Thanksgiving Dinner Must Haves

@ELUNO That’s what we have the day AFTER Thanksgiving…

@compunaut lol, yes.
But in all honesty, I just picked up my dinner for tomorrow from the local supermarket. Turkey with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and marshmallow delight! Nothing home made for me. Not quite there yet!

@ELUNO not quite there yet as in you need to learn how to cook it? Or you can’t be bothered because you’re by yourself? Something else?

@RiotDemon Both I guess. My family is coming over, but I can’t be bothered to prepare it by myself… Not quite ready to host from scratch!

@ELUNO one day maybe!

@Barney the boy loves peanut butter and jelly!

@carl669 Aw, I love your boy.

@Barney Poor Barney! Hope it’s by choice and not for any other reason.

@dashcloud I guess I’m going with the pureed turkey for $12.50 at the nursing home. choke choke I can’t believe they are charging the residents’ relatives for this meal.

@Barney I don’t see why they wouldn’t have a non pureed version. Not everyone in a nursing home eats pureed food.

@RiotDemon Mom is now in the hospice unit; everyone is on pureed food or a liquid diet, so no regular food is available that I know of. But that’s okay, I’ll have my peanut butter and jelly waiting for me at home.

@Barney hopefully they will make exceptions for the visitors. I mean, it all comes from the same kitchen.
Oh well. It’s all about who you’re with, right?

@RiotDemon Yep, and that’s why I’m going to savor my pureed turkey.

@Barney Good luck- hopefully it’s a fine visit.

@Barney

Make it PB & cranberry jelly?

@MehnofLaMehncha Um… Nope!

@Barney
I spoze every place is closed so you can’t pickup some kind of lux sandwich.

I hope your thanksgiving is great, even with puréed whatever or PBJ.

@f00l Thank you, I will be fine. I do have some friends who have insisted that I stop by their house, if not for dinner at least for left overs – something about breaking my arm if I don’t.

@Barney
I was also thinking that your time with your Mom might be the opposite of “horrible”.

I’m really glad you two will spend part of today together.

@f00l Yeah, my time with Mom is very precious. Admittedly, there are many days when I drive home in tears…

@G1
/youtube emmymadeinjapan jello

@RiotDemon i think i just threw up in my mouth a little.

@carl669 only a little?

@RiotDemon the hot dogs were the saving grace.

@carl669 try this one.

Lime jello with vinegar and grated onion. The bottom is more jello mixed with mayo and cottage cheese.

@RiotDemon What is wrong with this world?!

@ELUNO who knows. She has some vintage recipes she’s using. Can you believe that someone thought this was good enough to write a recipe? Lol

@RiotDemon Apparently a lot of vintage recipes are of the same caliber!
https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/truly-upsetting-vintage-recipes?utm_term=.dkXWrMx1YE#.wdga915gZy

@ELUNO so much Nope in that article. I love how they pair that lime cheese jello with seafood salad.

I have an old family cookbook that I need to look through again. It’s from my mom’s family from Georgia. I remember being like “Wtf” a lot when looking through it the first time.

@compunaut I have that fryer

@compunaut I love the Big Easy! Makes thanksgiving super easy since I can use the oven for everything else. I love cooking ribs in it too.

I actually bought it for my brother, but then he had to move, so no room to use it. So he’s left it at my house since last thanksgiving. I’ll be sad when I have to give it back, haha.

And I’ll just mention… No waiting for oil to heat up. Don’t have to buy $35-50 worth of oil. No danger of burning myself with hot oil.

I put oil on the outside of my turkey. Skin gets nice and crispy. I inject my turkey with butter and seasonings so it’s super moist on the inside.

I think it’s fairly comparable to a fried turkey. I like it better than roasted turkey. Although, I’ve been spatchcocking my turkeys for a few years. If I had to roast one, I’d do it that way. Comes out much better than the traditional way. I don’t really care what it looks like because I filet the entire breast off the bone and slice it before I serve it.

@RiotDemon Just did a pork roast (maybe it was a half roast?) in the Big Easy last week. Oiled the outside then liberally covered with some spice blend. Delicious! Almost created a ‘bark’ without smoking…

@compunaut sounds delicious!

@RiotDemon
My appetite is now threatening to make me skip the family thing and head toward your place.

And I don’t even know what this is:

spatchcocking

Do I get an invite?

@f00l it’s when you cut the spine out, and break the breast bone so the bird lays mostly flat. Makes it cook much more evenly, and faster!
/youtube how to spatchcock a chicken

Sure, come on by. There’s probably a plane available somewhere.

Fyi, doing that technique to a turkey is a bit harder. I wasn’t able to cut the spine out with scissors. I had to use a knife. But the turkey roasted about twice as fast because you can cook it at a higher temp.

@RiotDemon
One upon a time I wanted to try making everything in The Joy of Cooking and the Julia Child stuff and the Beard stuff and the hippie cookbooks and the Time-Life Foods of the World Series.

Now I’m so lazy I resent having to deal with a microwave. When I deal with food at home it’s usually as simple as possible and vegan. I suppose I have let myself become culturally impoverished.

@f00l haha, reminds me of my mom. She used to cook all the time, especially when we lived in Norway. She made four loaves of bread a week, and then usually a cake. During holidays and bake sales she made even fancier cakes. She doesn’t even hardly keep any food in her house. She eats at work, and usually brings a meal home from work as well. When she lived with me temporarily, I managed to get her to cook with me. But when she’s by herself, she doesn’t bother.

I’ve gotten lazier when it’s just me as well. I don’t have anyone picky to cook for, so I just make simple stuff. I’ll gladly eat just a plate of sauteed vegetables.

@compunaut Another Big Easy fan checking in. I’ll be firing mine up tomorrow with my first attempt at a dry brined turkey.

@dashcloud We like to substitute lingonberry for cranberry - it’s a Norwegian thing

@compunaut
perks ears
I’m half Norwegian. Born there. Been here since I was ~7 though.

I don’t normally eat lingonberry… But now suddenly I want some!

@RiotDemon Norwegian eh, ever eat lefsa? It’s more a Christmas thing for us, but we make it every year. Mom is Norwegian and Swedish, and I have to say, the Scandinavian cuisine leaves a bit to be desired. The lefsa is okay though.

@pitamuffin yeah. I really miss lefse. The last time I had it was 2005 at Epcot, lol
I need to buy the special rolling pin and try to make it myself. I only really liked the cinnamon sugar kind. Not really into the savory one.

Since my mom was American, we didn’t eat too much of the hardcore stuff. My dad loved to eat stuff like pickled herring, which just wasn’t for me. He would dry his own fish. I only remember cuz I would poke at the fish eyeballs after they were partially dried. So weird.

We actually lived on an island in the North Sea, so tons of fresh fish. We also had crab traps and would catch a crab similar to a stone crab. Break off one claw, and throw it back. Those were my favorite.

Other parts of Norway ate weird stuff that even my dad wasn’t into. Lutefisk (fish cured with lye) wasn’t ever on my plate. I’m curious to try it, just to say I have, however.

@pitamuffin my favorite Christmas cookie is the peppernøtter. Spicy cookie. I wish I had the Norwegian cook book. My brother has it somewhere because I couldn’t read it. Now with Google translate, I’m sure I’d be ok.

@RiotDemon That must be the same thing as the Mennonite’s Peppernuts? Yum, delicious.

@RiotDemon @pitamuffin Dad’s American, born in Chicago to 2 Norwegian immigrants. He makes thin ‘Norwegian’ pancakes, but they’re more like crepes than lefsa (no potatoes). I have Grandma’s vintage (1950’s) Sunbeam lefsa pan; still use it regularly for pancakes, grilled sandwiches, etc. I think Target has an electric lefsa griddle on their website.

Grandpa really liked the pickled herring, lutefisk, and some other dried/smoked fish, but nobody else in the family did. Instead of going out with his buddies drinking beer, they went to the Leif Erikson Lodge to eat Norwegian food (actually, they probably did both).

We buy lingonberry (and other Scandinavian food) at IKEA; they even have lingonberry ‘juice’ available in the cafe.

@Barney probably. Apparently it started in Germany and branched out from there. I bought some pfeffernuse from aldi that were made in Germany, and they tasted like straight up licorice. I wanted to gag. To me I remember them tasting kinda like spicy ginger cookies. Lots of white pepper and cardamom in the ones my dad used to make.

@compunaut there’s a Norwegian lodge close to me. I’ve never been. I feel kinda weird to go by myself. I know they have functions for non members to go and eat, and I might try that.

A few of the things at Ikea were similar to some Norwegian stuff we ate. It’s too far for me to go there on a regular basis, so I’ve only been there once.

There used to be a Scandinavian importer that we would always get our Christmas dinner food from. I heard he got sick (he was pretty old) and I guess no one in his family wanted to take over the business. It stunk because you could actually walk in there and shop around like a little convenience store. I know there’s websites, but shipping is so expensive. The food is already expensive as it is. I don’t know anywhere else to get salted sheep ribs or a cured sheep leg from, lol.

@RiotDemon The Mennonite recipes usually have varying amounts of anise. I do like some, but not a lot. I attended a Mennonite Brethren church, in my younger days, so these cookies bring back a lot of good memories.

@RiotDemon Perhaps a visit to Norway, Illinois is in order

@Barney
Are you near Mennonite communities? Do you know much of them?

One of my best friends started conservative Baptist and wandered that way. He’s now fully Mennonite. It took him years to get there. So far, from my tiny outsider knowledge, I’m impressed by the way those communities operate - tho I could never live with the restrictions and I simply don’t possess or desire that sort of faith. The gender role differentiation seems to vary a lot according to the congregation.

My friend’s wife was born into the Mennonites. She also works as a high-position nurse at a local hospital - one that serves a local state prison. She has no problem taking authority or dealing with the various games some of the prisoners try to play as patients; and handling endless stress at work doesn’t seem to burn her out on compassion.

At home she wears that trad handmade outfits and is soft-spoken. Her husband - my long time friend - does everything she suggests.

We have a lot of Mennonites in Kansas and a few Amish communities. Kansas hard winter wheat was brought here by German Mennonites from Russia.

We have a couple of colleges that are Mennonite, Bethel College and Hesston College (a two year college).

In my town, we have several Mennonite churches. I have volunteered with one group, who has set up a community outreach program and health care for one of our poorer areas.

If you are ever near Yoder, KS, (Amish) stop by their Carriage Crossing Restaurant. Best cinnamon rolls in the world, not to mention how good the rest of their food is. Yum!

Edit: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kansas/these-5-must-visit-places-in-kansas-amish-country-will-give-you-a-new-appreciation/

@Barney I wish I could send you some of my dinner.

@RiotDemon Aww…

@Barney Geez not only is that stuff icky, usually they seem to bend over backward to make it taste like paper. `Luckily I get to check my wife out for the day tomorrow.

@cranky1950 I hope you two have a good day.

marshmallow yams for life.

except I also enjoy meat.

@thismyusername ??

@RiotDemon you must have a family that doesn’t talk politics during thanksgiving?

@thismyusername ahh. Yeah, we try to avoid that.
This year it’s only the three of us plus one guest.

@pooflady never heard of French silk pie. Had to look that up. Sounds good! Especially the apple.

@RiotDemon My only problem was that because there’s eight women of childbearing age, I had to find a French silk recipe without eggs.

@pooflady I’m making tofu chocolate mousse for my contribution to a potluck. I cheat and top it with squirted cream, and so far (3 times), it’s gone undetected until somebody asks for the recipe. Heavy on the bittersweet chocolate, sugar and quality cocoa powder- but it’s healthy because tofu.

@OldCatLady That sounds interesting. Does the tofu negate the chocolate and sugar? I’ve never made anything with tofu.

@pooflady

there’s eight women of childbearing age, I had to find a French silk recipe without eggs.

Huh? So females from age 13-ish to 45-ish can’t have eggs?

@G1 Pregnant women aren’t supposed to have raw eggs, which are in most of the French silk recipes.

@pooflady Yes, and tofu is pretty much failsafe, as long as you use silken and drain it. I melt the chocolate chips & cream in a Pyrex measuring cup until just before they melt, then stir in a couple tablespoons of brandy. I use basically this recipe, but 1/3 cup of cream instead of milk. Shave some chocolate or dust some cocoa over the top of the whipped cream when you serve it. Healthy. Yup.
http://www.marthastewart.com/314844/tofu-chocolate-mousse

@f00l mine will be 4-5. I actually really like the small gatherings. I always felt awkward at my ex’s family gatherings. They usually put me to work in the kitchen… But when that was done, it was just weird. I guess I’m too much of an introvert.
Their gatherings were probably around 35-40. Maybe even more.

@f00l Mom’s from a close-knit family of 7 kids, so back in the day (70s-early 80s) the Thanksgiving & Christmas Eve get-togethers ranged from 30-50 people. Now there’s only 3 of the siblings left and subsequent generations (like me) are spread all over the country, often hundreds of miles away.

There’s just the 4 of us (spouse & kids), but after trying grocery-prepared dinners & Furr’s & (shudder) Golden Corral, we’re making a real scratch-made T-day dinner this year.

@compunaut I went to golden corral one year when thanksgiving plans fell through.
It was one of the most depressing thanksgivings in my life.

My mom kept asking this year if she should buy prepared stuff. Me and my brother kept telling her, hell no. It’s just not the same. I’d rather cook everything by myself than eat store bought stuff.

@RiotDemon
@compunaut
My family members tend to be quite independent - live and let live. We can skip dealing with each other for months or more, and once we connect no time has passed. Fortunately, tho we have a few incompetents and black sheep (ahem, might be me, cough); but no bitterness or imposed emotional distances.

So holidays and weddings are nice because we actually talk and catch up. My step-mom’s family is the biggest - her local kids and grandkids and connections are close to a 30 count.

When someone is active military, they often bring a few stray far-from-home soldiers with them for holidays.

Is this next commonplace?:
that tho I only see some cousins and other family every few years, and we did not even live in the same cities growing up, we know each other in some fundamental way better than our best friends know us?

How does that shared history, or a kind of family “signature” become so powerful: that if I meet some kind of young-adult distant relative for the first time, we “know each other” immediately? It’s not some kinda “identity” like you might have from a “name” family like the local “power families” - it’s a intuitive recognition that we know. And this seems irrational - but one of my brothers and one cousin have also spoken of this knowing. They also find it eerie.

(FWIW, most of my relatives are not nuts. That is not part of my “family signature”. It’s a personal - um - “achievement”.)

@RiotDemon
Your recipe is exact and perfect.

I ate them all. Next year pls bring more.

@RiotDemon Same as my recipe except I prefer Miracle Whip. Unfortunately, they changed Miracle Whip’s recipe and now it gets runny in less than a day.

@f00l I have to be careful with them. I would eat so many that my stomach would hurt!

@RiotDemon - I have to tell the story of the potluck at work where a clueless coworker brought deviled eggs. I bit into one thinking those lumps were olives - nope, they were chocolate chips!
When asked, she just said she had them and thought they would be good in the eggs.
Seriously had me rethinking my decision to relocate to Washington from California.

@KDemo

Just because something may sound like a good idea, it doesn’t mean it is.

Sure, food creativity may be hindered, but at least one won’t have to worry about (possibly) horrible food combos.

@KDemo just wut.
I’m sorry. I can’t imagine who in their right mind would think chocolate chips would taste good in boiled eggs.
I should of avoided this thread right after dinner, lol

@RiotDemon I make them with mayo, avocado and green chile and they disappear very fast.

@f00l

I recently picked up a decent amount of wine.

I’ll have a fun time… Eventually…