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Traditional Thanksgiving?

M

mtmomj

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I am wondering--

Do you have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, etc. - or do you have something out of the "norm" on that day? If so, what do you eat?
 
If I cook I do Cornish game hens with all the above. If Mom or MIL does the cooking then it's the turkey.


I may be the only American that doesn't like turkey.
 
We cook a turkey breast seasoned with Bell's Poultry Seasoning ... with stuffing on the side made with sausage and steamed chestnuts and is absolutely delicious ... along with mashed potatoes and green beans, rolls, and the rest.
 
honeypsweet said:
If I cook I do Cornish game hens with all the above. If Mom or MIL does the cooking then it's the turkey.


I may be the only American that doesn't like turkey.
Click to expand...


That's interesting that you like Cornish game hens but not turkey. Maybe you need more gravy on the turkey! I love gravy on my turkey and stuffing :)
 
Well my family is italian so in addition to turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread, we also have spaghetti or lasagna (or both!), homemade meatballs, italian-style vegetables, and italian desserts. It's delicious! And we never have things like 'green bean casserole' or other typical american dishes.
 
alice.b.toklas said:
That's interesting that you like Cornish game hens but not turkey. Maybe you need more gravy on the turkey! I love gravy on my turkey and stuffing :)
Click to expand...

I like chicken too...
I've just never thought that turkey had
much flavor to it... so much work for so little taste.
( Maybe, it's my mothers cooking that I don't like...l0l)
 
Maybe it is! :p I've never had a problem with flavorless turkey. *shrug*

The key is to start out with a quality bird. If you are really into flavorful, tender meat, I suggest trying Alton Brown's method of brining. I'm too lazy for that, so I usually end up stuffing the bird with onions and herbs, rubbing the outside and underside of the skin with a sage and butter mixture, the sprinkling the skin with salt and a little pepper. That does the trick. ;)
 
I usually just have the traditional stuff. I use a flavor injector for my turkey & I usually don't over cook it. I hate dry turkey.
 
Australia probably never heard of Thanksgiving. Its never big down here, which is a shame, because we would have public holidays for them =D
anyway, a big leg ham with my mums favourite herbs syrup does it for us at christmas
 
The flavor in turkey comes from the seasonings used. There are a lot of nice poultry seasonings that do well with turkey. They're mostly sage flavored, and a few other herbs. A well seasoned turkey for Thanksgiving, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and green beans makes a nice meal for a lot of our guests.
 
Turkey has flavor if it's not injected with a lot of saline and water to bulk up the poundage. ;)

I agree, though, that turkey is best served with some kind of herbs and spices. I prefer seasoning the cavity, then stuffing with onions or citrus to add flavor and retain moisture. I also find that placing seasonings under the really adds a little something extra.
 
We usually do:

Turkey (this year my husband wants to smoke a turkey - YUM!)
Dressing (my grandmother's recipe)
Gravy
Sweet potato casserole
Cranberry sauce
Green beans or green bean casserole
Bread
Pie
 
I was at grocery store today, and the couple in front of me had frozen turkey and a ham. That was all they bought. Nothing special about that. But what surprised me was the 25 pound turkey they had only cost $9.48. That's like 40 cents a pound. I would have run back a got one but wouldn't know what to do with it right now.
 
I use to go to my moms house every Thanksgiving up until I moved to Indiana 3 years ago and then I had to start cooking my own turkey and guess what it was good wow I never thought that I could ever cook a turkey it just seems way to hard. I also cook all the other things that everyone else cookes plus lots of deserts.
 
Turkey here is cooked outside - deep fried. But prior to that ..Thanksgiving and Christmas were usually eaten at the fire station before hubby retired.

Besides the turkey - anthing went...mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean caserole, rolls, salad. I was the dessert queen crescent rolls with cream cheese in between in a square cake pan along with the strawberry margarita squares. Plus there were the pumpkin pies and apple pies- everything home made.

Corine
 
My favorite Thanksgiving meal is the traditional roasted normal size turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and of course, candied sweet potatoes.

I like the dark or white meat of the turkey when cooked the old fashioned way -- in an oven that is:) I've bought the dark meat turkey wings at the grocery store (already cooked ones) and they weren't edible to me.
 
We usually have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and we alternate between our parents' houses. Last year for Thanksgiving dinner, we stayed here with my parents, then drove to his parents' house to put up the Christmas tree & spend some time with them because we weren't sure if we'd get to do that come Christmas time. Turns out, we stayed here & I cooked my first Christmas dinner all by myself. We had ham, a pickle/olive tray, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes & gravy, candied yams, green beans, corn, apple pie, & pumpkin pie... I have to admit that most of the stuff was either from a can or a box because I have a small oven (I can fit 1 cookie sheet in it, but only 1) but everything turned out pretty good & I was able to time most of the stuff to finish when it was wanted.

This year for Thanksgiving, we are driving to his parents' house Wednesday night & since I'm preg I get to sit in the kitchen Thursday & keep everyone else company. Thanksgiving will make the beginning of my final month, YAY!!!
 
We usually have a traditional Thanksgiving. We go to my grandma's house and she cooks everything for about 16 of us. My husband would really like to have dinner at our house one year so he can either smoke a turkey or fry a turkey. We have heard from friends that they are very good wither way.
 
I like a traditional type Thanksgiving dinner. If it is just my husband and myself we just do a turkey breast. Sides are stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce (I admit it is canned), and a vegetable. Gravy must be from scratch.

If your turkey turns out dry or bland you might try using an injector to add flavor and moisture.
 
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