For dinner:
- Brined turkey, our first ever – defrosting now; will put it in the brine tonight. Anyone want to recommend a recipe?
- Gravy – We always do this from scratch anyway, but I hear that drippings from brined turkey make the best gravy ever.
- Homemade whole berry cranberry sauce – Our third year to make this. Easy and delicious, made by Megan again this year and already chilling in the fridge. The jellied stuff in the can doesn’t even sound good any more.
- Smoked turkey – not really necessary, but tis the season for special treats.
- Buttery crescent rolls – done, courtesy of Deanna, and waiting for their turn in the oven.
- Dressing – a combination of bread and corn bread, since we can’t seem to decide on a favorite. Megan made the cornbread; I’ll assemble the dressing in the morning with cornbread, dark rye, homemade whole wheat and whatever else comes into my hand.
- Mashed potatoes – maybe with cream cheese and/or sour cream, to make them special.
- Mashed sweet potatoes – just because we love them. Already done and in the fridge because we needed to cook the sweet potatoes for a pie, below.
- Rudy’s style creamed corn – because there’s nothing more special. If you don’t live near a Rudy’s, you probably don’t know what you’re missing. Try it homemade. We’ll be assembling this tomorrow.
- Homemade applesauce – Yesterday we made our first batch of crockpot applesauce. Easy and delicious, with no sugar added. We used a combination of granny smith for tartness and rome beauty for sweetness. Just peel, core and slice, add a bit of water and cook on high til soft enough to mash. We actually made 2 full batches so there’s plenty to go with tomorrow’s dinner.
For dessert, to be shared at my parents’ house:
- 2 apple pies - handcrafted by Lydia, with granny smith apples to make them sweet/tart and flavorful! Done and waiting.
- Sweet potato pie – partly because I forgot to buy pumpkin, but it worked out beautifully because a friend just happened to send me a link to the recipe she was planning to use, and because we were already cooking some for tomorrow’s dinner. Megan made this. Waiting for its turn in the oven.
- Pecan pie - a tradition we would never dare skip, even the year we’re bold enough to forgo the green bean casserole. Made by Lydia. In the oven as I type.
- Layered Turtle Cheesecake – a new one for us. With chocolate, caramel sauce, pecans, and 4 packs of cream cheese, we can hardly go wrong! This one is in the oven right now.
I’m so thankful for all my kitchen helpers! What’s on your menu? How much are you doing ahead?
Related posts:
MMM! I want so rudy’s! That is the one thing I miss the most about living in Texas. What recipe did you use for the applesauce?
Andrea,
I just added directions for applesauce to the post. Mother Hen told us how to do it, and it’s foolproof!
My dad likes his gravy made out of the turkey neck.
Larissa
The mashed sweet potatoes sound wonderful. recipe?
I didn’t know you had Rudy’s down there? I don’t like their bar be que, but the creamed corn can’t be a mistake, eh?
I just read this and thought “that is a huge dinner for a Thursday!”
Then I remembered that it may just be a Thursday here in the UK but over there there is a feast to be had and lots to be thankful for!
Actually I have quite a lot to be thankful for here too!
My Boaz’s Ruth,
We make them just like regular mashed potatoes: peel, cube and boil til soft. Drain and mash, adding plenty of butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper.
Here is our brine recipe…
Brine for Turkey
The basic recipe for a brine for poultry is one cup of salt per gallon of water. We use the brine below for our turkeys and love it.
1 gallon water
1 cup sea salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. sucanat or brown sugar
1 Tbsp. pickling spices
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. tarragon
Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Add the other ingredients and put the turkey in to soak for at least 4 hours or even up to overnight. We use the amounts of ingredients above, but use more water. We make sure the bird is covered in water.
Sounds great! Check out Food Network’s website for Alton Brown’s Thanksgiving turkey recipe… he brined it, and then had us stuff it with herbs, onions, and apples… it was the best turkey any of us had eaten! We’re not doing the turkey this year, but I’m using the recipe at Christmas. I’ll go look for the link for you…
Here it is… 5 stars all the way!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
Crock pot applesauce is on our menu, too, and I think it’ll be a Thanksgiving tradition, yum!
I’ve got a killer brine recipe – it is so easy and so good. It calls for juniper berries, but I’ve had great success without them, too. If you want them, you can find them at “World Market”, if you have one near by.
Google “Chez Panisse Brine” – salt, sugar, cloves, juniper berries, bay leaf, and garlic…and water of course.
Happy Thanksgiving.
What is your recipe for sweet potato pie, they are far cheaper and easier to get than pumpkin here in the UK so I’m tempted to have a go.
Jane,
Thanks for asking. I just added the link to the recipe. Don’t know why I didn’t think to do that at first!
Sounds scrumptious…..wish you lived close by. I’d probably bring our crew and join you.. LOL!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of your brood.
Marie
Hi Kim,
We used a brine for the first time this year, too. I’d never even heard of them before, until the day before Thanksgiving. Ours didn’t brine the full two days, but it sure made a difference in the turkey – much more moist and flavorful. Next time I’ll know better and begin the 2 days early (if I remember, that is).
Out of This World Turkey Brine
(Begin 2 days prior to cooking turkey)
Ingredients
• 2 gallons water
• 1 1/2 cups canning salt
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
Directions
In a large bucket or container large enough to hold your turkey, mix together the water, salt, garlic, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Store in a refrigerator, and soak turkey for 2 days before smoking or roasting.