What to cook for Thanksgiving?

Question

I have never cooked Thanksgiving before, and I'm not the best cook. Im cooking for my husband, myself, and 2 little boys. I need some easy classics. I really do not have a clue about cooking a Turkey, stuffing, or any thing else. Im one of those who can burn water. lol. Any help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

Perfect Roast Turkey

1 fresh turkey (12 pounds)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch of fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
3 Spanish onions
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), melted
1/2 cup good olive oil
8 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
10 red new potatoes, halved
3 heads fennel, fronds removed, cut into wedges through the core

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Take the giblets out of the turkey and wash the turkey inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the turkey cavity. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, lemon, one of the onions (quartered), and the garlic. Brush the outside of the turkey with the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the turkey. Peel and slice the remaining onions, toss them with 1/4 cup olive oil, and scatter them around the turkey.

Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Toss the carrots, potatoes, and fennel with 1/4 cup olive oil and add to the roasting pan. Continue to roast for about 1½ hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh. Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil; let rest for 20 minutes.

Stir the vegetables and return the pan to the oven. Continue to cook the vegetables while the turkey rests. Slice the turkey and serve on a platter with the roasted vegetables. Serves 8.

--Ina Garten
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Homemade Gravy

•1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
•1½ cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
•¼ cup flour
•1 tsp kosher salt
•½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
•Meat drippings, fat removed, plus chicken or beef stock to make 2 cups, heated
•1 Tbsp Cognac or brandy, optional
•1 Tbsp white wine, optional
In a large (10 to 12-inch) saute pan, cook the butter and onions over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Don't rush this step; it makes all the difference when the onions are well-cooked.
Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisk in, then add the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the hot stock mixture and Cognac, if desired, and cook uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes until thickened. Add the wine, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.
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Sweet Potato Fluff

3 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (8-10 fresh or two large cans)
½ cup sugar
¼ cup melted butter
1 (5 oz.) can evaporated milk
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of each: cinnamon, nutmeg, dry orange peel

Topping:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup flour
2 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine topping ingredients w/ a fork until crumbly; set aside.

Beat potatoes well with a mixer until fluffy. Stop and remove any strings from the beater at least twice. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into a greased casserole dish.

Sprinkle topping on potatoes and bake for 40 minutes.

Serves 8.
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Cranberry Fruit Conserve
(traditionally served alongside the turkey, and you sort of dip yoru bite of turkey and dressing (stuffing) into the sauce and enjoy)

1 (12 oz) bag of fresh cranberries, cleaned
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 orange, zest grated and juiced
1 lemon, zest grated and juiced
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cook the cranberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open. Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove from the heat and add the raisins and nuts. Let cool, and serve chilled.
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3 bread stuffing:
Combine 3 cups each of white, wheat and cornbread crumbs. Add 3 tablespoons of ground sage, 1 tablespoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.

Add 4-5 cups chicken stock or water and 2 beaten eggs. The stuffing should seem very wet, if it is still dryish add a bit more stock. Taste the stuffing and adjust the seasonings as needed. { This will seem a little gross, but it makes a big difference in the finished dish }

Only stuff the turkey just before baking it, do not pack the stuffing inside, fill the turkey loosely, if you have extra stuffing, it can be baked in a seperate dish later.

Sweet Potato Gratin:

4 large sweet potatoes 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice

Topping:

1/3 cup all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup oatmeal 1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup brown sugar

Microwave sweet potatoes after pricking with fork for 16-19 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Cut hot sweet potatoes in half, scoop pulp into large mixing bowl. Beat in butter and brown sugar until butter

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

This really helped. thankyou!

Answer 2

a bird

Answer 3

Trust me, Alcohol and chips is the best if your with the ones you love :)

Answer 4

wet fish

Answer 5

I'm British, I've NEVER had Thanksgiving before and even I know its a turkey!

Answer 6

just do anything you like . it will be appreciated

Answer 7

go to epicurious.com, and allrecipes.com...look up turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, green bean casserole...then buy some rolls and some cider. happy thanksgiving sweetie

Answer 8

turkey . you can clean it out and stuff some stuffing inside

you can get yams

turnips mixed with potatoes.

uhm

cranberry sauce

anything that fills your desire

best of luck to you :D

Answer 9

MAKE STUFFING, AND MASHED POTATOES, AND JELLIED CRANBERRYS, AND MAYBE A SALAD, BREAD, PUMPKIN PIE, PECAN PIE, GRAVY, PUDDING, AND WHATEVER OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS UR FAMILY MAY HAVE

Answer 10

Turkey, definitely brine it before cooking, google some good brining recipes.

Dressing, either white bread or corn bread, pretty easy. Celery, onions, garlic, maybe some other veggies, take the juices from the cooked turkey and combine and bake to solidify.

Cranberry sauce, store bought.

Mashed potatoes, peeled and boiled, mashed (or whipped) with milk, butter, salt and pepper.

Steamed veggies,

Keep it simple, have fun, and let the true flavor of the dishes come through.

If you are adventerous, look up some mac and cheese recipies. Nothing better than a good mac and cheese recipe.

Remember it's a Holiday...and if all else fails...order a pizza.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Answer 11

Plan out your meal (make it simple) and plan ahead. Get the recipes from a place like allrecipes.com and have all the ingredients on hand so you don't have to scramble on T-day. Something simple like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and a desert. You can buy canned cranberry sauce (most do), a box of stuffing mix (again, most do the same), mashed potatoes are easy and canned gravy will do just fine and you can buy a pie at the grocery store that'll be as good as homemade. I wouldn't recommend "stuffing" the turkey if you're new to cooking a bird. Just cook the stuffing separate from the turkey - the turkey will finish faster and you won't have as much worry about undercooking the turkey or stuffing. Make sure your turkey has a "popper" in it that pops when it's done and I'd recommend having a meat thermostat on hand as well just to double check the internal temp which should be at least 190 degree F to avoid making anyone sick. Hope this helps.

Answer 12

please go this site and follow every recipe instruction you want to do carefully.
Thanksgiving is a big thing, so i usually practice one dish every week for the last two months before thanksgiving.

Source(s):

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Answer 13

Cook what you desire. Turkey is not a necessity for Thanksgiving. I can't recall the last time I cooked one, since we don't particularly care for it. I was going to do steak and king crab legs this year, but.....

This year it's Ham with Champagne. Score the top of your ham. Mix about 1/2 - 1 cup brown sugar (depending upon the size of your ham) with 1 tablespoon dried mustard, 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Smash that mixture into the scores of your ham. Drizzle half a bottle (or a whole bottle) of extra dry champagne (nothing too expensive) over the top of the ham. Cover tightly and bake at 325 until desired tenderness. We like ours fork tender, so we cook it a bit longer than most ppl would recommend.
The sugar and champagne make a lovely sauce to compliment the saltiness of the ham.

Sometimes we'll have tamales and pozole, chili verde, tortillas, guacamole, frijoles...

Enjoy whatever you cook.

Like I mentioned, why not cook on the grill?

Answer 14

[Wow, how is it possible to have two children & a husband & burnin water? Opps, sorry, we're sapodda ANSWER keywestions!]
Ummm, yes, a turkey is a must, with stuffin, gravey, smashed taders, candied yams, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, bout 8 extry large roastinears & pumkin pie wid whipped cream & peacans, accompanied with at least 2 hours of gridiron & plenty of beer!
At least dat's da traditional good ole fashioned USA way. [I AM an Illini!]
Happy Thanksgiving

Source(s):

mikewondoctrine

Answer 15

turkey
chicken
pumpkin pie
bread?
fish?
ham?
pig?
think of an animal
look up recipes..........
and mostly do ur best
and also u need cookies!!!!!!
its mostly about getting together........
have fun lol

Answer 16

One staple of Thanksgiving dinner is yams or sweet potatoes. I prefer to take the road less travelled and get some sweet potato fries. Specifically, Alexia Sweet Potato Fries. They taste amazing and are a great spin on the traditional sweet potatoes. Here's some more info on them.

http://www.viewpoints.com/Alexia-Frozen-…

Source(s):

www.viewpoints.com

Answer 17

besides the TURKEY...
lasagna, potato salad, chicken pot pie, biscuits, (i always make biscuits), baked potatoes, etc.
for dessert, obviously some sort of pie like pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie or even cookies.
im making brownies this year, to try something different.

maybe this will help on deciding on a few side dishes.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/thanksgiving-…