Gray Ajah Thanksgiving Dinner: Favorite Foods and Traditions

[Aidanna]

What is the funniest experience you have had on Thanksgiving/Holiday?

 

The first turkey i ever cooked right after moving out of my Mom's turned out beautiful and golden!! Only problem was I neglected to remove the bag of extra parts out of the inside of the bird.....bwahahahaha  

 

everyone ate it anyways and said it was good 

 

The funniest thing on Thanksgiving at my house was one year my mom fell asleep and her two brothers took the apple cider bottles and posed around her for pictures to use as blackmail saying she was drunk and passed out... My mom doesn't drink so it was hilarious. The next year she accidentally took a sleeping pill instead of an allergy pill and was falling asleep during dinner. Its like a tradition of its own now, my mom falling asleep and everyone taking hilarious pictures. 

[Daruya]

Squash casserole:

 

• 2 lbs yellow squash
• 1 small onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup (I may try to make my own next year!)
• pepper (I use 1/8 tsp but add per your taste)
• Herb seasoned stuffing mix
• butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel, slice and boil squash till tender. Drain and mash.  Place into mixing bowl.  Chop/mince onion; add to squash.  Grate the carrot; add to squash/onion mix.  Add sour cream and cream of chicken soup to squash mixture and mix well.  Add pepper to taste.

 

Line casserole dish with herb seasoned stuffing mix; spoon in squash mixture.  Top with more stuffing mix till squash mixture is covered.  Dot with butter.  Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes, or until done.  Stuffing mix should be golden brown.  I usually stick a knife into the center and make sure the center is hot before serving. If it's not, put it back in for additional time.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

For the whipped cream, buy heavy whipping cream and find an online recipe! LOL!  That's what I did.  I think this is the recipe I used:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whipped-Cream/

 

 

I forgot to mention . . . my dad won't let me in the house for Thanksgiving or Christmas unless I make my squash casserole! LOL!  Just kidding of course but it's become a tradition with us.  Just like the cheese ball I make and take over there for Christmas Eve has become a tradition.  

[Ryrin]

I use fresh cranberries, mandarin oranges from my tree, cinnamon sticks, orange juice, nutmeg sometimes nuts, it just depends.  One year I made this sweet potato/apple thing.

[Kaylee]

I'll be making a pumpkin pie (dairy free) with a gingersnap crust. I'll also be making some pumpkin rice crispy treats...

[Aidanna]

Those are the cutest rice crispy treats ever - I must make these.

[Kaylee]

I thought so too...I will add pretzels though instead of tootsie rolls

[Theodora]

Recently we also started playing a game where we all pick a painted egg and need to knock our eggs with the person next to us. The first to break or crack of the two is out. Then we keep going till the end. Winner gets good luck And keeps the egg

 

This is what we do for Easter - instead of hiding eggs, we celect egggs that are winners and whoever got the strongest egg is the champion! This has been for ove 200 years in Bulgaria. I am really puzzled this happens in Thanksgiving :)

[ReleaseTheEvil]

 

Recently we also started playing a game where we all pick a painted egg and need to knock our eggs with the person next to us. The first to break or crack of the two is out. Then we keep going till the end. Winner gets good luck And keeps the egg

 

This is what we do for Easter - instead of hiding eggs, we celect egggs that are winners and whoever got the strongest egg is the champion! This has been for ove 200 years in Bulgaria. I am really puzzled this happens in Thanksgiving :)

 

 

Ha ha ha I might be wrong and it might in fact be at Easter... Will need to ask my sister. Wonder where my aunt got that idea from though... 

[Theodora]

Rhea, everything looks yummy and great!

 

RTE, might be Thanksgiving as well, traditions do travel with the cosmopolitan world we now live in. I shouldn't celebrate Halloween but I do and I love it

 

A stupid question,guys, but I have never done it - how do you make the gravy? I loved it on mashed potatoes but I have never actually made any.

[Aidanna]

Thea - here is a fairly good idea of a couple ways to make easy brown gravy! I love gravy too, but I didn't really learn to cook much until I had to start really cooking when I started eating gluten free - so since you probably want regular recipes, I thought I would just give you the link.

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Brown-Gravy

[Theodora]

That sounds easy, thanks Aida.

[Gudrean]

Looking forward to this ------>    

[Gudrean]

What is your favorite way to cook a turkey/or any fowl for that matter =))

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

the best I make when I have the time is brine and then smoke in my little kettle grill with bundles of sage, rosemary and whatever hers still look good. I try to keep the temp around 200-250, takes a few hours, but well worth it.

 

I used to deep fry chickens when I worked where we had fryers. I wouldn't do that to a turkey, tho. I think it's dangerous and likely to burn the skin anyway.

 

nowadays I mostly roast, sometimes after a brining, sometimes not. I like to lay bacon over the turkey for a while, and take it off to let it brown. I'd rather cook two or three tiny birds than one big one.

 

no basting, no fussing. rub the skin with lemon, give it a lot of salt. in a very hot oven for almost and hour, then down to medium or lower until the thighs 160 and let it rise the rest of the way to 165 out of the oven.

 

has to rest a couple hours, and that's when I make the sides.

[Gudrean]

MMMmmmmm  those sound yummers, err what is a brine?

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

salty water basically, you soak the bird in salt water about as salty as seawater and through the mysterious process of osmosis or some such it renders the bird juicier, capable of holding more water.

 

I put some sugar and vinegar and spices in mine too.

 

you can get a basic recipe on the interwebs, it's just as simple as soaking it overnight. turkeys like butterball and others that say they have water added for processing or flavors injected are brined so they don't need rebrining.

 

I recall my great gramma brining for food safety tho, the salt kills bad bacteria and keeps the bird safe if you keep the water cold.

[Aidanna]

I prefer to brine them myself too - I always think that the birds and such get way too dry when without it. Mmmm I am so hungry now! I can't wait!

[ReleaseTheEvil]

Gud that plate looks awesome.

 

Funny enough I haven't celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this year or last but this week I'll celebrate American Thanksgiving twice. Go figure. Nice to have friends who are good cooks

[Brandie]

I get to make deviled eggs and broccoli casserole twice for Thanksgiving this year, once on the actual day that we're celebrating with my parents, sisters, and grandparents and then again on Saturday when we're celebrating with the entire extended family.

[Aidanna]

I wanted to add a more non-traditional recipe that I love (shhh. This is the first time I have gotten the recipe   but I had to share it with you!).

 

Aunt Helen's Jello Salad (we have no other name for it - it was named for my Aunt's aunt, Helen Newton)

 

1 package lemon jello

1 regular size can crushed pineapple

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 pint whipping cream

1/2 cup nuts

 

 

Drain Pineapple in measuring cup. Add water to juice to make 2 cups. Heat to boiling.

Add Jello. Cool to just starting to thicken.

Add fruit, cottage cheese, and whipped whipping cream.

Chill until set.

 

I know it sounds a little weird with the cottage cheese and the jello - but this is the yummiest jello salad ever! 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

ooooh thank you!

 

Okies here's one I just made and it was yummy

 

maple walnut sweet potato pudding

 

cook sweet potatoes (I roasted them, best way I think)

 

peel and smoosh them into a pan

 

add minced apples, maple syrup to taste, a pinch salt, a good lot of cinnamon (and I used nutmeg, clove and allspice, any pie spices would work), a touch of apple juice or such like, and cook over very low heat until the apples are soft and the sweet potatoes are creamy.

 

stir in a handful of broken up toasted walnuts.

 

done.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

oh and orange zest, forgot.

[Aidanna]

Oh my goodness that sounds so good!!!! I must try this! Maybe I need to run to the store again... 

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

there's nothing you can do to sweet potatoes that isn't good :)

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

my mom makes grand marnier cake by the dozen for holidays cause it's addictive and if you make it once the humans will never let you stop.

 

I hope to god it's all gone by the time I get there this weekend....

 

I found her recipe at food.com. she's been making this one for 35 years, and got the recipe from my auntie Luz typed up on an actual typewriter. same exact recipe, almost word for word. I used to read it out loud to her while she put it together.

 

2 oranges

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

3 whole eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Grand Marnier

1/2 cup pecans (crushed)

3 egg whites (beaten stiff)

 

soaking glaze ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/3 cup Grand Marnier

 

 

Directions:

 

 

Zest rind of oranges and juice oranges; set aside.

 

 

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add eggs.

 

 

Add flour mixture and sour cream in small amounts alternately to egg /sugar mixture.

 

 

When well mixed, beat in Grand Marnier, orange zest and pecans.

 

 

Fold beaten egg whites into batter.

 

 

Pour into a greased and floured 10" bundt pan; bake 40-50 minute at 350 degrees.

 

 

While cake is baking; combine soaking glaze ingredients over medium heat until ingredients are combined.

 

 

poke holes in the cake with a wooden pokey cake thingy or a fork. Spoon the soaking glaze over hot cake (still in the pan), cool before removing from pan.

 

 

Invert onto cake plate.

 

 

(she dusts with confectioners sugar or glazes w confectioners sugar, OJ, and grand marnier)

 

eat. go directly to heaven.