So what is everyone doing for Thanksgiving?

[geldonyetich2]

"When I was a kid, we couldn't afford the store-bought stuffing..."

[Nebu]

I've asked what to bring, as in pie, cupcakes, or the popular favorite LIQUOR, (What kinda wine goes good with turkey?)  but his wife doesn't know what she needs yet.

From cellarnotes.net

-- If you normally prefer red wines, consider a Pinot Noir to go with your Turkey. It will have a bit fuller flavor than white wine choices you might make but will match quite well with the meal. Pinot Noir has very little tannin so it will not overwhelm the taste of the meal. There are many good brands of Pinot Noir from California, Burgundy (France) and also some from Oregon. Find a known name brand in your price range and enjoy the meal. Serve Pinot Noir very lightly chilled (what could be called 'cellar temperature). Putting the Pinot Noir in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before serving it will bring out the fruit and will take away the 'bite' that alcohol can give when served at room temperature. A couple of good brands are Sterling Vineyards Winery Lake Pinot Noir in the $20 price range and Camelot Pinot Noir in the $10 price range. I personally avoid the Pinot Noirs from Beaulieu Vineyards.

-- If you normally prefer dry white wines, then Chardonnay would be the natural choice for a match with Turkey. If you like dry white wines, then do not try to overcomplicate this. Just select a nice Chardonnay in your price range and enjoy. There are too many good ones to make suggestions. It is hard to go wrong in your selection.

-- If you usually like wine with a little sweetness, such as White Zinfandel or many of the German wines, I would suggest that you try a Vouvray. This is a widely available and reasonably priced wine from the Loire River region in France. Do not let the fact that this is a French wine intimidate you. Just understand that a Vouvray will have a nice fruit taste with just a whisper of sweetness. Expect it to cost less than $10 per bottle.

There are, of course, many other wine choices you can make that will go with Turkey and the traditional meal. This is just designed to take the guesswork and simplify things for you. Dry white wine options could include a nice Pinot Gris (Trimbach is probably the best at about $16 or $17), a White Burgundy from France (they are made with Chardonnay) or a Viognier.

Hope that helps.

[Jimbo]

I will be working...

Which sucks, since the families that don't go and see Aunt Mae in the nursing home, will go and visit her, and then say, "damn she doesn't look good, lets take her to the Emergency Department."  Then you have to explain that whatever she has isn't new...

Or the amount of chest pain patients we will get, especially if they eat too much, drink too much, yell at each other too much, and their football team looses, then we get them in...

But I'm sure some drunk guy will light his bed on fire, some crazy lady who is naked in a tree playing her violin will start singing opera again, and the rampant
MRSA bunny is on the loose causing skin infections, so it should be great night.  Oh, that and I'm cooking turkey, gravy, and greenbeans, since we're doing a pitch in...so that guarantees a night of wild ones.

[Moaner]

MRSA bunny and the C. diff fairy!  If more nurses would wash their fucking hands my lazy ass wouldn't have to gown and glove so much.  God damn stupid people piss me off.

I'm working too, night shift even.  My family will be doing the Thanksgiving thing while I try to get a few hours of sleep.  I think we are doing a pot luck at work too but I'll probably just hide in a breakroom and try to forget about my coworkers.

[Signe]

I like Jimbo.  He's a sweetie.  However, I have to try and remember never to ask him how his holidays were. 

[Jimbo]

MRSA bunny and the C. diff fairy!  If more nurses would wash their fucking hands my lazy ass wouldn't have to gown and glove so much.  God damn stupid people piss me off. 

I would defend nurses...but I have to work with them, and I hate when the nursing home tries to call report to us in the ER.  The things they tell me make me wonder if those RN's really went to school and took the same test I took...  It's like anything, some thrive and others are stagnant.

Okay back on topic...
Anyone done the deep fried turkey?  I have the whole day to prep...but it seems like a lot of work, I could just grill a turkey and bring it into work, or I may just roast one in the oven.  That and I'm gonna teach one of the guys @ work how to cook mash potato's (and not from a box either!).

[Falwell]

Stuffing my face and ushering out the family (my year to host) ASAP to get back at UT3.

[Phildo]

I'm mooching off Schild for the better part of a week.  Gonna make him cook me dinner.

[Fabricated]

Whole family gettogether, I'll probably float around, make idle conversation, and likely have to spend 90% of the time listening to one of my younger cousins lament about his shitty life since I HAD to be that guy who listened to him instead of everyone else.

[schild]

I think you should spend your time telling your cousins to buy some helmets.

[Phildo]

Are you mad because you had to deal with my crazy uncle, or because you had to sit next to my know-it-all cousin?

[Fabricated]

I think you should spend your time telling your cousins to buy some helmets.

To be fair, his dad is an alcoholic and an asshole, and his mom is a basket case who falls apart under the slightest pressure. That + living in Bumblefuck, IN + working at McDonalds since no-one else is hiring there + driving an hour back/forth to college = miserable kid.

Welcome to my family!

[Murgos]

I took the week off and flew down to Tampa to spend the week with family and friends.  1 day with my family and I am ready to head out again.

[cmlancas]

What part of Tampa? I'm near USF -- you should stop by for a beer or somesuch.

[schild]

Are you mad because you had to deal with my crazy uncle, or because you had to sit next to my know-it-all cousin?

I wonder if they'll have helmets this year.

[CmdrSlack]

LIQUOR, (What kinda wine goes good with turkey?)

The quoted bits from the wine site posted above are pretty good. I'm not so sure about chardonnay with turkey. I'd suggest a Gewurtztraminer -- perferrably one that is more dry than sweet. Pinot Noirs are good and all, but they're way over-hyped since that Sideways movie came out. Heck, I know of a few S. Australian Shiraz vintages that would be better with turkey than P Noir. d'Arenberg and Penfolds make some excellent Shiraz and Shiraz blends (Cab-Shiraz, Shiraz-Cab, etc.) that would go really well with turkey. What you want is a Shiraz that is jucier rather than jammier and you'll be fine. If you can find it, the 2005 Stump Jump Shiraz is probably a great bet -- lots of red fruits and juicyness, not too much tannin or other annoyances. Don't let the screwtop fool you either -- screwtops are no longer the domain of Night Train and MD20/20

[UD_Delt]

LIQUOR, (What kinda wine goes good with turkey?)

The quoted bits from the wine site posted above are pretty good. I'm not so sure about chardonnay with turkey. I'd suggest a Gewurtztraminer -- perferrably one that is more dry than sweet. Pinot Noirs are good and all, but they're way over-hyped since that Sideways movie came out. Heck, I know of a few S. Australian Shiraz vintages that would be better with turkey than P Noir. d'Arenberg and Penfolds make some excellent Shiraz and Shiraz blends (Cab-Shiraz, Shiraz-Cab, etc.) that would go really well with turkey. What you want is a Shiraz that is jucier rather than jammier and you'll be fine. If you can find it, the 2005 Stump Jump Shiraz is probably a great bet -- lots of red fruits and juicyness, not too much tannin or other annoyances. Don't let the screwtop fool you either -- screwtops are no longer the domain of Night Train and MD20/20

He asked about liquor you wine drinking pansies.

It's all right there in the name and everything...

[HAMMER FRENZY]

I will be at home with my family eating and watching movies. I think one of my good buddies will be there this year, so lots of post dinner Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, King of Fighters and Guilty Gear. 

[Paelos]

If you've never fried a turkey before, I don't recommend it unless you have a full outdoor area with little grass and/or close buildings. Never fry a turkey indoors, never fry it on a wooden deck, and never fry it near dry leaves or grass. This is how you burn you house down, and it's bad. Also, never fill up a pot to more than 2/3 of the level. This is why you check with water first so that you know if you have a big enough pot to do this. If you don't you get overflow and set the damn thing on fire.

Things you will need:

1: A Turkey - nothing over 14-16 pounds. This isn't a good method for gigantic birds.
2: A large 10-15 gallon pot for the oil and bird.
3: An outdoor single stand burner with propane tank connected.
4: A deep frying thermometer clipped to the side of the pot, and a meat thermometer to check the bird after you take it out.
5: Five GALLONS of peanut oil. Don't screw around here. Peanut oil is the best.
6: A marinade and a marinade injector. This is key if you want a turkey that's moist and tastes great. Pick the recipe you like best.
7: A turkey frying kit of apparatus that includes a hook so you can lower your bird in and out of the oil without hurting yourself.

How to do it:

Step 1 - Put the turket in the pot and measure out water until it covers two inches above the bird. This will tell you exactly how much oil you need.
Step 2 - Inject your marinade into your bird. Do this before you heat the oil as it needs 30 minutes to set in. Inject both breasts, legs and thighs.
Step 3 - Heat the oil to around 325 on your frying thermometer. Don't go above 340 here.
Step 4 - Lower turket into pot. Cook for 3 minutes a pound.
Step 5 - Check the turkey with a meat thermometer to read 170 on the breasts and 180 on the thighs.
Step 6 - Rest the turkey for at least 10 minutes under covered tin foil and on paper towels to collect excess oil and let juices redistribute.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot one thing. Bring a fire extinguisher. This is oil people, having a hose nearby won't do shit.

[Jimbo]

Thanks Paelos, your comments and watching "Good Eats" on how to deep fry a turkey, makes me want to try it...but lack of time will be a big factor.  I will just brine a bird and roast it, since I'll be cooking the other items too.

[WayAbvPar]

I wish I had the time/energy to deep fry a turkey. It is goddamned TASTY.

[Paelos]

Honestly guys, frying a turkey doesn't take that long. Start to finish it's maybe 2 hours if you have the turkey defrosted already. The only difficult part is doing it safely and making sure you inject the turkey adequately across all the meat sections. There's nothing worse than having one leg taste like lemon pepper and the other leg taste bland as hell. A little loving care with the prep takes care of that.

[Sky]

http://www.ul.com/consumers/turkeys.html

If you are considering deep-frying it, watch the movie. Sure, it's a great way to eat turkey, moist and flavorful. It's also extremely dangerous and no fryer model has yet to be deemed safe by anyone. It's also pretty fast compared to roasting one correctly.

[UD_Delt]

http://www.ul.com/consumers/turkeys.html

If you are considering deep-frying it, watch the movie. Sure, it's a great way to eat turkey, moist and flavorful. It's also extremely dangerous and no fryer model has yet to be deemed safe by anyone. It's also pretty fast compared to roasting one correctly.

The Turkey Fryer is one of the greatest inventions ever to speed along the process of natural selection. If you are not a complete fucktard you will realize that

open propane flame + vat of boiling oil = danger

and you will take the information and read the proper methods (like Paelos posted) and take the proper precautions.

I've been part of probably 12-15 turkey roastings and all of them have gone fine even the drunken ones because we've always chosen a designated fryer who was responsible for getting everything done safely before drinking (heavily).

[schild]

I've had fried turkey once. Once day I'll make my own.

[Yegolev]

I got the phone call.  I'm still on the hook for making my squash casserole.  Hopefully there will be decent squash at the store on the way home.

It's terrible how much time I am going to be wasting on family instead of making progress in a game.

[CmdrSlack]

He asked about liquor you wine drinking pansies.

Reading is hard, eh?  Read the parenthetical AFTER liquor. Here, I'll re-quote it for you.

LIQUOR, (What kinda wine goes good with turkey?)

[Sky]

I read that as asking for liquor suggestions because no wine would go good with turkey.

[CmdrSlack]

I get the question every day at my beer/wine purchaser job, so I can assure you, there are wines that go with turkey. I'd still suggest some Belgian beers that go much better, but that's a whole "educate the public" thing and many members of the public don't want to be educated. Quite honestly, wine sucks ass is a bit limited for food pairings -- beer is much more versatile and I can come up with a kickass beer pairing for any food.

[MrHat]

Suggest some beer then for turkey day to go w/ turkey.

I'm going over to some people that are beer snobs and have started brewing their own, and I want to bring beer since everyone else already called dibs on food (easy!) or wine (I have left over from my trip to PST).  What should I get and why?

[Paelos]

Any wine goes with turkey because it's usually a heavy meal served with heavy sides. If you like to eat a lot and like reds, a good Napa Cabernet is usually what I like. If you like to graze all day and like whites, typically a Sauvignon Blanc well chilled works best. If you have no idea and/or a lot of women around, then I suggest a Zinfindel to cover all the bases. I personally hate Zin though.

[Yegolev]

I have recently become a fan of Blackstone merlot.

[CmdrSlack]

Any wine goes with turkey because it's usually a heavy meal served with heavy sides. If you like to eat a lot and like reds, a good Napa Cabernet is usually what I like. If you like to graze all day and like whites, typically a Sauvignon Blanc well chilled works best. If you have no idea and/or a lot of women around, then I suggest a Zinfindel to cover all the bases. I personally hate Zin though.

I hated Zins until I tried some of the old vine Zins from the U.S. There's one in particular called Klinker Brick that is a really big Zin -- it even needs a few minutes to breathe in the glass so you can smell something besides ZOMG alcohol. Lots of red fruits and spice after you get past that threshhold. I also had one called Inzinerator the other day that was pretty nice, but not as big as the Old Vine Lodi Zins.

Suggest some beer then for turkey day to go w/ turkey.

I'm going over to some people that are beer snobs and have started brewing their own, and I want to bring beer since everyone else already called dibs on food (easy!) or wine (I have left over from my trip to PST).  What should I get and why?

I would go Belgian, with a few optional American micros and other craft brews/quality imports thrown in as optional grabs.

I've been a big fan of Belgian Saison (farmhouse) ales lately...I even have a Saison-style ale bubbling away in a fermenter right now. The Saison ales are well-designed to stand up to hearty/heavy dishes like soups and stews -- you get lots of bready aromas, with orange peel and coriander flavors backed up by a nice balance of sweetness and acidity with a dry finish. It will cut across the weight of a heavy meal nicely. The nice thing about Belgian and Belgian-style beers is that they come in 750ml bottles with cages and corks, so you can make a nice show out of 'em. I recommend Saison DuPont Vielle Provision, or if you'd like a lower price point so you can bring more beer, I'd go with Ommegang's Hennepin. Quite honestly, I think Saisons are the best beer out there. Try one with Thai food or Mexican food sometime. You won't regret it.

I would serve that as a lead-in to the "main course" beer, even if you're not doing any kind of defined courses, it should go first simply because the rest of my suggestions will overpower it.

You could also go with a Belgian "pale ale," which would bring out the slight nutty flavor of turkey and also have a nice interplay between the herbal and spice qualities in the beer and in the stuffing. I'd suggest Ommegan's Rare Vos (sweet orange, anise, biscuit, carmael and hops in the nose, nice spice in the mouth and just the right bit of acidity) or even the ubiquitious Fat Tire (soft and biscuity, with some nice fruityness and a dry finish).

Another good beer pick would be a Belgian abbey ale -- perhaps a Dubbel or a darker Tripel (not a blonde tripel). The maltyness and sweetness will be a nice contrast to the earthier flavors of a typical Thanksgiving meal, and will nicely complement even things like sweet potato. My go-to abbey ales are the Maredsous Dubbel and Tripel. The Dubbel clocks in at 8% and the Tripel at 10% abv, so it's a nice one as far as bang for the buck goes. They're big and chewy, with lots of caramel and malt.

Those are my suggestions for the main meal, but here's a few others that are just plain fun....

If you can still find it (we've been unable to get it in the Chicago area for months), grab a few 22oz bottles of Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Pumpkin ale. This stuff tastes like drinking a slice of pumpkin pie, even down to the pie crust finish. At 9% abv, it's also a nice one for warming you up.  If you can't get that, then I'd try the Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale which is a close second for pumpkiny goodness. I normally hate pumpkin beers, but these two are well worth it.

If you're looking for a desert drink, I'd go with Ommegang's Three Philosophers (or Chocolate Indulgence if you can find it). They're both dark, medium bodied beers with a good head and some great flavor. Three Phils has some cherry lambic added so it has a bit of a chocolate covered cherry smell and finish, with a malty sweet and delicious body in the middle. Chocolate Indulgence is made with Belgian chocolate and is described as a stout, although I'd call it a full-bodied porter more than anything else.

You could also go the Lindeman's lambic route, although they're not my all-time favorites as far as beer is concerned. I'd use the Pomme (apple) one as it is the most tart and least syrupy.

Another nice one to bring would be Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome which is really good this year. It has a nice copper color and some great maltyness to it, with just a touch of the winter spices (ginger, cinnamon, etc.) to give it a bit of seasonal flavor. I don't want to load you up on too many winter beers because those are better with Christmas dinner type things, but Winter Welcome is good and should be consumed frequently.

So yeah, that's my off the cuff suggestions, you can send me a PM if you want more advice.

One last idea -- find a Flemish sour ale simply to try it -- Duchesse de Bourgerone or Rodenbach Grand Cru are two good ones as is Kriek De Ranke (a sour ale with cherry lambic blended in). They start out sour and end sweet -- it's kind of like drinking a Warhead candy.

[Sky]

I'd still suggest some Belgian beers that go much better, but that's a whole "educate the public" thing and many members of the public don't want to be educated.

Yes, yes, yes. I was just discussing with a few people at my table at the Setzer show how great it is to live in this beer renaissance in America, finally having lots of options to the crap domestics we had. It helps that our local brewery got in on it early and has some very good mature lines that hold up to the best I've had (though I'm admittedly no beer snob or expert in the slightest). Since many of the local bars carry some of their line, I have a fairly good chance at finding one of my favorites instead of having to endure Bud or Miller or whatever.

Slack sez stuff about Belgians...I just had my first Ommegang this year. OMG (heh). Amazing amazing stuff. Took a chance at one of those big beer warehouse type stores, this one was in VT iirc. I've still got the bottle (I save one empty of everything I try), can't remember what it is though.

I used to hate Pales, especially IPAs. I'm getting more accustomed to the sharp hoppy bite, though. Have to be in the mood for it, or have some food that compliments it.

My favorite right now is a hefeweizen. I've had our local version and the Long Trail from VT, both freshly brewed (we vacation by the LT brewery and live by the local one). Great flavor and not too heavy. I've had a few others, don't know if they were getting too long in the tooth, but the beery taste always seems to overwhelm the more complex flavors I find in the Saranac or LT brands (and both are limited brews, adding to the fun of summer).

I'll wrap this up by saying I wish Slack lived closer to central NY :P

[Nebu]

I might recommend a hefeweizen or Belgian as well. 

Me agreeing with Sky.  Who knew!?!