Posted on 11/08/2017 4:11:15 PM PST by Jamestown1630
While the food is always the real centerpiece of the Thanksgving table, décor can make any occasion more special and memorable. A recent newsletter recently led me to a really beautiful website, Freutcake, which had this unique idea for place cards or holders at the table.
The mini dried Indian Corn is available from dried botanical suppliers, and perhaps in your grocery florist area or local garden store; but you can also find them in pet stores, where they are sold in bags as a treat/enrichment for small pets. (And if youre not into gilding things, they would be charming just left natural):
http://www.freutcake.com/art-design/diy-art-design/thanksgiving-gold-corn-place-holders/
Another great idea - and website - from Camille Styles, using mini grapevine wreaths and sprigs of rosemary:
https://camillestyles.com/living/diy/rosemary-wreath-place-cards/
With all the things that have to be done at the last minute for Thanksgiving dinner, its nice whenever you can do something ahead. Taste of Home has a do-ahead Turkey Gravy recipe, which is useful even if you make gravy from your drippings but are having a crowd and need more:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/make-ahead-turkey-gravy
-JT
Made this for lunch today. Loved it, as I love all thing butternut. I used a whole container of the cheese and also added various chile flakes/spices to the squash. I also dressed the arugula with some oil and vinegar.
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/savory-butternut-squash-crostata/20941/
The delicata squash on your Food52 link looks very good too:
https://food52.com/recipes/39278-roasted-delicata-squash-stuffed-with-autumn-farro
lots of great recipes here from one of my favorite food bloggers:
http://www.closetcooking.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-side-dishes.html
I like the premise of his blog - we can easily get into ruts, and deny ourselves new experiences. Food is just one way in which we do that.
Not sure if I posted this one, but we really liked this chicken dish from Closet Cooking’
http://www.closetcooking.com/2015/04/french-onion-chicken.html
Was looking for this thread, had to go to google to find it.
Anyone done the make ahead mashed potatoes? I believe I tried them last year and I dont remember how they turned out. Trying them again this year. Will share a link. Let me know if anyone has had decent success with them. Its nice to not be going crazy with potatoes right before eating.
I’ve done ‘make ahead’ mashed potatoes many times. Just boil them, mash, add butter and milk (or cream!) and put them aside in the fridge until the next day.
Then, all you have to do is heat them as a casserole in the oven (or in a crockpot). You might want to stir in a little more butter and cream, if they’ve gotten dry.
That is basically the make ahead mashed potato recipe I found online. Its piled high after mashing, with sour cream, butter, and cream cheese. Then fridged. My experiment will be in using non dairy ingredients. I actually went to Whole Foods and bought vegan cream cheese and vegan sour cream. Ugh. And for the butter I will use olive oil in smaller quantity. It might end up a disaster.
(In case anyone is wondering why the vegan, we keep kosher and cant have dairy with meat, and you gots to have the homemade turkey gravy on the potatoes plus you want them next to the turkey, dont you?)
I am going to do the turkey gravy ahead too, but your recipe calls for making the turkey stock using chicken broth. No need. I just put the turkey wing and thigh in the crock pot with spring water (and a dash of vinegar to get the goodness out of the bones) and it will magically become turkey stock.
Today I will be cooking all day long. Fun. Hope things turn out well.
IN DEFENSE OF THE OLIVE-DRAB, SLOW-COOKED STRING BEAN
https://www.saveur.com/southern-slow-cooked-string-bean-history fyi
That’s a great article, Fungi. I grew up with the cooked-to-death ones - my Virginia Granny did them in bacon grease; but I like them both ways.
I liked the Lewis Grizzard quote about the ‘nouvelle’ restaurants:
“They serve their green beans raw and then they cook their tomatoes, he complained. This is an unholy aberration I cannot abide.
LOL!
I had never heard of him that I recall, but he seems to have been a very popular and prolific writer and humorist, whose books have intriguing titles like, ‘If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I’m Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground’.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Grizzard
Glad you liked it. Happy thanksgiving and make those green beans!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
I didn’t realize that the dairy/meat proscription applied to poultry, too; I thought it was just ‘red’ meat...
At any rate: let us know how it turns out - and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
All animals, even poultry who are known not to lactate. Ha Ha.
Fish and eggs dont count as meat, yay. (I love dairy)
Totally. My late ex mother in law made the best long slow cooked green beans with meat and stuff thrown in.
I like green beans lightly cooked with pearl onions and a balsamic reduction, but her old fashioned long cooked beans with their meaty flavor were equally yummy.
So, a quiche with eggs, cheese, veggies is OK?
(I can live without Lorraine; so I’m good :-)
Yes and that sounds good! Just no bacon. ;)
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