In my neck of the woods, deep-fried turkey has become quite popular over the past 10 or so years, and for good reason. A few years ago, some borderline crazy foodie came up with turducken (also delicious). I'm a big fan of spiral-sliced ham. Thanksgiving and Christmas food traditions from different parts of the country/world and from different families fascinate me. Please share your experiences/plans with me!
I love turkey, but unfortunately many people in my family don't really care for it. So on Thanksgiving, there's only about two of us who really eat it. We usually end up having some roasted chicken and/or ham as well. We're pretty traditional in terms of the side dishes: stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, gravy, etc. I might try and mix some things up this year and do a spin on the stuffing - maybe a sausage stuffing. Also, I'd like to try some other sides we don't normally make, like swiss chard and sweet potato gratin, or maybe even some butternut squash ravioli in a creamy mushroom sauce.
My husband plans on smoking a turkey. I'm not sure when we'll get to eat it. I prefer to plan our dinner ahead, but nobody else does. The rest of the family makes plans at the last minute. It drives me crazy. Now I know why a lot of people take a vacation over the holidays, so they don't have to deal with making plans.
We will have my fience's parents staying with us for a few days. They come every year for Thanksgiving and they are a lot of fun to have around. We always BBQ our turkey over charcoals and wood chips. It gives the turkey a wonderful smokey flavor. I keep it from getting dry by stuffing the cavity with onions, lemon wedges and herbs. I also rub herbed butter inbetween the skin and meat. It can take several hours to cook and more charcoals and wood chips are added every 20 minutes or so. We keep a drip pan under the turkey and make a wonderful gravy from some of the drippings. This also frees up the oven for all the other side dishes. This has became an annual tradition now.
I will be coming home from college for Thanksgiving! After being up here for over 3 months, I am more than ready to go home, even if only for a few days. Last year, we spent used the day before Thanksgiving as our official Thanksgiving dinner. Mostly, because we had to travel to take me back to college on the actual holiday. It sucked, but oh well, I still got the time to be with my family!
I would love to try the BBQ turkey. Would you be willing to share the details of your recipe with me? I have a feeling this turkey would make me a rock star at Thanksgiving this year!
I'll be going to my boyfriend's extended family's celebration for Thanksgiving. A lot of food! So many different types of food and it's really a great time. Old-fashioned turkey and gravy, honey ham, and lots of delicious sides. A lot of potatoes, green beans, stuffing, rolls... just thinking about the food makes my mouth water! I think that being healthy is obviously a goal - or being healthier, anyway. I think that this year, I'll find a lot more vegetables and low-fat/low-carb options... maybe some mashed potatoes with less butter? No matter what, it's just going to be a lot of delicious food all day - plus the leftovers!
alc89 - I am with you on trying to eat healthy. Over the past few months, I have cleaned up my diet and gotten into a regular exercise routine, and I feel great. However, I am a foodie, through and through, and when Thanksgiving rolls around, I'm putting the rule book on the shelf for a couple of days. I know that's going to mean some extra miles and calisthenics afterwards, but I'm willing to make that trade. I really enjoy running this time of year
The first time I tried to BBQ a turkey, I used the directions off of the Weber Grill's website. From there, I slightly changed things up a bit over the years. The tricks are to not over stuff the cavity, but do put in some onions and herbs at least and to also rub some butter herb mix inbetween the skin and meat. You also want to use an indirect heat on your grill, soaked wood chips and use a drip pan to catch the juices, they make a wonderful gravy but only use a little bit-it is very smokey! You can get a just a whole turkey breast cavity to try on your first attempt if you like. Here's a website that I found that goes into ALOT of details on how to BBQ a turkey that may also give you some ideas. Good luck!Log In
I do not have any special plans for Thanksgiving. I have a very nice girlfriend who has a huge dinner that day. Which I used to attend and thoroughly enjoyed. Lately I have not attended her dinner because of a worsening back problem, making it hard to drive. But my girlfiend always brings me a fully cooked meal from her dinner, complete with multiple desserts. She is wonderful. I think she is the greatest. One year I had a whole turkey and since there is only me, I gave her the turkey to prepare for her family.
I hope to visit a couple of girlfriends in Las Vegas. It's been a long time since I have seen them. I don't care for gambling as I used to work in a casino. We will go to a casino for Thanksgiving meal. I'm not sure how that's going to work since I have recently switched to a vegetarian diet.
Parker - I am FAR from being a vegetarian, but if you're going to be in Vegas, and you could make a small exception to the meat rule, go to Nobu at the Hard Rock Hotel and have some sushi. It is $$$$, but it is SO worth it!!... and it's healthy. Just a suggestion
