Thanksgiving Planning

Part 2 – Learn how to make a marinade for a Thanksgiving tofu turkey, a non traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner recipe, in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:46

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To decorate the children’s table at Thanksgiving, offer arts and crafts projects to the kids, like decorating their own place mat, painting a pumpkin or cutting out shapes from construction paper. Keep the kids busy during Thanksgiving, simultaneously adding decoration to their table, with tips from an event coordinator in this free video on holiday parties.

Expert: Lori Randall
Contact: www.SimplyDevineEvents.com
Bio: Lori Randall established Simply Divine Events after working as an event producer in Tampa, Fla. managing dozens of corporate affairs throughout the state and across the country.
Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

Duration : 0:2:5

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please help me we are soo bored at thanksgiving dinner!! soo why not play games!!:P

I think that a game day is a great idea. I’m not sure if you want to play during dinner or for before and after.

There is a game called Dinner games you can buy (see link below) it has lots of games inside I’m sure there would be a few your family would like.

I remember when I was young Thanksgiving was the most boring holiday of them all. The adult men where hogging the TV watching football and the adult women were going crazy in the kitchen and we (kids) were all banned from both areas. We didn’t know if we were going die of starvation or boredom.

If you are trapped with siblings and cousins you see twice a year, try some games that get you moving and laughing like twister or pitch pennies or buttons (you don’t have to play for keeps) find a wall or door preferably with a hard floor (not carpet) and flip your penny up against the door/wall and see who can get it to land the closest to the door/wall. The winner keeps all of the coins/buttons in the round. Or you can mark places on the floor any where in the room and pitch pennies or buttons like target practice. Give extra points for hard shots.

I am making deviled eggs for a thanksgiving party.
What do you think I can do to them to make it festive for Thanksgiving.
I can do the old standby of decorating the plate but cant think of anything other then decorating the half eggs themselves as turkeys with a head and faux feathers
anyone have any ideas?

you could use orange food coloring for the inside of the eggs.???

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!

I put a seafood spin on our last Thanksgiving (We’re on the Pacific Ocean) and went with some crabmeat stuffed mushroom appetizers and an oyster stuffing for the turkey.

It’s kind of like a wedding: you can’t deviate too far from tradition or the old folks get cranky, just add a few of your own touches to make it more personal, like making your own cranberry sauce from scratch..

I am undertaking the daunting task of preparing Thanksgiving for about 18 people this year. I’m not sure how much food to prepare. I’m also a little unsure about how to make large quantities of mashed potatoes and candied sweet potatoes. Can anyone advise me?

18 people huh! You got moxie! Well figure 1 medium size potato for each person plus 4 for those who like taters. Peel them and keep them in water until used. I would boil them in batches like 7 at a time, cut up into pieces of course, keeping the already cooked ones in a pan covered. Then when all are cooked, mashed them together and return to pan & cover for storage. Mashed potato can always be reheated in a microwave.
Candied Yams, figure 1 yam for every two people should do the trick. These can be done days ahead of time, then reheated in a microwave b-4 serving. In fact, the potatoes can be done the day b-4 and also reheated. Now the turkey, about a pound and a half per person should do the trick.
Green bean casserole, corn, biscuits, roll, deserts, again these things can be prepared days ahead and reheated or served Thanksgiving Day. You took on a Big Challenge and you need to react as they do in a restaurant. Oh for recipe ideas, recipesource.com. Good luck & I’ll say a prayer for you.

http://www.yummyarts.com/t/aut.html
Try your hand at this cake decorating idea. Beautify your Thanksgiving table with a fabulous decoration that is good enough to eat. This Thanksgiving give our Autumn Apples Cake a try.

Duration : 0:0:47

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How to make the marinade for a Cornish hen dinner recipe; tips, trick and more in this free online cooking video taught by an expert chef.

Expert: David Postada
Contact: www.thebigeasycateringcompany.com
Bio: David Postada is the chef and owner of the Big Easy Catering company in Santa Barbara, CA.
Filmmaker: Diana Bacon

Duration : 0:2:27

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Learn how to season the inside of a Thanksgiving turkey with sage butter in this free cooking video.

Expert: Lori Schneider
Contact: www.figscatering.com
Bio: Lori Schneider is a chef and owner of Figs Catering in Austin, Texas.
Filmmaker: Drew Noah

Duration : 0:1:32

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