Hey, everybody, look who’s here!
No, no,… it’s all good. You’re not late for dinner. Here, let’s get you a holiday beverage before we sit down to eat. Our guest entertainer is just finishing up.
Well, I suppose that might be true in a traditional setting.
I’m lookin’ at you, Uncle Walter. Remember, you promised: this year, no political, religious, or offensive non-sequiturs aimed at the Millennial’s table during dinner.
That’s just great. Always something to look forward to.
OK, enough alleged comedy.
Thanks to all who brought a virtual dish! It’s buffet style, so everybody dig in while everything is warm!
Lets see what we have here from our good friends!
I got hooked a long time ago–and I don’t know exactly when, other than it wasn’t from eating with my mom–on oyster stuffing.
Oh man, I love that even more than the turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and green bean casserole, although all rock as well. Give me oyster stuffing covered with gravy and I’ll eat myself into a food coma.
Made with hard boiled eggs (natch), Duke’s Mayonnaise (not Hellmans or Miracle Whip, maybe Kraft if you’re not in the south), sale, pepper, chipotle chili powder, and my secret ingredient – a little bit of dill pickle brine in the yolk mixture for brightness and acidity.
Dusted with smoked paprika. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should there be any mustard used. There’s nothing worse than biting into a deviled egg and finding out that the yellow of the yolk hides the unpleasant surprise of mustard.
My favorite Thanksgiving side dish is very hard to find here in the South. It’s oyster dressing, and it’s delicious.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!
You’ve heard of the turducken, right? It’s a duck stuffed into a chicken stuffed into a turkey. I’ve never done that, BUT… I have made its dessert equivalent.
Release the piecaken!
That’s right! It’s a pie baked in a cake! (I’m not sure where the -en comes from. I assure you the only chicken involved provided the eggs.) I’ve made a few and my favorite combination is a cherry pie in a chocolate cake. Mind you, the apple pie in a devils food cake is pretty good, too.
The trick to keep the pie from sinking to the bottom. I’ve found it helps to partially bake the cake first so it thickens up just a little, and then put the pie in. I’ve also supported it on chocolate blocks but they melt too quickly.
Some people make three layer piecakens, which is three pies in three cakes stacked and frosted, but I like to keep it simple. Well, as simple as a pie baked in a cake can be.
I am a big fan of pie. Perhaps as much as Bill? I always make five or six for Thanksgiving.
But I’m going to go simpler.
Has anybody brought Cranberry sauce?
I know some people like it canned and some people like fancy artisan recipes passed down from their pioneer great grandparents. I just add a 12 oz package of cranberries to a cup of water and a cup of sugar. Let simmer (after boiling) for 5 minutes. There’s enough pectin in cranberries naturally that they jell on their own.
Some eat it on savory foods, but I just love it on the rolls. AND there’s always lots of leftovers, so I can eat it for weeks on toast or ice cream or yogurt or in applesauce. When it’s gone I always wonder why I wait till November to do it again!
Thanksgiving is my favoritest holiday of the year. Being a Christian, I may hold Easter and Christmas more sacred, but I just love Thanksgiving. No cards or gifts or excessive decorating…just gathering and cooking and eating together. Perfect.
Ey, Up everybody! (That is to say in the traditional Yorkshire vernacular: “Hello”.)
My Thanksgiving offering then is a local item, one that is a staple accompaniment to a Sunday roast around Britain but with added versatility.
Yorkshire Pudding.
Three simple ingredients; eggs, plain flour and milk mixed together into a batter. Put some oil into a muffin tray, pre-heat til sizzling hot, pour in the batter and cook in the oven til they’ve risen and are brown, crispy and light.
You can have small ones as an accompaniment to a meal, a large one the size of a dinner plate with whatever your meal is inside it or on its own with just gravy in it – traditionally it was served this last way before the main meal.
You can also have a Yorkshire Pudding Wrap filled with whatever you fancy. Or for another odd sounding British culinary delight, use it as the basis for Toad In The Hole – a giant Yorkshire Pudding with sausages baked into it –
Seriously: I make a mean homemade mac and cheese, but the recipe is based on something that’s easily found online:
Bring 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup margarine to a boil. Add stuffing mix, remove from heat, cover and let stand for five minutes. Fluff with a fork.
I just change it up a little each year so there’s nothing really for me to share, other than “Happy Thanksgiving!!!”
Ok, so I’m kinda notorious for having a sweet tooth. While my favorite side from Thanksgiving hands down is the dressing (moist, lots of sage and rosemary), I’ve gotta nominate a dessert. And while many pies are iconic for Thanksgiving, the one I always associate with any big holiday is…
CHOCOLATE CHESS PIE! 😋 Start with a flaky crust (all shortening) and imagine a rich chocolate custard, so thick it stands without sagging when it’s cut. No meringue like a regular chocolate pie, just the chocolate and the crust. This was one of my grandmother’s special desserts for the holidays, one that always remind me of home.
The pic in this recipe is pretty close to the one I grew up with. Yum!
This comes from April McGreger’s book, “Sweet Potatoes”
I made them for a work gathering yesterday, and they were a hit, so I thought I’d share with the TNOCS “class.”
Have a good Thanksgiving, my friends!
…Turkey!
Even if this holiday is not celebrated in my country (actually it does, in Northern cities). But some relatives celebrated Thanksgiving in my town few years ago, and my family and I were invited, good memories.
Here is my favorite dish:
… turkey with a hefty dose of mushrooms. 😁
Well, I don’t know about all of you but I’m stuffed. Let’s head out to the front lawn for a game of touch football, followed by a well-deserved nap.
And then later tonight, let’s convene in the comment section, between 9-10 PM EST. We’ll choose a random entry from the above foodieness, and I’ll provide a donation to the winner’s local food pantry.
Thanks for joining us today, and everyday.
Thanks for keeping everyone such good company all year long, with your excellent writing and thoughtful comments.
Never doubt for a minute: We appreciate that you’re here.
We’re all thankful for you.
Good on you all,
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
The 9:00PM meetup was fun!
Would there be any interest in a chat-style forum every once in a while?
Or is that too AOL? Thoughts are welcome.
I think it would only work on holidays like this when we’re more likely to be at home. A get-together on a non-holiday, even if it’s scheduled way in advance would probably see fewer of us able to join in. That’s just one dog’s opinion.
But yes, this was great fun! Good job, everyone. Let’s give thanks to our inimitable host mt58 for putting this whole site together. He’s a bottomless well of ideas.
The holiday-evening thing is a perfect example, and was exactly what I was thinking, too.
Perhaps if there is interest, I can cook up a chat function for such special occasions?
Oops! I missed it! We’ve been packing family up to head back to.idaho in the morning. I even had my alarm set. But it looked fun.
I’ll take the virginnog.
Get it?
Glad that you checked in!
Ugh, sorry I missed this too due to my food coma! (And yes, it did involve oyster stuffing!)
Yum. I’m already full and haven’t gone near the table!
That cherry chocolate combo sounds awesome, Bill. I’m going to have to try that out sometime before 2023. I’ll let you know how it goes.
See you tonight at 9.
Oh, and mt — you’ve already brought so much that I feel guilty for asking — but how’s about some egg nog tonight? 🙂
Oh, it’s on. We’ll have both spiked and non-alcohol versions for all to enjoy.
“The Boss” never tried Link Crawford’s cranberry sauce.
Wow, I’ve never heard of a piecaken. The possibilities are endless!
Like a chocolate chess pie inside of a cappuccino coffee cake…
My mind is blown, but maybe that’s the mushroom tea…
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
That piecaken… in Homer Simpson’s words:
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
I’m all in on the deviled eggs, but I do like the mustardy version, too.
But how is it that I’ve never heard of oyster stuffing and two people brought it? I’m not really a shellfish guy, but I’m intrigued.
Your generosity and good nature is legendary.
You are indeed very un-shellfish.
{Ducks the incoming breadstick barrage.}
My wife’s family in rural Indiana make oyster dressing every year. It’s actually ok but not my fave. I always take some to be polite.
Rural Indiana is where I grew up. I think that oyster dressing is a very midwestern thing. And you have to grow up with it to appreciate it.
Yummy! 🤤
I think my submission got a little scrambled on the way to the table, or maybe I partook in the spiced nog a bit early… It’s all good though! 😵😄
Now who’s up for some Thanksgiving karaoke? 🦃
🎶”Wrap the turkey up in aluminum foil…”🎶
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Just a regular Thursday here. Not a piecaken to be found anywhere, more’s the pity.
Enjoy the festivities!!
Bill, that pieducken was very evocative, borderline pornographic in its excess. I think I’d die on the spot just to be in its presence. In other words, a perfect Thanksgiving dish!
Hey! Did everyone have a great 11/24?
Who has a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving anecdote about the day?
(In the alternative, we’ll take a horror story.)
A great day with a good friend — even survived the sighting of the stinkbug that fell into the food processor (fortunately after the processor had been used for the day and before it was thoroughly cleaned out for future use).
Yikes. Well. we asked for a horor story…
Yes! We spent the day watching the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon, or at least had it playing in the background.
If you have a particular sense of humor and are familiar with both Ingmar Bergman and 70s American television commercials, this will have you in convulsions.
https://youtu.be/qMCY6kldN2I
…
OK, so it had ME in convulsions.
Oh my gosh! That’s a long setup for the joke, but worth it 🙂
Parody Ingmar Bergman is pretty close to Earnest David Lynch.
Axe the dialogue, and it’s Bela Tarr.
I have the box set. Smiles of a Summer Night is the only film I would label as joyful. And this “is” funny. It’s Bergman’s lack of humor that inspired Jonathan Rosenbaum to reevaluate his work. Wild Strawberries, perhaps, a smile, here and there. That’s about it.
Full disclosure: my stepkids had to work today, so we’re doing “real” Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. So today, we had chicken tacos!
Love how the food selfie was like an afterthought. Take a bite, then be like, “Oh yeah…”
Full(er) disclosure, that was my fourth taco.
I don’t really have an anecdote, which probably makes for a perfect Thanksgiving. Wake up to some coffee and reading a good book, spend all day as sous chef to my wife cooking up a storm, eat an amazing meal with my wife and son, take a nice long nap, wake up and clean up dishes. And now we’re chilling watching the latest Trevor Noah stand up feature on Netflipz.
In other words, my kind of day!
And how about that golazo from the Brazil – Serbia match? That’s what makes futbol worth watching, waiting for a moment like that…
^
A good day indeed.
I unintentionally drank way too much coffee today, and didn’t realize it until 20 minutes ago as I was finishing an espresso cappuccino.
Probably all for the best, as I have to get to an article for layout for tomorrow…
I say there’s no such thing as too much coffee…
My cardiologist however…
I wore my shirt decorated with Santa Clauses, and between that and playing outside throwing the football and so on, I guess I was a big hit with one of my adorable step nephews, since he asked me if I would come visit him on Christmas Day. “Ummm, I’ll try,” I stammered out before going home.
Oh, and as promised:
The one on the left is spiked; the one on right is non-alcohol.
I’ll take the spiked please 😀
Coming right up.
OK, we have business to attend to. Who would like to volunteer to help choose the random winner?
Does it involve any heavy lifting? Oy! My back!
Nah. Just a web browser.
OK, I’m in.
OK. To recap:
We had 11 good souls offer up their favorite Thanksgiving dish.
What we’ll do here is ask V-dog to head over to a site in a minute that will generate a random number between 1 and 11.
Each entry is in the order that they appeared in the article; Ozmoe is #1, Mr. Plow is #2, etc.
Yours truly will donate to the winner’s favorite food pantry.
Ready, Bill?
Ready, Santa.
https://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/statistics/random-number-generator.php
Parameters:
Min: 1 Max: 11 “Generate One Number”
And the winner is… drum roll please… #11!
Congratulations, Phylum of Alexandria!
Phylum of Alexandria is apparently not in the house, but the Academy accepts this award in his honor.
Phylum will come down sometime tomorrow and he’ll be thrilled when he rejoins reality in 3 more days…
You can get anything you want at TNOCS.
Excepting Alice…
I swear that there was no collusion to stuff the ballot box with a double order of oyster stuffing between me and lovethisconcept. At least not on my part.
Happy Black Friday! They’re revamping our computer system here at school so I’ve been getting access to the tnocs.com web site intermittently but what a wonderful idea and execution of the Thanksgiving Day menu!
The holiday hookup sounds like a great idea ( our family was on Zoom yesterday as we are living on the East Coast, West Coast and Canada.
It was a nice way to get caught up on the family news)..
Hope you all had a fine day and good on all of you.
Dangnabbit, I’m late to the party as usual. I’ll help clean up. I’ve still got plenty of stuffing if anyone wants some more – sausage stuffing here, no oysters (MrDutch has a shellfish allergy). I make enough for a week, but it’s all his, I just eat the celery, ha!
I did get a 10 on my turkey, which was a nice bonus. It’s only the 2 of us, but I make sure we still have a traditional meal.
I’m grateful for all we have been blessed with, and I’m grateful for all you fantastic folks here at tnocs.com. Hope everyone else had a terrific Thanksgiving….. or a nice Thursday, depending on your place of residence. 😉