Thanksgiving Planning

Posts Tagged ‘first thanksgiving dinner’

I am cooking for my boyfriends family of about 10-12 people, my family always does seafood for Thanksgiving so I never have made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner till this year… PLEASE HELP WITH SOME IDEAS!

Make a schedule for the day of. That way you can figure out what’s going in the oven, on the burners, on the grill at what time and you don’t run out of burners or forget to cook something and if you get behind you can grab someone to help!

Besides the turkey (figure about 14 lbs for 12 people, 1 per person and 2 just in case), make another meat – ham’s probably most common, but you can do beef, fish, chicken, whatever. Also, you don’t need as much of your secondary meat since most people will take turkey, but for example I’d say 6 lbs of ham. Or you could ask people what they want 🙂 but I like to surprise!

To make things easier, throw some frozen veggies – corn, peas, broccoli – on the table. They taste so much better than canned with less work. Since some people don’t like naked veg, put out an au gratin sauce – could be as easy as melted Velveeta, or make one yourself. *One serving* 2 T margarine melted (med heat) in a pot on the stove, whisk in 1 T flour. Slowly stir in 1 c milk, and keep stirring until sauce starts to thicken. Add 3/4 c shredded cheese, and keep stirring until sauce has a smooth consistency.
You might want to at least double that recipe for 12 though.

Green bean casserole is a generally beloved Thanksgiving dish. I use the recipe on the bag of French’s French Fried Onions, but the link is here ( http://www.frenchs.com/recipe/rds/frenchs/?id=9374 ). This goes fast, so make at least two.

Mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and possibly an acorn squash (cut it in half, gut it, add about 1/2 c marshmallows, 3 T brown sugar, and as many raisins as you can cram in after that stuff – it will depend on size of squash – then bake in the oven) round out your veggies.

Serve fresh bread from a bakery, put butter, salt, and pepper on the table.

Deviled eggs.

And at least 3 kinds of dessert!

GL

I really need help any Ideas recipes, I have no cooking skills scared Its not gonna come out right, I just got married and wanna impress my husband Please help…..

email me for more… I have from soup to desserts… these recipes are really easy to do… don’t be discouraged.
ShariPamperedChef@si.rr.com

Rosemary-Herb Roasted Turkey
Ingredients:
1 thawed, frozen or fresh turkey, 12-18 pounds
1 large lemon, sliced
1 large onion, cut into wedges
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities; cook and reserve for use in stuffing or gravy, if desired. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Lift wing tips up toward neck, then tuck under back of turkey. Place lemon, onion and thyme inside body cavity. Tie ends of legs together with cotton string. Place turkey, breast side up, on rack in Roasting Pan.
2.Brush skin with oil using Chef’s Silicone Basting Brush. Sprinkle with seasoning mix. Roast turkey 3-4 hours or until Pocket Thermometer registers 180°F in thickest part of thigh and juices run clear. (To prevent overcooking, loosely cover breast with aluminum foil when turkey is about two-thirds done. Check for doneness about 30 minutes before turkey is expected to be done.)
3.Remove turkey from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Using Meat Lifters, carefully remove turkey from Roasting Pan to Reversible Bamboo Carving Board. Cut string from legs and discard. Carve turkey using Carving Set.
Confetti Potato Cakes
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
3 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 3/4 cups instant potato flakes

Directions:
1.In Classic Batter Bowl, microwave water, milk and butter on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted and liquid is hot. Add corn, bell pepper, green onions, salt and black pepper; mix well. Stir in potato flakes.
2.Meanwhile, heat Double Burner Griddle over medium heat 5 minutes or until hot. Lightly spray griddle with vegetable oil using Kitchen Spritzer. Drop 1/4 cup potato mixture onto griddle; gently flatten with Nylon Turner. Cook potato cakes 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown, turning once.
Buttery Dill Carrots
Ingredients:
1 pound baby carrots (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill weed or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.Place carrots and water in Large Micro-Cooker®. Microwave on HIGH 6 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender; drain.
2.Add butter, dill weed and salt; toss gently. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

½ package (15 oz) refrigerated pie crusts (1 crust)
1 container (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 package (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 ½ cups cold milk
1 package (5.1 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
½ tsp rum extract (optional)
2 medium bananas, sliced, divided
Strawberries for garnish

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let pie crust stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Gently unfold onto lightly floured surface. Roll to 11 ½ inch circle using lightly floured Baker’s Roller. Place crust in Deep Dish Pie Plate, pressing dough onto the bottom and up the sides. Prick the bottom and sides using pastry tool. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, cool completely.
2.Place 1 ½ cups of the whipped topping and chocolate morsels in Small Micro-Cooker, uncovered, on HIGH for 30-45 seconds; stir until smooth. Remove 2 Tbsp of the chocolate mixture into a Decorator Bottle for garnish, set aside. Spread remaining chocolate mixture over bottom of pie crust using All Purpose Spreader. Place crust in freezer while preparing pudding.
3.Pour milk into Classic Batter Bowl. Add pudding mix and rum extract; whisk 1 minute or until mixture begins to thicken. Fold in 1 ½ cups of the whipped topping.
4.Slice 1 ½ bananas, arrange over chocolate mixture in crust. Spread pudding mixture over the bananas. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
5.To garnish pie, squeeze chocolate mixture onto pie in a decorative design. Fill easy accent decorator with remaining whipped topping. Pipe rosettes at edge of pie. Garnish with remaining ½ banana and strawberries.

Cooks Tips
•For a colder serving temperature and easier cutting refrigerate pie 1-2 hours
•When placing refrigerated pie crust in the deep dish pie plate, evenly ruffle edge of crust inside the pie plate for picture perfect results. To keep crust from slipping down the sides of the pie plate during baking, firmly press edge of pie crust to fluted edge of pie plate in several places

Tool Tip
•Use the Egg Slicer Plus for slicing strawberries and bananas

Herb Butter Roasted Turkey

1 (14 pound) turkey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Herb Butter:
1 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh sage
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh chives
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove giblets and neck from the cavity of the turkey. Rinse and dry bird. Fold wing tips behind the turkey. Season the cavity with salt and pepper.
Combine butter and fresh herbs.
Starting at the neck end of the turkey, loosen the skin by sliding your fingers underneath it, being careful not to tear it. Slide your hand as far as you can toward the other end of the turkey, separating the skin from the meat. Rub two-thirds of the herb butter over the entire breast. Tie drumsticks in front.
Place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan breast-side up; cover loosely with a foil tent. Place bird in oven and decrease the temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Melt remaining herb butter. Remove foil tent from turkey during the last 45 minutes of baking and baste once with melted butter.
The turkey is done when the thigh meat reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees F and the breast meat reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F. When the turkey is done, remove from the oven; let stand 30 minutes before carving.

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Corn Bread Dressing

1 (16 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 small onion
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the dry corn bread mix according to package directions. Cool and crumble.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the celery and onion until soft.
In a large bowl, combine the celery, onions, 3 cups crumbled corn bread, eggs, chicken stock, sage and salt and pepper to taste; mix well.
Place into prepared dish and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
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Classy Green Bean Casserole

3 (14.5 ounce) cans French cut green beans, drained
1 cup sour cream
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely crushed buttery round crackers
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, mix together the green beans, sour cream, condensed soup, salt and pepper. Spoon into a 2 quart casserole dish. Stir melted butter into the crushed crackers, then sprinkle over the top of the casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned and bubbly
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Best Mashed Potatoes

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped fresh chives
1 1/2 cups cream cheese
1/2 medium head garlic, peeled and minced
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm. Drain and return to stove over low heat to dry for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add butter, Parmesan cheese, chives, cream cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash until smooth, and serve.
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