Thanksgiving 2019.

[Worth1]

I have not figured out what I am going to do for thanksgiving dinner.
No one to make happy but myself.'
You see I put the frozen turkey bird thing in the refrigerator on Monday and it is still half frozen.
What to do with this reluctant frozen bird thing that evolved from a dinosaur.
The temperature is going to be in the 50's here where I live so I figured what the heck just toss it on the hard wood garage floor over night.
That should do it and maybe it will soak up some of that oak hardwood flavor.
Maybe even some cutting oil flavor to boot from my metal lathe.
Highly doubt it because the thing is in a plastic wrapper but we can all wish now cant we.
No real sides yet because I was too lazy to go to the store to get anything.
Besides I have stuff stashed away in the freezer.
Plus I have a ton of dried stuff for dressing.
The store opens up tomorrow morning at 6 AM.
I might go or I might not.
Wont know till the time comes.
I simply dont give a crap.
Reason is I have a choice many dont.
Many will be hungry and no choice.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[brownrexx]

Submerging your turkey in a big pot or sink of water will thaw it faster.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[bower]

You can dry brine a frozen bird while it's thawing.
Not sure if it makes it thaw any faster, but it sure made a better turkey for me.

[GrowingCoastal]

Originally Posted by bower

You can dry brine a frozen bird while it's thawing.
Not sure if it makes it thaw any faster, but it sure made a better turkey for me.

Sounds like what Worth is doing.
I recall my first turkey experience. When I was 16 i worked for Loblaws and bought a well frozen turkey. Before going away for the weekend i put it out under the sink in a basin, still wrapped. Got back after two days away and roasted it. No one died! Nor even got a little sick. A miracle! We were all young and had strong digestive systems then.

[imp]

A happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

[Nan_PA_6b]

DH is the traditional Bringer of the Homemade Cranberry Sauce, & I'm the traditional Bringer of the Yams. Tomorrow morning we'll both be cooking; dinner is on the table at my mother's place at 1 PM.

[tryno12]

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! We will deep fry a couple or 3, 14 # birds, drink a beer and tell lies as we wait......

[zeuspaul]

Any hints on yams? We do the whole meal (others do Christmas and Easter), guests will probably bring wine. Last year I was not at all satisfied with the canned yams we used. We can't bake them in the oven because it is not big enough.

We have experimented with peeling them and then cooking in the microwave...too dry. For ourselves we always cook them in the microwave and serve with the skin on and they come out fine. We want to try cooking in the microwave with skin on and then scraping out the inside and then placing in the serving pan. They are already pretty sweet but I think we have to put something on top, brown sugar? or some maple syrup? I don't want to use the traditional marshmallows. They will go in a catering style stainless steel server/warmer. I am hoping to make them several hours in advance and keep them hot in the server with the lid on. The texture will be a bit like course mashed potatoes with melted brown sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup on top.

Will this work? My son's girlfriend may be available to help with cutting and scooping out the yams. We can do three or four at a time in the microwave. The whole yam preparation thing might be a good project for her.

It does get busy and I like to get as much done as early as possible. We do get some help from guests that arrive early.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving Saturday because traffic here on Thursday is undoable.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, candied yams, cranberry sauce, salad (no romaine), chips, dip, crackers, cheese, various cookies, candies and snacks, wine, beer and water...coffee. What am I forgetting?

Serving 14

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

DH is the traditional Bringer of the Homemade Cranberry Sauce, & I'm the traditional Bringer of the Yams. Tomorrow morning we'll both be cooking; dinner is on the table at my mother's place at 1 PM.

[zeuspaul]

Update

We put a slice in the yams and cooked them in the microwave for about 5 minutes. Then cut them in half and scraped out the insides. The texture was a bit like mashed potatoes.

I didn't want to make a special trip so I used what I had on hand. I found a recipe online for crumb top. Rolled oats, butter and cinnamon then mash with a pastry dough blender and bake. It looked good until I burnt it. Then I used the dough blender to crush oatmeal cookies. That worked well for the topping. Placed the yams and the topping in a warming chaffing dish. I liked the end product much better than I did last year with opening a can of yams and heating them up. The flavor was much better.

Our guests are always looking for a way to help and this was a good project for them.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Originally Posted by zeuspaul

Any hints on yams? We do the whole meal (others do Christmas and Easter), guests will probably bring wine. Last year I was not at all satisfied with the canned yams we used. We can't bake them in the oven because it is not big enough.

We have experimented with peeling them and then cooking in the microwave...too dry. For ourselves we always cook them in the microwave and serve with the skin on and they come out fine. We want to try cooking in the microwave with skin on and then scraping out the inside and then placing in the serving pan. They are already pretty sweet but I think we have to put something on top, brown sugar? or some maple syrup? I don't want to use the traditional marshmallows. They will go in a catering style stainless steel server/warmer. I am hoping to make them several hours in advance and keep them hot in the server with the lid on. The texture will be a bit like course mashed potatoes with melted brown sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup on top.

Will this work? My son's girlfriend may be available to help with cutting and scooping out the yams. We can do three or four at a time in the microwave. The whole yam preparation thing might be a good project for her.

It does get busy and I like to get as much done as early as possible. We do get some help from guests that arrive early.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving Saturday because traffic here on Thursday is undoable.

Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, candied yams, cranberry sauce, salad (no romaine), chips, dip, crackers, cheese, various cookies, candies and snacks, wine, beer and water...coffee. What am I forgetting?

Serving 14

[imp]

Browned butter and toasted pecans as a topping?

[Worth1]

Just make sure you put holes in the yams/sweet potatoes.
Had one blow up one time, sounded like a bomb going off.
NOT fun.
The turkey is thawed but didn't dry brine.
Been up since 3:30 AM my normal wake up time.
Debating on going to grocery store that opens at 6:00AM and closes at 2:30PM.

[Worth1]

Took off to the store at 6:10 AM.
Made it back in record time (40 minutes there and back) and was first in line at the checkout counter.

Got my celery, Price pimento cheese spread to stuff the celery, easy melt cheese for mac and cheese, a nice deluxe pecan pie, eggs, coffee and a few other odds and ends.
So glad I didn't go yesterday after work.

[Worth1]

This way I have room in the oven without the spread out spatchcock thing.
It also allows me to cook each type of meat to my liking and pull it out when ready and all the skin gets crispy.
Spices simple and my favorite for poultry, black pepper salt and garlic powder.
Nothing fancy.
Gonna toss a few yellow onions in to boot.
IMG_20191128_14650.jpg

IMG_20191128_56399.jpg

[Nan_PA_6b]

My recipe calls for

1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. melted butter


Mix & crumble over casserole.

[Rajun Gardener]

Happy Turkey Day everyone!!!!!!

I bought a turkey to try that method later Worth, I also see many people breaking the turkey down into pieces to cook faster.

We're having Turkey day next door at my sisters and All I'm doing is cooking a turkey in the oilless fryer and I made pies and gravy last night. Sis is also roasting a turkey and making all the sides.

I made two new recipes, one is a strawberry/banana jello pie and the other is pecan cheesecake.