Thanksgiving Plans

[bmccasland]

I agree it's a good idea to invite people, but don't be pushy. Some people (I am one) hate being forced to follow holiday customs. My best Thanksgivings were with my friends who understood my desire to do something fun.

Super Mexican food at a dive in Queens, or Korean food followed by bowling -- those are my best Thanksgiving memories.

Like Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my Jewish friends?!

[PamNY]

Like Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant with my Jewish friends?!

Oh, yes! Jewish Christmas is the best.

[OakLeaf]

Well, the downside of ordering a turkey from a local farmer is that she doesn't raise that many, and once she starts the chicks, they grow how big they want to before Thanksgiving week. The "small" turkey I ordered for just myself and DH is 17#. So much for my plans to spatchcock it - I don't know if they even make a pan big enough, and I certainly wouldn't have any other use for one. Looks like I'll be roasting it whole in a foil roaster again this year.

[jessmarimba]

I'm not doing anything. Maybe I'll go to my favorite mtb trails and see how snowy they are & go for a ride or a hike or something.

I don't know if I'd rather spend holidays alone or with someone else's dysfunctional family...it's really a toss-up. Ended up at a college roommate's girlfriend's overly religious aunt's house one year, and I'd rather not repeat that one.

[Owlie]

Well, the downside of ordering a turkey from a local farmer is that she doesn't raise that many, and once she starts the chicks, they grow how big they want to before Thanksgiving week. The "small" turkey I ordered for just myself and DH is 17#. So much for my plans to spatchcock it - I don't know if they even make a pan big enough, and I certainly wouldn't have any other use for one. Looks like I'll be roasting it whole in a foil roaster again this year.

They totally make pans big enough--we get a 20-lb turkey every year (split among four people, and for the last four years at least one other person...plus we freeze the leftovers for easy soup-making). However, if you don't regularly need to cook that much meat...

[OakLeaf]

But do you spatchcock it? You need a WHOLE lot more horizontal space for that.

A food-service-sized baking sheet would be big enough, but I'm not sure one would fit in my oven, and I know I'm not buying one.

[MojoGrrl]

We're doing a 200k the day after Thanksgiving, with a fair amount of climbing. I hope I can stay warm enough - went for a training ride today, thought I dressed warmly, and I didn't really *feel* cold, but I noticed I was a lot sorer than usual, which happened to me last weekend after running in almost-freezing cold. My boyfriend uses this warming embrocation stuff and I think I might have to try it.

[owlice]

bmccasland, be patient with yourself as you figure out how to redo your holidays (and you will figure out how to redo them to suit you, I promise!).

My Thanksgiving holiday tradition has evolved to be a several-hour bike ride, followed (sometimes) by a steak dinner (filet mignon, grilled mushrooms, asparagus, Béarnaise sauce, salad, and a baked potato, and oh, yes, I use the Béarnaise sauce on everthing except the salad!) with red wine. This meal is easy and comparatively quick to cook, so I'm not spending all day in the kitchen, and it's a meal I really really really like. (I usually make it just for holidays.) And after dinner, I do a ton of online Christmas shopping!

I look forward to this! My exH#1 (yes, yes, I get to number them now) has a family that cherishes the Big Family Dinner, so for Thanksgiving, even if it's my turn to have the kid with me, I think it's good for the kid to go to those Big Family Dinners. The kid and I will have our Thanksgiving meal on Saturday; I'm not cooking tomorrow. It's taken some years for my tradition to evolve, and sometimes I do do something different (volunteer somewhere, go to a friend's), but now this is what I usually do.

(My attitude is that my happiness is up to me. On my most recent birthday I felt pretty sad, I went out and bought Georgetown Cupcakes, called a 20-minute unit meeting, asked people to bring their own napkins, and we sat around eating cupcakes, my treat. Best meeting ever, and it completely turned my day around! I now have these meetings every four-six weeks. )

[WindingRoad]

Well I made it the largest part of my route to my parents house. Had to get a bailout from my Mom with 8 miles to go due to a persistent rotweiller and a slight wrong turn :-( Must remember to go another route next time, soooooooo many dogs it was rediculous! It sucks that if there are no cars to harass u then u have to defend yourself against everyones dogs :-( Thankfully I wasn't bitten by any of them but I did have to mace a couple. Exhausting ride for mostly the wrong reasons but nonetheless I got a heck of a workout and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner :-)

[Owlie]

But do you spatchcock it? You need a WHOLE lot more horizontal space for that.

A food-service-sized baking sheet would be big enough, but I'm not sure one would fit in my oven, and I know I'm not buying one.

Yeah, spatchcocking a turkey of that size would probably require more space than would fit in our oven. We just roast the thing whole.

[redrhodie]

DBF and my best friend are cooking, and my brother is coming over, so just 4 of us. I'm looking forward to it. We have really great vegetarian food, and I can stay in my pj's (or is it pjs ) if I want to.