T-Day problems/challenges and solutions
So we're having T-Day dinner at my sister's in-laws' cabin. I go to make gravy, and there's no flour, no cornstarch, nothing to thicken the gravy. Ack! I start thinking about things that could thicken gravy and keep it emulsified.
Somewhere in the back of my mind is a dish where breadcrumbs are used for thickening. I don't have any breadcrumbs, but my eyes light on a box of stoned wheat thins. Crackers are basically flour, I tell my mom as I smash them up, mix them with turkey drippings, stock and pureed onion from the stockpot, boil it like crazy until the crackers dissolved, and actually turn into a pretty decent gravy! If I hadn't known I wouldn't have guessed.
The other challenge is that my favorite stuffing recipe has pecans, and my niece can't have nuts, so I substituted pumpkin seeds. They worked very well in replacing that nutty quality, and of course pumpkin is very Thanksgiving!
So what problems did you run across, and how did you solve them?
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danhole
Dec 2, 2008 10:42 AM
I didn't find out until Tuesday afternoon, after I had already been grocery shopping at two different stores, that I was expected to bring a bunch of dishes and make the gravy at my daughters house! The biggest challenge was the dressing, making it taste like stuffing. I did already post about this but I am damn proud of how I pulled it off. See the link, if you are inclined.
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greygarious
Dec 2, 2008 07:00 AM
I read a tip about reserving a little of the stuffing to mash into the gravy as a thickener. So when I found that a half a cup or so of stuffing had fallen out during roasting, I went with it - I don't care about the smoothness of the gravy - and though I still needed to add a little flour, the stuffing adds extra flavor.
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goodhealthgourmet
Dec 1, 2008 04:26 PM
my issue was soooo minor compared to everyone else's, but...it was 10 p.m. on wednesday and i was in the middle of baking the desserts. the dark chocolate cranberry tart is in the oven, and i'm combining the dry ingredients for the ginger-molasses cake when i discover that i don't have any allspice on hand. weird, because i always have it in the cupboard, but no biggie, i'll just substitute some ground cloves, grated fresh nutmeg, and a little extra cinnamon. problem solved, right? except when i go for the nutmeg and cloves, i can't find those either! of course since i haven't made pumpkin pie yet this season, i had no idea that autumn spice thieves had apparently invaded my kitchen.
fortunately i did have a fresh jar of chinese five-spice powder, so i reduced the black pepper in the recipe & used that instead. but i STILL want to know what happened to all those missing spices...
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re: alkapal
goodhealthgourmet
Dec 1, 2008 07:56 PM
well in that case, i must have some kinky spices...the allspice went with 'em too ;)
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susancinsf
Dec 1, 2008 07:56 AM
I was thinking about how hard it can be to cook in someone else's kitchen sometimes, as I helped my sister make Thanksgiving dinner in hers....Indeed, while I can't remember all of the circumstances, (probably at my former in-laws cabin come to think of it) I've also used smashed up crackers as a thickener! (I remember thinking the same thing you did, that crackers are basically flour).
Anyway, this year Janet was the cook, I just followed directions about what to chop when, and she's got a big kitchen and well-stocked pantry, so everything went very smoothly....I think the only real challenge was to keep the meal halal for my daughter and SIL, but Janet found a great halal butcher so no worries there: we didn't serve any meat other than the (halal) turkey and used the turkey stock for the stuffing etc. ok, I will admit that I would have liked some bacon in the brussel sprouts, but knowing that everyone could enjoy all of the dishes more than made up for the lack of pork.
Other than serving as sous chef, my main contribution to the meal was a relish tray and other pre-meal nibbles, and I headed off the only real challenge there by bringing along my own trays, since platters can be in short supply at Thanksgiving.
I'd say the most unexpected part of the day was that it rained quite steadily all day. In Las Vegas, no less.
And of course, Janet's DH has impeccable timing and knows exactly when to sneak out a nip of the very good scotch for those of us who partake and needed fortification for the inevitable political arguments with the most difficult of the BILs.....biggest challenge solved. :-)
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re: susancinsf
Ruth Lafler
Dec 1, 2008 08:41 AM
LOL. At least this year we managed not to get into a political argument with my sister's lefter-than-thou (Obama's way too centrist for him) BIL -- so that was one "problem/challenge" that was averted. And as we were leaving, my sister's MIL did look up and thank us for being "worker bees" -- if it were up to her family, I'm not sure there would have been any hot food on the table.
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re: Ruth Lafler
janetofreno
Dec 1, 2008 09:18 PM
LOL....I was worried that my oldest and most radical son would start in on the Lefter-than-thou Obama trash-talking as well....but he was surprisingly well-behaved. Of course, the fact that I suspect he had been up very late the night before might have contributed to his docile (sleepy) attitude....(He worked until around midnight and then confessed to having gone out with friends for a little pre-Thanksgiving celebration..all this when he had an early flight to join us in Vegas Thursday am...)
And Susan's platters DID help...and since she left them here by mistake I think I have even MORE for the next family party!
My only real issue is that I feel that my fridge is too small...next one HAS to be bigger. In Reno I used to solve the problem by temporarily storing things on the back porch or in the garage....where the temps in November are typically similar to that of a refrigerator. That presents a challenge in warmer Las Vegas.....
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coll
Nov 29, 2008 12:48 PM
Our guests arrived just as the turkey was crisping up nicely, with just a couple of hours to go. Perfect timing. I go to put on a pot of water for my ravioli apps and WE ARE OUT OF PROPANE. This also happened last Valentines Day, but it was just the two of us then. I called our propane company (our former company I should say) and miraculously got a call back, but they wanted $350 up front because they weren't able to verify us from home, and it would be four hours before the technician could get there anyway. Everyone started freaking out and telling me 10 different ways to finish the meal... grill on the BBQ or fry were their best suggestions: but no, neither is an option for me! I want traditional and I've been planning this for weeks. When I finally shut them all up and got them out of my way, this is what I did. (After a stiff drink or two)
Luckily I had cooked most of the vegetable dishes 3/4s of the way that morning (I had a dogsitting job and knew I would be getting back just as they arrrived), and the stuffing was put together with sausage and veggies already cooked into it. So I was ahead of the game. That was key. I just had to make a visit to my basement to get my "survival equipment" that I stocked up on after Hurricane Gloria. A one burner catering stove, a Sabrett table top steam cart and a Broaster unit (I think that's what it's called, someone gave it to me years ago but it had never been used by anyone). Veggies OK in the microwave, boil potatoes and gravy on the little burner and hold in steam tray, and stuff 22 lb half done turkey into broaster on 400. No instruction book but I figured it out eventually. Propane canister on burner thing wouldn't stay in so DH jammed a knife in to hold it tight. It worked.
My two apps were really heavy which I was leery of, but ended up being a great idea as it held everyone over for an extra hour of two. The proscuitto wrapped artichokes ( I found recipe here) were cooked in the toaster oven. Hot sausage and sun dried tomato ravioli on little burner then throw some pesto and heavy cream on top. Now everyone has something to start.
Corn pudding and green bean casserole were fine in the microwave. Forget about the broccoli, there were too many veggies anyway. Two kinds of cranberry sauce in fridge: corn bread and cranberry scones already made, forget about crescent rolls with thyme butter, too many carbs anyway! Finally thinking on my feet. I kept saying, thank God the desserts can just be put out afterwards.
Now if I had no electricity it would have been a lot tougher, but I'm sure I would have thought of something (we used to have a little generator but I think it died). Just call me Survival Woman! I still haven't recovered though, to tell the truth!
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re: coll
Ruth Lafler
Nov 29, 2008 01:14 PM
Brava! I have to say that before I started the turkey on the gas grill I made sure there was an extra tank of propane, and I'm sure you'll remember to check your propane levels before T-Day next year!
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re: Ruth Lafler
coll
Nov 30, 2008 01:08 AM
I'm talking about the propane on my kitchen stove and the company that delivers me wouldn't ever give me a tank with a gauge, and many times don't even leave a metered bill after delivery (claim they are afraid to leave in mailbox due to Post Office rules) and since this is the third time I didn't get "automatic delivery" in as many years until I ran out, just realized this weekend it's time to call County Weights and Measures and report them! Something seriously wrong here. I already have a new propane company coming Tuesday, can't believe I let this happen 3 times! And always on a holiday of course.
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re: coll
Ruth Lafler
Nov 30, 2008 02:48 PM
Yeah, I got that it was for your stove, but I didn't realize there wasn't a way to check the levels. Sounds like a design flaw.
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re: alkapal
coll
Dec 1, 2008 02:17 AM
I know, I hired them because they do all the restaurants around here, but something's not right. No biggie, I'm calling them them in about an hour to tell them to come take it all away, and new company comes tomorrow with new tanks.
The funny thing is, I kept reading all the posts before Thanksgiving about what was the worst thing that ever happened to you on that day, and thought to myself "Nothing; I have it down so well I could do it in my sleep!" So I guess I had it coming!
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re: coll
That's a fabulous post, and I'm truly inspired by the herculean efforts you took to make your dinner satisfying to your guests. Goodness knows we've all had to struggle with varying levels of creativity to please those whom we hoped to please.
That said, I was slightly taken aback by the "Everyone started freaking out" comment. Can I assume they were freaking out in a noble effort to assist you in achieving the perfect meal? Because if there were simply freaking out over the prospect of spoiled food, I would unabashadly (and perhaps even a trifle indignantly) remind them that this is a holiday designed to commemorate the fact that we are lucky to have any food on our table at all.
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re: weem
coll
Dec 1, 2008 03:27 AM
Well my BIL had a weird look on his face when I told him at the front door what was going on. He lives alone and I think my holiday meals are the only real meals he ever eats. Everyone in husband's family are highly emotional/excitable people, they were trying to help me in their own way but I kept wishing my family was there too, because they would have just been making jokes and laughing! Nobody attending knows how to really cook, they all wanted to help but they didn't have a clue, I guess that's what I meant. Sort of like the Three Stooges!
Actually the meal was highly praised afterwards, and everyone said the turkey finished off in the broaster was the most tender turkey I ever made! I might even make it the same way in the future....So all's well that ends well.-
re: coll
alkapal
Dec 1, 2008 03:59 AM
i've always wanted a famous "broasted" (pressure fried) chicken. those broasters aren't cheap, iirc. http://www.ochef.com/374.htm
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re: alkapal
coll
Dec 1, 2008 06:25 AM
Then I don't know what this thing is called, it's a big blue pan that roasts, bakes whatever, lots of different temps, you see them for sale in the grocery stores around the holidays. Always $29.99. The big commmercial ones I see around too, big investment, could put a little place out of business if they're not careful!
OK mine is blue, but this is just like it. I guess the price went way up, like everything else.
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I had (surprise, surprise) nobody in the house who was qualified and willing to help me. What saved me was the newly-popular 475-degree 2-hour turkey roasting technique.
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re: Jen76
There's an man in SF named Chef Marc, I think, who promotes this. He says NOT to stuff. He wants you to leave legs spread open and dry thoroughly inside and out. Says to use paper towels and really dig moisture out of bone crevices inside.
I like the taste of turkey this way but the roasting pan gets black so you can't make gravy. Oven gets really greasy and if you cook 2 in a row, smoke alarms may go off.
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