Thankgiving Dinner- what went well, what did not??

[foodfiend]

First, as always I overscheduled what I could do, so dinner was an hour late (thankfully, DH just put off picking up his mother for an hour!)

And the perfectionist in me is dwelling on what did not turn out as I had hoped, so here goes--
1) the turkey was done 1-1/2 hours before it was "supposed" to be!
2) the gravy would not thicken, and although it was very good, it was annoying (an already-annoyed cook) to keep having to mix up flour and water to whisk in!
3) put the sprouts in too early and overcooked them...
4) I will never again use Yukon gold potatoes to mash!
Pasty!

Okay, the good--
1) the dark meat of the turkey was moist and wonderful (the light meat was a little dried out, but DH smothers his with gravy, anyway!)
2) I went back to my Mom's stuffing this year, after trying new recipes for the past few, and it was delicious
3) Gram's salad was, as always, yummy and (more importantly) it reminded me of her!
Pumpkin pie should always be made with a gingersnap crust...

Okay, all, reveal yours!

[Mare749]

Our daughter and hubbie, (Holly and Bob) made Thanksgiving dinner this year and it was fantastic. Their new home looked beautiful and festive, and their huge dining room held all 15 of us comfortably. Holly very wisely enlisted the help of her grandmother (the master of T-day!) and everything came out perfectly. What a wonderful day!

[mjkcooking]

We had dinner at our son's and the MIL and I brought or made dishes
all was well- tried a new way of making turkey was a Martha Steward
cheesecloth and wine - we love it.

All the sides were good. - was a great day we had a Pumpkin Banana
Tart and a Cheesecake for dessert.

Discovered some new crackers - available at whole foods - RainCoast

Crisp.com made up in Vancover B.C.
wonderful - we had almond fig ones - thin crisp

was a wonderful day full of laughter and fun.

Marye

[labradors]

I went to a local restaurant that serves a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and it was very good.

Also made a couple of pumpkin pies - one for my doctor friend to share with the Honduran family that lives with him, and one for me to share with other friends. Something happened, though, of which I had only heard, but never experienced before. When I whipped the cream to serve on top of the pie, it fluffed up SOME, but never developed peaks and just turned into butter. I know it can do that if you whip it TOO much, beyond when peaks have formed, but this didn't even have the chance. If nothing else, since it already had the sugar in it, it will be great for spreading onto something or, better yet, for melting onto some popcorn. LOL!

[Gourmet_Mom]

While my turkey had to sit a while, was prepared. Having only one oven, I have learned that my turkey will have to sit a bit while the rolls, turnips, and dressing cook. I tried a tip I saw on RR the other day. I covered it in foil, then topped it with towels. I was prepared to set it over a pot of boiling water (Thanks Jean), but that turned out to be unnecessary.

I was slightly disappointed with the turnip dish. It's kind of weird...this turned out to be one of those dishes that one bite was very good and the next had kind of a bitter taste. The others at the table really liked it except YS. Actually, William thought it was the best thing on the table. He ate the rest for supper!

Other than that, everything else turned out perfect!

[chef_Tab]

We had dinner at my brother and sister in laws home. Lots of family and fun. There was too much food, all delicious. To free up the oven, the turkey was deep fried, and I think that is the best. The only problems were not enough gravy and the fact that I ate so much dinner, I could not eat any dessert. I really wanted to try all of it, but I was in severe pain.

"Pumpkin pie should always be made with a gingersnap crust..."

I whole heartedly agree!!! And the beating of the eggwhites separately really made a difference as well.

[cjs]

Everything was great, but darn it, it wasn't 'our family' dinner.

[chef_Tab]

I forgot to mention that another sister in law brought roasted brussel sprouts with pine nuts and chirizo, it was very good and I had not seen that combination before. I just love those darn roasted brussel sprouts!

[esgunn]

It was a wonderful day and a great meal. I think probably my best effort yet. Stuffing/dressing was perfect, turkey was moist and good.

The only problem was the C@H Make Ahead gravy - I need to make a note that it nees more flour for that amount of roasted turkey broth. The flavor was great, it was just a thin gravy. As I was making it, I was remembering that I had that problem last year too. :crzy: Should have made the note on the recipe last year.

The Chipotle Cranberry Sauce is very good - but different. Some liked it, many didn't, I liked it for an alternative. Will experiment and try others too.