Thanksgiving! What Yuns Making? What Yuns Doing?

MendotoManteo said:
If the mods wish to place this in the Foodie thread, no worries. But I figured it was worth its own thread.

What are you all making? Who will you be spending Thanksgiving with? I don't wish this to be political. Hopefully just a thread where we can share what we're all making/having and who we'll spend this important holiday with to celebrate another harvest and good year of living.

For my part, my ex-wife (who I'm fortunately still great friends with) will be coming up with our dogs. The cats, who live with me, will probably hide the entire time, but whatever.

She's pescatarian, so I'm going to make my Brodetto Marchigiano that I shared in the Foodie thread as main dish. Was originally thinking about making some Thanksgiving classics, like green bean casserole and cornbread dressing, to compliment, but I think I'm going to go full Italian. Intending to make a savory Swiss chard pie now with caprese salad. Ambrosia bundt for dessert. Thanksgiving Italiano!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Let us all be thankful for our lives and for one another. For friendship and feast!
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Going to Lake Lure Inn with the wife and our neighbor. No family. Long story. The Inn is miraculously unscathed despite the horrific damage just a mile up the road in Chimney Rock from Helene. We (wife and I) cooked and prepared 5 separate dishes for the Church “Thankful Sunday” meal last week. That’s it for us until Christmas.
 
rodoheel said:
I’ll have to try that out - haven’t been.

My favorite Mexican food in town is from the taqueria at El Mercadito on Muirs Chapel Rd. Excellent tacos. Good roast chicken too.
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Oh that one is a good spot. I always order a little off menu at Vaqueros (shrimp tacos with just cilantro and onion). But the side of sauteed onions is the freaking BOMB.
 
I have the good fortune of being off for Thanksgiving this year. Which means I get to have two Thanksgivings instead of the traditional three. Going to celebrate with the wife's family Thursday morning and then with my family Thursday evening. Will collect enough leftovers from both to eat comfortably for a while!
 
UNCatTech said:
I've done the last 4 or 5 on the traeger.

I've got the best results when i Brine the turkey.

Uncovered.

Start slow to get the flavor, then increase the temp to crisp the skin.

The last I did I spatchcocked it and it went really well.

I rub butter on the skin and baste.
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This. Definitely spatchcock that sucker.

Brine I can take it or leave it depending on how much time I want to invest.

Key is to let it dry on a rack in the fridge overnight after you spatchcock it. The super dry skin will cook up crunchy that way.

Knobs of butter under the skin before going on the smoker then I baste the last 30 minutes or so.
 
My contributions to the family feast are the turkey, the deviled eggs, and tending bar.

Last year I lost a chunk of my fingertip to tending bar (I was sober- the peeler slipped off the orange) and my family is suggesting I not be bartender. Bunch of ingrates.
 
StrangePackage said:
My contributions to the family feast are the turkey, the deviled eggs, and tending bar.

Last year I lost a chunk of my fingertip to tending bar (I was sober- the peeler slipped off the orange) and my family is suggesting I not be bartender. Bunch of ingrates.
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Good lord. I get deviled eggs and tending bar (the eggs can be made a day or two in advance), but the turkey master should never be required to man the bar. The turkey master should be the beneficiary of the bartender. The twain shall not meet.
 
lawtig02 said:
Good lord. I get deviled eggs and tending bar (the eggs can be made a day or two in advance), but the turkey master should never be required to man the bar. The turkey master should be the beneficiary of the bartender. The twain shall not meet.
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Honestly my turkey recipe is a lot of prep before and almost fire and forget the day of. The brining takes the most time and effort.

After that it's a quick rinse, a pat dry, a canola oil rub and some aromatics, 30 minutes on 500 and ride the rest of the way at 350.

I rather like tending bar. I've got lots of time to shoot the breeze with people waiting for drinks, and get to enjoy an old fashioned or two myself. Plus, I'm objectively the best mixologist on this side of the family.
 
I'm feeling the urge to do some baked apples coming on. Might just wait under after and doing a small thing for us.
 
This will be our first thanksgiving without either of my parents. We always did the traditional meal but nobody in my family likes turkey but we all love the traditional sides. So we are doing all the traditional sides to be paired with braised beef short ribs and mashed potatoes. It will be the first time I have ever had sweet potato casserole sitting beside mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese, and dressing and gravy. It requires another plate for the green bean casserole, Brussels sprouts, grape salad and bread
 
Talked my oldest buddy here in Guatemala into cooking a turkey. He owns a restaurant and comes from a long line of food service people. Many years ago I tended bar here with his dad (RIP). I’m hoping his brothers will come too. I haven’t seen them in a while. All my expat friends are scattered this year so this will be a good Spanish immersion experience for my wife and daughter. The kid speaks pretty good español but my wife is just learning. This should be fun.

We’re off to the treehouses tomorrow for the night. The food up there is excellent.
 
Making Kenji Lopez-Alt’s stuffing/dressing which is the GOAT IMO.

www.seriouseats.com

Classic Sage and Sausage Stuffing (Dressing) Recipe

Our traditional sausage and sage Thanksgiving stuffing (dressing) owes its perfect custardy texture to oven-dried bread and a base of eggs, broth, and butter.
www.seriouseats.com www.seriouseats.com

Typically I will make homemade bread to use in there but this year I’m also going to do a braided cranberry walnut loaf to go along with a small charcuterie tray my wife is making.

www.breadexperience.com

Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread - Bread Experience

This braided Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread makes a wonderful treat for Thanksgiving or other Holiday Festivities.
www.breadexperience.com www.breadexperience.com

For the weekend, if anyone is in Winston-Salem, there is pro wrestling at the Benton Convention center. It’s a decently big event with a mix of some older stars and up and comers. I don’t follow wrestling at all but went a few years ago and it was a blast. Going this year with my brother- and father-in-law.

www.wrestlecade.com

WrestleCade Weekend 2024 | Pro Wrestling Convention

WrestleCade is a 3-day, family-friendly convention for fans of wrestling & sports entertainment which brings together some of your favorite wrestling stars from all eras.
www.wrestlecade.com www.wrestlecade.com
 
Forgotten Culture War Moments: "Each time I serve pumpkin pie, I get to share a little known slice of American history. Although meant to unify people, the 19th-century campaign to make Thanksgiving a permanent holiday was seen by prominent Southerners as a culture war. They considered it a Northern holiday intended to force New England values on the rest of the country. To them, pumpkin pie, a Yankee food, was a deviously sweet symbol of anti-slavery sentiment." For Decades, Southern States Considered Thanksgiving an Act of Northern Aggression
 
donbosco said:
Forgotten Culture War Moments: "Each time I serve pumpkin pie, I get to share a little known slice of American history. Although meant to unify people, the 19th-century campaign to make Thanksgiving a permanent holiday was seen by prominent Southerners as a culture war. They considered it a Northern holiday intended to force New England values on the rest of the country. To them, pumpkin pie, a Yankee food, was a deviously sweet symbol of anti-slavery sentiment." For Decades, Southern States Considered Thanksgiving an Act of Northern Aggression
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I can get that. Massachusetts didn't legalize Christmas until 1856 although they quit enforcing the law in the 17th century. Those Puritans were something else.
 
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