Someone who shall not be named because she is convinced that I write too many SDMB threads involving her…and myself…plan on spending Thanksgiving at home, just the two of us, and perhaps season two of the L Word.
We’re going to roast a small turkey and have traditional fixings like mashed potatos and pumpkin pie, all (except for the Stovetop stuffing, of course) made from scratch. And I confess that the piecrust will be Pillsbury All-ready piecrust. Why bother fighting with your own dough when the stuff out of a box tastes so damn good?
We’re both interested in trying some new recipies, and we’re going to split the cooking and preparation duties.
So what are your suggestions for some unique/daring compliments to the traditional portions of our feast?
I don’t know about unique or daring, but my must-have side dish is broccoli/wild rice casserole. I make a ton, so feel free to pare down the quantities.
Broccoli/wild Rice Casserole
1 box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, cooked
1 cup cooked white rice
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced, (or use canned)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can milk
1/3 lb Velveeta
Mix all of the above in a large bowl, then put in microwave safe dish. Nuke until cheese is bubbly, about 10 minutes. You can also just bake it, 30 minutes or so at 350°.
Roasted Butternut Squash (from The Barefoot Coontessa Cookbook)
Peel a medium butternut squash. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut into 1" to 1 & 1/2" cubes. Lay in a single layer on a cookie sheet (I put down tin foil to expedite cleanup)
Melt 1 TBSP butter. Drizzle over cubes. Add 1 TBSP brown sugar. Toss everything together with your hands until all cubes are lightly coated.
Cook in preheated 400F oven, for 45 minutes. Turn the cubes twice during baking so everything gets browned. Devour.
I’m also partial to creamed spinach. Basically, take one of those supercheap packages of frozen spinach. Defrost. In a pan cook a few tablespoons of diced onion in 2 TBSP of butter.
When the onion is golden, add 1 TBSP flour and stir to make a paste (called roux). Gradually wisk in about 3/4 cup or so of milk, half & half, or cream (choose your poison!). It should begin to thicken on simmering. Add defrosted spinach and stir to combine. Toss in a few TBSP of permesan cheese if you have it, several grinds of pepper and a little salt. Enjoy!
As a slight variation on the traditional pumpkin pie, we loooove this honey pecan pumpkin pie. It’s just a little bit lighter than regular pumpkin pie (there aren’t any pecans actually in the pie), and the honeyed pecans used as garnish are yummy.
This will probably make too many for you, but I also really like (as in, can eat too many of them for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner) these garlic rosemary rolls from Martha Stewart. They’re a bit of work, but worth it, in my book. You could cut the recipe in half, or use a different (smaller) dough recipe. But I get tons of compliments on them every year.
I came in here to suggest creamed spinach. I use the same method as Hello Again’s but I add a bit of either lemon juice or nutmeg for flavoring. Either one takes creamed spinach to the next level with no effort. (Bacon crumbles are good too, actually).
When it was just me and my husband we used to have duck, rather than turkey. I used Julia Child’s method where you cook the legs and breast separately, so they both come out right. I’m not much for leftovers, though, so YMMV.
Try this variation on sweet potatoes that is easy for two but a pain for many.
Bake the potatoes until they are soft. Cut off the tops and scoop out the innards. Mix the innards with butter, brown sugar, sour cream, and a splash of cognac*. And salt/pepper. Stuff the mixture back into to potato skins, dot with butter, reheat, and enjoy.
You’ll probably have some left over. You don’t want to save it for next year, because it will go bad. Throw it down the drain, I guess. That’s what I do.
I find thanksgiving is a good time to a make a really good traditional salad. I put everything I could want in a salad in- cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, radishes, etc. and top it with home made ranch dressing. Nowhere near daring or gourment, but it’s pretty rare for me to be able to make a salad with everything I could possibly want on it.
Hmmm … intimate Thanksgiving dishes … let’s see …[ul][li]Turkey and sex[/li][li]Mashed potatoes and sex[/li][li]Crescent rolls and sex[/li][li]Gravy and sex[/li][li]Cranberry sauce and sex[/li]Pumpkin pie and sex[/ul]Did I leave any out?
[QUOTE=tracer]
Hmmm … intimate Thanksgiving dishes … let’s see …[ul][li]Turkey and sex[/li][li]Mashed potatoes and sex[/li][li]Crescent rolls and sex[/li][li]Gravy and sex[/li][li]Cranberry sauce and sex[/li][li]Pumpkin pie and sex[/ul]Did I leave any out?[/li][/QUOTE]
Forgive me for not already stating the obvious.
We’re now leaning towards cornish game hens instead of a small turkey. So far this cornish hen recipe is the most alluring.
