# Thanksgiving



## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

I would love to prepare a Thanksgiving meal with:

Beef Roast
Oven-Roasted Asparagus
Wild Mushroom Soup
Chestnut & Apple Stuffing
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Cranberry Sangria
But in reality, we don't get quite that fancy. And this year it'll just be the two of us. So, we're thinking:

Rotisserie Chicken (Costco)
Packet of Chicken Gravy Mix
Box of Stove-Top Stuffing (maybe toss in some Craisins)
Frozen Peas (heated on the stove - I'm not that lazy!)
A couple of _Little Debbie's Pumpkin Delights_
Carton of Darigold Eggnog

Afterward, we'll likely start getting our Yule on by watching _Elf_, _Christmas Vacation_, or _A Christmas Horror Story_.

What are you planning? Feasting with friends & family? Staying in with your SO? Cozying up with a carton of Cabernet?


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Just the two of us at home this year and I am having a hard time tempering my usual "enough food to feed a regiment".  We are still deciding between a brined and roasted turkey breast just for us (leftovers for sandwiches, yay!) and a small boneless lamb roast I have in the freezer.  With either I will make a pot of Jamaican rice and beans and probably 7-layer salad (the one with mayonnaise "frosting" and thawed frozen peas).  

A bottle of wine will be opened. Dairy eggnog is always in my refrigerator once it's in the grocery store for the season (which means we've already gone through a quart or two), along with vanilla schnapps to add when you want a little alcohol in it.  

Our Christmas movie watching season will begin on Thanksgiving day with the classic "Miracle on 34th Street" since it starts with the Macy's Thanksgiving parade!  There will also be football watching and Xmas decorations starting to go up.  It's still weird doing those things without other family here, but it will be a much less hectic day.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

It'll just be the two of us again. But, there is an event at the arena the day after Thanksgiving this year so that means II will be working both Thursday and Friday nights. He is also scheduled to work Wednesday night. I know I will not fix a traditional meal, but haven't decoded what I will do. I'm pretty sure there will be homemade rolls and a fruit salad recipe from his side of the family no matter what else gets cooked.

I'm pretty much used to the less hectic days, but this one will be slightly different since II will be sleeping during the day. And, I might start putting out some of the Christmas decorations that are stored in the house.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I didn't grow up with a Thanksgiving and actually only been to one "real" american years ago where I was invited. So I had to pick basic american favorites. I actually really like the stove top and never tried any other stuffing. I like the herb one. I also make the green bean casserole from the back of the french's onion box. I make sweet potatoes with lots of butter, nutmeg and a wee bit of splenda over it. Mostly the stuffing is where I have to sacrifice the low carb.  

Turkey I can't make a fresh one. No clue how to operate a frozen one that one has to defrost. So every year I have to hunt down the oven ready frozen one from Jennie O. Its cleaned, flavored in a baking bag. So it doesn't have to be defrosted. Great turkey in like 4 hours with no fuss. They also make a breast only and I am thinking maybe getting that. Although I do like having the leftovers and eating turkey in July.  

Oh, and I buy a can of Ocean spray whole cranberries and plop some on m plate. And some of those rolls that come in a 12 back on card board. Can't recall the brand now. 

It will be my first Thanksgiving in my house. Last year we didn't move until mid December. There will be wine, lots of nice old wine. And then lots of groaning because we always eat way to much. Then I have side dishes leftovers for days. 

I try to keep it pretty simple and this routine has worked for years. 

I still am not seeing the turkey in the stores though and every year I get worried I won't find it. There will literally not be a turkey meal without that one. I just don't know what to do with any other turkey and I don't want to bother. I want easy.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

Just me and the dog.  I have NO family.  (That's what happens when you're an only child, didn't marry, and have no kids.)  I try to at least have turkey in some form.  Turkey meatballs (bought frozen) doesn't do it.  Prepared turkey meatloaf with cranberry sauce from the grocery store is good.  That will probably be it.  I used to get Butterball frozen turkey loaf (choice of white or white & dark meat) and cook it in the crock pot.  Last few years haven't been able to find them.

It probably happens -- only child who didn't marry and had no children of parents who were only children.    I do have far-flung cousins.  My parents came from families of 4 and 6 siblings.

A year after my mother died (20 years ago) I had a holiday dinner with a friend and her boyfriend.  That did NOT turn out well.  It wasn't the food . . . .  Just me and the dog.


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## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

*Sandpiper*, there are times when I feel I am my own best company so 'Yay!' for the individual holiday! And with your animal companion, it's that much better.

Then again, perhaps twenty years is long enough to give 'Friendsgiving' another try?

*Atunah*, my partner is a big fan of green bean casserole and it looks like we'll be doing that instead of the frozen peas. I once convinced him to let me use fresh green beans, but he wasn't impressed. So, it's canned forevermore.

*loonlover*, there's much to be said for a couple's holiday. Most often we've spent them with family, but I really enjoy our 'just us' celebrations. For one thing, there's no one nitpicking over the mashed potatoes or how the pie isn't homemade! For another, we can wear pajamas all day long!

*crebel*, my mouth is watering over 'Jamaican rice and beans', '7-layer salad', and 'vanilla schnapps'.

If we had a lamb roast in our freezer, we'd definitely choose that for the holiday - possibly in a korma sauce with dried cranberries.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Its just me and husband here too. His family is pretty much non existent nowadays and the ones left in mine are like 6000 miles away. I been away to long to even recognize nephews anymore. 
I never had kids either. 

So if god forbid something happened to my husband, I'll be moving in with crebel so I can have some vanilla schnapps and jamaican beans.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Nina Huffney said:


> *Sandpiper*, there are times when I feel I am my own best company so 'Yay!' for the individual holiday! And with your animal companion, it's that much better.
> 
> Then again, perhaps twenty years is long enough to give 'Friendsgiving' another try?
> 
> ...


For the win!


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

This will be the last family Thanksgiving in my mom's house. (It goes on the market in January.) We haven't yet discussed the menu and I am not yet sure who will be able to make it from far away.  I am guessing we will be making our traditional roast turkey, mom's brown rice dressing, Stove Top bread dressing, fresh and canned cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, potato rolls, Mexican cornbread, peas, pumpkin pie, and gluten free butterscotch brownies. Maybe apple pie also. I have to consult with my sisters as to what I can make and bring as DH and I will be at my daughter's house the night before so I can run in the Turkey Trot 5K race first thing Thanksgiving morning before we drive down to Tucson. I am definitely bringing the brownies but will need to see what else we can bring and how much I can help in advance before we drive up to my daughter's house. Traditionally I get the job of cleaning the turkey the night before Thanksgiving. I will need to check if the morning before Thanksgiving is too early.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

My aunt is no longer of sound mind, and has to have someone stay with her all the time. I’ll go stay with her Thursday and Friday so her caretaker can be with her family.  We will go eat thanksgiving lunch at the retirement home where my mother lives. Mom will be there too of course!


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Just like Atunah and some others, no kids and the family 6000 miles away, so only two of us. We love to cook, and for Thanksgiving we usually make a turkey breast roll (inspired by Giada De Laurentiis) and a homemade cranberry sauce with red wine and orange peel. This year we are trying to lose a bit of weight, so probably just some almond cookies for dessert, or an apple strudel if we have enough time. And a nice bottle of sake  

Although we did not grow up with Thanksgiving, it's a beautiful holiday, well-worth celebrating.
I wish it wasn't followed by the mundane madness of the Black Friday - but hey, there might be some tempting Kindle deals!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I am losing my weight now in anticipation of pigging out on Thanksgiving . I just kind of fell off my low carb wagon and just went on again 2 weeks ago. i will be back at target in 2 weeks, ready for competition eating more than I can fit. 

Ohhh anguabell, I miss a real good Apfelstrudel. Many moons ago my grandmother used to make the best. It was just to much work for her and we went and bought them from the bakery. Still very very good. Don't think I had one since 23 years ago? Don't think anyone makes a real one here. Its usually just apple pie, which of course is not the same at all.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Atunah said:


> Ohhh anguabell, I miss a real good Apfelstrudel. Many moons ago my grandmother used to make the best. It was just to much work for her and we went and bought them from the bakery. Still very very good. Don't think I had one since 23 years ago? Don't think anyone makes a real one here. Its usually just apple pie, which of course is not the same at all.


I cheat and buy the frozen puff pastry. Life's short. But I have a few home-made recipes so I might try the classic version one of these days. The flour in the US is a bit different, though. A German colleague mentioned a scrumptious apple pie a few years back, and I make it once in a while - I found dr. Oetker recipe works best (weird but true) but I add more apples and use coconut oil instead of butter. https://www.oetker.de/rezepte/r/apfelkuchen-sehr-fein


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I would be buying the pre-maid frozen, if i could find it. I never had the skills for the handmade one. Just watching my grannie slapping that batter/dough and rolling it out again and again, folding and rolling. She used the whole table for that thing. So puff pasty is what I would buy then. Ok, I can probably manage the fillings. I'll check out the Dr Oetker one. They been around a long time and we always used their products.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

I work at a Fish & Wildlife Refuge. Many of our volunteers stay on site in RVs and we have a "Bunkhouse" (actually a very nice 5 bedroom manufactured home) where visiting scientists stay. We are planning a full dinner with all the trimmings. Should be over a dozen folks.

At home I rarely cook a large meal for myself anymore, however, I do roast a small, cheap turkey (so the house smells festive), stuff it with tuna fish and serve it to the cats (outdoor cats) in thanks for all the enjoyment they give me throughout the year !!


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

NapCat (retired) said:


> At home I rarely cook a large meal for myself anymore, however, I do roast a small, cheap turkey (so the house smells festive), stuff it with tuna fish and serve it to the cats (outdoor cats) in thanks for all the enjoyment they give me throughout the year !!


Probably the nicest thing I've read this entire week


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

anguabell said:


> Probably the nicest thing I've read this entire week


I know, right? At first I read that the turkey gets stuffed with tuna and I was all eh? . Then I read on and its for the precious kitties. Oh to see their faces when they get a chunk of that.


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## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

As a big food-lover, I tend to focus on the yummy elements of the holidays. So, it's great to see when people generously give of themselves - from *THC*'s devotion to aunt and mother... to *NapCat*'s thoughtfulness toward felines.

Before she got huge, I remember the first time I saw Martha Stewart. It was her hourlong 



 on PBS from 1986. I was mesmerized. The idea of cooking for two dozen people blew my teenaged mind. An extra barn to hold your party in? TWO turkeys? THREE pies? That stuff fueled my dreams of being a domestic-goddess for years.

But for a long time, now, I've embraced the less ambitious approach. And that includes - as *anguabell *and *Atunah *have mentioned - relying on frozen puff pastry!* 

* Which, funnily enough, Martha did use for at least one of the dishes.


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## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

*Annalog*, everything you mentioned sounds so delish. I'm particularly intrigued by "mom's brown rice dressing" - what's all in that?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I still haven't found my turkey  . None of the HEB stores carry it yet. HEB being my pretty much only grocery store here for those that don't know. I can see in their app which store carries what. I usually manage to grab it about 2 weeks before thanksgiving. Not sure why they don't stock it yet. Its making me super nervous.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Atunah said:


> I still haven't found my turkey . None of the HEB stores carry it yet. HEB being my pretty much only grocery store here for those that don't know. I can see in their app which store carries what. I usually manage to grab it about 2 weeks before thanksgiving. Not sure why they don't stock it yet. Its making me super nervous.


It's time to start lobbying for opening a Whole Foods store in your neighborhood  Or at least Aldi! (Aldi = German chocolate...Belgian cookies...$6 Moscato wine...)


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Nina Huffney said:


> *Annalog*, everything you mentioned sounds so delish. I'm particularly intrigued by "mom's brown rice dressing" - what's all in that?


Mom's Brown Rice Dressing (gluten free with vegan option)
2 cups short grain brown rice
4 1/4 cups TraderJoe's Chicken Broth (or other GF chicken broth) or GF vegetable broth (without tomatoes) or half water/half broth or water

3 1/3 cups chopped onion
3 1/3 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons butter (or all olive oil)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Shilling Poultry Seasoning (about)
Pepper and Vegesal (or just salt and pepper) to taste

Cook brown rice in chosen liquid (broth or water) according to the package directions. Saute vegetables in oil/butter. Combine rice and vegetables and add seasonings.

Note: This can be made in advance and put in casserole dishes. Reheat in oven or microwave before serving.

The above recipe is one variation of Mom's Take-your-pick Brown Rice recipes.

Another variation popular in our family is her Vegetarian Oriental Rice. For that, replace the poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper with:

San-J Tamari Sauce (start with 1 1/2 tablespoons)
(Optional 2 teaspoons gluten free Teriyaki sauce)

This one is very good with other cooked vegetables added at the end, such as broccoli and Trader Joe's Petite Peas.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

anguabell said:


> It's time to start lobbying for opening a Whole Foods store in your neighborhood  Or at least Aldi! (Aldi = German chocolate...Belgian cookies...$6 Moscato wine...)


There are Whole foods, although its now a long drive since I moved. No Aldi in sight. But none of them have the turkey i need in any case. I can only make the one already cleaned, seasoned and put in a baking bag. . I have only seen 2 brands that have one like it, Jenni O and butterball. I want the JenniO as i always used that one. But still no sight of it in the stores.  If I can't find it soon, there will be no Thanksgiving dinner for me. So I am still hopeful.

And yes, I would love to have a Aldi here. We almost got a Lidl, or 3 of them. Similar type german store, but they stopped expanding to Texas. Now I moved to far away from Traders Joe to go there on regular basis. takes me like 50 minutes to get there now. Trader Joe is owned by one of the Aldi brothers. not the one having the stores in the Us though, the other one.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Wow!  Even my small town has an Aldi's, they are very popular throughout Iowa, though.

Atunah, if you can bring yourself to go to a WalMart Supercenter with a grocery store, they usually carry Jenni-O (at least ours does).  I wish we had a Trader Joe's here, but I have to drive 90 miles to the big city to get to one.  I would shop there regularly if it were closer.  I take along a cooler and do a fair amount of damage at TJ's whenever I get the chance.  Last time I was there I got a full pound of already cooked langostino tails (meat only, no shells) for only $16.  It's in my freezer to make lobster mac-and-cheese for Christmas!


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Yeah, there are Aldi in other parts of Texas now. But for some reason, nobody wants to go head to head with HEB here. Folks here are really weirdly attached and loyal to that grocery chain. I just want some options. 

The Walmarts here do not have the Jenni O oven ready whole turkey. Some have a butterball brand of same in bag roasting type. I still hope I can get one. Gonna be sad if I don't. The whole thing has become kind of like our tradition. 

I am really sad I had to move so far away from where we used to live. I used to go to TJ like at least every 2 weeks, sometimes weekly. But its on the north side and I moved out west so its longer drive now. So I go every couple of months or so. Takes the joy out of it a bit to be honest as its more stressful now.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I have the turkey. I repeat, turkey is in my possession  

I almost didn't see it. It is still not showing in the app. I went to my nearby HEB for other stuff and almost walked by. The slot is small and holds at most 4 bags, but there was only ONE left. ONE precious turkey  

As I am taking a sharp left, some dude is walking along the case and he might have possibly looked at it, or wanted to.  I grabbed it with a smile on my face, while inside my head I was saying "touch that turkey and I will end you"  

So anyway. Thanksgiving is a go. I bought all the other parts like green beans, CoM soup, stuffing etc. Only things missing are the sweet potatoes and some sort of pie. I will get those a day or so before the event. 

Now I sit here while sipping some pumpkin chai with my turkey in the freezer and all is well in the world for just a moment.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Thanksgiving is easy: I got myself invited to a friend's son's house. (I may make some cranberry sauce and/or pick up some wine, but either is pretty easy.)


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Atunah said:


> I have the turkey. I repeat, turkey is in my possession


WooHoo!!! Happy dance!


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I have the turkey. I repeat, turkey is in my possession


That's great! Now you can relax again.

We are going to my MIL's house for Thanksgiving. She does turkey thighs instead of a whole turkey (she's also not a fan of white meat). Then the rest of us work on sides. I usually contribute mashed potatoes and some sort of dessert.


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Atunah said:


> I have the turkey. I repeat, turkey is in my possession
> 
> I almost didn't see it. It is still not showing in the app. I went to my nearby HEB for other stuff and almost walked by. The slot is small and holds at most 4 bags, but there was only ONE left. ONE precious turkey


Congratulations on the great victory! All I've managed to get so far are cranberries. I am buried under several idiotic challenging work projects, so need to plan my hunting trips carefully. All that domestic goddess business is quite time-consuming 

ETA to add that I also got 2 bottles of French wine - that counts as a Thanksgiving preparation, right?


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

DH has now decided our final just-the-2-of-us-non-traditional Thanksgiving meal.  

BBQ ribs (cooked in the InstantPot, sauced in the oven)
Scalloped Pineapple (this would be our one family tradition side dish - kind of a pineapple bread pudding)
Baked Potatoes
Blue cheese salad wedges

Oh, but I'm still supposed to buy turkey gravy, make mashed potatoes, and have at least deli turkey slices for "leftovers" hot turkey sandwiches.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I want to do ribs again in the IP. I think I did it once. And I am really intrigued by scalloped pineapple. I love pineapple. Pretty much when I do eat pizza, it will be with pineapples. I have gone into arguing with a pizza place cook before because I also wanted pineapple in my calzone. I heard screaming from the kitchen "There is no d### pineapple in calzone.  
Anywho, I just love it. I never had bread pudding I don't think, so it sounds really good. Might want that recipe for another day.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I'm happy to provide the recipe, but one serving of the ingredients would blow your carb count for a year!  It's pineapple (in heavy syrup) mixed with potato bread and a topping of whipped together copious amounts of butter, sugar, and eggs, then baked.  Delicious though! Yummy hot, room temperature, or cold.  It's one of those evil dishes that are not worth trying to substitute with "lesser" ingredients.  If you're going to indulge once or twice a year, you just go for it - know what I mean?

Let me know if anyone really wants the recipe and I'll post it.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I do want the recipe. I allow myself some cheat days. It doesn't affect in the long run. I mean a day here and there is not going to change everything. Its only if I were to eat stuff like that and bread and pasta and all that on a daily basis. 

So yes please, recipe.  
And your bbq ribs. You might have posted that before somewhere. I can use sugar free BBQ sauce which i can't tell the difference between it and the sugar one. I assume its baby back ribs? Pork? Or beef.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Scalloped Pineapple (for a 9 x 13 casserole, can halve for an 8 x 8 dish)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray your casserole dish.

Mix together in dish:

2 cans chunk pineapple in heavy syrup (including syrup)
10 slices of cubed bread (can use any white bread, but I always use Pepperidge Farms Farmhouse potato bread because it's yellow in color which looks nice, big slices, and really rich)

Beat together until fluffy:

3C sugar
2 sticks softened butter
4 large eggs

Pour over pineapple/bread mixture and bake 1 hour


I thought I had posted the IP ribs (yes, babyback), but I don't find it in any of the old IP threads to link, so here it is.  We will never fix pork ribs any other way now, the meat literally slides off the bones.

1.  Remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs (this is DH's job), rinse and pat dry. (approximately 2 lbs)

2.  Season liberally with your preferred dry rub.

3.  Add this liquid to the IP:

    2C chicken stock
    1/2C cider vinegar

4.  Place trivet in your IP and stand ribs in a circle on top.

5.  Set manually to 25 minutes at high pressure, quick release when done.

6.  If you like sauced ribs, place them meat side up on a foil-lined baking sheet, brush with your favorite sauce and broil 4-6 to caramelize the sauce.

Here's the dry rub that came with the original recipe.  We have used various prepared dry rubs besides this and have been happy with the outcome each time.

1T brown sugar
2t kosher salt
2t onion powder
2t chili powder
2t ground mustard
1-1/2t smoked paprika
1t dried thyme
1t dried oregano
1t pepper
3/4t ground cumin
1/2t cayenne


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Oh yum. Thank you. Gonna notepad that thing right now and send it to my kindle.  

3 Cups of sugar. Thats like months worth of my usual carbs but oh my it sounds delish. Course I wouldn't eat the whole dish in one meal anyway. Right?  

Yeah, I thought you had that rib recipe somewhere and I could not find it either with search. So thanks for that one. I found a video on how to remove that membrane thing. One time I made them before I didn't know about that. So now I do. I'll make that next week i think. Once turkey meat comes out of our ears.  

Thanks hon


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

The pineapple is really good as a side dish to almost any kind of pork even though it sounds like a dessert.  When I make it we often have leftovers for dessert as well.  DH has been know to reheat a serving along with vanilla ice cream, just in case you need to up the carb count a little more ...

On taking the membrane off the ribs, DH says a fish fillet knife works best, but I'm still making him do it.  After it has cooled, I skim any fat off the stock created from liquid base and cooked ribs and save it in a ziploc bag and freeze it for repeat use or as stock for some sort of soup. In fact that is what I used for most of the liquid when I cooked split pea and ham soup in the IP yesterday. Delicious.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I hope everyone had a great day so far and a great meal. I feel fat and tired.  . We had 2 bottles of wine I turned into Glühwein. I used an older smaller crock pot for it so not too much alcohol cooks off. Using the teagschwendner mulled wine spice mix this year. So very good. I have a whole chocolate pecan pie in the fridge, but I am not sure if we will tough it today. Hubby is already out cold and I am still full. 

I also found a kitty in the yard which I think belongs to some neighbors. I like kitties here as they take care of the rats and mice since we live on 2 greenbelts. So to make him feel home we petted him, gave him some turkey and I build him a house out of cardboard and an old blanket. He sat on the ground in the middle of my cacti. Poor baby. He is a grumpy looking read stripey cat. He went right into his house and took a nap. Maybe his human went somewhere. I have seen him before roaming. 

That was my Thanksgiving day. Glühwein and a roaming cat.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

We had a wonderful day and enjoyed our non-traditional menu immensely!  We both stayed in our jammies all day, cooked and ate together, watched the parade, Miracle on 34th street, the dog show, and The Lemon Drop Kid - also football ...

I am also still full, but we are enjoying "Irish" coffee made with salted caramel Kahlua and whipped cream while watching Hallmark Christmas movies.

We have concluded a day at home without going to or having in a large group of people in was a perfect Thanksgiving for us this year.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

A nice quiet day with what I considered a good meal without being extravagant and not a lot of leftovers to put away. While my rolls didn't turn out as they have most years in the past, we still enjoyed them. I exchanged emails with our friends in Georgia while II slept. Both of our sons called after he awoke so he got to talk to them also. We do enjoy the holiday even when it is just the two of us.


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## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

*Annalog*, thank you for sharing your recipe. It looks like there is room for variation. I especially like the 'vegetarian oriental' suggestions. A good excuse to pick up some tamari sauce.

*Atunah*, if that guy had made a move on the last of the special turkeys, I don't doubt you'd have been the victor. I can picture a satisfied 'mission accomplished' smile as you sipped your pumpkin chai.

I would love to try gluhwein sometime. A couple of past holidays we simply feasted on platters of German meats, cheese, and pretzels from a Bavarian deli, and I've always been intrigued by those bottles with the pretty labels.

You lucky *NogDog*, you. You get my virtual 'THANKSGIVING WINNER' badge.

*Crebel*, although I haven't had bread pudding, your 'Scalloped Pineapple' sounds wonderful. And it appears you had a delightfully cozy holiday.

*Loonlover*, I was all for limited portioning with no leftovers, but Partner was all for filling our fridge with food containers. Guess who got their way. 

No French wine, *anguabell*, at our place. Just some Martinelli's apple-cranberry sparkler - pleasantly fizzy but sadly non-buzzy.

Our plans changed since Partner's employer gifted us with a basket of convenient meal-fixings. Which was very kind of them and - since we hadn't done a traditional Thanksgiving meal in many years - it was quite a treat.

Like *Andra*'s MIL, Partner is all about the dark meat which I've only learned to appreciate thanks to him.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

*Nina*That gluehwein in bottles is not very good. Its really easy to make. I'll put up some recipes for homemade one tomorrow.


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## Nina Huffney (Apr 28, 2019)

Thanks, *Atunah*. Getting to an actual 



 is on my bucket list. Since Partner has German heritage, we've done most of the usual items - and even made lebkuchen from scratch - but I've yet to try the mulled wine.

Is it time for a new Christmas/Winter/Yule thread?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Nina Huffney said:


> Thanks, *Atunah*. Getting to an actual
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am impressed you made Lebkuchen from scratch . I never had to back then of course since every bakery there has their own version of it. Here I can buy them from World Market. But I am low carb now so no more Lebkuchen for me. I drink the christmas tea from Teagschwendner which tastes and smells just like a nice Nürnberger Lebkuchen. I grew up about an hour and a half from Nürnberg.

So an easy and really good mulled wine blend I bought from Teagschwendner. They are a german tea company which has one store in the US thankfully where they ship from. 
https://shop.tgtea.com/Mulled-Wine-Spice-Blend-org.-001272/242/
This blend has fennel in it which is a new thing to me, but its really good actually. I add orange or lemon slices in it. Don't get it past about 165 degrees F or the alcohol will just cook off.

Here is one I made from scratch before:
1 bottle of red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 cardamon pods
Slices of orange or lemon
Sugar to taste. Start with 2 ts and work you way up. Some like it really sweet, others not. You can always add more. I use swerve now a non sugar sweetener. this one is really close to what I remember from the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas market in Nuremberg, Germany)

I let those simmer for at least 20 minutes. Sauce pan or an older style crock pot. The newer ones get too hot. I have an old 2.5 quart I use and it gets to about 155-160.

Another one I haven't tried yet is 
1/2 medium orange
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup turbinado or granulated sugar
20 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole star anise
1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine

Although it seems way too many cloves I think. I would half the cloves to see first. I have also bought 2 teabag style spice mixes from german companies on amazon. Messmer is one and Teekanne is the other. They are also quite good, but they are teabags so more dusty. But those can be made per cup as needed. They are a wee bit expensive of course as they are imported.

eta: I am going to start a christmas type thread as I just survived the horror of putting lights on a christmas tree. Follow the Tannenbaum.


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