Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I'm checking out some new recipes for desserts and sides but I'll probably end up making the old family favorites to avoid a riot. They don't mind new dishes for Sunday dinners but holiday meals have to be traditional.

Well, there are some things that we simply must have on the table, of course. About 10 years ago, I got smart and made a master menu of the basic items, a shopping list for that stuff, and a prep list and schedule and stored it on the computer. So that makes it easier. (I went from being a single mom of two to being a matriarch with 8 grandkids, more if you count what I call the double-steps, my husband's daughter's stepchildren. There was a sharp learning curve there.)

I would never NOT make the family dressing, and I once did a radio op-ed piece on Thanksgiving sides, saying that I felt sorry for folks who didn't have family traditions like that. Got a scathing comment from a listener who said he wanted nothing to do with the family he was raised in, including their food, and HIS Thanksgiving dishes were delicious. Some trauma there, obviously....

I'm doing a different countdown...Scheduled to work at the hospital on Thanksgiving. We are provided with a "free" meal (oh, was I the one who said free is always good--ha). We usually have a choice of turkey or beef entree along with sides & dessert. Actually, working holidays are rewarding...patients & visitors are appreciative, the atmosphere is quiet & calm, too. All you SE fans can send me some leftovers...the above comments sure sound tasty!

Lotsa years working holidays at both small private and large university hospitals. My kids grew up knowing you could have your holiday and mom working too. Sometimes we did Thanksgiving the Saturday after. (Fed a number of house officers, too.) You're right about it usually being calm, too - although when it's bad, it's really, really bad, it seemed like.

Hey, thanks for your support and kind words!! I agree, anytime with family or friends can be like a holiday celebration without a significant date on the calender :)

I have already planned and am waiting for Nov 1 to hit to start baking.
I picked up some great new linens for the table. Decided on the centerpieces.
The usual antipasto with buff mozzarella/caprese, assorted meats, provolone cheese, olives and roasted peppers

Brined Fresh turkey

the family sausage stuffing baked aside
roasted sweet potatoes with a hot sweet rub
buttermilk mashed potatoes
cold asparagus
string beans olive oil, garlic and sea salt
Gravy
Crimini mushrooms with sherry and butter
My mother in laws cranberry salad

Homemade biscuits
Cornbread from Baker's Apprentice
Datenut bread

Pumpkin pie from Costco (can't beat it for flavor or price)
Nick Maglieri's Coconut raspberry layer cake http://www.nickmalgieri.com/recipes/coco_rasp_cake.html
this one is a hit everytime I make it. Dorie Greenspan has it in her book as well.
Ina Garten's outrageous brownies http://www.kitchenlink.com/cookbooks/1999/0609602195_3.html
my people crave these. I add chambord to them and 2 kinds of chocolate.
Smearcase (we call it Baltimore cheesecake) this year instead of the usual cheesecake
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2007/07/smearcase.html
A thank you to Rachel Rappaort at Coconut and Lime for what will be a trip down memory lane for us.
My usual round decorated with sprinkles cream cheese cut out cookies.

JT--a big thanks for the link to Nick Maglieri's site--amazing sounding recipes & tons of info & additional links :)

chiff0nade-I too have a Bensonhurst past. I think that's a good thing!
Jerzee Tomato- But now i'm in NJ, so make extra on Thanksgiving because from the sound of your menu, I think your friends from SE will want to be there!!!!!!!

I make a big deal out of thanksgiving because my birthday is that week.
I make the date nut bread, brownies and cakes ahead of time, usually right after halloween and I freeze them. Also the dough for the cookies. Date nut bread freezes so well. When it thaws it is still very moist. I use the Joy of cooking recipe works like a charm every time.
We overnight brine our turkey in a cooler in the garage with a bag of ice.
I use the Good Eats (Alton Brown) brine http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html
with some alterations, I leave out the ginger, cinnamon and apple.
We are having possibly over 20 this year, no big deal I cook for an army always.
@lemons The smearcase was something I ate as a child, my mom's friend was from Baltimore and she used to make it and never would give the recipe up. It has a gooey butter cake crust and is so easy I think everyone should try it. It makes cheesecake easy. It is custardy in consistancy.
@JEP I worship Nick. I have all his books and read his webpage. The man is a talent to which I think he has few equals. We share italian heritage and a desire to make pastry. One day I hope to get him to sign a book of mine. Pastry chef groupies hollar back now.
@Christina I have been there. I was once a military spouse and was alone on holidays. I used to get myself invited to things and bring a dish. Once people got to know me they wanted me to come so they could get hooked up with what I was making. I became an in demand guest. Don't feel down and don't cheat yourself. Get yourself a small turkey breast/turkey london broil and make yourself a nice meal.

JT - Playing food sociologist here: How is it you know gooey butter cake? Where did you come across it? Is it a family recipe or did you taste it elsewhere? (Others: GBC is a coffee-cake type dish that once was found only in bakeries; the reason why it's gooey is lost in the mists of time. The current manifestations of it are cake-mix based. It's very rich, and its sweetness originally varied from bakery to bakery. My favorite had a yeast crust as a base, but usually it was a baking-powder-raised one at most purveyors. If others are interested, I'll start a separate thread. Don't mean to hijack the topic.)

Where I grew up (Buffalo), schmierkase was the same thing as (or very similar to) cottage cheese. My Dad always uses the term schmierkase when he wants cottage cheese with chopped chives.

I'm packing up my knifes and bowls and other implements of destruction and driving halfway across the state to cook at my mom's place for the immediate family.

Should be pretty traditional fare - turkey, sage dressing, roast beet salad, two jillion varieties of starches (what? I like rolls and potatoes. Sue me), and a couple veggie dishes. Oh yeah - and cranberry sauce too (no, not the canned type. Eww, what's wrong with you?). I don't care if anyone actually *eats* the cranberries though. It just makes the house smell good while it's cooking.

Though I'm stuck on the turkey. I'd like to brine my bird, but I'd also like to make stock with the carcass. I've not made stock with brined bird bits, but from what I've read (and imagined) the results are less than spectacular. I'll figure out something, I'm sure.

t Christina: Enjoy your first T-day solo - but you've gotta cook something! After the novelty of spending Thanksgiving alone wore off, I used to have an "orphan's dinner" for my single friends/friends without family/people who couldn't make it home for the holiday, which was a great way to spend the day.

The word gooey I never saw till I read a recipe in a magazine circa 1980 something. What we had that was just like it was called "German butter cake" in the Philly area. Also made by the amish. The smearcase was made by a friend of my mother's for her backyard cookout every 4th of July when I was a kid, she was from Baltimore. I used to eat her "Baltimore style cheescake" and say to my mother why can't you make this. The reason why my mom couldn't was because she had no idea what it was and the friend would not part with the recipe. She would say sorry can't do it.
Back before the internet (speaking in my narrator's voice) people sometimes wanted to be the only one that made something which gave them a "party" edge. I know some of you understand this. My mother equally guilty has some recipes she refuses to share.