November: FOOD TOPIC

[brisus]

I get to bring you...

November Food Topic: THANKSGIVING!

Yes, it is a time to be thankful and spend time with family and friends, but what makes it even more awesome is all the great food that surrounds us while doing so!

Whether you participate in the holiday or not, tell us:
1) What your favorite Thanksgiving (or Fall) dish and why?
2) How about your least favorite and why?

Comments

[crazed_delusion]

1) I love love love my homemade cranberry sauce. I hate most, but mine is awesome. I also love a great fall apple pie.

2) I know it's like forbidden, but I hate pretty much all pumpkin things.

Personally my standard Thanksgiving consists of Cracker Barrel. They do a family meal you can pick up that morning. It usually feed the 3 of us here, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some left overs. Taste great and I look forward to it every year.

[realpestilence]

I like a basic pumpkin pie. Maybe a dab of whipped cream on it. But not all these muffings, cakes, pies with pumpkin and cream cheese and whatnot. They tend to overdo the spices, imo.

[brisus]

You're not the only person I know who hates pumpkin--I think its a love it/hate it kind of food! I do like pumpkin pie, but it has to be made right. I've had several homemade ones that were terrible.

[colls]

Care to share the secret to your cranberry thingy? My mom experiments every year, and so far the orange and coconut one is a favorite cranberry relish side dish for us.

[realpestilence]

Favorite would have to be mashed potatoes (swimming in butter, gravy optional). Potatoes in just about any form are ambrosia-starchy and comforting, you can smother them in butter and sour cream, fry them, bake them. So many options, all delicious! \0/

My least favorite would have to be that nasty candied yam dish with the marshmallows all over it. Far too sickly sweet and sticky, and even the smell turns me off. I'm very sensitive to smells and textures.

[brisus]

I LOVE potatoes myself. :)

I don't like yams at all, so I'm right there with ya!

[auntmo9]

My least favorite would have to be that nasty candied yam dish with the marshmallows all over it.

Oh goodness yes!I like yams and sweet potatoes if they are made very simply or even with savory spices. they don't need marshmallows :(

[atelierlune]

My mother's stuffing is always a thing of beauty and joy. I have started collecting and serving rose wines of different origins

My least favorite thing is actually the turkey. It's always dry to me.

[brisus]

Very cool--neat tradition! I don't know much about wine, so could you tell me what the difference of a rose wine is?

Turkey is a hard thing to perfect--I was told if you deep fry it, its super juicy!

[realpestilence]

One year, my mother made Cornish hens for each of us. They came out beautifully, and didn't have that gamy taste that turkey often does. It was a nice change.

[mfirefly10]

1. I enjoy a good, not-too-dry turkey. I also like stuffing and mashed potatoes, drizzled in a bit of gravy.

2. I don't really like pie? Especially pumpkin.

[brisus]

I just said both of these things I'm aboutto tell you in another comment--lol:
1) I was told a good juicy turkey can be made by deep-frying it.

2) It seems people have a love/hate relationship with pumpkin flavored stuff!

[colls]

I don't really like pie?
And yet, I love you anyway.
:)

[majoline]

I almost said I enjoy turkey the most. It was a toss up ;)

Pumpkin pie is about the only time I like sweetened pumpkin, otherwise I'm a savory pumpkin kinda gal.

[colls]

My mom and I just sat down to work out the Thanksgiving menu. There will only be 4 people this year, so we're TRYING to keep the menu to a minimum. Everyone in my family likes to cook though, so it's hard.

My favorite is the PIE. Next to that I LOVE the potatoes my family makes. We call them 'Thanksgiving Potatoes' because...well, I don't think there's a term for them? IDK.
We all make them.

Recipe (off the top of my head, although it really can't be screwed up):
- a bunch of baking potatoes, like 8 or 9?
- a stick of butter
- a package of cream cheese
- a cup of sour cream
- nutmeg

Peel, cube and boil potatoes until soft. Dump in other ingredients butter, cream cheese, sour cream and mash. Whip it up with one of those hand held mixer thingys. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle nutmeg on top. You can serve immediately or stick to the side/in fridge and reheat in oven later. Sometimes I make these a day ahead to get them out of the way.

OMG yum.

Fat? What fat? FREE FAT.

[realpestilence]

Potatoes and fat free should never even meet, much less get involved.

[majoline]

1) My favorite? You want me to pick a favorite? Fine, I'll be the weird one; I love sweet potato casserole. My mom and I always make our own marshmallow fluff for it and it is coconutty and cinnamon-y and sweet potato-y. Yum. Even my sister likes it and she hates coconut normally.

2) My least favorite is the cranberry mold thing. It can so easily be bitter and strong and the tannins overpowering and puckery. I'm picky :(

[realpestilence]

Hey, you! :D


I like cranberry relish, made with actual sliced cranberries (maybe a little orange zest), not that canned jellied mold stuff that quivers when you poke it. o.0

Roasted Balsamic New Potatoes

[realpestilence]

For my fellow potato lovers :D




3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lbs small red potatoes (about 17)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp kosher (course) salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper



Heat oven to 375F. In 1-cup measuring cup, mix olive oil, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg and garlic. Cut potatoes in half; spread on nonstick 15x10x1-inch pan. Drizzle with olive oil mixture; toss to coat.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are golden and slightly crispy. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar; toss to coat. Bake 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Re: Roasted Balsamic New Potatoes

[amie]

THAT SOUNDS AMAZING!

[sugar_cookie]

First I want a 20oz. pumpkin spice cappuccino. It says it's free on the banner menu. :)

Two, how can anyone not like sweet pumpkin goodness? D:

1. Pumpkin everything. Pumpkin pie, muffins, coffee, creamer, eggnog, cake, blizzards, etc. I'll take it all if y'all don't want it. :)

2. Sweet potatoes. Can't stand them anymore hehe.

[majoline]

You can have them! I love savory pumpkin better ;)

Can't get enough sweet potatoes though.

[auntmo9]

1) Anything pie! (though apple with a crumble on top is pretty high up there) I love to bake it as much as I enjoying serving /eating it!

2) And as someone else said, yams with marshmallows on it. they are already sweet enough,they don't need they extra stickiness!

[realpestilence]

You can't go wrong with a good crumble on there-warmed up, and with vanilla ice cream. I don't generally like apple pies, as the cooking seems to sweeten them too much for my taste; but I do like Dutch apple pie a la mode. Crumbles, ftw! \0/

[natsudive]

CORN PUDDING *___________* Corn pudding is the entire reason I even look forward to Thanksgiving. It's just...so tasty. Stuffing and mashed potatoes are great. And green bean casserole. And macaroni. And pumpkin pie. Oops, did I just list our entire Thanksgiving menu?

My least favorite would be turkey, I suppose? Because I don't eat meat, but even before I went vegetarian, I was never a huge fan. Too dry. >.< The great thing about Thanksgiving is that the turkey is the only meat dish, and then we'll have tons and tons of vegetarian side dishes. :3

[brisus]

I never heard of corn pudding. What is it exactly?

Yea, its hard to get a moist turkey unless you deep fry it! And very true--I usually enjoy the sides more than the turkey as well!

[amie]

We don't have thanksgiving here and we don't really change the type of food we eat either. I'd say for autumn maybe we'd drink more soup & hot chocolate/coffee?

But omg potato. Best food ever. Mashed or in any other form, really.
I don't like sweet potato or really pumpkin very much (but I've never tried the sweet kind you have in the US...)

[thousanth]

Potato! This so much. Any form, any time.

I'm also not a sweet potato fan either, but I have found sweet potato fries to be fairly acceptable.

[ninety6tears]

Mashed potatoes! Cause they're always good but my mom makes them particularly magical.

I don't go for the cranberries-on-the-side thing (but I do love those weird apple ring things that get red everywhere).

[brisus]

:) I have a good recipe too, which my family seems to love!

I'm not big on the cranberry sauce either... and these apple things, not sure what you speak of, but it sounds good!

[realrose]

I'm a big fan of stuffing. Stuffing and gravy. It's savory and filling and I dunno.. I just love it. Also green beans with those awful awesome French's onion things. Yum. MSG. Also sweet potatoes with pecans and marshmellos, it's so awfully midcentury and American but so tasty.

Least... that's hard... probably turkey actually it so often ends up dry and blah.

We are hosting my family for Thanksgiving this year and I'm doing my first turkey, I hope I don't screw it up.

[brisus]

I love stuffing! <3

They say if you deep fry the turkey, its juicy! I never had it that way, but everyone that I know that has--love it.

Good luck! :D Exciting!

[wallflowerish]

1. My favorites are pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole because Thanksgiving is one of the few times I allow myself to eat those kinds of foods.
2. My least favorites are turkey because it's usually dry and cranberry sauce because it's usually the one that comes in a can :(

[richmodis]

1. Everything Pumpkin. Pumpkin creme soup, chutney, fries...
2. Marron glacé and roasted chestnuts