testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Nov 26, 2016 11:24:40 GMT -5
Happy two-days-after, all! Our Thanksgiving was a success, both with foods & people. Great fun.
Had a few interesting issues with foods, however. I made my Pumpkin-Pie Ice Cream with Gingersnaps, a recipe that we loved a few years ago when DH & I tweaked it to give it more flavor--and I completely forgot to pull it from the freezer and serve it. Good thing, though, b/c when we had it the next day, we were "meh" on it & actually dumped it out. I don't know if I did something wrong or what; I do know that it was super-thick, almost too thick to churn after being churned for several minutes, and we didn't care for it this time around. Not sure what was up with that.
And I was so grateful for the time and generosity of my guests who brought several luscious-sounding desserts: two chocolate cream pies and a walnut-spice cake. Mmmm; right? Nope--I found out purely by chance in casual conversation before dessert that all those desserts contained Splenda instead of regular sugar. I smiled and nodded pleasantly, "oh, really? They're gorgeous!" but I managed to get the word to DH in time . . . he can't tolerate artificial sweeteners of any kind and would've spent the rest of the evening, let's just say, not a part of the group. Don't you think that when people bring foods with a surprise ingredient that they should publicize it? Desserts typically have sugar, so no one would expect the Splenda. That's like offering a vegetable soup made with chicken broth and not telling your vegetarian friends. DH dodged a bullet on that one and of course the wonderful company is far more important, and we had a great Thanksgiving.
My daughter made simple roll-ups with the leftover turkey yesterday: turkey & bacon & avocado. Mmmm.
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applecrisp1
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Post by applecrisp1 on Nov 26, 2016 16:16:06 GMT -5
KarenW -- Your meal sounds great, so glad it was a huge hit. I love the theme idea -- and Greek/Middle eastern is absolutely one of my all time favorite cuisines and typically includes some of my all time favorite flavors and ingredients. In fact made a chickpea/feta salad for lunch today. After reading you menu, I'm thinking I should make some variation of chicken souvlaki with tzatziki next week since I have most of the ingredients. And, thanks for the info on the potatoes.
And wow that is lots of cooking (I don't think I could manage that in a week or two.
TK45 -- good thing you got the scoop on the desserts beforehand. Nothing beats leftover turkey for sandwiches, and love that rollup combo.
Hope everyone had nice holiday! The food planned sounded so good.
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keba
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Post by keba on Nov 27, 2016 6:41:17 GMT -5
Finally got it right! After many years (at least 25) I found directions on this website for moist white meat turkey and it actually lessened the cooking time. www.theyummylife.com/Best_Roast_TurkeyAll these years I thought I was following packaging directions and cooked the turkey way too long. I used her suggestion for reasonably priced thermometers. I was suspicious that the turkey could be done as directed, but was pleasantly surprised at the reading that showed it was cooked. I also used her directions to close the cavity and tie up the drumsticks to trap moisture and flavor - something that I didn't realize could be important. Another first was ATK Make-ahead gravy that tasted great and saved myself a lot of last minute prep before the meal.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2016 10:41:40 GMT -5
I'm going to try a slow cooker turkey breast recipe I found plus as-yet-unidentified side dishes. It's a challenge to find interesting, tasty sides that can be downsized for two or lend themselves to freezing or leftovers. I'm sort of leaning towards a poached pear/blue cheese salad and something involving Brussels sprouts. Or maybe Brussels sprouts salad and something with butternut squash. I just know we're not going out. We've tried the "out" experience several times, from high-end restaurants to church potlucks and it's not our thing. Luv turkey breast. Usually buy a small Butterball (3-4 lbs) for soup, tetrazzini, etc. It's getting harder to find when I do my online grocery shopping. Can you share the recipe? In years gone by, we've gone out for Chinese or Hometown Buffet. Here's the tetrazzini I had in mind: www.thewickednoodle.com/turkey-tetrazzini/SaveScrapped the netted turkey breast (not juicy or flavorful), and went with turkey tenderloins for Turkey Marsala w/ mushrooms.
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Post by beth on Nov 27, 2016 11:41:10 GMT -5
We ate out Thanksgiving Day -- at the restaurant where DS worked over the summer. It was an incredible meal. We cooked turkey and dressing Friday, along with sweet potatoes and green beans from our farm share. The cranberries were cooked with raspberries this year because DH dropped a container from Costco and he was coming into the house and we had some that needed to be used. I didn't make any desserts -- there were still Toll House cookies in the jar and the boys had ice cream (my oldest doesn't get Blue Bell while at school). It was a great balance of special and traditional while mainly wanting to enjoy some time with my boys. My brother and SIL didn't come into town and my sister decided to cook a turkey in her new house -- her second time to cook a turkey in 54 years.
But I also enjoyed reading through what the rest of you were doing. They all sound great. My youngest left yesterday before noon so he could be back and sing this moring. My oldest leaves for the airport in less than an hour. Sigh. Too short.
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Nov 27, 2016 14:01:05 GMT -5
We ate out Thanksgiving Day If it's only 4 of us again next year, that's my plan!!! Nobody wants to eat leftovers around here anyway.
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Post by mcgee on Nov 27, 2016 14:48:40 GMT -5
I roasted a chicken and it turned out perfect. Since I was still recouping from the flu I wanted to keep prep at a minimum so I purchased mashed potatoes and gravy at a local upscale grocery store. We had a green bean casserole that I threw together and I also bought a couple of pieces of tiramisu. All in all a yummy dinner with little effort. On Friday I made chicken pot pies and they were absolutely delish. We had them last night too. I was going to use Ina's recipe but opted for another and with a few tweaks, DH proclaimed it the best he's ever had.
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Post by wallycat on Nov 27, 2016 19:19:02 GMT -5
I ended up making free range turkey thighs. Made a paste of salt/pepper/garlic/smoked paprika and let them sit overnight. Roasted them on a bed of onions, celery and chunks of sweet potato. Had pan fried mushrooms in a lemony-type sauce, spinach (simply microwaved) and DH "had" to have his canned cranberry sauce (blech). I had caramelized cauliflower for the leftovers the day before I made a pumpkin dump cake (lower carb) with a cream cheese frosting.
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Post by erin elizabeth on Nov 28, 2016 11:30:25 GMT -5
We roasted a turkey breast this year--butter, garlic, and herbs under the skin. Made stuffing in a casserole dish for the first time ever. I was a big fan; my parents, not so much. I love that it gets crispy! Candied yams with sweet potatoes that my dad grew, another first. I made the Faux-tisserie Chicken from Bon Appetit for my Friendsgiving and ran into a bunch of problems (all on me!). The recipe still produced a very juicy, fairly flavorful bird. No one left any on their plate! Our pies on the big day were great, but then we have lots of practice Given the discussion on here about pecan pies, I might consider adding a tbsp of flour to the mix next year just to see what the effect is. Already have this recipe in my back pocket for next year: Popovers with Cranberry Butter. Onto planning my holiday brunch next weekend!
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