Does anyone have any good, tasty recipes for Thanksgiving dinner? I catering my 1st TG dinner this year. help?

Remember that the turkey is the hardest thing to prepare and will leave the biggest impression... so listen closely okay:





2 days before turkey day you need to place turkey in 5 gallon bucket and fill with water. Add Kosher salt (2 cups) and let sit for 12hrs. If it is cold where you live just add ice and put in the garage or something. Needs to be kept below 40 degrees.


This process is called brining, what it does is use osmosis to bring the flavor of the salt into the turkey and also add moisture, no way in the world you are going to have a dry turkey! Also... when cooking the turkey, cook it upside down that way the breast meat stays extremely moist. They will ask how did you do that!Does anyone have any good, tasty recipes for Thanksgiving dinner? I catering my 1st TG dinner this year. help?
I have videos of recipes on my website:


www.Crafter.tv





Hope this helps!Does anyone have any good, tasty recipes for Thanksgiving dinner? I catering my 1st TG dinner this year. help?
you should just make it a potluck where all the guests bring in one dish


assign each family or person to either bring an appetizer, sidedish, desert, wine, w/e.





so then all you have ot worry about is the turkey lol





have fun!
Buy a cooking book.
Let this be your last catered affair, we all learned the hard way by wanting to do ourselves. We now do the thing were every one brings a dish and it all works out fine! Don't bother making the bread, buy the rolls in bulk and put them in pretty baskets with nice cloths. You didn't mention how many people were attending. We usually have a turkey a ham , two types of salads, mashed potatoes and gravy, lots of stuffing, two types of cranberry (one sauce and the other Jelly), one other potato dish usually augratin, and two other vegetables and about and a vegetable tray with dip for those who come early. Good Luck to you.
There are lots of good recipes for a holiday dinner, it depends on how much time, money and effort you have. Also consider guests' preferences - for example, I am the only one of my group who likes Mincemeat Pie - but I'm still going to make it from scratch for Thanksgiving.





I am listing here some of the recipies that I have used for many years, and are always popular:





Green Beans:


1/4 cup sliced almonds


1 bag french cut frozen green beans


1 garlic clove


2 tbsp butter


corse sea salt





Method:


Chop the garlic clove fine, and saute in the butter until translucent. Add the almonds and saute until they get a little brown. Set aside. Steam the green beans and toss with the reserved almond mixture. Add salt to taste.





Sweet Potato Casserole:


1 can Sweet Potatos


1 bag Marshmellows


1 can chopped pinapple, drained


1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans


1 cup carmel candies





Method:


Unwrap the candies and set aside. Put the sweet potatoes in a casserole dish, add the pinapple, nuts and candies. Top with marshmellows. Bake in at 300 for 20 minutes or until the marshmellows have browned.





Oyster Cornbread Dressing


1 box Mrs Cubbisons' Cornbread Dressing (accept no others!)


1 bunch celery


1 onion


1 stick unsalted butter


1 jar fresh oysters


1 can chicken broth (or fresh if you have it)





Method:


Remove the tops and root from the celery - reserve. Remove the skin from the onion and reserve. Chop the celery and onion into a small dice. Melt the butter in a pan, and saute the onions and celery until the onion is translucent. Chop the oyters into bite size bits. In a large bowl, combine the stuffing mix, vegetables and oyters. Gradually add the broth, stirring constantly until the bread has absorbed as much liquid as it can - do not add too much liquid! Put the dressing into casserole dish, cover, and bake for about 30 minutes at 300.





Perfect Turkey


1 Turkey


Celery Tops


Onion Tops and Skins


Foil or Nesco Roaster


1/2 stick Butter


Fresh herbs - thyme, margoram, sage


Sea salt








Method:


Melt butter slowly over low heat. Chop herbs finely and add to melted butter. Do not cook herbs. Set aside to cool. The celery tops and onion skins should be left over from preparing the stuffing. Clean the turkey inside and out, being sure to remove anything in the cavity that does not belong there (like the neck, etc.) - put those into a pot to make gravy. Salt the cavity slightly, then put half of the celery tops and onion skins in the cavity and the rest in the pot with the neck. Truss the bird so it is ready to put into the oven or Nesco. Check Hormel.com for instructions on how to truss a turkey.





Oven Method:


Prehea the oven to 400. Put the trussed bird into a roasting pan. Rub the bird with the reserved herb mixture. Cover the bird loosly with foil. Put in the bird in the oven with it's foil hat and roast for 30 minutes at 400, then reduce heat to 300 and cook until done. Check online or on the turkey's packaging to see how long you should roast your bird. In the last 30 minutes, remove the foil hat so your bird will brown nicely. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before carving.





Nesco method:


Instead of covering the bird with foil, just put it into Nesco and roast as usual.
Good Eats Roast Turkey





1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey


For the brine:


1 cup kosher salt


1/2 cup light brown sugar


1 gallon vegetable stock


1 tablespoon black peppercorns


1/2 tablespoon allspice berries


1/2 tablespoon candied ginger


1 gallon iced water


For the aromatics:


1 red apple, sliced


1/2 onion, sliced


1 cinnamon stick


1 cup water


4 sprigs rosemary


6 leaves sage


Canola oil





Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.





Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.





A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.





Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.





Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.





Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.


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sage stuffing


8 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from a 1-lb white loaf with crust removed)


4 cups coarsely crumbled buttermilk corn bread


1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley


3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage


1 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon black pepper


2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter


2 medium onions, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)


1 turkey liver or 3 chicken livers (2 to 3 oz total), trimmed and finely chopped


1 cup finely chopped celery


2 large eggs, lightly beaten


1 cup turkey giblet stock or low-sodium chicken broth


1/2 cup heavy cream





Preheat oven to 325掳F.





Spread all bread crumbs in 2 shallow baking pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven until dry, about 15 minutes total. Cool crumbs in pans on racks, then transfer to a large bowl and stir in parsley, sage, salt, and pepper.





Melt butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then add onions and liver and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add celery and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with crumbs and toss well. Add eggs, stock, and cream and toss well.





Transfer stuffing to a buttered 2 1/2- to 3-quart shallow baking dish. Bake, covered, in middle of oven 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned, about 30 minutes more.





Cooks' note:


鈥?Stuffing can be assembled (but not baked) 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before baking.





buttermilk corn bread


1 cup all-purpose flour


3/4 cup yellow cornmeal


1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


1 cup well-shaken buttermilk


2 large eggs


1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled


1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage (optional)


Preparation


Preheat oven to 425掳F.





Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, butter, and sage (if using) in another bowl, then add to flour mixture and stir until just combined.





Spread batter evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan and bake in middle of oven until golden, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack, then coarsely crumble.





Cooks' note:


鈥?Corn bread can be made and crumbled 3 days ahead and kept in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature.





turkey giblet stock


Neck and giblets (excluding liver) from turkey


1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1 celery rib, coarsely chopped


1 carrot, coarsely chopped


1 red onion, coarsely chopped


1 cup dry white wine


5 cups water


1 3/4 cups chicken broth


1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf


4 whole black peppercorns


Preparation


Pat neck and giblets dry. Heat oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown neck and giblets, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add vegetables and saut茅, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and simmer briskly, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to about 6 cups, about 30 minutes.





Pour stock through a large fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and discard solids. Skim off and discard any fat.





Cooks' note:


鈥?Stock can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Discard solidified fat before reheating.


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Aunt Reet's Rolls








1 1/2 cup milk





1 stick butter





1/2 cup sugar





3 pkg yeast





1 Tbsp sugar





1/2 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)





2 eggs





8 cup flour








Directions:





1. Scald 1 1/2 c. milk. Melt one stick of butter and 1/2 c. sugar in the milk and let it cool.





2. Mix 3 pkg. yeast, 1 Tablespoon sugar and 1/2 c. warm water and let stand 10 minutes.





3. Mix the two mixtures together with 2 eggs, mixing thoroughly. Add 7-8 c. flour. Knead and let rise until double.


Make into rolls and let rise.





4. Bake at 350 F until brown*. Rub butter on top and freeze. Reheat at 425 F in foil until warm.


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Tante Helen's Cranberry Salad





Recipe Ingredients:





1 bag frozen cranberries


1 bag mini-marshmallows


2/3 - 1 cup granulated sugar


1-16oz can crushed pineapple, drained


1-lg container Cool-Whip


Any type of nut if desired (I don't put them in as too many are allergic)








Recipe Directions:





Grind the cranberries in food processor (makes an unholy racket so make sure everyone's awake!), mix with marshmallows %26amp; pineapple (you may add the nuts here if desired). Sprinkle with sugar and stir well. Refrigerate overnight stirring occasionally. Just before serving, fold in Cool-Whip. This will keep for several days in the refrigerator, some juice will come to the top, but just stir it back into mixture. YUUUUMMMMY!!!





You could probably add shredded coconut %26amp; Mandarin oranges if you want, but I've never altered it from the way Tante Helen made it.





Note: I freeze the cranberries as they tend to mush up if you don't. I also like mine slightly more tart so I use less sugar, however, when I'm taking it out to a gathering, I will add at least 3/4 cup.


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Pumpkin Custard Cake





1 Box of Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix


2 Cans of Pumpkin Puree (I used 1 and 3/4 cans


1 Tbsp Cinnamon





ICING:


1 - 2 Tbsp Cinnamon (adjust to taste)


2 Cups Powdered Sugar


1/2 Cup Melted Butter


1/4 Cup Milk


1Tbsp Vanilla


1 Bundt pan





Follow directions on back of cake mix and add the cans of pumpkin. Before pouring batter into bundt pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle cinnamon inside the pan and then pour batter into pan. Bake according to directions on cake box (350 for 35 - 45 minutes). Bake until knife comes out clean.





For Icing, Mix all the ingredients together except for cinnamon. Gradually add cinnamon until you are satisfied with the taste. I used 2 Tbsp., but you may use more or less -





Before adding Icing, give the cake about 15 minutes to cool down. As usual, turn pan upside down onto plate, and then drizzle Icing over top of cake.





Wrap cake in foil or plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 3 or 4 hours. Its best to let it sit overnight. The cake will have a very moist custard-like texture.





This Pumpkin Cake does NOT need to be completely cool before adding the icing. I added it while cake was still a little warm. That way the flavor of the icing is absorbed into the cake.
You know... my wife is an awesome cook and she follows recipes. She makes everything from scratch, which is the best way. A couple months ago she got on a site call www.cooksillustrated.com. You get a 2 week trial for free, then it's a few bucks a month. Everything she made from that site was perfect.. Bon Avi!


Jim