Thanksgiving meal plans

[FIRE'd@51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude Thanksgiving is simple for me: My house My menu My favorite dessert Shut up and eat!

What about Packers vs Lions?

[Dreamer]

I will be not be with any family, for probably the first time (I can't remember if I was with family or not when I was 18) on Thanksgiving. DH is visiting with DD and her family in CA. DD's birthday is on the 23 and she wanted us to come visit them. I am planning on going to the Salvation Army and volunteering. I called them and they said to be there at 10:00 am. I had 5 different invites to go to other relatives' homes for Thanksgiving, but it just did not feel right, since DH is not here.

When my DD and her family moved to CA, we arrived in San Diego the day before Thanksgiving. They were staying in a furnished apt, until they could buy their house. Boxes were everywhere and it was quite a mess. The hotel across the street had a church group that had fixed Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who did not have a place to eat. They had posted signs in the apts where we were staying, since there were a lot of single military guys living there. My DH and SIL said they were going to go eat dinner there. I could see quite a few homeless looking types milling around waiting for the doors to open. I kept saying that I was not going to go eat there. I finally agreed to go and it was quite nice. There were tablecloths on the tables, flowers and "real plates and silverware". I was expecting paper products and was embarrassed that I was going to eat there. Remember, that I grew up very poor for part of my childhood, and never wanted to go back to feeling that way again. The people were very nice and we ate and then DH and I volunteered to help in any way we could. We cleaned up tables, waitressed for people that needed help, talked to people and generally enjoyed ourselves. It turned out to be such a good experience. I am hoping that volunteering at the Salvation Army will be another good experience.

[Khan]

Will be alone as usual: Turkey leg quarter(custom cut) wild rice, asparagus, champagne.

[powerplay]

Will be joining my brother and his family and some friends and it is always a good time.

[warrentalbot]

We'll be enjoying a great meal out here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We will certainly be eating Thai food, but will be taking time to reflect on a great last year and all that we have to be thankful for in our lives.

[lhamo]

One of the perks of my job is that the program I work on hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for our grantees the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and our whole family is invited. So I get a great Thanksgiving spread without lifting a finger. And then I get the next day off (while the kids have to go to school) to relax. It is actually one of my favorite holidays because I don't get a day all to myself very often.

lhamo

[obgyn65]

I will help feed the homeless with the Salvation Army this year. I will bring a few pies to share.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Just wondering how folks are planning their Thanksgiving meals this year.

[scrabbler1]

Thanksgiving has been erratic for me in my lifetime. As a kid and later in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s it was good. After I moved out of my parents' house, I was still close by and loved the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven when I first entered the small house. I would yell out, "I smell BIRD!" She was great at preparing the meal. Some years, we had more relatives over (maybe 10 people in all), other years we had it on the Friday because my mom ran in some half-marathons the day before Thanksgiving so she needed to rest up. Then she gave me a ton of her terrific turkey soup to take home along with some leftovers. Her birthday was November 27th so we also had a birthday party for her that weekend, sometimes on Thanksgiving itself. It was a fun time.

But after she died in October, 1995, Thanksgiving took a big downturn. Besides losing her, her birthday party, the meal, the turkey soup, and the leftovers, the following year my dad and I made the 4-hour trip to my brother's place where he and his wife lived. It went very badly for me and I did not go back there for 7 more years. I eventually returned and it has gone reasonably well. Not as good as before, but well enough to keep going. Since 2005 my ladyfriend has joined us for the weekend trip which has helped. The gathering is small, sometimes a few of my SIL's relatives joins us, sometimes not. Her pleasant mom always joins us, her dad is deceased, they have a young son, now 7, who joins us. I give the food a B+ which is good but not great. No turkey soup, either.

Good to get out of New York for a few days but good to get out of there a few days later, too. Then my ladyfriend and I have our own Thanksgiving dinner a week later. She makes turkey soup which is very good but not like my mom's ace soup. Still rates an A-minus along with the A-rated meal.

[happy2bretired]

My daughter and her Brazilian husband invited me to their place for Thanksgiving this year. It will be quite an international Thanksgiving. I believe there will be about 10 people invited from several different countries.

This will be my daughter's first experience with a turkey and the trimmings. Seems like a girl's first turkey is a rite of passage into adulthood. Oh...my daughter is a vegan too!!

[freebird5825]

For those of us thinking about deep frying a turkey, here is a very good safety video starring William Shatner. Please pass it along to anyone you know who might benefit from it.

Deep Fried Safety with William Shatner | Yahoo TV - Yahoo! TV

[grasshopper]

Where's the Turkey?
Veggie thanksgiving

Wild rice stuffed mushrooms
Roasted vegetables
Scalloped potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Stuffing
Rolls
Pumpkin cheesecake

at a neighbors home.

[Sue J]

Thanksgiving dinner will be at my sister's, with two of her husband's adult kids coming in from of NYC and Atlanta. It's kosher with vegetarian options. So no dairy products since it's a meal with meat. We're bringing mashed potatoes so we make it without milk or cream (kosher) or chicken broth (vegetarian). We're also bringing 2 or 3 pies which I will purchase.

It will be a smaller gathering than previous years since our Mom died and Dad is still in rehab in the nursing home. We will pack up goodies and take them to Dad. He doesn't care about kosher or vegetarian, he'll eat anything!

[citrine]

We were supposed to cook, but our kitchen is still in the process of being renovated. We will be taking the kids, my parents, and a friend of the family out for Dosa (south indian food) and then having football/appetizers back at our place.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khan Will be alone as usual: Turkey leg quarter(custom cut) wild rice, asparagus, champagne.

Just remember, "alone" does not mean lonely (at least in my case, it dosen't).

Regardless, have another glass of champagne, for me ...

I've never been "into" any holiday's (including birthdays) so for me, it's just another day I have to "suffer" with relatives (DW's) that I'd rather not see.

It's a very depressing time of the year, in my case (it's a long story - not fit for a public forum).

Take care...

[Dancer373]

My granddaughter(8) and I are going to serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local school that will be set up for those with no family or who are unable to provide the meal for their own family. After that we'll go home and try a totally new meal for Thanksgiving. Grill steaks with salad and scolloped potatoes....mmmmm

[Huston55]

DW and I travel to "the city by the bay" each year to celebrate with good friends. Always crab served there at Thxgiving.

[JOHNNIE36]

Thanksgiving dinner is all set for this "bah humbug" guy. For various reasons, this year will not be our normal Thanksgiving. Everything has fallen apart with the family, first time in 39 years. DW and I were trying to find a place to go out and have a dinner and found it at Ruby Tuesdays. One of my favorite places but didn't know they would be open on Thanksgiving day. Called and they said it was just another day to them. Sign us up. I love their salad bar. On top of that we have a coupon for buy-one-get one. Can you beat that? Perfect for two old retirees who are always looking for a deal. Not really "bah humbug".

Here's wishing all the forum members a Happy Thanksgiving.

[bbbamI]

Ahhhhh...for this year I'm thinking chocolate and wine.

With the events of late, I'm not in the mood to cook. We have a friend ask us to come to her house for dinner, but we declined. Just not ready for a crowd don't ya know.

She told us she would bring some food to our home. I said that was fine as long as she would just slip it under the door.... Ahhhh, but seriously, I appreciate her thinking of us. She's a great cook and I'm sure she'll bring us all kinds of yummies.

...and there's always chocolate and wine.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.....

[Avalon]

I'm not overly fond of domestic turkey and have a feeling I'm going to be sick of it in a couple of weeks. The cook was able to procure a 20 pound bird for $3.74 total. Something about ad matching....

[warrentalbot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI Ahhhhh...for this year I'm thinking chocolate and wine.

This sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving. Spending time with the person you love most sounds like the perfect holiday and opportunity to regroup from a stressful time. I am convinced that chocolate and wine could be used to solve all the world's problems, or at least make you smile for awhile.

Happy Turkey Day.