Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Thanksgiving

What to do with leftover turkey

tr0ubley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:01:56 -0800

Please share your best recipes for leftover turkey. Most of the recipes that turn up online sound bland, or like a bad sequel to Thanksgiving dinner. Help me think of something new and interesting to do with the leftover bird. Bonus points if it is not a soup or pot pie.

thanksgiving volunteer wilmington de

saraindc — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:39:30 -0800

emergency help! I'm without plans tonight at the last minute and want to volunteer in wilmington, delaware area for thanksgiving today/tonight. i can't find any specific opportunities, have already called a few places, didn't find anything on-line. PLEASE if you know of a SPECIFIC place needing volunteers tonight (not just a suggestion to call a church or soup kitchen) let me know asap. thanks!

Turkey Day is A-Okay?

Ash3000 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:30:39 -0800

About eight years ago, I read this article on some radical-leaning progressive website, about how the author had come to love Thanksgiving, despite originally viewing it as a celebration of mass murder. This is what I remember about the article:

1. I'm pretty certain I found it on the Z Magazine website (though I haven't been able to find it now.)

2. The author originally took a Howard Zinn-like approach, and felt mixed at best about celebrating a day that had a historical association with genocide.

3. Eventually she started viewing it as an opportunity to reconnect with progressive values of community and true family, and assimilated it into her politics, including (I think) reading a poem or prayer about togetherness at the gathering.

I remember sharing it with several political friends, both conservative and progressive, and all of us finding it touching. Anyone have any idea what I'm thinking of? Wanted to send it to a friend. Thanks!

Do I need to go to the store again?

betweenthebars — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:12:51 -0800

If I make Fiery Sweet Potatoes with green curry paste instead of red, will it taste okay?

Brining for too long?

blueplasticfish — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:24:36 -0800

Brine Filter: My turkey's been brining in very cold conditions for now 36 hours. Should I remove it? I put the thawed turkey in the brine Monday night at 7:00pm. The turkey is 16.64 lbs, I used a bucket, and is sitting outside covered where it has been pretty cold. (I checked in on it and found some ice just barely starting to form on the surface.) My friend told me I need to brine for 3 days, but after reading around the web this morning, this seems like too long. So, as of right now, ~9:00am Mountain, my Turkey has been brining for ~36 hours. The apple cider brine that I used from Williams Sonoma marked 36 hours as the longest time the bird should be brinded. I don't want to brine for too long.

So, what do I do now? Should I take the bird out and rinse in off really well? If so, how do I store it until I put it in the oven tomorrow? Refrigerator? Bagged? Covered with foil?

The most insane Turkey recipe ever.

melorama — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:36:42 -0800

I'm searching for an completely insane recipe for a "blackened" roasted turkey that David Rosengarten prepared on his old Food Network show, "Taste". Back in the early to mid 90s (when the Food Network had programs that were actually worth watching), the loveably snooty David Rosengarten had an awesome show called "Taste", where he would discuss one selected food item in excruciating and fascinating detail every week.

One one show, he demonstrated how to make a crazy Roasted Turkey recipe which required 30 or 40 steps to prepare. The culmination of the recipe, as I recall, was covering the whole bird with some sort of substance that caused the outer crust of the turkey to turn completely black.

The only other detail I remember is that the premise of the show was that the recipe was published by a newspaper or magazine writer many, many years ago, and that the pure insanity of the recipe had become an near urban legend that David Rosengarten sought to actually try out for himself to see if it was for real.

What's the name of this Turkey dish? (and an extra gold star if you can tell me where I can watch old episodes of "Taste" online)

thanksgiving minus turkey plus nyc

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:01:40 -0800

Will be in NYC for Thanksgiving: Will things be open? Anything cool going on? My mother and I are not too into the rituals of Thanksgiving. This year we're ditching the family dinners and, instead, meeting in New York City to take advantage of the city, our vacation time, and seeing each other (it's been about 6 months since we last hung out). We'll be there from Wednesday-Saturday.

We have specific thing on our agenda (eating at Momofuku, shopping at Desigual, going to MoMA for free on Friday, experiencing culture shock at Brighton Beach, going to bars with photobooths), but I'm wondering if most places will be open on Thanksgiving Day and/or if there is anything particularly fun happening then.

I'm pretty sure that neither of us is interested in watching the Thanksgiving parade (again, not too into Thanksgiving as a holiday), and this is her first time to NYC. We like art, walking around, food and wine, theatre, and various other funky things (Mom is hipper than I am...). But, neither of us wants to spend too much money, especially since we know that a fun time can be had in NYC without breaking the bank.

Where to go for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in NYC this Thursday?

Pontius Pilate — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:16:24 -0800

Where to go for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in NYC this Thursday? A couple of friends and I live and work in NYC and decided against going back to our various respective families for Thanksgiving. We'd still like to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday, but alas, none of us has anything close to the requisite cooking skills - so we are wondering how feasible it is to find a restaurant in Manhattan that does a good Thanksgiving dinner.

I have looked through various guides online, and it does look like there are many restaurants that do in fact offer this. However, the reviews are fairly sparse, and I'd love to get some first-hand recommendations from those who have done something like this in the past - or even anecdotal, second-hand suggestions. Any input would be much appreciated!

Thanksgiving Vodka?

The Whelk — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:42:50 -0800

Vodka That Tastes Like Fall? Since I do my Thanksgiving a week or so after everyone else, I have time to infuse a massive jug of vodka with seasonally appropriate flavors for the festivities. What infuses well and tastes like fall/thanksgiving/etc? I was thinking cinnamon/apple but that almost seems too trite. Maple? Nutmeg? Do nuts infuse well(or at all?) if you mash them into a powder?

Help me perform an expatriat culinary miracle.

bookish — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:07:18 -0800

How can I best approximate a real Thanksgiving turkey— with chicken, a gas burner, and toaster oven? What other kinds of traditional fare can I make, given the limited ingredients available where I live? Help me have a real Thanksgiving far from home! I'm studying in India for the year, and my fellow American students and I want to put on a Thanksgiving dinner. One girl is making cornbread, using corn meal she brought with her from home. There will be mashed potatoes. There will be mulled wine. But what else, and how?

I really would like something turkey-like, but there is no way I can find turkey meat. Chicken is my best bet. This is a pretty vegetarian city, but there are some butchers, and I could probably find basically any part of the bird I need (or the whole bird, but I don't think that will fit in the toaster oven). I'm not really sure how to go about cooking it though— I've never cooked a turkey and, having been a vegetarian for much of my life, I don't really have experience cooking meat in general. I need major help.

I would also like to fill out the selection of side dishes. Again, there are ingredient constraints. I can get fresh carrots, peas, potatoes, beets, white radishes, cauliflower, okra, green beas, cabbage, tomatoes, onions and garlic. I can get green bell peppers, but not red or yellow. I can get a variety of squashes, but they're all a little different than the varieties I'm used to. There are also yam-like things, but they're not the sweet potatoes of home. I can get corn, but only frozen. No broccoli, mushrooms, cranberries, celery.

No prepared convenience ingredients like chicken broth, cream of mushroom soup, pie crust. Cheese is possible but difficult, expensive, and comes in a very limited range. Flour, butter, eggs are go. Cooking oil, but not olive oil or anything fancy like that. European spices are of very limited availability, with the exception of those used in Indian food (coriander, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon). I have some dried basil and oregano, and may be able to find rosemary and thyme if I'm lucky.

I don't have any fancy kitchen equipment either— a few assorted pots and pans, a few knives, spatulas, spoons. I have a countertop gas range with two burners and a toaster oven to bake (smallish) things in.

If you have any ideas for Thanksgiving food that I could pull off using what I've got, please tell me. We're all homesick and really looking forward to putting on a delicious, heartwarming feast.

Help me plan a fun solo Thanksgiving

Xere — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:49:03 -0800

Kinda excited at the prospect of my first Thanksgiving alone. Where can a twentysomething girl go, or do, for Thanksgiving - both day and night? I'm in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area. Previous similar question, and I've taken all answers to heart. But mine has a twist: I can't stay in. Staying in is not an option, I have to get out of the house. My live-in landlords are having their family Thanksgiving. Yes, I am invited, but I have no wish to participate. This is because of their current family feud, which will doubtlessly implode over Thanksgiving dinner. I do not wish to be there for the carnage and awkwardness. I don't even want to stay in my room while they bash it out over the dinner table.

So I would like to experience a lovely solo Thanksgiving. What can I do? Surely there must be something. So far, my morning options consist of either exploring the Santa Anita Canyon, or the hiking trails around Pasadena's Rose Bowl or Eaton Canyon. Any other options? Nightlife? Bars?

Help 3 clueless Brits do something fun for thanksgiving in NYC!

hibbersk — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:26:13 -0800

3 Brits in NYC, no plans for thanksgiving and wondering what all the fuss is about! What cool stuff can we do this weekend? Husband I have recently relocated to NYC from the UK. We have a friend visiting from the UK for the weekend, arriving late on Wednesday night. We haven't really made any plans for thanksgiving, apart from maybe checking out the Macy's parade. After all, we don't really understand what all the fuss is about! But now I'm thinking - maybe we should make a bigger deal about it! What cool (preferably cheap/free) things can we do? Will all the good restaurants be fully booked by now? And finally, will there be more or less tourists than usual around and queueing up for things like the Empire State Building / Statue of Liberty / [other mandatory tourist things that visitors like to do] ?

ThanksgivingFilter: Cranberry mold help, please!!

choochoo — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:13:19 -0800

Years ago, I went to my aunt's house, and she made this really fun Jello mold that was red and had bits of food-processed cranberries, walnuts, celery, and pineapple bits. It was soooo delicious! Since then I've tried to replicate it a few times, all to no avail. Each time, the Jello doesn't set and it comes out like basically a cranberry sauce that tasted like whatever Jello flavor I use. Can anyone point me to a good recipe AND include some tips for success? Many thanks in advance!!

Cooking a turkey in an electric roaster oven

Lylo — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:49:47 -0800

Have you ever used an electric roaster oven to cook a large turkey? So I am looking at the directions from a Rival 22 qt roaster oven and a Hamilton Beach 22 qt roaster over. The Rival directions suggest 13-15 minutes per pound at 325 degrees (over 5 hours for a 22 pound unstuffed turkey). The Hamilton Beach directions say turkey cooks faster in an electric roaster oven than in a conventional oven, and that it should take 2 to 3 hours for the same size bird at the same temperature. Who is right? (I can't imagine the roasters are that different from each other, 325 degrees is 325 degrees, right?). Also in the Hamilton Beach instructions, it states if you want the turkey to brown, paint it with a mixture of Kitchen Bouquet and butter. I've never used Kitchen Bouquet and don't know how this will effect the taste (I'm salting the turkey per the "salt don't brine" recipe in last year's Bon Appetit magazine, which tasted GREAT when cooked in a conventional oven.

Like a turkey trying to fly.

zoomorphic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:37:49 -0800

I'm hosting my first Thanksgiving. I have zero idea what I'm doing. Advice, s'il vous plait! I got the bright idea to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for my fellow NYC transplant friends who aren't flying home for the holidays, doubling as an excuse to show off my cool new apartment. Oh, except, I can barely cook tofu, let alone an entire turkey. Today I saw a sign-up list at a grocery store for turkeys that ended yesterday, and I was mortified that somehow I'd missed the turkey lottery deadline. I need advice on everything.

My ten guests are bringing side dishes according to their household traditions, but I'm in charge of the turkey, the mulled wine, candied bacon ice cream and pumpkin pie. I'm a good baker and will do right by the desserts, but I need easy-to-follow advice on good places to acquire a bird (preferably free-range, organic) suited for 10 people, gutting it, basting it, etc. If you've got a good mulled wine recipe, send it my way. Any favorite Martha Stewart touches would be lovely. Miscellaneous advice related to large dinner parties would be much appreciated as well.

(Damn, no benzos. No wine.)

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:11:41 -0800

My unplanned-pregnant soon-to-be-single-mother friend was unexpectedly invited to Thanksgiving dinner with the, err, donor and his parents. She is freaking out, convincing herself that it will be terrible, etc. Suggestions? My friend is just past her first trimester. Her pregnancy was unplanned, the guy is kind of a d-bag (as for what the "d" stands for, reader's choice). She understandably has mixed (putting it lightly) feelings about him. The enormity of impending motherhood is stressing her out, and leading to some serious depression, and exacerbating existing anxiety.

In his defense, her raging hormones don't make civil discourse easy for me, her friend, much less the guy, who comes across as a little dopey, a little selfish, often insensitive but also just clueless. He's got a Peter Pan thing goin' on, and hasn't had much in the way of long term relationships. He has made little overtures that seem to me promising, but in a spectacular refutation of accepted animal training methods, she seems to opt for bypassing positive reinforcement and goes with reminding him that he doesn't get it.

She is in dire need of a support system outside of, well, me. She works (indirectly) with his father, and has briefly met his mother (pre-pregnancy), and seems to think highly of them both. She has (and I have) hopes that his parents might be supportive.

She really wants to reach out to them, but is overcome with anxiety when crunch time comes around - she described hiding when his father stopped by her area of the building. She had another chance to meet them (painting at his house) and stayed in bed all day instead.

In a surprise move, he invited her to Thanksgiving dinner with his folks. And now she is on the verge of freaking out and missing another of a diminishing number of opportunities to connect with her child's grandparents.

So, sans benzos, or a glass of wine (she has really bought into the "we don't know how little alcohol it takes to harm your baby"), what can I do to assist her in being up for Thanksgiving?

(junk email account: askmefiquestion1000 at gmail)

Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving

silsurf — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:59:27 -0800

Santa Barbara Thanksgiving Dinner Location My wife and I are going to be in Santa Barbara, CA for Wednesday and Thursday the 25th and 26th.

We are eating at the Hungry Cat on Wednesday night, but so far cannot find a restaurant that is even open for Thursday. Perhaps it will be a quiet night at the hotel, but if there are any suggestions out there, we would love to hear them.

Thanks.

Henry

What should I do (by myself, possibly with two dogs) for Thanksgiving within a couple hundred miles of Houston, TX?

junipero — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:49:38 -0800

What should I do (by myself, possibly with two dogs) for Thanksgiving within a couple hundred miles of Houston, TX? I'm going to be alone for the first time on Thanksgiving. I have offers from friends to spend the holiday with them and their families, but I'm actually kind of excited about spending it on my own and taking some much needed time to clear my head.

I'd like to do something adventurous but there are a couple snags. 1) I'm 28, female, and not well-versed in the outdoors, so I need to make sure I don't get in over my head. 2) I have two pugs who I'd like to take with me but who I can board if necessary.

Camping probably isn't a great idea since, as I said, I'll be alone, and I just don't have the equipment for it. But I would like to take my mountain bike with me and use it if possible.

As for food, I'll probably cook for myself and pack everything in a cooler.

Any ideas and suggestions are welcome!

A bird in the Tuthahn

CharlesV42 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:19:30 -0800

What are some good alternatives to turkey for a thanksgiving main dish? My parents are coming up for my first hosted thanksgiving and I am looking for options of dishes to make instead of a turkey. I'm not a vegetarian, I just don't really like turkey enough to buy a giant bird and be forced to plow through the leftovers resulting. My ideal dish would be:

- Large and impressive
- Not super complicated
- Delicious
- Somewhat hearth-y and home-y
- Not super-big on fowl

Possibilities I've been banding around:

- Fresh ham, brined and glazed
- Crown roast of pork
- Beef wellington
- Sausage stuffed lamb belly

Has anyone had any success with an impressive non-turkey centerpiece? Or should I just give in and order one? Can I have thanksgiving without a big ole bird?

Thanksgiving for two?

anthropomorphic — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:29:25 -0800

My significant other will be abroad for Thanksgiving & our anniversary. What recipes can I make to celebrate belated Thanksgiviversary for two? Thanksgiving and our anniversary are on the same day and he'll be overseas during that time. I'd like to make a moderately sized dinner for him (think up to four courses?) but don't know how to go about it. I've never made Thanksgiving dinner before. Also since this will be after Thanksgiving proper, what sort of ingredients should I buy now that might not be as available in the week or two after Thanksgiving?

I grew up in a family of just three. My parents (immigrants) always felt a turkey was too big for us so we just made chicken. Should I just make and freeze a bigass turkey? I'd prefer the venture not to take all day as we both have finals around the corner. Are there teeny turkeys I can buy? What else should I make for it besides stuffing? Cranberry relish recipes not needed because I'm obsessed with that terrible/awesome can-shaped Ocean Spray jelly stuff. We're both not big dessert eaters either, so I'd prefer the recipes be geared toward the savory and of course, sized for two. And there's no such thing as traditional anniversary food, right?

Help!

Great dish for a Thanksgiving potluck?

miskatonic — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:13 -0800

Help me think of something delicious to bring to a Thanksgiving potluck. As you might expect, there are a few limitations. This will be for a fairly sizable group - let's say 40 to be safe - so it needs to be something that's easy to make in large quantities. Additionally, and probably most problematically, I can't guarantee I'll be able to heat anything or keep it cold on site, and we won't be eating until we've been at the venue for at least three or four hours. Other people mostly have the sweets and desserts covered, so I'd like to avoid those.

So I need something savory I can make a lot of and which will be tasty and safe to serve at room temperature. So far the only idea I have is something bready, but straight-up cornbread seems too dull. Any other suggestions?

Smoked Turkey

dirtdirt — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:21:33 -0800

I am going to smoke a turkey this year for Thanksgiving. Uh. 'Smoke' like a brisket, not 'smoke' like a cigarette. Any advice? I have a Weber Bullet, and I am reasonably comfortable with it - done a bunch of briskets and ribs. But a whole turkey? That is out of my comfort zone. The stakes are high because, well, it's Thanksgiving. I get one shot and if I botch it we're all eating macaroni and cheese. And my appetite for turkey is not such that I care to do a practice turkey.

There are a couple of good looking techniques over on the useful website with the dumb name, and I am leaning towards the apple brine method they have, but first hand accounts, tips, tricks, recipes, or caveats would be great.

Turkey massacre

popcassady — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:36:55 -0800

Turkeys. Which festival consumes the most? In my country we eat them for Christmas. In the USA, I gather, they get eaten at Thanksgiving.

So what's the deal? Do Americans eat turkey for Christmas too? Are there other celebrations in other cultures which feature a whole roast turkey? Is turkey for Christmas a global tradition?

Which festival sees the death of the most turkeys worldwide? Christmas, Thanksgiving, or other?

And a turkey in a cranberry bush…

fishmasta — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:46:39 -0800

Celebrating Thanksgiving by myself for the first time. Tips on making it meaningful and memorable? It looks like I'll be alone for Thanksgiving for the first time in my life and I'm wondering what to do. My friends and family will all be out of town, so it'll just be me. Thanksgiving's always been one of my favorite holidays aside from Christmas (always within a week of my birthday and full of good food and family) and I feel the need to celebrate it, but haven't figured out what to do yet.

I've thought about helping distribute food to the needy, which I've done before and enjoyed, but I always hear stories about how everyone does that on Thanksgiving and my help could best be used another time. Is that generally true (I'm in Los Angeles if that helps)? If so, what are some other options for celebrating that won't leave me cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for one?

help me use my cranberry sauce

acidic — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:41:51 -0800

What can I make using a can of jellied cranberry sauce that not only doesn't involve a turkey, but doesn't involve an oven or (most) cheese? I have two cans that are expiring in a few days. Turkey is hard to come by in my country and I don't have an oven. I can find mediocre cheese: cheddar, grated white pizza, brie, camembert. I can make ricotta and goat cheese. I have pots, pans, a grill, and a blender. I looked at this question but most recipes didn't fit my constraints. However, the smoothie idea was intriguing-- what flavors would it pair well with? I do have a loaf of pumpkin bread, so I'd appreciate non-turkey sandwich ingredients.