what the bloody heck am i thinkin

[anthrochild87]

I am cooking thanksgiving dinner

my first one


and i have no clue what do do

*begs for help*

[anthrobabe]

very soon now you will get a suggestion that begins with the words

"take some nice fish heads"

do not listen

[anthrochild87]

fish heads??  O_o

[anthrobabe]

Fishe heade stoo (fish head stew)
delicacy on pirate ships
not actually edible
but some of these pirates have it in tins and will try and get you to buy it from 'em

[Pachyderm]

Take some nice fish heads. Leave them in a bag behind the Admiral Benbow.

Get on with the cooking undisturbed, as all the pirates congregate behind the pub....

[Opsa]

Do not listen to them! Pirates are not especially knowledgable about Thanksgiving. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

First, plan your menu.

You want traditional?

Turkey
Stuffing
Green beans
Potatoes
Rolls
Yellow squash
Pumpkin Pie
Coffee
Wine

[Pachyderm]

This particular pirate knows next to bugger all about Thanksgiving.

Burn's Supper, whisky and deep-frying stuff, no problem....

[Opsa]

OMG- I forgot cranberry sauce! I could get kicked out of my family for that omission!

Here's a site that you may find helpful, AC: http://rats2u.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving_recipes.htm

[anthrochild87]

XD- no fish heads- i would be killed!!!!!!

uhh.. my tenative menu is:

turkey
rolls
sweet potato casserole
green bean casserole
cranberry jelly
pumpkin and pecan pie
stuffing (dressing)
my grandma's punch



that's pretty much it- i think that should feed them

it's the turkey i'm really scared about 

[Opsa]

That sounds like an excellent menu.

Here's a site called Turkey for Dummies. It looks like it has some good info.

[Darlica]

You're a brave girl Anthrochild!

I still cook together with my mom for Christmas, and the ham (about as important on Swedish Christmas tables as the turkey for you during Thanksgiving) I gladly leave for her to take care of...


Being a Scandinavian I can't really offer advice on Turkey cooking but all good luck wishes for the cooking spree, but I don't think you are going to need them, I'm sure you are going to to make a fabulous dinner. 

[anthrochild87]

lol- i may post some pictures of what i make

and i know i'm being very *out there on a limb* for my first time cooking-
but i can't leave out the classics

and my grandma's punch.. i have to have it every single holiday- i love it

[Darlica]

You know if that punch isn't like a big family secret you could always post the recipe in "on the beach" among the other cooking threads. Inquisitive minds wanna know 

[anthrochild87]

Done Darlica!

[Bluenose]

Being an Aussie, I don't know squat about Thanksgiving.  However, in my family turkey is the traditional Christmas dinner, so we do that.  Yes, I know it's high summer, and a cold buffet of lobster, prawns and oysters would make a lot more sense, but since when has what's sensible had anything to do with anything?

We cook our turkey in a Webber BBQ.  We just follow the directions in the book that came with it and it turns out very well.  I can get a recipe for some very delicious stuffing if that's what you're after, or are you looking for directions on how to actually cook it?

[anthrochild87]

a goods stuffing would be amazing! *thanks*

[Aggie]

For your first turkey, try cooking the stuffing separately.  The turkey will cook quicker, and there's less chance of causing food poisoning. You can cook the stuffing in a covered casserole dish (pop it in the oven for the last hour or so). It won't be quite as tasty as if it was cooked in the turkey, but the difference is hardly noticeable. 

I make a basic bread stuffing, but add dried cranberries, roasted garlic and fresh sage.

[anthrochild87]

ty for the idea!!

[Aggie]

You're welcome!


Oh - one more tip for easy turkey dinner...  if you get too overwhelmed to do sweet potato casserole, just chop up some yams into fairly large (3") pieces and stick them around the turkey for the last 45 or so minutes of cooking.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS! - the turkey flavour soaks in.

Another family secret - to make sure you've got enough juice for gravy, boil up the neck & giblets (if desired) in a pot of water, and add a packet of instant onion soup mix (lipton's for example, although the generic equivalent is fine).  Gives the gravy a nice flavour and extends the drippings, which can sometimes end up being just turkey fat.


I didn't start deboning turkeys until my 4th or 5th bird at least, so I'll skip that for now.

Oh, but one more tip....  despite the fact I said to NOT stuff the turkey, it doesn't hurt to slice up an onion into rings and stuff those (loosely) into the cavity.  It won't affect the cooking time but adds moisture and flavour.  Garlic and a sliced lemon are also nice additions, or a bundle of fresh sage - anything you like, really.   This will also make for good gravy.

[beagle]

Hmm. My knowledge is a bit limited but:

It always takes longer to defrost than you think. The microwave is your friend if you forget to take it out the the night before, but if you have to resort to it best to do it immediately before cooking as you don't want to warm up and cool down poultry too often .

Putting greaseproof paper over the turkey stops it drying out too much.

Roast potatoes work better if you boil them first.

Best to cook the stuffing separately before putting it in the middle.
(Just noticed Agujjim has already mentioned this).

Get the vegetables peeled, cleaned, diced, whatever and ready to cook earlier to save time, and don't get tempted to put them on to cook too early.

Don't remember the gravy at the last minute.

Remember to have hot plates ready.

Get everybody drunk so they won't notice if it goes horribly wrong.

[Griffin NoName]

Roast potatoes work better if you boil them first.

Best to cook the stuffing separately before putting it in the middle.
(Just noticed Agujjim has already mentioned this).

And the absolute best trick with par-boiling roast potatoes is to boil them just to the point where they are beginning to go a bit soft around the egdes. Strain off the water, leaving potatoes in the saucepan, and put lid back on saucepan. Hold lid down while shaking pan vigorously, tossing the potatoes about inside. If the potatoes were over-boiled you will now have a load of mash. Throw it all away and start again. If the potatoes were not boiled enough, boil them a bit more. What you should have after shaking is lovely fluffy par-boiled potatoes. They now need to be rolled about in whatever you are going to roast them in - ie. covered all over with oil/fat/whatever - and then roasted. Devine.

Not sure about food poisoning, it has never happened in two generations of stuffing birds in my family. We blanch the bird with boiling water inside and out, having removed any insides and making sure the water cascades right through from neck to bum where it emerges. We then stuff the stuffing between the skin and flesh of the bird's breasts from the neck end. Then with an ordinary sewing needle and cotton we sew all the skin up together around the neck so the stuffing cannot escape. Brush the bird with a little oil. Finally disinfect everything in the whole room to avoid samonella. During cooking, remove Beagle's greaseproof paper to baste the bird with the fats that it expells during cooking every so often to get the best crackly skin (remove the greaseproof paper for the last few minutes).

For the gravy, cook the vegatables a little ahead of time, when cooked strain the water off the veggies into the gravy. Yummy.

[anthrochild87]

*bookmarks this topic*

wow... *digests all the info*

never thought about putting the paper over the turkey- would parchment work?? at least that's what i'm guessing


and the stuffing- not going in the turkey- i'm  of poisoning somone!!!

and luck of the draw- my store sells fresh sage- so i'm now thinking sage, lemon,thyme  and some onion... ooo that should be good

and as for getting everyone drunk.. if i don't have it covered then i'm sure my new roomie can- he brought some of the good stuff


lol- yeah and for the potatos's we're gonna have sweet potato casserole- it's my favorite, and i think i'll have the easiest time with it- 'cause i can just bake 'em with the turkey- and then let my two guy roomies do all the mashing- 


THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH for all the help!!!!!!!!!!!

[anthrobabe]

Begins hitchhiking to Keystone today.

You know anthrogranny always boils the parts (neck, gibblets, etc) for stock for gravy----so that is good advice(Agujjim !).

It'll be me and the anthrogranny this year--- so we might do something wild like just go out.
Probably cook though.

And if you cook the stuffing/dressing in the bird just take it out shortly after the bird comes out of the over and let it cool. Put it into a shallow dish so it cools fast in the fridge-- in fact sort of spreading it on a cookie sheet can help. It's the bacteria growing in the hot food that causes problems. But we've never had an issue-- and you know how much stuffing/dressing we make round here.

and I love the Aussie advice to grill the turkey--- you know
turkey on the barbie
(sorry just had to take advantage of that  )

[beagle]

never thought about putting the paper over the turkey- would parchment work?? at least that's what i'm guessing

Not too sure about that. Might end up with turkey and blackened charcoal trimmings. Maybe alumin(i)um foil if you don't have greaseproof (maybe greaseproof paper is a UK thing). Never tried it but can't think why it wouldn't work.

[anthrochild87]

 


i am excited about it-
our roomie just moved here from Ohio- and has no one here to spend it with

so it's gonna be me and my two roomies and one of my roomies uncles~~~

I think i can maybe find some- i'll look around

and yeah.. grandma does use the giblets doesn't she... *shudder*
we'll see

[beagle]

We're expecting a full report 

...and any leftovers.

[anthrobabe]

prelim report
she says she burned the pies but they were still edible-- I am sure they were not actually burned-maybe a bit overbrown on the crust.
They are probably all sleeping it off up there- they were going to eat late as they all worked today.

She did make cranberry sauce in the crockpot and I want to hear how that went.

[anthrochild87]

I am pleased to say it was an awesome success

the pumpkin pie was burned- but we got another one from where I work, and the pecan pie although it looked ugly was amazing.

the cranberry sauce was awesome- although I did have some canned ready *thanks the goddess* seeing as how I left if out overnight.

The turkey (brined for 18 hours) fell off the bone- and there was none left- and the stuffing and sweet potato's where the most awesome thing ever.

I didn't get to make the green bean casserole or rolls- but that is okay.... the rest of the food was more than enough.

So even though it started off bumpy- it was awesome, but still not as good as my moms or grandma's

[anthrobabe]

It really sounds good-- i will have to try brining a turkey one time.
We had a 16 pounder and grandma as usual wanted to cook it for like 7 hours and she wonders why they are dry-- i took it out at 4 and 1/2 hours.
She put it back in
this is when i decided to go home and go to bed.
I didn't eat any of it but Lyn said it was dry-- you think--
she made a really good fruit salad-- yummy

[anthrochild87]

XD

yeah.. they lowered the cooking time on the birds- don't take as long

and brining the thing helps- and letting it sit for like an hour really helps

and yeah... she does make a mean fruit salad

[beagle]

I am pleased to say it was an awesome success

Excellent.

So even though it started off bumpy- it was awesome, but still not as good as my moms or grandma's

Not only a brilliant chef, but a born diplomat too...

[anthrochild87]

*bows to beagle*

and how did everyone's holiday go??

[anthrobabe]

You should see her direct traffic at the lake!
Ohhhh -- I wonder if I have that photo

Ducks and runs like heck because she knows she is in trouble for even suggesting the posting of that photo!

We had a good Thanksgiving here overall- ok you know how it goes. I think that for Christmas we are going to do something on neutral ground- like in Switzerland.

[anthrochild87]

You should come to CO- you would love it

and yeah--- that photo appears on here............

*the ABS will come eat you!!!!*

[Bluenose]

Hi AB,  the trick with long cooking is long and SLOW.  Use a much lower temperature and cooking a turkey for 7 1/2 hours could give you a bird to die for, succulant and juicy.  I have been turning down the heat and cooking for longer with all my roats for the last year or so and the results have been spectacular, even the crackling on roast pork works well - despite the conventional wisdome it takes high heat to make it.  Maybe you could move the knob on your oven so it says it's a lot hotter than it really is and then your mum would be happy and you would still have a delicious dinner.

BTW, where is that photo again?  <grin>

[anthrobabe]

It's so cute!

It is in one of these drawers somewhere- or a photo album-lets see......

[anthrochild87]

NUUUUUUUUUU

not the photo


photo+anthrochild=DEATH!!!!!!!

[anthrobabe]

 
I haz wayz of makin u squirm