What are you cooking/doing for Thanksgiving?

The ClubHouse: Archive: What are you cooking/doing for Thanksgiving?

Weinermr

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 07:36 am Click here to edit this post
Almost every year our Thanksgiving tradition is exactly the same, with a few variations, and this year is no exception.

I will be roasting a turkey, making stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and yams. The turkey will be an Empire kosher turkey. The stuffing will be Mrs. Cubbisons, to which I add celery, onions, and homemade chicken broth. I cannot make any other stuffing. My wife will not let me. LOL The yams will be baked with some orange juice, brown sugar, and a touch of maple syrup which I boil and thicken, and pour over the yams - no marshmallows.

I will arise about 6AM to begin making the stuffing and cleaning the turkey, and by 7AM the turkey will go in the oven. When the turkey is done, and after it rests for about 20 minutes, I will carve it, and fill a large foil roasting pan with the turkey and stuffing. We will pack up all the food I have made, and drive to my wife's mother's house, about 50 miles from where we live. My wife's mother will make salad, vegetables, rolls, and pumpkin pie. We will then have Thanksgiving dinner with my mother-in-law, my wife's brother (who is 50 years old and divorced) and my wife and me.

This is our tradition. There have been variations. My brother-in-law was married for 7 years, and in those years his wife also joined us. My sister has attended a few years, but she will not be joining us this year. Several other people have been part of the group in past years, but not this year. My father-in-law of course was part of the group, until he died in 1987.

My wife and her brother will tease each other endlessly, and my brother-in-law and I will talk football, music, and make endless bad puns. I will wish we had some wine to drink with the meal, but my mother-in-law does not approve of drinking, so we will not do so in her house.

And yes, I will be thankful for my life, my family, and will understand how lucky I am to have the life I have here in the U.S. and how better off I am than so many other people in our country and in the world, and I will be truly grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy.

My wife and I are going shopping today for the things I will need to cook the Thanksgiving meal.

What are your traditions? What will you be doing on Thanksgiving?

Jeep

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 07:58 am Click here to edit this post
Hi Weinermr! That sound like a nice Thanksgiving.

I do about the same, but it's all at my house. I've had Thanksgiving for over a decade now, since our parents are too old to do it like they did in the past.

I, too, will have the tradational turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy & stuffing. However, I bake my turkey the day before and use the broth for both the gravy and to put in my stuffing that I do separate from the turkey. I use Pepperage Farm herb stuffing and add celery, onions and the broth and make little dressing balls. I'll also have baked macaroni & cheese, baked corn, a vegetable casarole, red velvet cake (made from scratch) and pumpkin pie and the all time favorite: Country Ham!

My husband's parents will be there. His dad is 91 and his mom is 86. His one sister (he has 7) who never married and still lives at home will be there too. My mom who is 80 and has Parkinson's Disease will come and so will my divorced bbrother. My dad always came too until he died in 1999 at the age of 88. As you can see a long life runs in both our families. That is one thing I will be thankful for. Having our parents this long has been great.

I am also thankful for living here in the US. My father's parents came to the US in 1907 from Yougoslovia and I can remember his mom telling us of all the tribes and how they fought each other. I can only think it was the same as what we see in Afganistan now.

Have a good one! I'm on vacation all next week so I can clean my house and cook! Eat all you can and diet next year! LOL

Weinermr

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 08:14 am Click here to edit this post
It all sounds great Jeep. Thanks!

Spygirl

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 11:05 am Click here to edit this post
I don't get to go home and be with family for Thanksgiving this year because I have too much STUPID HOMEWORK to do before the semester ends, so my Thanksgiving will be no different from any other day.

BUT....this is what my family does.

Thanksgiving is now at my parent's house because we outgrew my grandmother's house. Plus, my parents added a 1500 sq ft room with a big screen, dish TV, and a fireplace, so everyone wants to go to their house. Everyone starts showing up about 11:30 because we are supposed to eat at noon, although one cousin doesn't show until closer to 1:00. We always wait, get very irritated, and then start without her and her kids. Then, about 15 minutes into the meal, they show up. This is repeated at Christmas.

After eating until it is grotesque, there will be movies going in the small den where the kids will be piled around it watching some movie on pay-per-view that they haven't gotten to see before. The men (and as sad as this is, there are only FOUR out of all of those people) will pile around the new big screen watching football, dozing off for about an hour and a half.

Then, someone will mentioned wanting to play dominoes, so they will break out the game table. The kids, upon hearing there is a game going on will demand their own game and proceed to set it up elsewhere. Game playing is very central to our gatherings, but they tend to be less so when my brother and I aren't around. Christmas will be an all-out game-fest starting with 42 (dominoes) then moving into Monopoly, Nertz, Trivial Pursuit, Spades, and Catch Phrase. We try to add one new fun game every year.


Food --

My dad has a smoker and so he smokes the turkey and ham. My grandmother makes homemade turkey dressing. When requested, she will make oyster dressing, and last year, I brought them from Louisiana where they were cheaper, and we had both turkey and oyster dressing. From there everyone in the family cooks their "speciality" items.

Cousin #1 - Pecan pies, mashed potatos
Cousin #2 - Brocolli casserole
Cousin #3 - Corn casserole, green bean casserole
Mom - Yams, deviled eggs, rolls, ice box pie dessert
Grandma - (besides the dressing) Homemade chocolate pies, chocolate cake, gravy


I heard from my g-ma last week that my aunt and uncle and their son will be coming, too. So all together, including children and spouses, there will be about 20 people gathered together celebrating Thanksgiving.

I will miss them terribly.

Grooch

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 11:21 am Click here to edit this post
I have no plans yet, but if I do make any mashed potatos, I'm going to try Twiggy's recipe in the TVCH cookbook. I remember all the raves from everyone last year. :)

Angelnikki

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 02:44 pm Click here to edit this post
well, all of your thanksgivings sound great.:)
grooch, where do i find the TVCH cookbook?? thanks.

well, this year like all other years, i have to work on thanksgiving day and christmas day and new years day :(
i work at a 24/7 location in LV, NV. it sucks only on the holidays. my son will be going to his grandmothers house and his father will be there. i have been invited to several of my friends houses and i dont really know what im going to be doing however i do get off work at 3:30pm so i will have some time to spend thanksgiving night. my job usually has thanksgiving dinner catered to our work for us but due to the fact that they cut our hours since sept 11th (god bless the family and friends of those horrible acts), i dont believe they will be doing that this year. we usually have a big bash party every christmas with the company and the owner has an open bar and catered food and a dj. they cancelled that this year also :(
however, i have my good health, my son(who is a healty boy) and my family and thats all thats important during the holidays :)

i hope everyone has a great thanksgiving and christmas.

Grooch

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 03:26 pm Click here to edit this post
Angelnikki, it's in the Library section. Here is the link:

TVCH Cookbook

Maybe anyone with a good Thanksgiving recipe can post one in there.

Twiggyish

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 06:24 pm Click here to edit this post
Those 'taters are good! (Be sure to use real butter) We can't make too much of them this year, as we are all on diets.

We go to my Mother's for Thanksgiving. Mom and I always work together to prepare everything.
Our day begins with Tom Turkey. He has always been called Tom in our house. After preparing him, we start him cooking. We use packaged Pepperidge Farm Dressing, but in years past, it was always homemade.
Around this time, we start the pole beans with pork (salt pork). They are a tradition from my grandma who always made them. It wouldn't be a holiday without them.
Then, we start on our pies. This year, there won't be any pecan pies, but there will be pumpkin and something else.
After a while, we will start the rutabaga in one pot and potatoes in another. The rutabaga is a tradition from my dad and we do it in memory of him. Potatoes are a nod to my grandma, too.
Then when it is all ready, we set the table in lovely china, tablecloth, napkins and silver.

For our family, every part of our meal is a tradition. It is part of what makes it special.

Angelnikki

Saturday, November 17, 2001 - 07:44 pm Click here to edit this post
that sounds nice twiggyish:)

thanks grooch!!

Cutiepie007

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 01:42 am Click here to edit this post
i'm glad so many here will be with their families and following family traditions. until 1988, my two sisters and i would go to my b/f's mom's house. we are now married. however, she passed away in 1989. she was a fantastic cook and there was so much food, you rolled off your chair, you didn't stand up. lol lol and then his sister would bring out about 3 or 4 different kinds of desserts. before dinner there were always hors derves (sp?) which were wonderful. his mom would make caviar pie and warmed brie cheese with crackers and god knows what else. believe me, you haven't lived until you've tasted caviar pie. lol our niece and her then-husband would be there, sometimes our nephew, my hubby's aunt and uncle, sometimes some cousins who live in the bakersfield area would drive down to los angeles, and there were always friends. usually, we were about 16 people or more. it was always a full house. afterwards, some of us would go out for a walk to walk off the meal. one nice thing about living in so calif, the weather is usually good and so a walk in brisk weather was just the thing we needed to get rid of that bloated feeling. there was champagne, wine and soft drinks. i am not much of a drinker, so i stuck to the soft drinks.

after her death, since i am not a cook and i certainly am not even going to try a turkey, i have been going to gelson's market, an upper end market out here, and buying their complete thanksgiving day package, which includes the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, yams, rolls, hot vegetables, and gravy and an apple/cranberry sauce, and then i would buy a couple of pies. i always add to the stuffing because it's a bread stuffing and i like crunch, so i sautee scallions, chopped walnuts, and cut up water chestnuts and add it to the stuffing. on t-day, i just heat everything up and it's always delicious.

this year instead of a turkey, we are getting their boneless rib roast and all the fixings. stuffing is not included, so i told the guy at the market to add it to the order and i would pay separate for it. my sister will bring two pies.

this past year i lost my oldest sister, so there won't be many people. just me, my husband, my other sister and possibly a friend. it's sort of a sad thanksgiving for me because of the loss of my sister. but there is still a lot to be grateful about. we are healthy - well my husband has the flu right now but should be ok by thanksgiving, we have our wonderful home and other members of our family who will be with their own families, and we have our friends. we still live in a free country, another thing to be grateful we. we are all still here. :)

well, after dinner and cleaning up, we will probably look to see if any station is running a marathon. last year they ran a "golden girls" marathon and that was fun to watch. if not, we have videos galore here and just got a dvd, so we have a lot of stuff to look at. we then put on the fireplace in the living room so we are nice and cozy. i just wish more people were going to be here. i think it's wonderful to have a lot of people over for a nice dinner on this day.

as for me, i am looking forward to jan 2nd, when my husband and i are going to the paris hotel in vegas. we are getting together with people i have met in my chatroom and to whom i have been talking to for years. it will be great meeting them. some of them i have already met. also, our anniversary is on the 3rd, and so we will celebrate it in vegas with people from all over the country that will make up our group. oh, and we are going to see "O" at the bellagio. i heard it's a wonderful show. i just can't wait.

mostly, my husband and i eat off of paper plates since it's just the two of us and even though we have a dishwasher, we get too lazy to take out regular dishes that have to be washed, but i have a beautiful set of dishes i bought last year and the table will be nicely and hopefully beautifully set. i just hope the cats leave us alone so we can all eat in peace. lol lol

Sunshinemiss

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 03:22 am Click here to edit this post
Thanks for the cookbook link, it will be nice to have something aside from Stovetop stuffing...

Our family is in such a state of flux and we are all relatively young so it changes drastically from year to year. Over the past three years it has somewhat settled, my on-and-off BF and I split the cooking duties so neither of us feels too stressed, I start with the turkey usually about 2 a/m the night before, being the night owl, catch a couple of hours of sleep, then take the turkey out, wrap it tightly in foil, turn the oven down to warm, make homemade gravy and (usually) Stovetop stuffing, then pack up my 8-year old son and head over to the BF's house, he will have his two teenagers there and together we finish the meal, adding homemade mashed potatos (his are better than mine) braised carrots (ditto) a few assorted pies, he doesn't care for yams but I do so I usually make a little bowl of those as well, and potato-bread rolls or croissants.

We usually add a few single friends into the mix, 'casue there is more than enough food and I have been alone on Thanksgiving and it is kinda sad (unless it by choice)... normally no alcohol unless one of the guests brings it.. it is a fun mix of casual and formal, his apartment is furnished in early-bachelor decor, no dining room table, so we end up loading up the big coffee table with food and just do it buffet-style. My son says his favorite part of the whole meal is listening to what everybody is thankful for (everyone has their say before saying grace), then we eat..and eat..and eat.. then groan, complain, watch some football and then eat dessert. The kids will have a spray-whip-cream fight, we play games, and talk. It is lovely. Most of his family is back east and I am sadly estranged from the majority of my family, so we have made our own little family tradition and I look forward to it every year.

Car54

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 05:49 am Click here to edit this post
I too will be working that day. I work for a chain of retail stores and some of our locations are open that day. You know all that stuff that goes on sale the day after each holiday? I would be the one putting it on sale in the computers so it will ring up with your discount.
<bet you never thought about how that gets done>

I usually get done in the afternoon, and since I don't have any family here, I usually plan some kind of "pamper" activity for my self- a nice movie, doing something I don't have time for usually, etc.
I am usually invited to somebody's house, but being the stranger at their table has never felt good to me.
I try to make a nice day of it, and go back to work the next day refreshed.

<I know this seems like a weird way to have the holidays, but I am an only child, both parents gone, and in my family, the holidays were always full of conflict, and disappointment, so now that I am on my own, this is really the best for me.>

Willi

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 07:50 am Click here to edit this post
We are hoping to have a visiting scholar here again this Thanksgiving. My in-laws church participates in a program which places visiting Professors in private homes to get an idea of what an American Thanksgiving is all about. Two years ago, we had a visiting Professor from Russia to share our Thanksgiving with. His name is Igor & he was based at George Washington University. We still keep in touch. It remains one of our nicest Thanksgivings ever.

I know I wrote about this last Thanksgiving so I won't repeat myself but the long version of his visit is in my "Member Profile" (Whatwillidonow)not my message folder.

Other than this, we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade while we are getting things ready & my children pick a craft to do while watching the Parade & waiting for company to arrive.

I love Thanksgiving.

Weinermr

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 09:10 am Click here to edit this post
TV Food Network is having an Iron Chef marathon on Thanksgiving beginning at Noon eastern time.

Don't miss it!

Misslibra

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 06:01 pm Click here to edit this post
I'm going to make some homemade Macaroni & cheese, but I want to make it a head of time and put it in the freezer, so that on Thanksgiving day all I would have to do is pop that bad boy in the oven, but the problem is I never done that before. I know that Stoffers has a Mac & cheese that you just put in the oven, so I figured why can't I?? Have anyone ever tried doing this before? If so do you have any suggestion about how I should do this?? I need some help over here... please! :)

Angelnikki

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 06:41 pm Click here to edit this post
the best homemade mac and cheese ive ever made was with small shelled pasta and a huge block of velveta :) you just cook the pasta and not to overdone, nice and firm, drain and add small blocks of velveta and a dab of whole milk:)
yummy and creamy and delicious

i gotta go eat now

Misslibra

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 07:03 pm Click here to edit this post
Thanks Angel, and I can just put it in the freezer like that without baking it, and it should be ok? BTW I use velvetta, but I use the kind in the jar.

Max

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 07:40 pm Click here to edit this post
Cutiepie, Cirque du Soleil's "O" show at the Bellagio is WONDERFUL! I saw it sitting in the front row in a "wet" seat (we only got splashed a little) and would love to see it again from higher up -- it would be a whole different and equally wonderful experience. I'm excited about your January 2nd trip, too!!! :)

Oh, this is supposed to be about Thanksgiving, isn't it!

Thanksgiving is different for me every year. It used to be about big dinners and family and all the traditional stuff. When I was married, we juggled families and sometimes declared it "our" holiday and took trips instead. Since I've been on my own, I've sometimes gone to my sister's house and sometimes gone to friends. I've had holidays alone, too, and it really wasn't that bad.

My sister's husband and my dad both passed away in 1993. That, of course, changed holidays for all of us. Earlier this year, my mom relocated from Northern California to Oregon and is now living in an assisted living center about six miles from me. My sister has just finished a year-long battle with breast cancer (she had her last treatment on Friday) and, although she's doing well, isn't up to houseguests or travel. I'm not about to cook for two of us (mom eats like a bird and I'm not eating much lately either), so I'm going to make reservations at a nice restaurant and take her out. It's sort of our weekly routine, anyway. I usually take her to dinner on Sundays.

We had Thanksgiving pot luck at church today. Lots of wonderful things to choose from. Mom finally came to church with me (I've been trying to get her there since August) and actually had a good time.

So, Thanksgiving, much like Christmas, has changed into a time for me to share things with my extended family, try to eat modestly, and reflect on those things that are truly important in my life. In short, it's become much more about connections than confections! :)

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Mahrajah

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 08:35 pm Click here to edit this post
www.savetheturkey.com

Angelnikki

Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 11:02 pm Click here to edit this post
max, thats nice to hear you had a great time at "O". I live here in vegas and have never seen that show. Its just too expensive right now but my sister and her husband caught the show and said it was well worth the money :)

Car54

Monday, November 19, 2001 - 04:21 am Click here to edit this post
Misslibra, my mom was an amazing cook and she made mac&cheese and froze it. It was fine.

Magikearth

Tuesday, November 20, 2001 - 01:28 am Click here to edit this post
I'm going over Mom and Dad's and since I love to cook,these holiday dinners let me go crazy with my new recipes.Call it showing off lol,but I love to impress with new dishes.I might even add one of mine to the TVCH cookbook.That is a cool thread. The day after Thanksgiving,my parents and their friends sing old songs at a nursing home.Dad plays the guitar while the rest of them shake these bells.Not me! No,I play the Tambourine!....
I have an Austrian friend who bakes these delicious Lindsor cookies for the residents..served with cider,tea or cocoa
The evening just becomes a nice feel-good sing-a-long fest:)<I try not to sing to loudly>