Hosting Turkey Day

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Hosting Turkey Day
21
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 10:26am

DH's entire family is descending on Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday, and somehow it was decided that 'I' am hosting.

 

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 11:07am

If your family can stand it, can you do a small turkey ahead of time on the rotissiere?

We all like turkey here-its Blakes favorite actually! So that would be doable here but I know some just dont like it!

Ive always done the Joy of Cooking method which preheats the oven to a higher temp and then turns it down when you put it in. I always shoot for the low end of cooking timing and those little pop up things are nice if you are buying frozen

I might have a basket of garage sale toys for your youngest guests.

When the kids were younger, I usually did a batch of frozen corn-seems to be what most fussy kids will eat.

I do premade stuffing-I know my SIL was quite appalled but its just not my cup of tea to obsess over a starch and I put effort into other homemade dishes. allrecipes.com has had some winners of vegetable dishes-if you havent used the site, it is filled with reviews so you really learn "everyone from 2-80 loved this" or "the women loved it"-makes a difference

Who knows? Maybe this year I will pull a stuffing recipe from there-looks like we are having a small group this year.

We did seating placement when the kids were younger-once did outlines of states and had people have to find the outline of South Carolina to know where to sit for example. The adults-who all sucked-were quite good natured about it! The kids loved being the experts

Young couples, however, will not be separated. Even though DS1 and his GF have been together 2+ years, she HAS to be next to him. Ditto for DS2's GF. I guess I remember those days. If its self choice sitting, I always let the young couples sit first

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 11:38am

I was going to suggest cheap garage sale toys for the younger crowd - nothing can make them cranky faster than having nothing to do!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 1:31pm
My husband just recently did a turkey breast on the rotisserie on the grill...it came out really good.

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Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 1:52pm

Want my suggestion???

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-13-2004
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 5:09pm

Hi Julie..


<<<...some advice, tips, suggestions, ideas, etc. on how to make this a nice holiday for everyone.>>>


Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 5:43pm

Men are genetically predisposed to forgetting to remove the giblets. Please don’t yell at him; he can’t help it.


ROFL

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-14-2006
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 6:20pm

We used to do turkey on the grill quite a bit. You really can't do much beyond a 12 pound successfully. Any bigger and it hits the lid, you also need to be sure to tie the wings and legs really securely or they will flop around. Also you need a drip pan underneath to catch the fat dripping out, I use an old baking pan. Don't use a foil pan as some cookbooks suggest, we had a bad experience with that when it burned through and the fat flared up in some big flames, LOL. The hardest thing for us was getting the holders in tight enough to not loosen up. Also if you go that way, because the cavity is empty, it cooks relatively quickly.(about 1 1/2 hours)

It may seem overwhelming to you, but I am envious. The past 7 years or so have just been DH, DS, and DD...all of our extended family are out of town. Last year we did have a friend of DD's from college, and I think she is coming this year too. Relax and put everyone to work, they will enjoy helping. I know some people do side dishes, such as mashed potatoes ahead of time and just reheat, but my kids didn't like them as well. It sounds like a great time to me, although my kids would say that I would be in cooking "frenzy" and stay out of my way.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
Sat, 11-10-2007 - 7:09pm

<<I’d think twice about a maiden voyage of rotisserie turkey on the grill, unless you can make a trial run beforehand. My first attempt was a disaster.>>


But daddioe, I thought men were genetically predisposed to be able to cook anything over coal and have it turn out perfectly!! ;)


Rose~running for cover now!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2006
Sun, 11-11-2007 - 8:30am

I've never tried cooking a turkey on a rotisserie, but I have cooked one outside in order to free the oven for other dishes.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-25-2002
Sun, 11-11-2007 - 9:17am

I love cooking Thanksgiving dinner and find it fairly easy. A few things I do to simplify tho...pick up several, asst. aluminum pans from the Dollar Store, 2 or 3 for a buck, can't beat it. If I can't find the ones with the wire supports and handles, I have to use my reg. roasting pan for the big, fat turkey tho. This makes cleanup easier. I also pick up some smaller ones with covers for leftovers and doggie bags. Cook the turkey, take it out to *rest* for an hour and pop everything else in the oven to heat. I do this with the stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggies, everything. I buy pans that will fit jigsaw style into my oven, clearly the largest are for stuffing and potatoes. (whip them up extra so they stay fluffy) Everything is done ahead, cleaned up, dishwasher run and waiting empty

 

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