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So I didn't see a holiday cooking thread so I thought I'd make one. Post your menus here, talk about logistics and planning and other cooking ideas. Mine so far (Thanksgiving): apps Lumpia Assorted cheeses/charcuterie mains Spatchcocked turkey Pork loin porchetta sides Oyster Dressing Mashed potatoes and gravy Yorkshire Puddings (depending on logistics, haven't really figured it out yet, would prefer not a la minute) Succotash (of unknown mix, or some other veg, haven't settled yet) cranberry sauce desserts Sticky Toffee Pudding Pie of unknown variety needs: bread or something, should probably settle on some of the things soon GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Nov 7, 2014 |
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Nov 7, 2014 19:48
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GrAviTy84 posted:Hey let's talk about Thanksgiving/Christmas/AssortedOtherHoliday cooking! No.
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Nov 7, 2014 19:52
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GrAviTy84 posted:needs: bread or something, should probably settle on some of the things soon The only right answer here is buttermilk dinner rolls. Challah is somewhat-acceptable second choice.
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Nov 7, 2014 19:58
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I'll be making:
mother in law makes the mashed potatoes
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Nov 8, 2014 20:53
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d3rt posted:I'll be making: Spinach gratin is a good idea. May cop that.
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Nov 8, 2014 21:15
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I need ideas for a Thanksgiving crudité/appetizer/side dish/dessert that will travel well and require little to finish, as I suspect the oven at my girlfriend's aunt's house will be fully occupied all morning. We will be driving 6 hours the day before Thanksgiving. My ideas so far consist of: chicken liver pâté, pumpkin roll, something with puff pastry like an apple tart or cheese straws. Some info about my girlfriend's family: her mom is a pie QUEEN, her grandma always makes the cranberry salad, and her aunt is from France and has way better taste in wine and cheese than me. Any thoughts?
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Nov 9, 2014 03:50
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Just got informed that my work is giving me a 15 pound turkey for the holidays. I am a single dude, living alone. I don't want to be eating regular turkey-based meals for the next month. Anyone have any outside of the box ideas?
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Nov 11, 2014 00:53
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I wonder if a local shelter or food donation dispensary/joint would take it instead?
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Nov 11, 2014 03:04
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ChrisHansen posted:Just got informed that my work is giving me a 15 pound turkey for the holidays. I am a single dude, living alone. I like d3rt's idea but if you want to keep it probably the best would be to part it out and handle each part differently. The breasts can be used for a few different things, obvious one being sandwiches. Just roast em like you would anything else until an internal temp of 160F, rest, and slice. Seasonings like thyme and sage work well for the standard turkey sandwich turkey. Cayenne pepper is a nice punch, too. Outside the box idea is to poach it and top it with Mala sauce http://www.goonswithspoons.com/Chinese_Cold_Sliced_Meats. Thighs, legs, and wings can be confited http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/turkey-leg-confit-with-garlic-gravy They can also be smoked and used as a base for bean soups and stews. (Like you would a ham hock) Can also do turkey in mole poblano, very very good http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Turkey-in-Mole-Poblano
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Nov 11, 2014 05:38
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dongsbot 9000 posted:I need ideas for a Thanksgiving crudité/appetizer/side dish/dessert that will travel well and require little to finish, as I suspect the oven at my girlfriend's aunt's house will be fully occupied all morning. We will be driving 6 hours the day before Thanksgiving. My ideas so far consist of: chicken liver pâté, pumpkin roll, something with puff pastry like an apple tart or cheese straws. Some info about my girlfriend's family: her mom is a pie QUEEN, her grandma always makes the cranberry salad, and her aunt is from France and has way better taste in wine and cheese than me. Chicken liver pâté sounds like a really good idea. You could slice up some raw vegetables and make a french onion dip, too. That'd probably travel fine if you fill a cooler with ice for the ride over. I wouldn't make something that could lose its nice presentation from the drive, or that requires any additional prep work. That kitchen's going to be a war zone. You could co-ordinate with the French aunt and bring foods to accompany her selection of cheeses. Depending on what she suggests (or will bring) you could pair with dried/fresh fruits, olives, balsamic vinegar, cornichons, local honey, nice crackers or thinly sliced and toasted baguette, quince paste, mixed nuts, olive tapenade, bruschetta spread, hummus, prosciutto, salami, pickled fish, smoked salmon (or lox, kept in a cooler).
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Nov 11, 2014 08:08
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ChrisHansen posted:Just got informed that my work is giving me a 15 pound turkey for the holidays. I am a single dude, living alone. Why not butcher the turkey into its component parts, then freeze most of it? You could easily have one or two turkey dishes (plus leftovers) a month for the next six months, and not have to worry about getting sick of it too quickly.
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Nov 11, 2014 15:46
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My Thanksgiving is pretty much always the same, just with a little variation in the veggie sides. I don't really know why, it just HAS TO BE THE SAMEEE every year cause I'm weird and boring I guess. Turkey, spatchcocked Cornbread stuffing (formed into crusty balls lol) Mashed potatoes (lots of buttermilk and butter) Mashed sweet potatoes (with orange juice, maybe pecans) Corn pudding Cranberry sauce (with OJ and cinnamon) Some kind of rolls Some kind of green beans, usually (not casserole) Dessert is this spiced rum-soaked pumpkin trifle my mom makes, some kind of pie (thinking a sugar cream or buttermilk pie), and maybe pecan pie bar cookies. Plus random appetizer dips, cheeses, crackers, veggies, etc. to eat during the day. I think this year the only guest we're having is my mom so it'll be all this food for 3 people haha yessss
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Nov 12, 2014 09:21
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Spinach gratin sounds great and I will now do a kale gratin up here. I'm thinking: - High roast turkey with a compound butter rub TBD. - Pumpkin pie with maple syrup - Small bowl of Glasgow punch - Kale gratin - Cold roast beets cooked a few days ahead and spritzed with vinegar and sliced pickled onion. - Roast squash. May or may not be forced to mash them by my wife. - Parker house rolls if I have time and energy, buttermilk biscuits if not. - Stuffing prepped the day before, details TBD - Whole cranberry sauce for me, smooth for my wife and most of the other guests. - Homemade cultured butter for everything - Gravy from the turkey drippings and giblets. - Chunky mashed potatoes with sour cream, garlic, and plenty of freshly chopped chive. - My father will surely bring a salad and green bean casserole. Cranberry sauces, pie, roasting of beets and squash will surely be done beforehand. Suggestions welcome.
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Nov 12, 2014 16:43
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I have been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. And it is a potluck. I was thinking of making a swedish dish called "Jansson's" which is basically a potato gratin with anchovies (in a cinnamon cardamom sauce) that tastes nothign liek fish and is a great side dish. What easy to make american style side dish could I take in addition? (Desert is provided by the host, so it has to be a side dish I guess). Some of you mentioned making rolls, is that a traditional thing to do as well?
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Nov 14, 2014 03:10
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Candied yams. It's so sugary, it's very American. I hate it.
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Nov 14, 2014 03:27
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Hopper posted:I have been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. And it is a potluck. Casseroles, rolls, anything au gratin, people might not be thinking of a salad, so that's an option.
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Nov 14, 2014 03:35
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d3rt posted:Candied yams. It's so sugary, it's very American. I hate it. serously, The Worst. Even worse if there's poo poo like marshmallows in it.
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Nov 14, 2014 07:20
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Crusty Nutsack posted:Turkey, spatchcocked GrAviTy84 posted:Spatchcocked turkey d3rt posted:
OK I'll bite: is spatchcocked the new way to do turkey this year? I haven't followed the turkey trends, I know smoked was popular for a while and then deep-fryed. I guess I am just surprised to see so many people say they are going to do their turkey this way. What's the advantage over a traditional roasting?
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Nov 14, 2014 14:53
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Ishamael posted:OK I'll bite: is spatchcocked the new way to do turkey this year? I haven't followed the turkey trends, I know smoked was popular for a while and then deep-fryed. Spatchcock sort of started an upswing in popularity a few years ago. It flattens out the turkey making the effective area to heat through have even thickness and thinner than a spherical blob of meat. This makes cooking faster and has the second benefit of you being able to go way hotter with the heat meaning crispy skin is more easily acheived
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Nov 14, 2014 17:04
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So are we gonna talk turkey again? I'll get this out of the way then. Brining is stupid and just makes your meat waterlogged and salty. Besides it's a whole bunch of effort for very little payoff. Injection is the pro method to flavor and moisten a bird. Inject it with seasonings and fat like butter.
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Nov 14, 2014 17:09
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I thought the pro method was a dry brine uncovered for one or more days in the fridge? Also the last turkey I cooked was spatchcocked, 14 lbs, and it only took 80 minutes to cook. My guests were amazed.
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Nov 14, 2014 17:13
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Dry brining is the New Way that a lot of people, myself included, really enjoy. The typical complaints of a full immersion wet brine is like corat said, waterlogs the meat, waterlogs the skin so it's harder to get crispy skin, and it waters down the already near non existent flavor of sad factory turkeys. Dry brining is basically pre-salting and letting it sit for a few days. The salt draws out the moisture in the meat and forms a brine out of the turkeys own juices and brines the turkey. This solves the water log and watered down problem, skin problem can be solved by spatchcocking and resting it skin up in a container. then the skin is getting moisture drawn out, drying out for extra crispiness, and the juices are sitting in contact with the meat brining the bottom. Injection is fine, modernist does it for a faster result as you are increasing the number of infusion points. I personally don't care for turning my bird into a pincushion and I cook my turkey to a lower temp than USDA rec because 165 F is a meat desert so dry meat isn't really a problem. I also make a pretty fatty gravy in the style of a jus gras which is basically a beurre monte but with meat fat instead of butter and lecithin as an emulsion stabilizer.
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Nov 14, 2014 17:26
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GrAviTy84 posted:Dry brining & a lower temp than USDA rec That was the best pro dry brining argument I've read. I will do this in addition to injection this year. What temp do you pull your bird out at and let it coast to if I might ask?
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Nov 14, 2014 17:36
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Croatoan posted:That was the best pro dry brining argument I've read. I will do this in addition to injection this year. What temp do you pull your bird out at and let it coast to if I might ask? depending on how big 145 to 155F The bigger the turkey the lower you can go because the extra mass will give you more carryover. I like to aim for 150 F because I'm more comfortable at that, but people like Michael Ruhlman suggest 145 F. Breaking into the 140's with poultry outside of sous vide kinda gives me the jeebies though.
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Nov 14, 2014 17:54
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Here's my menu for Thanksgiving so far: Tortilla soup SV turkey breast Giblet Gravy Sweet potatoes (old school, pureed and topped with brown sugar) Yeast Rolls Jalapeńo Corn bread modernist Mac and cheese (smoked gouda and aged cheddar) Ham Brussels sprouts (Browned, with bacon, cream and parm) Broccoli casserole (Traditional, mom's recipe) Corn soufflé Stuffing Mashed potatoes Dry fried green beans Lemon meringue pie Some kind of cake I guess.
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Nov 14, 2014 18:34
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Sweet potatoes (old school, pureed and topped with brown sugar) Instead of topping with brown sugar, why don't you give this a test run and report back? It intrigued me but I'm not hugely into sweet potatoes (bad experience with marshmallows and an overzealous grandma).
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Nov 14, 2014 19:33
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Here's a question and this is the thread for it. I'm British, and will be spending Christmas with my British in-laws and other British family members in America. I'll be doing the Christmas meal, which will be a largely British affair. If I wanted to inject some new world elements what three things should I cook to go along with the main course to achieve this? Marshmallow and sweet potatoes? Sh'more stuffing? Grits? What do you people do for dessert where we would have a christmas pudding? I should point out that a British christmas dinner is traditionally 'Turkey and all the trimmings' so it might be more like your thanksgiving dinner. I haven't a clue what you people get up to. edit: it goes without saying ill be studying this thread closely and candied yams sounds fun already Pissflaps fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 20:00
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Interesting. Maybe I can sv the day before and then roast them the day of. Or do it all the day before so I just have to reheat.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:03
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Interesting. Maybe I can sv the day before and then roast them the day of. Or do it all the day before so I just have to reheat. What might be cool is sous viding the day before with some sort of gluten or starch coating on the turkey then deep frying the next day.
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Nov 14, 2014 20:25
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GrAviTy84 posted:depending on how big 145 to 155F The bigger the turkey the lower you can go because the extra mass will give you more carryover. I like to aim for 150 F because I'm more comfortable at that, but people like Michael Ruhlman suggest 145 F. Breaking into the 140's with poultry outside of sous vide kinda gives me the jeebies though. Now I want to see someone sous vide an entire turkey. But not spatchcocked, because that would be cheating
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Nov 14, 2014 20:38
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What's everyone doing for stuffing? I need some inspiration. Sadly my mother is not on the oyster stuffing bandwagon, so that kind of throws my usual idea out the window.
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Nov 14, 2014 22:25
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WanderingMinstrel I posted:What's everyone doing for stuffing? I need some inspiration. Sadly my mother is not on the oyster stuffing bandwagon, so that kind of throws my usual idea out the window. I can't seem to move past what I grew up with. Boxed stuffing (I think Mrs Cubinson's brand) augmented with actual mirepoix (sauteed with butter) and browned pork sausage. Heretics have tried to add nuts or other things.
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Nov 14, 2014 23:27
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Ultimate Mango posted:I can't seem to move past what I grew up with. Boxed stuffing (I think Mrs Cubinson's brand) augmented with actual mirepoix (sauteed with butter) and browned pork sausage. Heretics have tried to add nuts or other things. Personally I'd skip boxed if the seasoning is already mixed in. I go with the big plastic bags of ready-made croutons then mix my own seasoning with sage, thyme, sea salt 'n fresh ground pepper, fresh parsley, chicken and/or turkey stock. Then the mirepoix with pork sausage + finely diced granny smith apple. I want to control the salt-to-bread ratio hence my own seasonings. Finally, I try to get a really nice browning on the top of the dressing like when you brown a lasagne.
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Nov 15, 2014 01:19
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d3rt posted:Personally I'd skip boxed if the seasoning is already mixed in. I go with the big plastic bags of ready-made croutons then mix my own seasoning with sage, thyme, sea salt 'n fresh ground pepper, fresh parsley, chicken and/or turkey stock. Then the mirepoix with pork sausage + finely diced granny smith apple. I want to control the salt-to-bread ratio hence my own seasonings. Finally, I try to get a really nice browning on the top of the dressing like when you brown a lasagne. This guy gets it. We don't use the seasoning that comes with it, just the croutons. We don't do the apple thing though. Maybe I will try to Searzall the stuffing this year.
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Nov 15, 2014 05:45
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We do a cornbread stuffing. Couple boxes of Jiffy cornbread, same amount of French bread, both left out overnight to dry. Add in lots of onions and celery sauteed in lots of butter, a couple eggs, chicken broth, lots of sage, some thyme, S+P. That's it, and it's super delicious.
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Nov 15, 2014 08:27
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Pissflaps posted:Here's a question and this is the thread for it. I'm British, but spent years living in America. Probably not grits.  Mac'n'cheese. Cranberry sauce. Green bean casserole? Pumpkin pie? Motherhood and apple pie?
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Nov 15, 2014 14:12
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Any ideas for a vegetarian main thing? I'll be bringing my own main thing for me + girlfriend and probably a side of some sort.
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Nov 15, 2014 19:33
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Eeyo posted:Any ideas for a vegetarian main thing? I'll be bringing my own main thing for me + girlfriend and probably a side of some sort. Heidi's Mushroom Bake and Georgie's Spaghetti Squash & Kale Gratin are always hits for me. You can make them a couple of days ahead because they reheat & travel well too.
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Nov 16, 2014 02:38
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Spousal request to do Turchetta instead of a regular deep fried turkey has been denied. I was going to do the breast as Turchetta and smoke the dark quarters. I feel pretty devastated that I wasn't allowed to do this, maybe to the point of posting in EN about it. Would I be dumb to do a deep fried turkey in addition to a small Turchetta?
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Nov 16, 2014 03:43
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Ultimate Mango posted:Spousal request to do Turchetta instead of a regular deep fried turkey has been denied. I was going to do the breast as Turchetta and smoke the dark quarters. no, smaller factory turkeys taste better anyway.
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Nov 16, 2014 03:47
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