So Thanksgiving is coming up

[Lenardo]

And my wife and i decided --we Ain't going no where...

the twins are too mobile to sit down in a chair for hrs etc and neither house we'd goto (my dads/her parents) are babyproofed...

so we decided to cook and invite Them over (doubt my parents will come due to them having my 3 little sisters & a few others over) for Thanksgiving dinner.

I get to cook.

menu is to be:

turkey (naturally)-debating as to whether or not to brine it...i got 2 awesome recipes, one calls for brining in an apple cider based brine the other doesn't...i'll probably go the easier way (not brining) this time around

mashed potatoes with garlic, carmelized leeks and mascarpone
sweet potatoe cassarole
stuffing - with sausage & leeks
peas
greenbeans
cranberry sauce

dessert

spiced pumpken cheesecake
apple pie...

any other suggestions?

[Isloor]

Mmmmm. Best turkey I ever had was deep fried. :D

As for suggestions:

Homemade Mac and Cheese
Homemade Potato Salad
Giblet Gravy ;)

[Lenardo]

gravy is a given.....

[jago668]

I've always liked mine brined than not. I do agree with Isloor that deep fried turkey is very good. This one gentlemen I knew cut his turkey into strips and chicken fried it, was very very good.

Maybe some corn, I like good corn for thanksgiving. Also pink stuff, gotta have pink stuff. All I know about pink stuff is it has something to do with cherries and whipping cream.

[Bodhidharma]

Frozen Corn + Cream Cheese in a crockpot.

As for the turkey, can't say I've ever had a "brined" turkey. Folks would normally just do it in the oven. Cook it at like 500 degrees for a bit, basically sears the skin on the outside, then lower the temp and cook it for a while the rest of the morning.

Always turned out juicy enough for me.

[Lenardo]

brined helps make it more flavorful..trust me i've brined a few chickens before and they were absolutely delicious

basically you soak the bird overnight in a applecider/salt/other herb bath.....

and if you are really fancy you inject some of the brine into the meat itself

[Tazer]

Sounds great.. but now I must know. I need the recipes for:

The mashed potatoes with garlic and marscapone..
and the corn and cream cheese thing.

Both sound killer... more info please.

[Lenardo]

the mashed potatoes is in this months bon appetit. its not on their website yet so you have to wait til tonite

[Bodhidharma]

...
and the corn and cream cheese thing.

Both sound killer... more info please.
Ummm.. bag of frozen corn kernals. Just your typical sweet corn type. Think it's roughly like 4 cups or so. Toss that into a crockpot along with a stick of cream cheese (8oz package). Microwave the cream cheese a bit to soften it up first. Stir occasionally to make sure the cream cheese gets all mixed in. You could also add a bit of butter as well. Let that cook, covered of course, on low for a couple of hours.

[Ahatma256]

Im also cooking Thanksgiving for my family this year. Ill serve:

Turkey, brined in salt/thyme
Mashed sweet potatos
Fresh corn off the cob
Mashed grilled potatos (rice the potatos after having been grilled. It adds a nice smokey flavor to the potatos)
Peas
Green Beans
Pan fried talipia (few veggies in the family)
Probably a few other things to once I hear any suggestions from the family.

[Lenardo]

was debating between just a "normal turkey" or cider brined and glazed turkey. was leaning towards the "normal" recipe (just herbs and butter rub on the turkey just prior to cooking) due to the relatively simple formula...

so i picked up a turkey breast and tried the cider brined and glazed turkey.

my wife has Demanded that i make that for thanksgiving.

tried the mashed potato recipe as well and it was delicious,

gotta work on my gravy though it was a bit thick and

[Senadin A]

Your wife dont like your gravy......no comment bro =P

[Lenardo]

naw she thought it was "ok" I didn't like how it turned out. was too dark and a bit strong...

but i got the final menu done now i think...