Thanksgiving

[Samwise]

REAL Cranberry sauce (with no goddamn orange peels in it!) is a fantastic treat that I look forward to every year. My mom makes awesome sauce, but always complains about how long it takes in that mom way.  You know the one, where you offer to make it if she'd give you the recipe but she sighs and says "No, I'll do it." 

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite things to make because although it takes a long time, it takes almost no work.  At least the way I make it, which is to throw stuff in a pot and then wander away for however long it takes.

[Strazos]

I'm not going home this year, instead staying in DC to attempt to have dinner with some classmates...I hope someone knows how to do turkey, cause I can't cook for shit.

Also, cranberry sauce is the demon and should die in a fryer fire.

[Lantyssa]

Point me to the nearest goose, shopkeep.

*points up*

Honk, honk.

[Oban]

I think they used to feed Canada Geese to the homeless up here.  Two birds, one stone.

Ever since I heard about this I have been unable to eat goose meat.

[Sjofn]

There is one giant fucking flaw in Ingmar's Thanksgiving. Wait, one and a half. The one GIANT flaw is that his uncle makes this horrible, overly busy stuffing that I cannot stand to look at, let alone eat, and it leaves a giant stuffing-shaped hole in my Thanksgiving.

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time (6 pm-ish) and so there is no second dinner like there is with my family (we eat at like ... two. And then again at 8 or so.).


EDIT: Their turkey is fucking fantastic, though. Brining is the True Way to cook turkey, I'm a total convert on that score.

[Yegolev]

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time

[Yegolev]

Fuck cranberry sauce in it's ear.

its

[Evildrider]

My Aunt makes a killer stuffing, but I know it's probably just like store bought croutons and Bob Evan's sage sausage.  However, I eat that stuff up.  She even makes extra just for me to take home.  

[Sjofn]

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time

I am usually STARVING by then too, it sucks. :(

[Ingmar]

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time

I am usually STARVING by then too, it sucks. :(

That just makes the food taste better you know!

[Demetra]

She even makes extra just for me to take home.  

This just says Thanksgiving, going that extra step for a loved one. 

As the cook of the house, one of the best parts of Thanksgiving are the leftovers.  AND that huge turkey carcass to make soup with. 
If I don't feel like making stock with right away I can toss it in the freezer and do it later.   To make it even better I got a duck that I
will roast mostly to add to the stock pot.

[Paelos]

Thanksgiving is about fun with others. Eat grilled cheese if that's what you think makes it awesome.

Personally, I think turkey usually sucks. It's incredibly easy to fuck up. I'd rather eat a giant beef roast with all the same trimmings.

[Yegolev]

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time

I am usually STARVING by then too, it sucks. :(

That just makes the food taste better you know!

Look.  If you start eating anytime after 2pm, you simply don't have enough time to gorge yourself properly.  You have 364 OTHER days in which to be hungry.

[bhodi]

Cranberry Sauce, but it has to be from a can. It has to have ridges and be cut into quarter inch, perfectly round slices.

[Yegolev]

You are a disgusting man.

[Numtini]

Huh?  You can find cranberries NOT from Ocean Spray?  Lies.

I live on Cape Cod. I walk past three commercial bogs on my lunchtime walk. But I really have no gripes with ocean spray's baggies of cranberries. Just paw through the bags and pick the best ripest looking ones, which ever they're from. Sometimes they're spray, sometimes they're the local.

[Segoris]

Cranberry Sauce, but it has to be from a can. It has to have ridges and be cut into quarter inch, perfectly round slices.

That's what we did at my parents. Not because it tastes awesome, but rather because my mom sucked at cooking. Sadly, she won't accept me or my dad to do any cooking (she's Assyrian and German, suddenly mules don't look as stubborn compared to that  combo ).

One thing I always liked for smaller turkey days though was Cornish hens (and maybe that would be a good option for you Falc). For 2-3 people these are wonderful in place of a turkey. I've been in some spots where this was the best option for T-day dinner and it always turned out great.

Also, for me and another reason why I love this holiday, is we play a nice game of football (between 8v8-11v11). My buddy's relatives have a ~60yard football field setup in their back yard with 2 bars outside, 2 bars inside (all open at 7am sharp, so after Wednesday's bars we just pass out on the closest couch to them ~5am) and some chili stations. Good times and lots of (painful) fun with local high school jerseys (he donates quite a bit each year to the schools, sadly no alumni cheerleader squads have been provided yet) and a big ass Bud Light inflatable can, all before the first dinner ~1-2pm. 

[Grimwell]

They leave the historical stuff for July 4th.

Sorry, what? Your friends are wrong. July 4th is about getting drunk, cooking on the grill, and capping off a great day by blowing shit up. If your friends have you convinced that we even talk about George Washington and the founding of this nation for ten pioseconds, they have totally put the  on you.

The only thing that I have seen done consistently, across multiple states, on the 4th of July is that the national anthem is played, and everyone stops for a moment to think kindly of the people in our armed forces. Then people pop open another Budweiser and prepare to say "Oooh!" and "Ahhhh!" while more random things get shot into the sky to explode for their entertainment... and that's only if you actually go somewhere to watch the fireworks. If you stay at home it's quite the same except for that stuff about national anthems and folks in the armed services. Those are skipped in lieu of more Budwesier and blowing shit up. Also, you have to light your own shit at home.

Also...

The friend who tried to do chilli for superbowl in 2008 gave up and left the supermarket in tears, and everything we have here, including broth, has just been branded "different" by the thanksgiving girl. I'm sure it'll be delicious (she is an amazing cook), but absolutely blasphemous.

Your friend is a psycho. Back away slowly. Anyone driven to tears by a supermarket is  in the wrong way. Just saying...

[RhyssaFireheart]

About the only "given" that I have for Thanksgiving are the crunchy noodles that my dad's family made.  Take egg noodles, the really thin, small kind.  Melt butter in a skillet (cast iron for best effect), dump noodles from bag into skillet filled with hot melted butter.  Brown noodles.  Remove when browned onto paper towel to soak up some of the excess butter.  Sprinkle on regular noodles, dressing, whatever.  Enjoy.  I've never heard of anyone else ever doing that and my husband thought I was nuts when I first told him about it, but now he doesn't mind them at all.

This year we're having ham, I think.  It's a bit overkill to have a turkey or even a turkey breast just for 2 people.  I like turkey but I like ham more.  Especially if it's done up with brown sugar, pineapple rings and cherries.  MmMmMMmmmm.  Any other sides will be as whim takes us, although I'm in the mood for some butternut squash this year.

[Signe]

I get the half breast when I buy turkey and it's perfect.  It even leaves a bit for left overs a couple of times.  When I get the freebie turkey, I have to freeze most of it.  I only get the breast - no dark meat - because it's easier.  Anyway, if I want dark meat every now and then, there's always duck.  Goose is just too big.  Too much dark fatty meat for just two people. 

[Sjofn]

Cranberry Sauce, but it has to be from a can. It has to have ridges and be cut into quarter inch, perfectly round slices.

That's how Ingmar likes his. I like the can stuff fine too, but it doesn't have to still have the ridges and stuff for me. :P

[Evildrider]

Huh?  You can find cranberries NOT from Ocean Spray?  Lies.

I live on Cape Cod. I walk past three commercial bogs on my lunchtime walk. But I really have no gripes with ocean spray's baggies of cranberries. Just paw through the bags and pick the best ripest looking ones, which ever they're from. Sometimes they're spray, sometimes they're the local.

I used to live in Taunton, MA and I used to love the look of the cranberry bogs.  I actually have no qualms with Ocean Spray either.  I always have their Cran-Cherry in my fridge.  However here in IN, I was just saying, that if you want cranberries... it's pretty much Ocean Spray or nothing at all. 

[MahrinSkel]

Thanksgiving is about fun with others. Eat grilled cheese if that's what you think makes it awesome.

Personally, I think turkey usually sucks. It's incredibly easy to fuck up. I'd rather eat a giant beef roast with all the same trimmings.

You thaw the turkey by floating it overnight in the sink (start as early in the evening as you can and flip it over before you go to bed).  You take everything out of the inside of the turkey and remove the plastic from around it.  You stick the turkey inside an oven roasting bag (just a high-temp plastic bag, can buy them in just about any supermarket), and stick that in a roasting pan (you can buy disposable ones made from aluminum, main thing is for it to be big).  You stick that in the oven on the lowest rack (pull the second one if you have two), set the oven to 350-375, and the timer to anywhere between 3 and 5 hours.  Come back when the timer goes off, if you're not ready to serve the bird lower the temperature to 200 degrees.

Now, if you want to do a traditional stuffing, or if you have a religious problem with plastic bags it can get a lot harder, and of course this doesn't factor for any other dishes you might want.  But even a bachelor with no cooking experience can make the turkey itself.

--Dave

[Signe]

If it's just you and a girl, you're going to have a LOT of left over turkey if you buy one that's as big as what Dave is used to.  It sounds like he does a big family dinner.  In any case, if I really wanted to do holidays and make a big turkey, I'm lucky enough to live in an area where you can get fresh killed turkeys.  You can even pick them out, if you like.  I can't do that because I tend to think my food is too cute before it's dead and we'd end up having Boca Burgers for dinner.   I'm not crazy about buying meat that's already been frozen, though.  I don't even know why.

[NowhereMan]

Of course being in Italy you might be able to actually get goose there. Depends on whether she's really bothered by a non-traditional bird (sounds like she's a little unhappy at things not being exactly like they are at home) but you get a smaller, more manageable bird that will be moist and will also produce a load of fat for roasting side dishes or storing for cooking other things. I know (now) Americans can't get hold of goose but I will continue my evangelism of goose instead of turkey damnit!

[rattran]

Goose is great, and not untraditional. The 'white' meat is moist and tasty, and I freeze most of the dark meat bits and feed it to the cats slowly. They REALLY love greasy goose dark meat.

[Signe]

Goose is a traditional bird for Christmas in lots of places, but where is it traditional for Thanksgiving?

[Falconeer]

She insists that it needs lots of friends to work. And to consume all the food she's going to cook. So it's gonna be huge apparently. Some of the invited Italian friends raised the "what's Thanksgiving about, by the way?" question. I replied we are thanking Whitney for all that food she is going to cook.

EDIT: removed comment about removed moronic post.

[rattran]

EDIT: Stop shitting up the thread.

[Chimpy]

Cranberry sauce shaped like a can is awesome. All of you haters just need to go be snooty somewhere else.

Also, I am working on Thanksgiving day, so I don't have to worry about other people's cooking (or my own).

[Ingmar]

The half a flaw is they eat at a real dinner time

I am usually STARVING by then too, it sucks. :(

That just makes the food taste better you know!

Look.  If you start eating anytime after 2pm, you simply don't have enough time to gorge yourself properly.  You have 364 OTHER days in which to be hungry.

But before dinner is when we start drinking!

[JWIV]

I am thankful that unlike last year, I am not on a diet during Thanksgiving.

[Paelos]

She insists that it needs lots of friends to work. And to consume all the food she's going to cook. So it's gonna be huge apparently. Some of the invited Italian friends raised the "what's Thanksgiving about, by the way?" question. I replied we are thanking Whitney for all that food she is going to cook.

EDIT: removed comment about removed moronic post.

This chick sounds demanding. She better be hot enough to put up with all that noise.

[Falconeer]

You know when you meet your positive nemesis? That hotness you've been looking for ages but kept escaping you, almost there... but never really it? Well, I found it. She's that hot to me.

[schild]

You know when you meet your positive nemesis? That hotness you've been looking for ages but kept escaping you, almost there... but never really it? Well, I found it. She's that hot to me.

Italians think that of every woman. You lot can't be trusted.