What's your Thanksgiving menu?
Sorry for such an unabashedly Yank-centric thread! :o
So, if you and yourn are planning a get-together on the 26th of November, what's on the menu? What are the family staples, what are the new adventures, and what causes the near-riots?
Here's our plan. My husband's extended family is coming (father, two sisters, their husbands, and one kid per couple, plus one SIL's MIL, FIL, BIL and grandmother-in-law.) Whew. The kids are 2 yrs and 8mos. One SIL is vegetarian.
Oh, and a largish dog and two cats.
Free-Range Turkey from Maple Lawn Farms, 14 lbs.
Gravy (turkey and vegetarian)
Roast pork loin stuffed with mushrooms(SIL's FIL hates turkey)
Cornbread, apple and sage stuffing (veg)
Green beans & almonds in butter
Sauteed sliced brussel sprouts with chestnuts
Roast Rosemary Veggies served w/ Truffle Aioli
Spicy butternut squash with raisins, nuts and fennel
Mashed Potatoes
Puerto Rican Potato Salad (SIL's MIL is bringing)
Cheddar biscuits
Cranberry sauce (homemade) + jelly (bought)
Wine (white & red)
Sodas, milk, juice.
Pies (BIL is bringing from Ohio)
Flan (SIL's MIL again)
Coffee
Scotch
Port
I wanted to nix the mashed potatoes and nearly had my head removed by my husband. I drew the line at any variant of candied yams. :shudder: I would just as soon get rid of the turkey as well, but I know how far that'll get.
Tuesday through Sunday. How hard can it be? :3eye: :thepain:
No stuffing?
Turkey
stuffing
mashed spuds
peas
creamed onions
cranberry sauce & jelly
nut bread
candied sweet potatoes
dinner rolls
pecan pie
pumpkin pie
No stuffing?
Cornbread, apple and sage stuffing (veg)
How do you make creamed onions? That's a new one to me.
How do you make creamed onions? That's a new one to me.
Don't know. Don't like them, but they're always there, disturbing my Thanksgiving.
They're pearl onions in some kind of cream sauce.
Last year we had a shrimp feast on Thanksgiving. We've had salmon baked in Filo dough a couple of times. Leg of lamb once. We'll probably go with the traditional turkey this year, since we haven't done one in a while. But I generally think turkey is overrated. It's good, but not good enough to warrant all the effort every year. There are so many better feasts out there that are easier to cook. And I have turkey all the time on my sandwiches for lunch.
I always prefer chicken to turkey. But that al sounds damn fine.
Goose makes a nice feast. We had that at my Bro's Christmas.
We're gonna eat Thanksgiving Dinner on Monday this year. Because we can.
The secret to enjoying turkey is the dark meat.
The secret to enjoying turkey is the dark meat.
abso-friggin-lutely!
The dark meat is the best. Especial the next day on an open faced sandwich with lots of gravy.
What do they do with all the dark meat when they make deli turkey breast? Does it go in hot dogs?
The next days sandwiches are the whole point imo... I like mine with white meat, lots of black pepper, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a little slaw, and maybe even some mashed.
My mom was never into Tgiving at all, and hated cooking a turkey so we always had something else extravagant. We've been going to Jim's moms since we started dating, up until she asked me (thru Jim) to stop bringing food (usually a soup) to her Tgiving "because everyone just fills up on it". :right:
So we're doing our own this year and I'm pretty excited about it - going totally traditional with the kids full involvement as part of their cooking class. They've been picking recipes out of the food network magazine for stuffing and cranberries. I might brine the turkey and then cook it in a bag. We're going to have ours early in the week so we can live off of leftovers (and bbq from
High Cotton of course).
So are you cooking the big meal before the trip, and taking leftovers with you on the road?
We're shopping and cooking there - don't want to transport food in either direction. We pack everything on the roof and put the 3rd row up, so each kid gets their own section to spread out and not be annoying and bitchy in. Throw a movie in the dvd and we all live thru the trip...
And are you bringing all your specialty cooking stuff for a big Thanksgiving meal? Like you'll need a big roasting pan. They won't have that in a beach house kitchen, will they? Have you stayed in this particular house before?
I think it will be fun doing the big meal there. You're on vacation anyway and it's an activity you can do together. Not to mention the education credit for the kids.
Sauteed sliced brussel sprouts with chestnuts
Ooh... could you perhaps share a recipe if you get a chance? I have these brussels sprouts in the freezer that I don't know what to do with (my mother foolishly joined a farm co-op that provides her with enough veggies every Sunday to feed a family of four for the whole week. So she keeps dumping piles of it off on me.)
We usually have Thanksgiving at my Aunt's house. Standard fare: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, rolls, green beans, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie.
We do have a few traditions that are slightly less common, I guess. I bring deviled eggs, my mom brings celery stuffed with a variety of cream cheeses, and my uncle makes little pecan tarts from the pecan tree in the backyard.
How to prepare brussels sprouts:
1) Remove brussels sprouts from container
2) Wash thoroughly
3) Throw in nearest trash can
:lol:
Lets see... so far... I have been assigned:
The turkey. I always make a smoked one on my Big Green Egg.
The mashed potatoes & gravy mmmmmmm
Ciabatta bread & pancetta stuffing
and at least one pie.
I think I might try brussels sprouts too
Ooh... could you perhaps share a recipe if you get a chance? I have these brussels sprouts in the freezer that I don't know what to do with (my mother foolishly joined a farm co-op that provides her with enough veggies every Sunday to feed a family of four for the whole week. So she keeps dumping piles of it off on me.)
Unfortunately, I believe it's imperative to use fresh sprouts. I'm not sure how you could slice the frozen ones...
I don't have a recipe, but here's what I plan to do.
Score, roast and peel chestnuts. Dice coarsely. Set aside.
Wash 1 qt. sprouts.
Use food processor to slice thinly and evenly.
Saute sprouts and chestnuts in a heavy skillet with plenty of butter.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Fancy, ain't it? I would add bacon, but we do have a vegetarian attending. :right:
How to prepare brussels sprouts:
1) Remove brussels sprouts from container
2) Wash thoroughly
3) Throw in nearest trash can
:lol:
That's recipe I can live with. :thumb:
(We need a bacon smiley!)
My Menu is: Just the turkey. This year it's just me and the doggy! And I won't let her go without turkey. She looks like she'd really miss turkey if she didn't get one this year. :) She loves turkey. I'm actually looking for a tiny turkey right now.
And are you bringing all your specialty cooking stuff for a big Thanksgiving meal? Like you'll need a big roasting pan. They won't have that in a beach house kitchen, will they? Have you stayed in this particular house before?
I was thinking about that today... I might bring a couple pots/pans, although generally these places are pretty well stocked with dishes and stuff. I think we'll go with the disposable roasting pan though.
Never stayed in this house before, never stayed this far south on the island. I'm getting excited though...
Cook Brussels sprouts only briefly -- think spinach or blanching cabbage. If they've gone olive drab and sulphurous, they're icky. Cut 'em in half lengthwise. Unless you want to fit slivers of black olives into wedge cuts in the sprouts to make a dish of alien heads.
Yes! Throw them in the trash and replace with :bacon:
Hey, bacon makes everything better. I have a button that says that.
Yes, Brussel Sprouts. I'm making them. You don't have to eat them. There will be plenty of other food. [SIZE=6]
NOW STOP COMPLAINING AND GO SET THE TABLE.[/SIZE]
(Sorry, just practicing for my husband's inevitable whining, since you were providing such an excellent facsimile.)
I think you have it. But a little more practice won't hurt.
We are definitely going to do turkey this year. Last night I went shopping. I did it all right, but apparently bought the wrong stuffing mix. Mrs. glatt thought I knew that Pepperidge Farms makes the best stuffing mix so she didn't put it on the list, and I bought the Arnold on sale for less than half the cost. It's apparently important enough that we will donate the stuffing mix I bought to a food bank and buy the correct stuff.
We are having turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, salad (with dried cranberries), stuffed celery, and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I feel like we're missing something, but I'm not sure what. Maybe I'll make a bread of some sort. Pumpkin bread would be nice.
Deep fried turkey! Woohoo! Quick, easy, and the best damned bird I've ever made/et.
For those of you who don't like brussel sprouts, try cutting a deep X in the stem, then soaking them in salt water first for a few hours. Takes away the bitterness. Then saute them with crap loads of butter, cloves, onions, and of course BACON (sorry about the veg thing, Pie.)
Ok .....the owners left us a big roasting pan and a box of roasting bags.....
we shopped yesterday:
Turkey, plus apple cider vinegar, salt and sugar for the brine
cranberries....fresh and canned jelly style
potatoes for mashing
asparagus
stuffing mix,celery, onion
pumpkin and sweet potato pies
butternut squash
carrots
shit, we forgot:
gravy! and wine!
Wait, isn't your big dinner today? better hop to it.....
Turkey/dressing/gravy
mashed
sweet potatoes
cranberry relish/celery/nuts/artichoke dip with toasted bread to dip
green bean casserole (we're briars)
corn casserole (ditto)
rolls/butter
pumpkiin pie and minced meat pie /banana creme and THREE chocolate cremes (loads of kiddies)
coffee
oooof! stuffed already.
Wait, isn't your big dinner today? better hop to it.....
yes yes!
getting to it....!! ripley already set the table!
goooood ripley! now brine that turkey, ripley! Brine IT!!
The turkey has been in the brine since we got it home yesterday. Spencer watched Booby Flay cook a turkey last night and has some ideas about steaming it in stock, so we'll see...
Jim forgot about the mashed (not candied) sweet potatoes and the snap peas.
We really don't have much to do, and with everyone helping it shouldn't take long, so we're gonna hold off a bit. I think Jim is videoing a house tour now...
I'm a little jealous, sitting here at work, reading about you on vacation getting the turkey dinner together. Sounds like fun!
For at least the last 10 years or so, I've worked on Thanksgiving ... partly by intent, because I wanted Christmas and New Year's off, but also to maneuver momwolf into not having to cook a turkey. Despite this, she usually did do a turkey and all the trimmings, sending me to work with a microwave-able plate.
This year, because of some quirk in the schedule, I will be off Thanksgiving, but will work Christmas.
I have been invited to a friend's house for dinner, and have been told that I will provide a baked good. She doesn't know it, but she'll be getting gingerbread.
I also felt inspired to make a batch of momwolf's fudge. It looks like it's supposed to, but I haven't tasted it yet.
Will the gingerbread be in house or man form?
Loaf form. Roll out and cut into attractive shapes gingerbread happens closer to Christmas.
We spent a hideous amount of money over at the Harris Teeter (local grocery store). And that doesn't even include the turkey (from a local free-range farm) or the alk-ee-haul. The sister-in-law needs a
specific brand of peanut butter, bread, yogurt and cereal for the tyke. It's amazing he's such a good-natured sweet kid. (Or at least he was the last time I saw him, and I'm hoping for the best!)
The other sister-in-law says "eh, as long as it's not contaminated by lysteria or e-coli we'll make it work for our kid."
And to top it off, I think the dog may be sick. She's really low-energy and seems to be a bit warm to the touch... though not too bad. I did see a deer tick crawling off her yesterday (which I promptly drowned in alcohol hand sanitizer -- those f*ckers can live through most things, including flushing!) So I'm waiting to see if she gets worse, or starts
limping.
The sister-in-law needs a specific brand of peanut butter, bread, yogurt and cereal for the tyke.
How old is he, and is that all he eats? Just askin'.
No, he'll eat most things. Better than the sil herself (she only eats beige food -- potatoes, chicken, cheese, bread. No veggies that I've been able to discern.)
He has no food allergies or issues, afaik.
Huh. Seems once again I'm in charge of bringing pop (or sodas, or cokes, depending on your geographical region.)
Really, I'm capable of a bit more than buying pop. :lol:
My sis-in-law loves to cook the whole dinner. But just once I'd like to hear "you know, people just can't get enough of your Mashed Potato Surprise."
:lol2:
I'm so arrested development. I'm hardly even a woman. ;)
[youtubewide]B3UB0Civ01Y[/youtubewide]
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for taking us along via video.
Huh. Seems once again I'm in charge of bringing pop (or sodas, or cokes, depending on your geographical region.)
Really, I'm capable of a bit more than buying pop. :lol:
My sis-in-law loves to cook the whole dinner. But just once I'd like to hear "you know, people just can't get enough of your Mashed Potato Surprise."
:lol2:
I'm so arrested development. I'm hardly even a woman. ;)
Would it be rude to show up with a little dish of something that you made and see what the reaction is? Or are you content with being the Pop Girl?
Would it be rude to show up with a little dish of something that you made and see what the reaction is? Or are you content with being the Pop Girl?
Oh, it would be fine. Really, T does such a great job I wouldn't make anything to rival her anyway. I was kind of making fun of my consistent role in my family of "pop girl." I can be pop girl! However, someday when I catch me a husband he's gonna be soooooo mad that I can't cook. :lol:
You know this is all self-deprecating tongue-in-cheek humor!
I'm really good at bringing pop. :)
I'll bet you could bring a mean Soda or Coke too........
She'd be better at bringing beer. Shawnees does good beer and I speak from personal experience, so there! :lol:
We're excited about Thanksgiving. The Army will have a big spread for us at the DFAC. We're looking forward to our Thanksgiving cook out tomorrow night. We are going to BBQ a goat, cook a big pot of beans, and gorge on flat bread. Hmmmm!!!! We plan on projecting the ball games on the wall. This is going to be fun.
We'll start the goat early in the morning. We have Creole Seasoning to rub on it. We have dried kidney beans and black beans soaking. We'll cook them in a pot on the grill. I'm throwing some onion and tomatoes (canned) in with them. Everything will cook low & slow in our grill (a converted 55 gallon drum).
Steak
Baked potatoes
Zucchini bread
Dinner rolls
Some sort of dessert bought from the little bakery down the street
I sense an imbalance in the carbohydrate direction...
maybe a turkey sandwich from Wawa. I'll be wingin' it alone this year, methinks.
I like your menu periwinkle.
big sarge...Yours seems like a lot of fun.
I am having my family over so it's all traditional over here.
The turkey is thawing. The potatoes for mashing are waiting, the ham will be glazed,the stuffing will be stuffed. All I need is fancy thanksgiving themed paper plates,napkins (I'm cooking so I've decided not to wash many dishes in the process) The only food item that is not accounted for is the yams.
maybe a turkey sandwich from Wawa. I'll be wingin' it alone this year, methinks.
Are you in the Philly area?
Check out the Pilgrim Pub Club
At
pJ Whelihansmaybe a turkey sandwich from Wawa. I'll be wingin' it alone this year, methinks.
You've got a
Capriotti's close by don't you??? Get yourself a Bobby Jo man! They roast their turkeys there - it's not lunch meat. Makes all the difference...
Hmm - thanks Jinx. I haven't had a Bobbie since the spring. I may get one on the way home and have it tomorrow. Mmm, thanksgiving dinner on a roll.
Can't stand pumkpkin pie, so made a carrot cake. And soooo tired of the darned green bean casserole, changing it up for this dish this year:
Cauliflower with Mustard-Lemon Butter Bon Appétit | November 2006
This original take on cauliflower (the florets are thinly sliced) is equally good at room temperature.
Yield: Makes 6 servings
1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter rimmed baking sheet. Cut cauliflower in half, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle with salt. Roast until cauliflower is slightly softened, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in lemon juice, mustard, and lemon peel.
Spoon mustard-lemon butter evenly over cauliflower and roast until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes longer. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. If desired, rewarm in 350°F oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.
Transfer cauliflower to platter. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
It has occurred to me that this needs to be a picture thread. Everyone try and remember to take a photo of the whole spread laid out on your table, and post it in the days afterward so we can all remember just what got us so fat.
Our Thanx-dinner will be improvised. We might score some groceries tomorrow A.M. Our car's been in the shop all week, driving our mechanic nuts. He's down to chasing an electrical short. Mechanics tend to hate finding out the problem's electrical. But without power to the fuel pump, car no go, no how.
But the pie for dessert -- that's under control.
We might score some groceries tomorrow A.M. Our car's been in the shop .
Wow, so there is a Mrs. UG?
Okay, so it's not Thanksgiving here, but it is Curry Night!
I've already made potato and pea pakora's (apostrophe is allowed for clarity) and a red lentil dhaal. Tonight I'll cook either a Balti or a Rogan Josh. Both lamb and both helped out with a jar from M&S, but I do have all the spices now to start making my own from scratch. And I'm just defrosting two garlic naan.
I expect this to be the first of many.
I'm cooking again, huzzah!
(Last night was pork schnitzel with mashipots and ratatouille - the 'rents were most appreciative)
Okay - soz that we didn't lay up a festive table, it's a normal Thursday night for us.
Also, I forgot until after we all were eating!
k - you KNOW I'm going to ask questions!
what is elderflower presse, the Josh thing and dhaal? and didn't the british have other colonies besides India to steal food ideas from? what about, oh, I dunno, Hong Kong or something? You're constantly eating Indian over there!!!
"Let's go to Britain this summer!"
"no, I don't like Indian food!"
see? Like that.
We have a lot of cantonese food over here as well.
Curry is the national dish though :P
Rogan Josh is a kind of curry. It's one of the darker, more savoury kinds. You can make it with minced (ground) meat or with diced meat, or vegetables: though traditionally it's usually lamb. Quite hot, aromatic and complex. Dhaal is made from lentils: it's a savoury, usually quite mildly flavoured, side dish that goes very well with an aromatic, very spicy curry and plain basmati rice.
thanks, dana. I've never, ever had Indian food in my life though there are tons of Indians in the area and lots of authentic Indian places to eat (well, I'm told they're authentic!)
no one in my family will try Indian food with me. Might have to dive in all alone some day.
yum
I wish it was easy to make. ( authentically )
The turkey is still "brineing". A room-mate is supposed to make Adovada...No real sign of that though...
I am making a 5lb breast for me and the dogs...We are also having corn and green beans..Biscuits...Not much, but we will enjoy a fire later; I will have more hot chocolate with whipped cream! Nothing extravagant but it will still be awesome!
Luckily, I am cooking for dogs...lol!
Reminds me..it's time to prep. and pop the sucker in the oven!! lol!
Should have just gotten the turkey jerky...Dogs care about that just as much...:)
Pilau doesn't. He likes his poultry roasted but not too dried out.
I think they'll like it better than jerky really...Though it might turn into jerky....The directions are freaking me out...The directions don't even mention browning it...
The directions on the large breast say not to cover it..and not to steep it in any water on the bottom of the roasting pan...Not sure what to do here....I'm worried...:eyebrow:
Butterball has 55 live people with at least a degree nutrition, food science, or home economics, to handle the 12,000 calls they get on Thanksgiving Day alone, at 800-288-8372.
Well I did buy a butterball...Thnx Bruce!
I did listen to a talk radio show where they interviewed one of those butterball aficionados. Maybe I should call and ask...
[youtubewide]B3UB0Civ01Y[/youtubewide]
Jim and Jinx, that was so lovely! Thank you for letting me share your Thanksgiving! [SIZE="1"][COLOR="Silver"](it moved me to tears)[/COLOR][/SIZE]
Awesome video! :)
I like all the barfing...I want wretch when I get excited too.
In other news: The woman at butterball assured me that I won't have to cover my turkey with anything. Nor will I have to baste it...They have a turkey lab and have conducted tests in their kitchen....It shall be just as moist...
Adam Sandler: Thanksgiving song...:)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/110962/saturday-night-live-update-sandler-thanksgiving-songDid you brine it???
Aww, thanks limey.
I did brine it....For 5 hours! I used salt, sugar, ground black pepper, garlic salt, and water.
I did notice that your turkey (Jinx) was in an oven bag. Are they just proud and insane at butterball or do they know what they are talking about? We shall see....
Well I did buy a butterball...Thnx Bruce!
I did listen to a talk radio show where they interviewed one of those butterball aficionados. Maybe I should call and ask...
I knew where to find the information quickly because I'd put it in a comment at
GFCF Lady. :)
I don't know.... I saw a commercial for the bags and thought "hey why not". I don't have a lot of turkey experience.
thanks, dana. I've never, ever had Indian food in my life though there are tons of Indians in the area and lots of authentic Indian places to eat (well, I'm told they're authentic!)
no one in my family will try Indian food with me. Might have to dive in all alone some day.
Take a leap. Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines. Experiment and don't forget the rice and naan.
beest did us proud. Brit style, though (but hey, at least we did turkey...)
We had turkey trimmed with stuffing, bacon rolls, sausages, and stuffing in bacon rolls, homemade gravy, roast spuds, broccoli, brussel sprouts, mushrooms. And sara Lee strawberry cheesecake as an afterthought dessert.
Everything went well. There is an unholy mess in the kitchen, but that will wait till tomorrow.
Butterball was right..It came out just fiiiiine.....:)
We Had Ham ,I smoked it for 6 or so hrs , it was YUMMMMMMMY !!!
And Turkey , It didnt last Lonng enough for pics
Sweet Taters , but these were different , insted of being Smashed into a Pulp they were roasted and Sliced , and topped , they were KILLLLLER !!!
Veggies and stuffing
Yeah Gots to Have Deviled eggs !!!
Oh Check this out , a Heart shaped Egg
Gotz to Lurvs them Country Eggs !!!
Butterball was right..It came out just fiiiiine.....:)
"You've taken your first step into a larger universe." Fear no turkey henceforth.
We had
such car trouble logistics got in the way of our getting any goodies until T-day itself, so we baked some ham for the T-day and roasted the turkey with fixin's today. Still have to organize that pie, which needs only the filling and baking now... so it will probably end up being a latecoming "remove," vice actually a course. We are snarfing the turkey now, and it too came out fiiine. Next feast I make more sage-and-thyme bread stuffing, though. Inside old Tom just ain't enough.
I'm jealous of all of you that had interesting foods. My family's T-day meals are always dull as a brick. That's what they like, though. Picky people.
Turkey (at least I got a free range one)
mashed taters
gravy
cornbread stuffing w/sauteed onions added
green bean casserole
candied yams w/mini marshmallows (yeah, from a can)
whole berry cranberry sauce (from a can)
brown & serve rolls
Pecan pie
Brownies (SIL brought them)
Zzzzzzzzzz.....................
Part of the reason it was so boring is that we just had the hardwood floors installed and just didn't have time to do much more. Usually I would have at least made a homemade punkin pie. I would have liked more veggies too.
thanks, dana. I've never, ever had Indian food in my life though there are tons of Indians in the area and lots of authentic Indian places to eat (well, I'm told they're authentic!)
no one in my family will try Indian food with me. Might have to dive in all alone some day.
Neither have I, despite having worked for an Indian guy for 5 years.
Closest I got was when he forced us all to drink ginger tea one winter, saying it would keep us from getting sick. I managed to get him to stop by promising I'd drink ginger ale instead. :greenface
I'll go with you, Bri! You name the day!
We have a lot of Indian food at our place. I've just about perfected the recipe for butter chicken, and next on my list is lamb rogan josh. I make lots of other curries too, but none of them are to specific recipe's. Just whatever I happen to feel like that night.
beest did us proud. Brit style, though (but hey, at least we did turkey...)
We had turkey trimmed with stuffing, bacon rolls, sausages, and stuffing in bacon rolls, homemade gravy, roast spuds, broccoli, brussel sprouts, mushrooms. And sara Lee strawberry cheesecake as an afterthought dessert.
What!? No Heinz beans!?I'll go with you, Bri! You name the day!
sounds like a good plan!!!
I'll PM you my winter schedule
Oooooh. Oh that ham looks to die for! As does everything else in the spread. I am soooo jealous. I had a pot noodle for tea last night *sniffs* I probably ought to get my act together and clean my kitchen so I can cook some real food...
@ Bri: the great thing about curry is it comes in so many guises. If you want deeply savoury with meat and tomatoes and spice, go for a Rogan Josh, or a madras. Dopiaza is also very savoury, made with lots of onion in it. But if you want something sweeter and creamy, go for a Korma. My favourite curry is chicken korma, made with coconut and cream. Slightly spiced and very warming: a real comfort food, it is one I tend to associate with childhood. If you're not much for heavy sauces, get a Biryani: a rice dish with the curry mixed through it, much drier than the others.
Best way to eat curry (imo) is to go the full banquet route. Have two main curries on the table with plain white rice and some pilau rice, chapattis and papadums, naan bread, side dishes of dahl and aloo saag (spicy potatoes and spinach) a little salad, and some good chutney (tomato chutney works well, but my favourite is mango). Lots of different flavours and textures that all work together.
We had turkey trimmed with stuffing, bacon rolls, sausages, and stuffing in bacon rolls, homemade gravy, roast spuds, broccoli, brussel sprouts, mushrooms. And sara Lee strawberry cheesecake as an afterthought dessert.
What!? No Heinz beans!?
More to the point - no peas!?
What kind of a Brit are you?
Oh, yeah, one who hated Britain :p
thanks for the advice, Dana. That's very helpful as I've NO idea about the food. I'll be sure to hook up with some Indian food before christmas - now if juni wants to go along - that'd be great!
I'm late getting here but we served 12 fairly happy and hungry guests. I tried the high temp method that Alton Brown promotes and I do think it made for a very nice juicy turkey which weighed in at 18 lbs and the brine does help make it juicy yet with a nice crackly brown skim. I also did a 12 lb ham. I have 3 ovens which helped ensure that everything came out hot and was also served on heated plates.
We had lots of the usual side dishes but my favorite was a sweet potato gratin that I created on the spot. We gave a lot of the food to the kids as they departed so we don't have a ton of leftovers.
thanks for the advice, Dana. That's very helpful as I've NO idea about the food. I'll be sure to hook up with some Indian food before christmas - now if juni wants to go along - that'd be great!
I've only seen Dopiaza twice in the US. Chappattis are rare here too. Also, the chutneys are usually pretty grim, except the tamarind. England just has better Indian food than the US, in my experience. That's not to say that there isn't good Indian food here, it's just more rare and of a slightly different variety than it is in England.
Oh and note that as the English food is translated from Indian, with all its languages and dialects, there is a wide range of spellings for different dishes. For example I am familiar with dhaal and poppadoms, Dana with dahl and papadums. Both are translations, so both are correct.
I hate korma. Bleugh.
But then I'm not fond of coconut or almonds.
I like dopiaza, rogan josh, chicken ceylon (or papaya), and balti.
So basically I like sauce, tomatoes, onions and a sting in the tail.
Ask your waiter. Describe what you like to eat elsewhere.
If curries are not eaten widely in America, they will be used to the question and will appreciate it.
Better yet, grab a menu and put it on here.
Then get 12 conflicting views about what you should order :)
Perry, maybe your Indian immigrants came from a different part of India.
I mean it is a sub-continent in its own right.
Standard curry house here used to be Northern Indian, and supermarket curries and bought sauces still follow this pattern, but local places are branching out now.
I had my eyes opened living in Leicester, where there were Southern Indian restaraunts, purely vegetarian places and Afro-Carribean curry specialists.
I love a naan, but I miss being able to get a dosa, roti or paratha too.
Zip, I almost forget.
Mum melted at the sight of your ham.
She thought it looked gorgeous.
I was thinking about checking out the offerings at Trader Joe's before moving on to an actual restaurant. I'm kind of worried about going to an Indian restaurant and not knowing what to order and looking like an idiot.
I would hope I'm not entirely ethnic-food phobic. I do love Chinese. ;)
. . . well, the fake Chinese food they pass off on us silly Americans, anyway.
And mexican. Yum, guacamole. And Italian, what's not to love about that?
Seriously though, living here there's no excuse not to have at least a passing familiarity with authentic ethnic foods. Granted we're pretty white-bread, but we do have Jungle Jim's, where you can get anything from anywhere.
Back to the Indian thing . . . apologizing for the total thread drift . . . I'll be into it next quarter because I'm taking another post-colonial literature class with our Indian professor. :)
That is an excellent looking ham zip, Dennis would be all over it. Sweet potatoes look especially good too.
Thanks , the ham and the Turkey ( We Brined it over nite ) Were WAY Yummmmmy !!
And the Sweet taters were Fabulous !!!!
Great taste and texture
What!? No Heinz beans!?
More to the point - no peas!?
What kind of a Brit are you?
Oh, yeah, one who hated Britain :p
well, we rarely have peas as meal veggies any more because the kids eat them frozen all day as snacks..... but yes, oops, forgot peas. You caught us. I didn't hate Britain, I just don't miss it passionately any more.
Brianna, no wonder you didn't like the beans, you have absolutely no idea when they're appropriate -you merkins will eat anything with anything! :eek: :p :lol:
Brianna, no wonder you didn't like the beans, you have absolutely no idea when they're appropriate -you merkins will eat anything with anything! :eek: :p :lol:
This is true.
Curry is in every major, and many not so major, population centers throughout the United States. There may be at least one curry/Indian restaurant in the Dakotas by now. Can't say authoritatively, haven't been through in a while.
A few years ago, we dropped in for Thanksgiving at an Indian restaurant next town up the road. Tandoori turkey, for Thanksgiving. Tasty and intriguing, good tandoori, but not quite on-target for Thanksgiving dinner, I thought. I quite missed cranberry sauce... Definitely we go snarfing our way through Indian curry buffets of every description, and can tell korma from madras. And a nice lassi, salt or sweet. Chai mix is simply everywhere now, for the people who aren't going out today.
Chai mix should be good in a custard pie. Or sweet potato pie.
Just usual turkey,cranberry,etc........
MMMMMMMMMMM