Thanksgiving Dinner Successes

[bearphonium]

Yams. Or Sweet Potatoes, but I like yams. Peel, nuke and mash.
Butter. Lots.
Cinnamon. Some.
Nutmeg. A bit
Brown sugar. To taste.
Blend. With a little 1/2 and 1/2.
Baby Marshmallows, covering the top.
Bake until Marshmallows are toasted.
Eat.

[tbn.al]

The beer butt turkey was marvelous! We had it, an oven baked turkey and a ham all of the same size(weight). After feeding 26, we still have plenty of ham and regular turkey but the grilled was gone first. I'm trying not to be too obvious with my gloating.

[TubaTodd]

I guess the success for me was that I got to eat lots of wonderful food and I didn't have to cook any of it. Our spread was as follows....

2 turkey breasts (cooked perfectly in the oven. My dogs loved the meat I pulled off the bone for them [no, I did NOT give them the bones. That would be dangerous])
Cornbread Dressing (cornbread "stuffing" for all you Yankees. My inlaw's recipe is perfect)
Greenbeans (cooked with bacon instead of a ham-hock)
Yams (traditional recipe topped with diced pecans)
Corn Casserole (My favorite!!!! canned sweet corn, some greenbeans, sour cream (I think), some other stuff....topped with crumbled Ritz) RECIPE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Mixed Greens (I believe it was a mixture of Turnip and mustard greens. Ehh...they were ok)
Congealed Salad (combination of Jell-O, pinapple, walnuts and marshmallows)
Cranberry (from the can)
Cranberry conserve (home-made with whole berries)
Mashed Potatoes (pre-made)
Dozen Deviled Eggs
Celery stuffed with a "Pimento and Cheese" spread (all home-made)
Pumpkin Pie (store bought, but VERY good)
Pecan Pie (store bought, but VERY good)

[Dylan King]

The most successful cooking "experiment" we discovered this Thanksgiving was the future chef that's now cooking in my wife's womb!

[BVD Press]

A warning I don't ever use recipes, but just buy a bunch of stuff and go from there so I have no measurements...

Creamed Onions with Parsnips:

a pound or so of boiling onions
a bag of parsnips
butter (a bunch)
heavy cream
salt and pepper
nutmeg

With the skins on, drop onions in boiling water for 1 minute. Take the onions out and run them under cold water to cool and stop the cooking process. Peal the parsnips and chop up finely so the they look like garlic. Peel onions and put in bowl with parsnips. In a pan, combine butter, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and add onions and parsnips. Cook on low for about 20 minutes. You might need to add a little flour to thicken the sauce, but this will probably not be necessary. After this is cooked, add it to something that can go in the oven for about 30 minutes. Add some bread crumbs on top and either stick it in the oven or refrigerator for another day. Let's just say I was surprised how good it was!

You could probably add a little sherry and spices.

The rest of the menu for the day:

Before meal food: Crackers and cheese; cajun shrimp; cheese and fruit kabobs

Appetizers: Garden salad; Grape tomatoes with basil, mozzarella cheese, red onion and a balsamic vinaigrette salad; Sour cream noodle salad with tomatoes, carrots and red pepper

Sort of appetizers: Seafood chowder (lobster, tilapia, cod, clams, shrimp and scallops with potatoes...); bread

Dinner: Turkey with corn bread rosemary, sage and thyme stuffing; roasted garlic mashed potatoes; green beans; creamed onions with a heavy cream and parsnip sauce (this was a throw in, but was great!)

Dessert: Apple Pie; Blueberry Pie; Sweet Potato Pie; Boston Cream Pie; Birthday cake (Captain Underpants!! This cake was way cool); Ice Cream and Whip Cream

Drinks included: Apple Cider; Sugar Cookie and regular egg nog; soda; wine; water; orange juice

My wife does the desserts and I get the rest...

[Chadtuba]

The most successful cooking "experiment" we discovered this Thanksgiving was the future chef that's now cooking in my wife's womb!

Dylan, we had the same findings this past week. From one to another, congratulations. May he (or she) be born healthy and come out ready to lay the smack down on the nearest tuba

[roughrider]

Congratulations to you and your wife. Another gift to the world from God!

[Dylan King]

The most successful cooking "experiment" we discovered this Thanksgiving was the future chef that's now cooking in my wife's womb!

Dylan, we had the same findings this past week. From one to another, congratulations. May he (or she) be born healthy and come out ready to lay the smack down on the nearest tuba

I think I'll start the child on piano. It's so hard to find a good accompanist!