Let's Talk Turkey-Thanksgiving

[canuckinchile]

My mom always makes the make ahead potatoes and my kids love them. They are always a request now. MRD, my hubby always does the dressing and when he has leftovers he bakes it at the end and mixes it with the stuffing from inside the bird. I freeze it in small quantities it there is any left , and pull it out for soups and stews. It's yummy.

[Google]

 

[myrosiedog]

Originally Posted by livin4reality

OMG. I'm thinking of making a coconut cream pie. I'm already doing an apple and a pumpkin. But coconut cream pie with a real meraingue topping sounds really good. Does anyone have a recipe/tips etc? Can it be made the day before?

OMG, I want to come to your house. I used to have a friend that made coconut cream pies on Thanksgiving. I always loved going to their house or leftovers. In fact, I never would eat coconut cream pie until he made me try it (I was in my late 30's at the time and thought I hated coconut) and i loved it.
Sadly, he's passed on and while I have many of his best recipes, I did not get the coconut cream pie one.

If you find a good one share.

Queenb, that's a good idea about only using half the cream and butter. Why the heck does it take potatos so long to reheat in the microwave when everything else heats so fast?
I also like to heat my milk and melt my butter before adding to the potatos, that way the temp stays hot and the cold milk and butter don't cool down the potatos.

[doxie]

Originally Posted by Keymaster

Who has really good stuffing recipes (that don't require in-bird cooking)?

My cornbread stuffing recipe is post #9 on the "Just Recipes" thread. I cut this out of the newspaper and "tested" it in advance of my husband's family visiting us for Thanksgiving 6 years ago. It turned out really well (I had never made stuffing before) but I LOST the recipe between then and Christmas when I was supposed to make it again for my family! I tore through the house like a tornado looking for that thing. Finally, my husband got online and found it in the newspaper's online archives where we had to PAY to get it back. I now have about 14 copies of it stashed around. It's really good.

[myrosiedog]

I have made an executive decision to brine the turkey. We have an extra fridge and I can take out a shelf. I plan to line a 5 gallon bucket with a clean garbage bag and brine away.
Now I just need to find a brine recipe that I think sounds good. Any and all suggestions would be welcome.

[Keymaster]

MRD, I usually use Emeril's brine recipe that you can find on the Food Network site. Last night, I started the turkey brining process, but I departed from conventional recipes. I'm making turkey Saturday, so I'll let you know how it turns out. Here's what I used for the brine:

2 c. apple juice
1 c. salt
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
3 oranges, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
1 onion cut into large chunks.
1 12/2 gals of water.

I out the turkey and the brine in a Hefty bag, then put the whole thing into a cooler and added ice to keep it cold. It went in last night around 11pm, and I'll keep it in there until Saturday morning.

[doxie]

MRD: I've never brined an entire turkey, but this is what I use for a large turkey breast. I'd imagine that you'd have to increase the amount of everything.

2 qts. water
1 cup Kosher salt
4 cloves garlic (I use minced from a jar)
1 lemon, sliced

Put all in large pot and bring to a boil.
Turn off heat and let cool before pouring over turkey and placing in fridge.

I have seen ads for "brining bags" but haven't tried them as I have a plastic container that is big enough for the turkey breast.

We have decided to make chicken and dumplings this year since it will just be the two of us for Thanksgiving. We'll save the big turkey dinner for Christmas when my family is here.

[Margaritaville]

Originally Posted by Keymaster

Who has really good stuffing recipes (that don't require in-bird cooking)?

My stuffing isn't so much a recipe as doctored up Stove-Top - but it is always a huge hit with lots of requests for the recipe each year. Who knew? I saute very thinly sliced mushrooms in butter, and make the stuffing according to the directions on package - except with the substitution of chicken stock for water. No matter how many stuffings are at the dinner - this is the only one that is gone every.single.time.

I started making homemade cranberry sauce a couple of years ago, it is so simple and tastes so much better than canned! I don't care for orange juice in mine, but I do half apple juice and half water. You have to cut the sugar a bit, but it is unique and very yummy.

[livin4reality]

MRD- I'm going to hold off on the coconut cream pie until after tday. I'm making a pumpkin cheesecake instead.

For your brine-I wouldn't use a trash bag to line unless it is a bag designed for food use. Can you just forgo the bag and use the bucket?

[Keymaster]

Turkey report:

I made the turkey in the apple soy brine last night. I was disappointed because I completely overcooked it. I didn't use a meat thermometer because mine broke last year and I haven't gotten a new one. I think our oven must run hot because it was done much more quickly than I thought it would be. The apple soy brine was alright but I wouldn't recommend it. The resulting turkey and gravy was kinda sweet.

Stuffing was very basic. I didn't have time to try anything new. Mashed potatoes - I used a modified version of Pioneer Woman's recipe. Mainly, my DW used all the cream cheese so I used sour cream instead. The method was good, though, and resulted in creamy - not watery - potatoes. Canned cranberries because my target audience prefers them and I didn't have time anyway.

My next thing will be to try a couple apple pie recipes. I have six mini foil pans to test apple pie recipes. I think I'll try precooking the apples because I want to avoid a soggy bottom crust.

[Bunny555]

Keymaster, thanks for the turkey report.......I've been thinking that I'll also modify the PW's mashed potatoes to our liking. Good luck with the pies!

ETA: Note to self to make sure I have a working meat thermometer.