Cookaholics Bulletin Board

What are folks cooking for American Thanksgiving?


Current plans here: Polish/Russian.

This was going to be a meal for 10, but in-laws' cat got sick and we're doing a very small dinner at their place instead of a bigger dinner in Portland.

* Pumpernickel bread with a variety of toppings: salmon & sour cream, chopped eggs and radishes, sprats & cucumber.
* Moscow-style salt pickles and vodka
* Roasted beet & gherkin salad
* Potato & Tvarog pirogis
* Flounder with apples and almonds
* Vera's hazelnut layer cake

Ours will be fairly traditional, with a couple of twists. Sous Vide turkey, green beans, kale salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, traditional stuffing. And Stove Top and canned cranberry for the two sons-in-law who we try to appease, challah bread, apple pie and peanut butter pie.

Cookie,

How do you get a whole turkey into a vac bag, let alone an immersion bath?

I would venture that breaking down the turkey would work.

Nothing new here. We're sticking with our T&T Thanksgiving menu.

Not doing American Thanksgiving obviously, but we are doing an early Christmas party for friends. So far the menu is turducken (stuffed with Italian sausage - there is a company in Calgary that does them with either Italian sausage stuffing or chicken apple sausage stuffing - I would have gone for the chicken apple stuffing but got outvoted), CI’s baked mac and cheese, and mashed potato casserole. I’ll sous vide a turkey breast I think for my gluten free friends, plus add in some veggie/salad sides. A friend is bringing tiramisu for dessert.

I'm trying a sous vide turkey as well. I had it quartered and am cooking the legs first and then adding the breasts. I pre-browned it and will crisp it at the end. We'll see! Everything else is traditional. Deb

Someone needs to do a head-to-head, sous vide vs. regular.

My son is the sous vide expert. He carved it up today and browned it, then vacuum sealed the parts and some are "cooking" now, and some will go in later. Then, from what I understand, he will re-crisp the parts about 1 hour before meal time. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but most everything he attempts is amazing. And usually labor-intensive.
But in the last few years, he has trained himself to a level I could never have imagined. Modernist Cuisine intrigues him.
I'll let you all know how it turns out. Even though I don't eat meat anymore, I will have to give this a mini taste-test.

I have mixed feelings about my sous vide turkey. The juiciness and tenderness were great. I added a package of mixed herbs which overpowered the flavor. I think if I did it again I would either not add herbs or maybe just a small sprig of thyme or sage. I used the same technique as above and it actually browned up pretty well.