Happy Thanksgiving. - Page 2

Reece · 11-24-22, 11:03 PM

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL

We may not celebrate it over here, but I'm happy for those who do!!

Cheers.

blackswan40 · 11-25-22, 12:40 AM

Happy thanksgiving to our couzens over the other side of the big duck pond

Now thats what ya call a Family Shindig

ET2SN · 11-25-22, 07:00 AM

Anyone want some pumpkin pie?

As mentioned in the "food thread", I got into doing this "Painless Thanksgiving" thing several years ago. The Hormel Sliced Turkey and Gravy "food" turned out better than expected, all I had to do was microwave the package for three minutes and then treat the gravy like it was Plutonium while I cobbled together some instant gravy mix with my own spices.

My goal with this style of Thanksgiving is to make it a pleasant memory by the late afternoon. That includes prep time and minimal leftovers and clean up.

I already covered the "Turkey". Since it was Hormel, there's always that "it tastes like Pork, somehow" effect. Still, I try to not make the fowl the star of the show and this stuff, well at least I didn't wind up on the floor.

Three minutes in the microwave for the meat and 10-15 minutes to stir up the instant gravy.

Taters were super simple. Dried instant mashed taters spiked with some crumbled bacon product (like you would add to a salad) plus some fresh ground pepper and freeze dried Sage. Painless yet tasty.

Stuffing. It was almost impossible to make "one shot" stuffing so I'm using the leftovers to make baked stuffed Cod this weekend. Very basic Stove Top corn bread stuffing that would have been fine box-stock but I added a minimal amount of butter plus some Sage and Parsley. The one thing it REALLY needed was minced roasted chestnuts and some crumbled breakfast pork sausage but I was thinking ahead to how I wanted to re-purpose the leftovers. Still, it was just fine and dandy.

Veggies. Microwaved steamed frozen Brussel Sprouts with "buttery tasting spices", whatever that means.

Don't gag, the way you make fresh Brussel Sprouts is by simmering them in hot water for a couple of hours. Let's not guild the lily on this stuff.
Also, a side portion of my Cajun canned greens. The big trick to this dinner is to keep things tasty but simple. Throw your spices at the side dishes and just choke down the rest. Believe it or not, it works.

That just leaves the pie. I always try to find a generic Sara Lee frozen pumpkin pie because they are relatively small and painless to bake.
They are also the equivalent of warm paper pulp, it terms of taste, so you want to throw something "extra" at them before they get loaded in the oven.

An ideal ingredient to transform this "meh" pie into something memorable is the traditional New England spices. But, go into any super market in Iowa and ask the manager if they have a pint of Black Strap Molasses and they'll look at you like you just said, "I planted a bomb somewhere in your store, you'll never find it before it goes off".

What I did have on the shelf was some ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon sugar, and a jug of "famous icon from the 1970's" buttery tasting maple pancake syrup. Badda-boom, you just transformed your pie into something that tastes like your granny made it from scratch. Just sprinkle a decent amount of the spices on top of the frozen pie, add a drizzle of the syrup, then load it into an oven set to Bachelor's Standard +25 (ie, 375 degrees F) for 75 minutes.

If you REALLY need to impress the in-laws, add a shot of rum to the top of the pie after it comes out of the oven and is still hot (you really want the alcohol to cook off) .

Then, allow to cool to room temp and load it into the ice box for at least 2 hours so the filling fully sets.

Not counting the pie, I went from Cold Metal to over-fed and cleaned up in about ONE HOUR.

Eichhörnchen · 11-25-22, 01:22 PM

11-24-22, 11:03 PM	#16
Reece CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Down Under Posts: 34,752 Downloads: 171 Uploads: 0	HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL We may not celebrate it over here, but I'm happy for those who do!! Cheers. __________________ *Sub captains go down with their ship!*

11-25-22, 12:40 AM	#17
blackswan40 GWX - KC Crash Test Dummy Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: IN THE STEEL SHARKS VIRTUAL OCEAN Posts: 2,784 Downloads: 612 Uploads: 31	Happy thanksgiving to our couzens over the other side of the big duck pond Now thats what ya call a Family Shindig __________________ Someone Had to Make the Tea

11-25-22, 01:22 PM	#19
Eichhörnchen Starte das Auto Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: The Fens Posts: 17,444 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	__________________

11-25-22, 07:00 AM	#18
ET2SN Ocean Warrior Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,652 Downloads: 60 Uploads: 0	Anyone want some pumpkin pie? As mentioned in the "food thread", I got into doing this "Painless Thanksgiving" thing several years ago. The Hormel Sliced Turkey and Gravy "food" turned out better than expected, all I had to do was microwave the package for three minutes and then treat the gravy like it was Plutonium while I cobbled together some instant gravy mix with my own spices. My goal with this style of Thanksgiving is to make it a pleasant memory by the late afternoon. That includes prep time and minimal leftovers and clean up. I already covered the "Turkey". Since it was Hormel, there's always that "it tastes like Pork, somehow" effect. Still, I try to not make the fowl the star of the show and this stuff, well at least I didn't wind up on the floor. Three minutes in the microwave for the meat and 10-15 minutes to stir up the instant gravy. Taters were super simple. Dried instant mashed taters spiked with some crumbled bacon product (like you would add to a salad) plus some fresh ground pepper and freeze dried Sage. Painless yet tasty. Stuffing. It was almost impossible to make "one shot" stuffing so I'm using the leftovers to make baked stuffed Cod this weekend. Very basic Stove Top corn bread stuffing that would have been fine box-stock but I added a minimal amount of butter plus some Sage and Parsley. The one thing it REALLY needed was minced roasted chestnuts and some crumbled breakfast pork sausage but I was thinking ahead to how I wanted to re-purpose the leftovers. Still, it was just fine and dandy. Veggies. Microwaved steamed frozen Brussel Sprouts with "buttery tasting spices", whatever that means. Don't gag, the way you make fresh Brussel Sprouts is by simmering them in hot water for a couple of hours. Let's not guild the lily on this stuff. Also, a side portion of my Cajun canned greens. The big trick to this dinner is to keep things tasty but simple. Throw your spices at the side dishes and just choke down the rest. Believe it or not, it works. That just leaves the pie. I always try to find a generic Sara Lee frozen pumpkin pie because they are relatively small and painless to bake. They are also the equivalent of warm paper pulp, it terms of taste, so you want to throw something "extra" at them before they get loaded in the oven. An ideal ingredient to transform this "meh" pie into something memorable is the traditional New England spices. But, go into any super market in Iowa and ask the manager if they have a pint of Black Strap Molasses and they'll look at you like you just said, "I planted a bomb somewhere in your store, you'll never find it before it goes off". What I did have on the shelf was some ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon sugar, and a jug of "famous icon from the 1970's" buttery tasting maple pancake syrup. Badda-boom, you just transformed your pie into something that tastes like your granny made it from scratch. Just sprinkle a decent amount of the spices on top of the frozen pie, add a drizzle of the syrup, then load it into an oven set to Bachelor's Standard +25 (ie, 375 degrees F) for 75 minutes. If you REALLY need to impress the in-laws, add a shot of rum to the top of the pie after it comes out of the oven and is still hot (you really want the alcohol to cook off) . Then, allow to cool to room temp and load it into the ice box for at least 2 hours so the filling fully sets. Not counting the pie, I went from Cold Metal to over-fed and cleaned up in about ONE HOUR.