year I made sage-garlic butter to put under the skin (DH does this step, I don't touch the turkeys, just prepare everything and instruct) instead of using regular butter. It got rave reviews!

Hermes

Yes, congrats, Yana! I may look into that turkey myself.

My big family dinner is this Sunday at my house -- I'll let you know how it goes!

So far, I have planned to make:

Appetizers
shrimp and cocktail sauce
salted cashews
relish tray with black & green olives and sweet pickles
whitefish dip with pretzel crackers
and expensive, cave-aged, crystally, sharp cheddar for those who can consume milk, served with whole grain crackers

Dinner
turkey
stuffing
bourbon sweet potatoes (dad making)
green bean casserole (substituting water for the 1/2 c milk) my grandmother used to make this, and I think every one will enjoy this classic.
mashed potatoes
bread

Dessert
my aunt is making either pinapple upside down cake or bourbon cake (I come from a long line of drinkers wink

)
pumpkin pie with whipped cream

I am also going to have barenjager (honey liquor) out for people to sip on after the meal. I also plan to serve Michigan beers and wines smile

clothes_horse · Dooney & Bourke

we had a small dinner at our house, then went to my cousins for dessert. i decided to try out a new recipe i found in bonappetit magazine. it's called Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce (i substituted raspberries for blueberries). it turned out pretty good, the kids especially liked it and my husband was a big fan.

-- Edited by clothes_horse on Tuesday 30th of November 2010 02:08:22 PM

Yana · Dooney & Bourke

Thanx, D & Greendiamond! Your thanksgiving dinners sound delicious!

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

Man. I'm hungry now!

Suasoria · Chanel

I made nothing but sweets. We stopped at my in-laws to drop off pies, stayed briefly, then went to a potluck with friends.

Strawberry chai cobbler
I brought this to the potluck. A basic cobbler spiced with cardamom, ginger, clove, and cinnamon so it felt seasonal.

Apple pies (2 of em)
From a really old cookbook. All my crusts came out great this year for some reason.

Pumpkin pies (2)
http://www.veganconnection.com/recipes/pumpkin_pie.htm
It is really tasty but I don't like how dark brown it gets. I prefer my pumpkin pie to be orangey! I used three small sugar pumpkins and got two large pies, plus some extra mashed pumpkin that I made into...

Pumpkin chocolate chip bread
I can't recall the recipe I used but it was GOOD. Mom and stepdad came over in the AM on Thanksgiving and we had mimosas and the pumpkin bread.

I still had enough leftover pumpkin to make muffins today. I highly recommend using real pumpkin versus canned. It makes a huge difference. (Also canned pumpkin is not real pumpkin, it's usually another orange squash that is similar but has a more consistent texture and color.)

alb · Marc Jacobs

clothes_horse wrote:

we had a small dinner at our house, then went to my cousins for dessert. i decided to try out a new recipe i found in bonappetit magazine. it's called Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce (i substituted raspberries for blueberries). it turned out pretty good, the kids especially liked it and my husband was a big fan.

-- Edited by clothes_horse on Tuesday 30th of November 2010 02:08:22 PM

This looks delicious!

t_838fro · Nine West

D wrote:

Yes, congrats, Yana! I may look into that turkey myself.

My big family dinner is this Sunday at my house -- I'll let you know how it goes!

So far, I have planned to make:

Appetizers
shrimp and cocktail sauce
salted cashews
relish tray with black & green olives and sweet pickles
whitefish dip with pretzel crackers
and expensive, cave-aged, crystally, sharp cheddar for those who can consume milk, served with whole grain crackers

Dinner
turkey
stuffing
bourbon sweet potatoes (dad making)
green bean casserole (substituting water for the 1/2 c milk) my grandmother used to make this, and I think every one will enjoy this classic.
mashed potatoes
bread

Dessert
my aunt is making either pinapple upside down cake or bourbon cake (I come from a long line of drinkers )
pumpkin pie with whipped cream

I am also going to have barenjager (honey liquor) out for people to sip on after the meal. I also plan to serve Michigan beers and wines

This sounds absolutely amazing! I just had a traditional dinner at my aunt's place and the table was just covered with food. I think Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I rarely ever see my family and it's a nice time to get together and eat really great food :)

Hermes

t_838fro wrote:

D wrote:

Yes, congrats, Yana! I may look into that turkey myself.

My big family dinner is this Sunday at my house -- I'll let you know how it goes!

So far, I have planned to make:

Appetizers
shrimp and cocktail sauce
salted cashews
relish tray with black & green olives and sweet pickles
whitefish dip with pretzel crackers
and expensive, cave-aged, crystally, sharp cheddar for those who can consume milk, served with whole grain crackers

Dinner
turkey
stuffing
bourbon sweet potatoes (dad making)
green bean casserole (substituting water for the 1/2 c milk) my grandmother used to make this, and I think every one will enjoy this classic.
mashed potatoes
bread

Dessert
my aunt is making either pinapple upside down cake or bourbon cake (I come from a long line of drinkers )
pumpkin pie with whipped cream

I am also going to have barenjager (honey liquor) out for people to sip on after the meal. I also plan to serve Michigan beers and wines

This sounds absolutely amazing! I just had a traditional dinner at my aunt's place and the table was just covered with food. I think Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I rarely ever see my family and it's a nice time to get together and eat really great food :)

It really is nice. I really enjoyed having my family around the table telling stories. Our new annual holiday get together at my new house is something I'll look forward to every year smile

Now for the reality of my menu. My aunt decided to try to take over my kitchen in a frantic manner. I appreciated the help, but she wanted me to do everything her way. I had to also say on more than one occasion, "there's no rush." Anyway, her presence, although helpful with preparation, distracted me and I forgot to put out the whitefish dip and stuffing. Obviously there was plenty of food, so I didn't even notice until after the dinner! I also ended up making a glazed ham I bought from costco because it made things easier on me. I didn't eat any, but everyone who did loved it. Oh and I missed serving a pie that was brought as well. My husband and I are enjoying it though!

Boots · Gucci

I very loudly kick everyone out of my kitchen when I cook. I've found if you wave a spatula around enough, people scurry.

Hermes

Boots wrote:

I very loudly kick everyone out of my kitchen when I cook. I've found if you wave a spatula around enough, people scurry.

hee hee - I'll do that next year wink