# My menu **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333 "2007-11-21T16:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/21 "2007-11-22T01:04:19Z")
I now live in the South, but I haven’t been here long enough to be a _Southerner_… Turkey (brined ala Alton Brown) Sausage and apple cornbread stuffing/dressing Sweet potato casserole Cranberry sauce Yeast rolls Pearl onions in Hollandaise sauce Abita Restoration Ale Ice tea A semi-expensive bottle of Barolo we splurged on Peanut butter pie Mince meat tarts ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/22 "2007-11-22T01:33:05Z")
Re: oysters in stuffing = ICK! It’s a New England thing, methinks. The only people I ever knew who did that were from Upstate NY. Grosses me out. Stuffing should have nothing in it that resembles meat (that means eggs or oysters!) in my world. I barely tolerate fruit, lol. Ok, the cooking has begun. Pumpkin pie is in the oven now. When it comes out, the cranberry bread will go in. We’ve changed the gingerbread cookies to gingerbread cake so it will be more like a hot fudge brownie style dessert. Tom (the turkey, of course) is in the sink finishing his thawing overnight. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/23 "2007-11-22T02:06:27Z")
Turkey, brined, and cooked on the Weber grill (and it’s supposed to snow!) Gravy, of course Cornbread dressing (My family is marginally southern – WV. But it’s not an old family recipe. Mom had it at one of Dad’s company dinners and asked the chef for the recipe. This happened years before I was born. Mom made it using her non-Southern cornbread – no sugar – and I do the same.) Some kind of whole berry cranberry sauce that I’ll make up tomorrow Scalloped oysters Smashed redskin potatoes Roasted autumn vegetables Pumpkin pie This is the first time in eons that I’m cooking – and it’s just for my husband, 12-y-o son, and me. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/24 "2007-11-22T02:30:22Z")
Yum Yum! These menus do indeed sound delicious. I’ve been chopping and cooking and baking and cleaning all day, and still going strong. Now I’m hungry. Our menu this year: Appetizers: Cranberry Salsa and chips Crudite (celery sticks, baby carrots, pepper strips) Onion dip Assorted olives A nice assortment of cheeses including an applewood smoked cheddar, an herbed chevre, a peppered brie, and epoisse. Crackers Dinner: Turducken Pasteles (kinda like PR tamales) Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas) Beans (Kidney, Puerto Rican style) Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon and Parsley Mashed potatoes Gravy Sausage cornbread stuffing (I’m a Jersey Girl, but dad is from Louisiana.) Chipotle cornbread (with a little sprinkle of Bacon Salt on top!) Gingered yams Homemade cranberry sauce Cranberry Jezebel sauce Dessert: Pumpkin pie with whipped cream Apple pie Cheesecake Drinks: My husband bought 2 kegs from one of the local [brewpubs](http://www.thirdstreetaleworks.com/) and I bought 2 cases of wine with the intention of opening at least half a case, including a couple Pinot Noirs, a Gigondas, a Chenin Blanc, a Moulin a Vent, a Champagne, and a Late Harvest Muscat Canelli. Espresso, coffee, soft drinks, yadda, yadda. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/25 "2007-11-22T02:38:42Z")
Roast turkey-I baste with butter. Yum. the wine thing sounds good, though… sausage stuffing cornbread and cranberry stuffing for my vegetarian daughter pumpkin spice muffins pumpkin bread (the pumpkin breads are new this year) sweet potato biscuits dinner rolls cranberry sauce green beans with almonds giblet gravy pumpkin pie pecan pie mince meat pie white wine coffee ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/26 "2007-11-22T03:18:13Z")
[QUOTE=Southern Yankee] Turkey (brined ala Alton Brown) [/QUOTE] Ditto on the Alton-Brown-Brined Turkey In addition to the Turkey, there will be: Cornbread Dressing (my grandmother’s secret recipe) Mashed Potatoes Gravy (made with the drippings from the Chicken and 40 Cloves we made tonight- another Alton Brown recipe) Green Beans baked in butter and worchestershire Whole-berry Cranberry-Tangerine sauce Yams roasted with apricots, blueberries, and almonds Oh…and pillsbury Crescent rolls. _sigh_ The kids prefer them over regular yeast rolls. I’ll have to wait for Christmas to get my bread baking groove on. Dinner will be around 6pm, so daytime munchies will include: Shrimp cocktails Our standard olive/relish tray: black olives, green olives, sweet gerkins, hot pickled cauliflower, dill gerkins, deviled eggs Goat cheese and pumpernickel rounds Chex Mix (for the kids) My over-the-top chocolate chip cookies Dessert after dinner: Pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream Chocolate-Karo Pecan Pie Add in assorted wines, beers, and ciders, a couple of cut-throat games of scrabble, and sex\* after the kids go to bed… A perfect day. \*I’ll be saving some of the whipped cream for that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/27 "2007-11-22T03:19:27Z")
Ok, the most beautiful pumpkin pie in ages is resting on the counter. Lithubby’s broccoli casserole is in the oven – I loathe casseroles, but he asked, so I deliver – hopefully, it will turn out ok. The wild rice & cherry stuffing has to go through a last-minute wardrobe change – turns out the wild rice I picked up was not quite enough for the recipe (that’s what I get for not paying attention), so I will be using brown rice instead. I think it will go a little better with the cherries and the turkey anyway. We shall see. I will make it up tonight so all I have to do is shove it up Tom’s ass in the AM. **psycat90** – I \*so \* must have your gingered yams recipe. Have I mentioned I lurve ginger? Yeh, I do. Now, your menu puts mine to shame. I wanna come to your place just for the cheeses! Gosh, that reminds me, I should get the eggs done and the crab cakes done, since those are for appetizers. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/28 "2007-11-22T03:19:53Z")
Last month we had: Roast turkey Cranberry sauce Gravy Stuffing Buttery mashed potatoes Steamed carrots Salad with Italian dressing A 2005 Pinot Noir (I think, or a Merlot) Vanilla ice cream Warm apple crumble ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/29 "2007-11-22T04:19:27Z")
Ok, my family must be odd. Possibly we’re all pre-diabetic as well, but our dessert menu seems scads longer than everyone else’s. The theory being that there should be enough for everyone to have for the entire weekend and plenty of variety being a good thing, we also have a minimum of two birthday cakes and 4 ice cream flavors for parties. Dinner’s at Mom’s and I won’t be able to arrive until it’s almost ready, so I’m hazy on some details but being tasked with dessert I’m sure of those ones. Turkey Dressing Mashed Potatoes Gravy (Giblets aren’t my department, and I’m rather glad I don’t know what’s happening with them.) Corn cake Green Beans of some sort Yams, likely with the marshmallows Cranberry Sauce Brown and serve rolls Pickles, Olives, Deviled Eggs and some cheeses, crackers, chips and dips. Pumpkin, apple crumb, pecan and chocolate cream pies, strawberry cheesecake and one of those store bought variety cheesecake things in various chocolate toppings, and Mom’s Ambrosia (fruity) salad. Of course at Mom’s house there’ll be cookies galore, probably banana/zucchini/pumpkin types of bread, and ice creams available. 6 adults, 5 older teens and one 6 year old, and I was worried I might not have enough dessert! ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/30 "2007-11-22T04:37:04Z")
I will be driving for 4 and a half hours on bad roads, in the rain, in a rented van with twelve passengers. My sister in law assures me that at the end of the road there will be an enormous meal, none of which will be good for me. Somewhere in the van will be five or six pies. Then I get to drive home with a van full of sleeping people who won’t be able to keep me awake across those now frozen bad roads. It should be a fairly good time. I am worried that we won’t have enough pie. ``` Tris ``` ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/31 "2007-11-22T05:01:13Z")
Ahhh, time for another update. The stuffing is in the fridge – it’s actually very pretty what with the bright green of the celery and the bright red of the cherries against the light brown of the rice. It’s also quite yummy (of course I sneaked a bite, with all the changes to the recipe I made, I had to – for science). The eggs are now cooking – another 7 minutes of simmering before they get their ice bath. Sigh…I thought I had white vinegar, but I don’t. I did find some red wine vinegar, so we shall have some very interesting deviled eggs. Actually, I have used the red wine vinegar before and it works just fine in them. The boy’s cranberry bread (I think I left that off my original list, because it’s my son’s idea to make it – he did most of the actual work\*) is in the oven, and should be coming out around midnight & ten. We changed that recipe around a bit, too – it called for an awful lot of cranberries (12 oz for a regular sized loaf!!!) we cut that to about half and added some of the cherries for a boost of flavour. It was really hard for me to not add some ginger – I really think it needed some kind of spice, it called for nothing but standard quickbread dough and fruit. We shall see. Lithubby’s broccoli casserole is pretty, at least. I don’t know if I will brave a taste tomorrow, but it does look good. LOL. **Queen Tonya** – lol, you’re not odd. Most of the people I know end up with dessert menus like yours. We just don’t eat a lot of sweets here (outside of fruits), so I think we are the odd ones. I did find my cinnamon ice cream tonight, so thankfully, I am not hand-cranking ice cream! This year will be the first one in uhm…8 years that I have more than one dessert option for Thanksgiving, lol. I still miss my Dad too much to really be able to eat the pumpkin pie. Well, so much for keeping it light-hearted. I think it’s time to give the eggs their ice bath. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/32 "2007-11-22T05:58:53Z")
Turkey with oregano, lemon, and red onion Italian sausage and bread stuffing Giblet gravy Garlicky green beans with pine nuts Roasted sweet potatoes with bacon, cheese, and parsley Cranberry grappa sauce Apricot-cranberry sauce Fresh fruit Ricotta tart with poached figs, apricots, and cherries Pumpkin cheesecake My inlaws are bringing appetizers, rolls, salad, and some more desserts. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/33 "2007-11-22T06:01:35Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] **psycat90** – I \*so \* must have your gingered yams recipe. Have I mentioned I lurve ginger? Yeh, I do. Now, your menu puts mine to shame. I wanna come to your place just for the cheeses! Gosh, that reminds me, I should get the eggs done and the crab cakes done, since those are for appetizers. [/QUOTE] Well, it’s not really _my_ recipe. I play with the yams every year, just because I like to introduce something new every year, and I just haven’t found a yam recipe that’s a total keeper. Maybe this one is it. I’ll let you know on Friday. 😉 Anyway, I found it [here.](http://ladleandwhisk.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/recipe-tuesday-maple-glazed-gingered-yams/) ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/34 "2007-11-22T06:49:23Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] …The eggs are now cooking – another 7 minutes of simmering before they get their ice bath. Sigh…I thought I had white vinegar, but I don’t. I did find some red wine vinegar, so we shall have some very interesting deviled eggs. Actually, I have used the red wine vinegar before and it works just fine in them. …QUOTE] Having gained 10 pounds just reading this thread, and drooling copiously, I must say that as a deviled egg lover, I am most intrigued by your reference to them above. Could you provide your recipe for your deviled eggs when you are done with the chores and have time? It sounds sooooo intriguing. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/35 "2007-11-22T07:18:11Z")
Aww **Triskadecamus**. I’d send you pie, looks like I’ll have a major surplus. If there is one quest in my life, it’s to relieve pie shortages. (Drive safe!) We’re doing a smallish Tday on Friday or Saturday (I keep shaking my MiL, but she says “reply hazy; try again”). I’m tasked with the turkey which will be my first. So I’m brining of course, using a combination between Alton Brown and Wolfgang Puck’s recipes. Plus stuffing, mashed taters, many pies, REAL GRAVY!, and whatever culinary abomination my SiL decides to bring. The other SiL is good enough to only bring her appetite and a generous bottle of wine. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/36 "2007-11-22T07:24:34Z")
[QUOTE=Triskadecamus] I will be driving for 4 and a half hours on bad roads, in the rain, in a rented van with twelve passengers. My sister in law assures me that at the end of the road there will be an enormous meal, none of which will be good for me. Somewhere in the van will be five or six pies. Then I get to drive home with a van full of sleeping people who won’t be able to keep me awake across those now frozen bad roads. It should be a fairly good time. I am worried that we won’t have enough pie. ``` Tris ``` [/QUOTE] You never know; some people might bring double pies and there might even be leftovers. In the event of which, when come back, bring pie. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/37 "2007-11-22T09:39:09Z")
We’re eating our meal about seven in the evening. Our collaberative efforts will include Cheese and olive tray for nosh Paper bag roast turkey with cornbread pecan stuffing Ham with a brown sugar - mustard glaze Mashed potatoes Giblet gravy Yams with pineapple and marshmallow Green beans almondine Spinach salad Steamed broccoli with parmesan cheese Corn pudding Sweet potato pie - regular and sugar free Pumpkin bread Camelot mead Beech Haven pinot noir Coffee Iced tea - both sweet and unsweet Our family and friends include a couple of us who are diabetic and a couple more who are likely pre-diabetic, yankees and southerners, so we tend to try to have something for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/38 "2007-11-22T12:58:03Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Egg, chips and beans. [/QUOTE] Oh c’mon. You can’t find a better way to celebrate Good Riddrance Day? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/39 "2007-11-22T13:06:24Z")
Guacamole Hot crab meat dip sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and walnut topping cranberry jelly and whole berry relish mashed potatoes Green bean casserole (yawn…but it’s a crowd-pleaser around here) Squaw corn Spanish rice Stuffing Turkey ‘n’ gravy Pumpkin pie, French Silk pie, and… …a b’day cake for Kid Kalhoun and is girlfriend’s son My friend is brining her turkey for the first time. I’m awaiting the report…if it’s good, maybe I’ll try that for Christmas! ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333/40 "2007-11-22T13:38:17Z")
Well, it is morning now (OK, it was morning before I went to bed, but you know what I mean!). The cranberry bread looks very nice, if a bit more brown than my son would like (he does like his homemade bread to have a golden crust, while I tend to like darker crust, but this was because it was a very wet dough). I believe this is the first year I have ever stayed up past midnight cooking the night before. Yegods, I truely am turning into my Martha! **LiveOnAPlane** – honey, my recipe is that old staple from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It’s nothing exciting, but it works. 6 hard-boiled eggs, 1/4 c mayo (or yogurt if doing curry), 1 tsp vinegar (obviously, it calls for white but I used red wine, which turned out way better, I must admit!), 1 tsp mustard (of course, the recipe is from the 50’s, so it calls for plain old yellow mustard, but be creative!) & paprika (or curry powder if preferred). Peel the eggs, cut them in half & put the yolks in a bowl with all of the ingredients (except the paprika/curry) & mush them together. Spoon (or if you’re chanelling Martha Stewart – pipe using a pastry bag) egg yolks back into the halved whites, top with paprika (or curry). **psycat90** – I checked out that recipe. It sounds awesome. I may even do it this year instead of the candied yams…I am debating. Thanks! Wow, some of these menus sound so wonderful. Wonder why we got moved to Cafe Society – this post is pretty much my definition of MPSIMS. Well, it is 7:34, so time to get the crab cakes done. I need to get the yams going, whatever I decide to do with them and get my potatoes peeled and brining. That’s right, I don’t brine my turkey, but I do brine my potatoes. Speaking of brining – there are a lot of you guys that are brining. Seriously, having done both, may I suggest that one year you try the Martha Stewart turkey recipe? IM(never very)HO, it works much better. Just curious if you all have tried other options and decided you like the brining better? Ok, off to work, I go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-menu/427333.md?page=3)