Can you smoke on your grill? We have a dedicated smoker but smoked turkey is my favorite. We do a BBQ rub a day or 2 in advance. Also bc smoking is lower temp, it’s really hard to overcook a turkey breast.
Sadly, no. My H keeps talking about buying a smoker though, so I'll take recipes for next year! I would love to try smoked turkey.
FWIW - mh was able to pull off smoked turkey breast on a very janky little propane grill at my uncle's old place during one of our thanksgivings there. As long as you have the ability to have the heat to one side (i.e. there's at least a left and a right burner...or if it's a charcoal grill, you just pile all the charcoal on one side. If you have the tiny weber kettle, then yeah, I concede that's probably a no) you can at least smoke-roast a breast on most outdoor cooking implements. so don't write it off as a possibility.
For the last decade, every Thanksgiving has been spent at my in-law's house. This will be the first without my mother-in-law. She died suddenly, tragically, unexpectedly in March.
I will do my best not to ruin her recipes. Some were never my favorite. But her absence will resound so loudly. And I feel like I need to make her dishes in her honor. I am also 90% sure i'm having bariatric surgery and won't be able to eat most of the stuff next year, so I might as well give it my all this year and see how we can shake things up in 2022.
So this year:
Thanksgiving:
Fried Cajun turkey (we may get this from a restaurant) Ocean Spray canned cranberry jelly Cornbread dressing Cheesy hashbrown casserole Green bean casserole Sweet potato pecan casserole yeast rolls Salad
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Rolls Lemon Meringue Pie
Christmas: I always make a family recipe called "Shrimp Marguerite" which is a cajun shrimp casserole for Christmas Eve
Christmas Day Honey baked spiral sliced ham (heat and serve - it is always amazing) I may try to get everyone to give yankee dressing a try (bread cubes, not cornbread) and I love this recipe: www.bhg.com/recipe/stuffing/cranberry-pecan-stuffing/ Sweet potato pecan stuffing again (because can you really get enough of this, i mean really?) Roasted Brussel Sprouts (also new to the table... I'll try)
I have an idea in my head to make an orange cake with some sort of cranberry filling (curd or jam, not sure which) and then a cream cheese, maybe orange cream cheese, frosting. If anoyone has recipes they'd like to share, or thoughts on if I should make a curd or jam, and regular or orange cream cheese frosting, I'm all ears!
I have an idea in my head to make an orange cake with some sort of cranberry filling (curd or jam, not sure which) and then a cream cheese, maybe orange cream cheese, frosting. If anoyone has recipes they'd like to share, or thoughts on if I should make a curd or jam, and regular or orange cream cheese frosting, I'm all ears!
My vote would be for a cranberry jam and orange cream cheese frosting. Jam because it can soak in a little and then you get the soaked jammy cakey edges in the middle, and orange cream cheese because that sounds like I want to eat it with a spoon. If you were going to do something more like a filled cupcake I'd do a curd instead since I'd rather get a whole mouthful of that than jam.
Post by mcppalmbeach on Nov 3, 2021 13:09:15 GMT -5
I can add nothing besides you all are making me hungry and I don’t even love most traditional thanksgiving food. All I want is the traditional cream of crap green bean casserole and a spoon:
Post by picksthemusic on Nov 3, 2021 13:49:05 GMT -5
We haven't started planning the menu yet. We will be spending it with my ILs (like usual), but DH's grandfather will be there and that makes things a little tricky. I will be making those garlic mushrooms for dinner soon, though! Yum!
I really hope we forgo the turkey this year and just do the sides.
Mashed potatoes and gravy Stuffing. There should be lots of sage and nuts and dried cranberries Roasted veggies in a salad with pomegranate seeds, arugula maybe Fresh cranberry, orange and ginger relish We've made this sweet potato spoonbread before that was awesome And this wild rice corn chowder - that was good too.
My aunt is always in charge of bringing pie and honestly I wish we'd let someone else take over because they are store bought, which is fine, but like, we could find someplace that makes more interesting options.
Can anyone recommend a good pr-emade pie crust? I'm not sure I can make and rollout crusts but I'm pretty sure I can whisk together fillings.
The Pillsbury ones are good and easy to work with. But pie crusts are really not hard and can be made well in advance if you want to give it a go!
Oh yeah- I know pie crusts are really easy to make. It's the actual physical act of rolling out a pie crust that I'm not sure that I can do due to a shoulder injury. I have the arm range of a T-rex.
The Pillsbury ones are good and easy to work with. But pie crusts are really not hard and can be made well in advance if you want to give it a go!
Oh yeah- I know pie crusts are really easy to make. It's the actual physical act of rolling out a pie crust that I'm not sure that I can do due to a shoulder injury. I have the arm range of a T-rex.
Ah, got it. The Pillsbury ones come already rolled out and ready to put in the pan, so they would be a good option!
Oh yeah- I know pie crusts are really easy to make. It's the actual physical act of rolling out a pie crust that I'm not sure that I can do due to a shoulder injury. I have the arm range of a T-rex.
Ah, got it. The Pillsbury ones come already rolled out and ready to put in the pan, so they would be a good option!
I bought pies from a baker friend last year. She became part owner in a restaurant this year so I was worried that she wasn't going to be making pies but she just let me know that she is. Huzzah!
Ah, got it. The Pillsbury ones come already rolled out and ready to put in the pan, so they would be a good option!
I bought pies from a baker friend last year. She became part owner in a restaurant this year so I was worried that she wasn't going to be making pies but she just let me know that she is. Huzzah!
Could she sell you ready-made pie crusts in disposable tins, so you can put them in the freezer so they’re ready for the next time you want to bake a pie? (Like how most pizza places will sell you a ball of dough.)
Post by cattledogkisses on Nov 5, 2021 10:08:27 GMT -5
Thanksgiving will be with my in-laws and Christmas will be with my family so I don't have to host anything, but we usually bring food to contribute. We bring a couple of charcuterie boards on Thanksgiving so people can snack on something light while we wait for the meal, and for Christmas my dad always asks me to make tourtiere.
I bought pies from a baker friend last year. She became part owner in a restaurant this year so I was worried that she wasn't going to be making pies but she just let me know that she is. Huzzah!
Could she sell you ready-made pie crusts in disposable tins, so you can put them in the freezer so they’re ready for the next time you want to bake a pie? (Like how most pizza places will sell you a ball of dough.)
She probably would. I don’t “need” more pie but making a couple of quiches to have ready to eat if I have to have shoulder surgery would be an awesome idea.
Post by StrawberryBlondie on Nov 5, 2021 10:37:45 GMT -5
For Christmas my in-laws usually give me fairly free reign over apps and desserts. I'm never told to bring anything specific, more like "if you make it, we'll eat it" sort of thing.
I might do roasted shrimp cocktail with green goddess dressing again. That went over big when I did it a few years ago. Probably some dips. I've made a caramelized onion with gouda dip that's amazing. Probably will find a few more to try out. Maybe some satay?
For Christmas my in-laws usually give me fairly free reign over apps and desserts. I'm never told to bring anything specific, more like "if you make it, we'll eat it" sort of thing.
I might do roasted shrimp cocktail with green goddess dressing again. That went over big when I did it a few years ago. Probably some dips. I've made a caramelized onion with gouda dip that's amazing. Probably will find a few more to try out. Maybe some satay?
Also probably going to do a mac & cheese.
Is the shrimp and dressing from Barefoot Contessa? I really like that recipe.
For Mac and cheese, her truffle butter/mushroom Mac and cheese recipe is really good too. This is the butter she uses - I’m in NJ and a few specialty stores and butchers around carry it since it’s a local company: www.dartagnan.com/white-truffle-butter/product/PMTBW003-1.html
For Christmas my in-laws usually give me fairly free reign over apps and desserts. I'm never told to bring anything specific, more like "if you make it, we'll eat it" sort of thing.
I might do roasted shrimp cocktail with green goddess dressing again. That went over big when I did it a few years ago. Probably some dips. I've made a caramelized onion with gouda dip that's amazing. Probably will find a few more to try out. Maybe some satay?
Also probably going to do a mac & cheese.
Is the shrimp and dressing from Barefoot Contessa? I really like that recipe.
For Mac and cheese, her truffle butter/mushroom Mac and cheese recipe is really good too. This is the butter she uses - I’m in NJ and a few specialty stores and butchers around carry it since it’s a local company: www.dartagnan.com/white-truffle-butter/product/PMTBW003-1.html
Yes, the Barefoot Contessa.
That mac & cheese sounds good but needs to be appealing to the small folks. Maybe for new years or Valentine's Day though.
What is everyone's favorite cheese for Mac & cheese? I usually use a mix of cheddar and gouda but the last few times it's seemed really greasy.
if I'm going for ooey gooey (but dont to go straight trash and bring out the american cheese*) I like fontina with gruyere for flavor.
eta: *this implies that if you aren't going for sophisticated, you should use american. Which I stand by. LIke, big block of gov't cheese. or....velveeta. But that's more for stovetop mac n' cheese and not proper baked m&c.
You can use any cheese, but I think if it's turning out greasy you might just need to tweak your recipe/technique. Cheddar does love to go greasy and stringy if you don't fuss with it. How do you make yours?
if I'm going for ooey gooey (but dont to go straight trash and bring out the american cheese) I like fontina. With gruyere for flavor.
Maybe gruyere is what I usually use with the cheddar - I can never remember.
I'm honestly not sure if this is a real thing, but I've always been of the opinion that the harder the cheese, the harder it is to get it not to break on you. So gruyere and cheddar together is a lot of harder cheese. pick out something with some more moisture still in it and it'll cooperate easier.
What is everyone's favorite cheese for Mac & cheese? I usually use a mix of cheddar and gouda but the last few times it's seemed really greasy.
No matter how hard I try I can't get the sauce not grainy unless I use at least some Velveeta.
Aside from that, I usually use a mix of whatever cheese I have in the house. I ended up with cheddar, fontina and gorgonzola once and that was amazing.
There's some ingredient in processed cheese that makes it melt correctly. I think if you toss in a slice of American cheese or a small cube of velveeta, it won't take over the taste, but you'll get a better texture. I heard this on the podcast, "Home Cooking" with Samin Nosrat.
My mac and cheese recipe calls for sour cream, cottage cheese, American, and sharp cheddar. You make a white sauce then stir all of that in. It can be baked or just eaten as-is.
There's some ingredient in processed cheese that makes it melt correctly. I think if you toss in a slice of American cheese or a small cube of velveeta, it won't take over the taste, but you'll get a better texture. I heard this on the podcast, "Home Cooking" with Samin Nosrat.
accurate. It's the sodium citrate. which if you wanna be crazy, you can order a baggie of in powder form and make any cheese you want into a perfectly smooth cheese sauce/dip that won't break. A friend of mine is obsessed with making fancier cheeses into basically cheese whiz texture for party food. Last time we were at his house he made mozzarella, sharp provolone, asiago whiz for cheesesteaks.
There's some ingredient in processed cheese that makes it melt correctly. I think if you toss in a slice of American cheese or a small cube of velveeta, it won't take over the taste, but you'll get a better texture. I heard this on the podcast, "Home Cooking" with Samin Nosrat.
accurate. It's the sodium citrate. which if you wanna be crazy, you can order a baggie of in powder form and make any cheese you want into a perfectly smooth cheese sauce/dip that won't break. A friend of mine is obsessed with making fancier cheeses into basically cheese whiz texture for party food. Last time we were at his house he made mozzarella, sharp provolone, asiago whiz for cheesesteaks.
Yes! That's it.
I kept thinking citric acid, which I knew was wrong.
I'm pretty good at making cheese sauces, but that's because I've learned to mix hard and soft cheeses. I use super sharp cheddars plus either monterrey jack or mozzarella for Mac n cheese and I would love to experiment with more adventurous combinations.
I also recently learned how to make a quick cheese sauce without a roux. Simmer heavy cream until it reduces a bit (add seasoning here). Turn off the heat and throw in whatever cheese you want (cheddar or mozzarella for me usually). Stir till the cheese melts and everything is smooth.
Then I dump all the cheesy goodness over Ramen noodles or a baked potato or rice and die and go to carb heaven 😅
I know there's a name for this technique but it's escaping me at the moment. I think I read about it in a NY Times recipe...