Thanksgiving 2016 - Menu/Recipes (2,396 views)

Not doing a traditional Thanksgiving at our house so doubt anyone wants my recipes! We often times do a special meal centered around a theme since so many members of my family do not like turkey (DH, Me, FIL, etc...). FIL and myself also do not care for pumpkin. Frankly, I never liked Thanksgiving growing up (mom did traditional stuff) cause I also hated cranberries, mashed potatoes (I only like them baked/roasted) and stuffing. I know.....I am difficult!!! But at least my DH and kids agree with me on this and really enjoy our themed meals. When my kids were young, they often picked the theme. Often times it was an ethnic meal. Last year we did do a more traditional meal but no turkey. We did a different main course with traditional sides. This year we are going back to a theme.....Greek/middle eastern. Regardless of the Thanksgiving meal, I usually do make some traditional sides for the rest of my family at some point during the holidays because even though they are not my cup of tea, DH/the kids so like them esp. stuffing. Anyway, so far I am doing: Chicken Souvlaki kebabs; mujaddarra; vegetarian stuffed butternut squash kibbeh; tzatziki; hummus; homemade pita bread (that is already done/frozen and turned out great); Spinach pie; maybe the falafel salad posted on CL B.B. or some other salad/veggie; baklava; and a sweet potato pie. The pie may not be in theme but DS#1 requested it so I am making it! That's it so far, but subject to change between now and Thanksgiving!!

Karen

KarenW, your thanksgiving sounds fantastic! I'm super jealous!

KarenW, people are usually most thankful for family, so I think your nontraditional Thanksgiving, planned each year with your family, sounds great!

We have just had a first-floor house flood but are postponing the floor replacement until January so that we can have a Christmas season. (Hardwoods are severely compromised & must be ripped up, but they look OK for now.) So who knows how "perfect" our decor & home will be for T'g, right? But we are having a joint T'g with my son's new fiancee's family (yay! he's just engaged! and we love her! and the families get along! and I've been Googling for "mother of the groom" dresses! and I'm shopping at Williams-Sonoma for the happy couple! . . . sorry; back to point . . .). Anyway, it'll be our family, plus Fiancee, plus her extended family for a total of 17 people (well, including a baby; I don't expect him to bring much). I'm thinking about using Signup Genius to coordinate who brings what, but Fiancee will let me know if that's a good idea vs. "reply all" e-mails; I will make some things & delegate the rest (& just don't want to end up with six green-bean casseroles; hence the coordination).

I will make the turkey, gravy, and dressing for sure. Buying pumpkin pie from a local bakery that's such a hot ticket you have to order your pie now. I will probably make my usual Glazed Sweet Potatoes b/c they're done ahead & baked that day (I also make my turkey the day before, refrigerating it in tons of homemade turkey stock so all I have to do is heat it & arrange it on a heated platter; all the messy carving & such are done & cleaned up from the day before). Gravy & dressing are do-ahead also. Gotta delegate the rest, but it's tempting to think "oh, just one more thing; these recipes aren't so difficult" and then get in over my head . . . Pumpkin Pie and Gingersnap Ice Cream; cranberry relish; various non-starchy sides; lots of stuff I've made before but given all that's going on, I'd better not overdo it now. Future fellow mother-in-law has offered to come over on Wednesday b4 T'g to help do tables & settings & decorate and/or cook, but all details are up in the air.

Thanks Sally and testkitchen! I agree, Thanksgiving is all about family getting together whether there is a turkey or not. And congratulations on your son testkitchen. That is so exciting!!! Enjoy your holidays!

Karen

My mom was at a party once (not T'g), & an outspoken acquaintance told my beautiful mom, "Have you put on a little weight?" Or actual quotes from someone at a few of my prior Thanksgivings when I hosted: "Soup? Are you kidding me? Soup? This isn't turkey. Where's the turkey? I'm hungry. Soup???" and "Oh, those side dishes--I don't go for all that sweet stuff" (referring to my cranberry relish and sweet potatoes, and spoken about an hour before going for all that sweet stuff in the form of every dessert I'd made). Not so funny then, but gotta laugh about these now!

I'm excited that we seem to get along well with our future daughter-in-law's family, & that this year's T'g will be a real "getting to know you" session.

I haven't thought about it yet, but the past few years I've made a boneless Turducken that I get from The Fresh Market, and it's what the guys have asked for. Easy to make and no mess or carcass to deal with. It's ususally just the four of us but this year we might have DH's cousins and family, which would make it 8. A local butcher has fresh turkey so I am thinking of ordering one this year instead. But he also offers smoked turkey, which I really am considering. I've never had it (if Boar's Head deli smoked turkey doesn't count). I'll decide by the end of the week. For those who have had smoked turkey, do you like it?

We don't do some of the traditional sides that some people do with just the four of us. Usually mashed potatoes, a salad, stuffing (not in bird), and whatever dessert the boys ask for. We don't pig out because it's Tgiving. I've been wanting to get a cake from an Indy bakery that has been voted Top 5 in the US, and has been on Food TV, The Cake Bake Shop. If we have guests, I just might order a cake or pie instead of baking.

Cafelatte, I like smoked turkey but always have trouble finding a recipe that can use the leftovers. For me, plain turkey is easier.

OK; I would love input because although I have often hosted Thanksgiving, it has been many years since I've hosted a large potluck. Between our family and our future daughter-in-law's relatives, we will have 16 adults (a few are older teens, actually), so I was thinking of the following menu & doing it through Signup Genius. So much easier than "reply all" e-mails! I was thinking of asking each little family subgroup to sign up for "at least two" things each, b/c three seemed like too much even though I am doing tons more as the hostess; I know the math doesn't work out but I'm not sure what I'd cut back on. Please comment if you think this is OK, too much, whatever! I've put the signups in bold/green. (All of my items, even the turkey, are do-ahead; I've got that down pat.) Thanks!

Light appetizer/snack
Relish tray: pickles, green & black olives
Wine (2? 3?)
Unsweetened tea; sweetened tea; whatever other drinks sound good

Turkey--me
Gravy--me
Herb-cornbread dressing--me
Sweet potatoes (Southern Living sliced/glazed recipe)--me
Mashed potatoes
Brussels sprouts (probably Ina's with prosciutto)--me
Other non-starchy sides (2)
Cranberry relish or sauce
Rolls

Pumpkin pie--me (purchased from a top-notch local bakery)
Pumpkin-Pie Gingersnap Cookies and Cream Ice Cream--me, if I get inspired; this recipe is great but optional this year
Desserts (2)
Whatever else you want to bring, where it's just not Thanksgiving for you without it!

Heh, heh. Can I say the thing about great minds?
My husband and son also hate turkey. My sister and I always liked it. Since it had become too difficult to have her come to us (she was an invalid) for the past few years, I'd been cooking a simplified traditional Thanksgiving meal and bringing it to her. Since she passed away a couple of months ago, my attention now turns to my mom's likes and dislikes and since she keeps waxing enthusiastic about my spanakopita, tzatziki and such, looks like we're going Greek as well. Main course is still undecided (leg of lamb is always a fine possibility). Aforementioned spanakopita and tzatziki will certainly be present, likely with a Greek salad and either lemon potatoes or a rice dish. Since meal with be transported, I don't want to get too crazy with many courses, and have yet to decide whether to go with a Greek themed dessert as well, possibly karithopita (though I bet my mom would like a rice pudding.)

Might I persuade you to share your pita recipe? If I have time, I'd love to try my hand at making it again and wasn't at all pleased with the last recipe I used.

Erin Elizabeth, this is so funny! I was going to post and say that I will be making BA's Maple-Pecan Pie! Like you, we always travel for the holiday, so I've never been able to host it.  My in-laws live several hundred miles away, so it doesn't lend itself to making much food ahead of time to bring down.  Besides the pie, I'll make CL's classic cranberry sauce and probably some pumpkin bread.

Since DD will be working and won't be able to join us for the holiday, she suggested we have our own Thanksgiving dinner after the fact, which would be fun.  She eats vegan and gluten-free, which presents some challenges, but it's not as difficult as one might think.  Any menu ideas would be appreciated!

Testkitchen, I don't think your list is overly long, plus it includes some items like wine and olives that don't necessarily require much work, for those who aren't into cooking. I would never consider being a guest at someone else's house at Thanksgiving without bringing something.  

Thanks for your feedback. I"m still undecided, but the butcher accepts orders by the end of next week, so I still have some time to decide. I hate all the TG prep involved if it's just the 4 of us, only for the guys to leave the table quickly to watch football.

testkitchen, no changes made to the recipe. I've searched online before and never been able to find it though. I have an actual cutout from the magazine, so I know it was from there! Of course I could have the date wrong. Just now I discovered that I wrote 11/03 on the recipe (in my recipe box) and I have 11/00 below (from my online file). Even searching through all the various BA pecan pies and the recipe indexes from 11/03 and 11/00, I've never spotted it again.

Yup; as soon as I can figure out how to copy it here from MasterCook instead of retyping it. Watch this space . . .