Comments on: Friday Fun Thread: Thanksgiving Noms!

By: Mackey

Mackey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:40:47 +0000

At this time of year in Australia, there isn’t a general celebration where huge feasting occurs – unless it’s Christmas.

When I was living in the tropics, about this time of year the build up* starts, and its when mangos** ripen and taste their best. So there was often “mango madness” season celebrations.

Mangos are ambrosia – taste good on their own, in alcholic and other kinds of beverages, and as part of a recipe for everything from chicken to tofu.

Though the best mango experience, has to be mango daquiris, with fresh mango pieces and mango juice.

Whilst I no longer live in the tropics, at this time of year, I still celebrate the build up by finding the first season mangos that come in, and reminisce over how much fun the “mango madness” celebrations were. Especially this one time, where we all danced around the mango tree…

* build up is one of the three seasons experienced where relative humdity builds up and up and up, but there is no relief because there is no rain.

** I don’t know who is familiar with mangos. A tropical fruit, with a massive seed in the middle, check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango

By: Flackette

Flackette — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:56:33 +0000

My immediate family has postponed dinner til Sunday, when my brother is off work, so on Thanksgiving proper I’ll be hanging with the boyfriend. I’m going to make a small turkey breast, some mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with pecan praline topping, and chocolate chip cookie pie. After we nom that, we’re going to volunteer at a big community dinner to serve folks in need. For Sunday, I’ll probably make a good ole southern-style corn pudding.
Nom!

By: Bella Donna

Bella Donna — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:46:23 +0000

When I was growing up my family was completely vegetarian, so we always had a stuffed pumpkin.

Of course, you have to buy your pumpkin around Halloween (we would usually get a few) and keep it some place cool and hope it kept.

You can also stuff different squashes.

I like bread stuffing, but we always use a honey wheat bread from a local bakery. It’s a little to dry for me to like it every day, but it holds it’s texture remarkably well in stuffing, and is much more flavorful than white bread.

By: Av0gadro

Av0gadro — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:54:37 +0000

TVille: I always add booze of some kind to my cranberries. Usually an orange liqueur, but even if you get creative, it’s awesome.

Also, people who are deeply suspicious of cranberries are much more likely to try them if they know it has alcohol.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:07:31 +0000

@kithkin: A pound per person is plenty, especially with everything else that’s on the table.

Ha, if I drank mimosas while I cooked, I’d sleep through dinner.

My cranberries are straight from the can, with orange peel and ginger. The ginger gives it a nice bite, and I make it the day before so it can flavor up.

The best part of Thanksgiving? Our daughter will be home! Yayyayyayyay!

By: PhDork

PhDork — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:24:54 +0000

All these comments have persuaded me that the traditional menu is where we’re headed. And yes, mashed potatoes must have skins. The squash-n-apples thing sounds great, too.

By: TVille

TVille — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:36:58 +0000

Cranberries…lots of cranberries. I’m gonna borrow some of the relish recipes here, cuz they sound awesome. I usually throw a package of fresh cranberries, juice and pulp from one orange, one cup water, one cup sugar, some cinnamon, and maybe some apple pieces too into a sauce pan and let it simmer for 5 or so minutes. Chill and eat. On everything. And a cranberry tart.

Roasted garlic mashed potatoes too.

Did I mention cranberries?

By: kithkin

kithkin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:33:45 +0000

My favorite favorite favorite thing in the universe is mashed butternut squash mixed with mashed apples, plenty of butter, and Frangelico. Ohhhhhhh so good. Another Thanksgiving tradition: mimosas all morning while you cook. I don’t like to eat turkey, but I’m starting to worry I’m not going to have enough turkey to feed my guests (I only have about a pound per person, but it’s only the breast, so that’s not too many bones…right? Should I order another breast? Yikes). I also love to eat turnips and carrots mashed together, and mashed potatoes with the skins on. I’m trying Mark Bittman’s buttermilk herb biscuits (actually, I already tried them this past week. Out of this world, seriously) for the bread instead of cornbread, because my cornbread recipe absolutely must be served fresh out of the oven and, um, things will be a little hectic Thursday. Really, though, the butternut squash is what I’ll be eating the most of. And don’t forget: It’s Beaujolais Noveau week!

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:27:41 +0000

Lyndsay, I think the trick with non-turkey stuffing is using cornbread, because white bread stuffing is inherently blah and gets most of its flavor from turkey juices. So if you want a veggie stuffing, I’d go for cornbread with cranberries, nuts, jalepenos, etc. (there are some good recipes for cornbread stuffing on AllCooks.com or in the Bittman article I linked to upthread). You can use veggie stock to moisten it and give it some flavor, then bake in a casserole dish.

By: Lyndsay

Lyndsay — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:22:02 +0000

I also love stuffing. I need a good recipe for it that doesn’t require turkey though. I tried making it once and it was good but not amazing. If I found that recipe, I might not even wait to have stuffing. I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving this year (it’s in October in Canada and I was working), but Christmas has the same kinds of food. Now I’m excited.