For those of you who are making Thanksgiving dinner

[foxfirefey]

What are you making! Regale us with your planned tasties.

For those of you who don't do Thanksgiving, is there a particular holiday meal you most look forward to?

Comments

[ilyena_sylph]

+laughs+ Mom and I are cooking a traditional Southern meal for 30 people. The real question is what aren't we making... *grins*

I can't wait to see what other people say, though.

This is a great prompt.

[foxfirefey]

I actually don't know what a traditional Southern meal consists of!

[cofax7]

I will make maple-walnut pie, and Heresluck's cranberry-ginger sauce to go with the turkey. Nom.

[ilyena_sylph]

Maple-walnut pie sounds amazing.

[existence]

Sometimes I make something larger for Thanksgiving, but I think this year, there's:

- ryecrisp, goat cheese, veg, for appetizers.
- brined turkey, gravy, probably in white wine, because we're like that
- fresh brussel sprouts for mom, spinach for me, and sweet potatoes
- cornbread sausage walnut dressing because it is awesome
- probably one minute prep cibatta with rosemary mostly for sandwiches
- cranberry something. (I'm not a cranberry sauce fan, I could be swayed to something else here.)
- probably pumpkin cheesecake, gingersnap crust.
- also tempting: balsamic reduction and fruit, side of pumpkin cream cheese, sweet crispy crackery something
- also probably i will mix myself a half pitcher of something mildly alcoholic (mulled apple something?), because while i drink wine socially, i don't do it on my own usually

[gramina]

There are fewer than ten for Thanksgiving this year, so it's a fairly small thing -- that, plus not having any time off before or after the Day.

But we'll be having roasted turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, winter squash, brussels sprouts, a green veg tbd (based on what looks good at the time), probably sweet potatoes, spiced cranberries in port wine, probably a pumpkin pie, and probably an egg custard. Menu subject to variation depending :)

[brewsternorth]

Oo, the spiced cranberries in port sounds intriguing. What sort of spices go into that?

[brewsternorth]

Funnily enough, though only American-by-adoption, I am planning on cooking something tasty for Thanksgiving. Namely, roast acorn squash stuffed with a mixed rice (probably wild rice and brown rice) and nut stuffing with possibly a few frozen cranberries thrown in for good measure. I'll probably improvise my own variation on the theme and see what else I can throw in, but Chow.com has an actual recipe. (I'd skip the brown sugar, personally, but each to their own.)

I'm *also* looking forward to our usual Christmas dish - our family recipe for walnut pâté en croute.

[donutsweeper]

Even though it's a small gathering I'll be making:

(for munching before meal)
roasted carrot dip with homemade pitas

(the meal)
Turkey and gravy
pan roasted vegetables
maple sugar baked carrots
challah and another bread
cornbread dressing
pear jello salad

(dessert)
double-layer pumpkin pie
shoofly pie
triple chocolate ooey gooey bars

and I am forgetting something... hmmmm

[morgan]

I'm not making the full meal for once this year, so I'll get to relax and enjoy what I am making to make them each really good dishes. I will be making:

Maple Glazed Ham
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cranberry Relish

[amadi]

It's just two of us, and I'm a vegetarian, so our meal is a little off from the traditional.

- Cornish Game Hen & Traditional Sage Stuffing (not for me)
- Chorizo & Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash (for me, veggie chorizo)
- Sweet corn spoonbread
- Baked yams
- Southwestern Succotash (Corn, limas, red peppers, chipotle pepper)
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Chrysanthemum Onions
- Cauliflower-Fennel gratin
- Cranberry jelly, from the can, in the round cylinder shape
- Pumpkin Pie

[laughingrat]

Do you do Cornish hens because only one person is eating meat? That's a good idea. I've toyed with asking my family if they'd like to just roast a chicken (only three of us to do Thanksgiving), but since you can also get bone-in turkey breasts (not processed, just without the rest of the bird), we usually opt for that.

[hazel]

I'm in New Zealand and we don't celebrate Thanksgiving, so my favourite holiday meal is Christmas, which when I and my flat have hosted it consists of:

- scorched almonds (for breakfast - scorched almonds are coated in chocolate, and are Traditional)
- things on toast for breakfast
... and then basically a series of points during the day from about 2pm to about 8pm at which we eat:
- bread and dips (oils, dukkah, rock salt, pesto)
- cold roast ham
- salad
- barbeque (steak, shrimps, mushrooms, onion) (weather dependant)
- nut roast
- roast vegetables (potato, kumara [sweet potato], carrots, pumpkin)
- spinach and feta pastries
- Christmas cake
- usually some kind of biscuits [cookies] with chocolate in them
- trifle
- cheesecake

And drink a lot of wine! And have eggs the next morning for breakfast, along with many, many leftovers! \o/

[I find it really weird how many people seem to put sweet potatoes in sweet dishes. They're pretty exclusively treated as a savoury food here. Regional traditions for the win!]

[serene]

I *much* prefer my sweet potatoes savory. I probably belong in New Zealand. :-)

[cypher]

What a fun question!

My partner and I are hosting Thanksgiving for some of our friends this year. We're making a ham (with a grape-mustard glaze) and this lentil-based shepherd's pie (some of our guests are vegetarian), and a pumpkin pie from my great grandmother's recipe.

Our guests are bringing other dishes to add to the table, including buttermilk biscuits, a garlic-green bean casserole, dressing, and apple pie.

\o/

[serene]

We had our Thanksgiving early, because I was participating in a gluten-free-Thanksgiving blog event. We're not gluten-free, but I thought it'd be fun to do my mom's traditional Thanksgiving meal, but do it gluten-free. The menu's at http://www.momfoodproject.com/2010/11/15/gluten-free-mom-food-thanksgiving/ but it's basically turkey and all the trimmings.

[serene]

(Oh, and for my work potluck, I took two pot pies: one chicken/turkey, and one vegan with tofu and chickpea gravy.)

[acelightning]

There's just the two of us, and my husband has to work that day, and as usual we don't know when he'll be getting home. Everything can be reheated if necessary.

I've ordered a little boneless turkey breast, in the 2 to 3 pound range; I'm picking that up Tuesday morning, and then I'm going to brine it. I'm allergic to onions and garlic, so the brining mixture contains salt, maple syrup, sherry, and a bunch of whole spices and herbs in a cloth bag - allspice, peppercorns, rosemary, ginger, one dried chile de arbol, and whatever else seems to want to go into the mixture. When I roast it, I brush it with a mixture of sherry, dark soy sauce, and melted butter, and I put a little water in the bottom of the pan so I'll have enough juice to baste it with, and (I hope) to make gravy. I'll have a can of turkey gravy handy Just In Case.

With the turkey, I'll serve my World-Famous Three-Rice Stuffing With Walnuts And Sherry, cooked on the stove because it's rather difficult to stuff a rolled and tied turkey breast (I guess that makes it "dressing"?). Also yeast rolls, kernel corn and/or green beans, and homemade whole-berry cranberry sauce.

Pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert, of course. I make my own pie crust, but the filling is ridiculously simple. One small can of pumpkin, one can of sweetened condensed milk, two eggs, spices ad lib., and a little vanilla. (Condensed milk works even better than evaporated milk for anything custard-ish.)

Despite the rather sparse menu, we're still going to have leftovers.

[yvi]

Well, I hope there'll be duck for Christmas. Since one of my great-uncles just delivered some of his to my family, I think there might be.

[foxfirefey]

Oh man duck. I love duck. I am so jealous.

[laughingrat]

I'm contributing pie and brussels sprouts this year! I learned a fabulous pie-crust tip yesterday: freeze the butter, then grate it. Gets the pieces really small without your having to overwork the crust. A food-processor is best, but I've got a large metal grater and a hand-protector from my mandoline...I'm gonna improvise.

[killing_rose]

I'm not cooking Thanksgiving this year given that I will instead be spending my fourth college Thanksgiving much the way the first three went: loving people willing to feed college students. (Previous years have also included the word "house".)

However, I am--because I won't be able to eat the stuffing at my band director's house on Thanksgiving--making gluten-free stuffing. The working idea is gluten-free bread, sausage, celery, onions, and I might go with pomegranate just because a) I have them, and b) I like the flavor they add to things.

Though that's my "so I don't starve this week" meal and not Thanksgiving proper. :p

[metawidget]

I'm Canadian, so Thanksgiving was last month. My wife's folks are vegetarian; when we feast with them her mum makes nut loaf which I look forward to with great anticipation. With my side of the family, savoury stuffing is the highlight of the meal -- the bird is just a container. Cauliflower with cheese sauce and my cousin's egg bread are also key dishes.

[sporky_rat]

It's just going to me and the husband (Mr Rat) for Thanksgiving, so I know I'll do up a small amount of smashed potatoes (cream, butter, taters), a baked sweet potato for me (butter and cinnamon, maybe a little bit of honey butter instead of regular), roast duck, a tiny salad for me (Mr Rat is allergic to raw veggies. Poor him.), rolls, green baby peas and maybe a spaghetti squash.

Lord only knows what's going to happen at Christmas (last year someone had to go to the hospital!)

[d_generate_girl]

We have a really eclectic Thanksgiving menu, due to the combined family traditions of about four different families (we do Thanksgiving with friends, not actual blood-related family).

Mom and I are doing:
- 18 pound turkey
- pineapple stuffing (for half the family)
- sausage and wheat bread stuffing (for other half)
- mashed potatoes
- gravy
- roasted white corn

Aunt #1 is doing:
- cauliflower gratin with mustard and kale
- carrot souffle
- pumpkin cupcakes
- picadillo appetizer

Aunt #2 is doing:
- pulled bbq pork sliders
- spinach and artichoke dip
- blackberry and raspberry torte
- peach pie

My vegan best friend is bringing:
- stuffed eggplant
- asian ginger salad
- soy milkshakes

There's usually beer, wine, and some sort of experimental mixed drink (Mom's voting for spiked cider).

Exactly how we're going to fit 12 people and all that food into a rowhouse is beyond me, but we're going to try!

[brynwulf]

I just listened to last week's Splendid Table and they were talking about Turduckins and I'm hoping to have enough people for Thanksgiving one year to have one of those. But not this year. There are only three of us, so it's pretty low key. The best parts will be the sausage and oyster stuffing and the leeks with dijon vinegrette.

I did look up the recipe for the roasted carrot dip someone up above mentioned. that sounds awesome!

[feuervogel]

My in-laws are coming out, so there's only going to be 5 of us. And since 2 of the 3 are allergic to cats (one of whom deathly so), the husband and I get to cook everything ourselves and cart it over to the hotel they're staying in (a suite with kitchenette, which lacks an oven, annoyingly).

We're taking:
- parmesan crisps with goat cheese and figs (based on this recipe since I'm vegetarian)
- roasted green beans
- sweet potato pudding
- purchased quiche
- pear tart with bourbon vanilla ice cream (made by softening vanilla ice cream and adding bourbon and molasses)

[aquinasprime]

I am on call for work M,W,F,Sa,Su so I will not be making much this Thanksgiving. I will be bringing cranberry relish, a recipe I found on food network - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-cranberry-relish-recipe/index.html

If I have the time/inclination on Wed night, I may decide to make a pecan pie.

[herlander_refugee]

I am indeed one who does not do Thanksgiving. It was a family horror show in my childhood, I have Amerindian ancestry and pretty much the beginning of a horror show historically, too.

But I enjoy all holiday meals. My husband loves turkey, my son hates turkey---so it is a challenge each year to make one at some point in the fall festivities that both will enjoy.

This year, yesterday, to open "winter" after decorating the house for Yule, we made a Southwest themed dinner featuring Chipotle-Lime turkey and little yeast bread fried pillows with honey.

It must have worked to 'open winter'...it has been snowing ever since I got the turkey out of the fridge...