What plans do you have for Thanksgiving?
I’m flying to visit my parents, and I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t seen them in 2 years. We’ll have a delicious, Southern Thanksgiving. There will mountains of food, and my dad’s pecan pie, which is the best.
What are your plans? Are you hosting a feast at your house? Who’s invited? Will you be a guest somewhere else? Are you taking anything? Will you go to a restaurant?
What food will there be on the table? Will you have anything new? What traditional foods will you have?
Are there any traditions in your family that may be unusual?
What else would you like to add?
It’s turkey time!
The year has flown by. Where did it go?
Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday. I love the feast and fun and family, even though my family wrote the book on dysfunction.
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37 Answers
You’re right, this year has flown by!
My family will do what we usually do every year. I’ll probably watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with my little sister during breakfast.
Hopefully my older sister comes down to our house and has dinner with us. We usually eat around 2 or 3, whenever we’re finished making all the food. I’m not much of a cook, but I can open the cranberry sauce and put it in a dish haha. I also make pumpkin pie (from a can) the day before.
My sister makes very good mashed potatoes and dinner rolls , my mom makes stuffing, and my dad cooks the turkey.
Later on we might watch ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ on TV and eat pumpkin or apple pie.
The day before will be spent having a Nopes-Giving at a friend’s house. I used to host a Thanksgiving dinner for everyone who didn’t have somewhere to go, but this year someone else is hosting, so I’m off the hook there. I’ll bring along a green bean casserole (gag) and a homemade pumpkin pie.
Day of is My Turkey Day. Everyone gets the eff out of my kitchen and I make all the things. And then we spend two weeks eating it all. This year my turkey is 22 lbs. Not my record, but good enough.
The plan right now is to keep it pretty traditional. Turkey will be herb-seasoned and stuffed. Sides include oyster dressing, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly, green bean casserole, and my absolutely bitchin’ homemade giblet gravy, and whatever else I feel like throwing in. Pumpkin pie for dessert, from canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix). I’ve done it from the pumpkin before, and honestly it’s just not worth the hassle. Tinned pumpkin is fine.
It’ll be just the four of us this year: Hubby, Ian, my mother in law, and myself.
What time should I arrive? Just kidding, of course, but I do love gravy.
I am not really a cook. Ok, I’m not a cook at all. But somehow I am cooking the Turkey this year. I have never cooked a turkey in my life. So my small family is coming to my house to eat. Hopefully a turkey. They will bring some side dishes. I’m a bit stressed about this, but it’s one day only and I know I’ll get through it.
I have cooked a turkey. It’s a big chicken. I have no suggestions. It was always by the seat of my pants.
I did google some recipes, and everything was quite delicious.
The most important part is making sure it’s fully defrosted on day-of. I moved mine from the freezer to the refrigerator two days ago. You want to give it 24 hours for every 4 – 5 lbs.
Then it’s just basically season, baste, and go. Keep basting. Baste more than you think you need to. And don’t rush it. I like a low-and-slow.
I’m trying a flavor injector for the first time this year. What can I say? I’m into big, juicy breasts.
@Seek the dirty minds on here are going to take your last sentence a different way. XD
Yes, when I cooked turkey’s in the past, I used the lowest oven setting I could reasonably get away with and let the bird cook very slowly. However, I never stuffed the turkey. That requires more heat to get to the core of the stuffing and not leave dangerous raw juices sloshing about.
I smoked a turkey years ago. That took hours and hours. I don’t remember how long.
Nothing, whenever that day may be.
@chyna, don’t worry, @Hawaii_Jake is right, it’s just a big ol’ chicken. Imagine it naked, you’ll do fine. ;-)
@ragingloli It’s a harvest festival. In the US, it’s the last Thursday of November every year.
@Hawaii_Jake, it’s the fourth Thursday. If the month happens to have five Thursdays, it will be the next-to-last.
As @Seek said, the defrosting part is making me nervous. It’s a 8.5 lb breast. So from her calculations, I should have it out 2 days before I cook it. Is it okay if I take it out sooner to be on the safe side? I was thinking about taking it out of the freezer Monday and cook on Thursday.
As long as your refrigerator stays under 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s perfectly safe to keep it out a couple of days sooner.
@Jeruba Thanks for the clarification. Now I hang my head in shame. I’m a bad American. ~
@Hawaii_Jake Aww. It’s ok to be thankful any time. Also to have a turkey dinner. We once did the whole thing, the works, from stuffing and cranberry to pumpkin pie, in the middle of July. Just for the hell of it.
@Jeruba My sister found a recipe for a cranberry relish that is excellent, and I eat it often.
Hangin’ out at the ranch with my friends and we’re making a mexican fiesta because we already make Thanksgiving dinners about once a month as it is. haha
My adult daughter is doing her dads scene this year but we just had her birthday here last Saturday so I’ll catch her at Xmas.
@Hawaii_Jake I make a cranberry apple relish that is excellent too, happy to share the recipe of you want
Super easy and old, my great grandma was making this way back when.
Heat 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar, cook until sugar dissolves.
Add 6 cups rinsed and sorted fresh cranberries. ( no bad berries, haha ) and…
4–5 large, peeled, cored and diced Granny Smith apples or apples of your choice.
Stir fruits together and bring to slow boil.
Cook until skins split on cranberries and a frothy pink foam forms.
Cover and let set for about 15 minutes then ladle into canning jars and seal or pour into bowl and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Enjoy!
Why @ragingloli !
We will probably be seated at the same table!
I just hope it’s not with the little kiddies at the children’s table this year!
But it is more fun flinging food on your fork than at the stuffy big table.
Bon appetit!!!!
I will try that recipe. Thank you.
@Hawaii_Jake have you ever tried chestnuts in turkey filling/stuffing?
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Having a Thanksgiving lunch at my house with immediate family, then going to a friend’s house to take care of his cat and house for 4 days while he is out of town having Thanksgiving with his family. I shall dine on the leftovers from my lunch the next day, then I’m pretty sure I’ll be ready for a burrito on the third day.
Hanging with friends; each of us is bringing a side.
I’m doing my Roasted Root Vegetable combo. Carrots, Beets, Parsnips, Yams, Fennel, Pureed onion and garlic poured over top. Baked at 400 Yummy.
Going up to our lake cabin and hosting the SIL’s family and it will be our first TG there, should be nice especially is all the snow is not yet melted. Their son is vegan so I am searching for meatless recipes so at least he will have something decent and yummy to eat. Any suggestions are welcome.
Going to my parents’ house about 45 minutes away. My sister will come and my mom and my sister make everything from scratch, except maybe the bread. We’ll have what we have, traditionally, every year – turkey, stuffing made with sausage, whole berry cranberry sauce (very easy to make), brussel sprouts, string beans, mash potatoes, maybe sweet potatoes (whole not casserole), maybe a salad, bread probably from Whole Foods, maybe some kind of squash soup, and two pies, usually. Apple and pumpkin.
@ZEPHYRA I have never tried chestnuts in the stuffing. Do you have a recipe?
Thank You @Kardamom ! And Happy Thanksgiving to you! It is so ironic where I pulled into the parking lot of Advanced Auto to get some engine parts last night and right next to me was my vegan nephew and I asked him what he may enjoy to eat at our meal on Thanksgiving and he said “I’ll eat whatever I can find” and I said to him I will surprise him and thanks to your recipes…I feel he will be happily surprised and so will be his parents! TY!
I just saw a great demo of a recipe for Cauliflower Steak which could easily pass as an entrée. She used a can of coconut milk and Indian spices so it qualifies as Vegan.
You can find it on the Food Network site if interested.
@Buttonstc Love the looks of that recipe! Will have to try it!
I’ve also seen it done with other types of seasonings but some involved bacon (not too great for vegan :)
I particularly liked the combo of cocunut milk with the Indian spices since they frequently have that with cauliflower (cut up) as a dish at Indian restaurants. But the “steak” version really makes an eye catching presentation.
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