Thanksgiving?

[trailerparkmedic]

Does anyone know a pecan pie recipe without corn syrup in it? My recipe is essentially pecans + Karo, but I'm going to MIL's and she can't eat corn.

[lupo pazzesco]

TPM:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pecan-pie-v/Detail.aspx

I don't like corn syrup. This is the one I use. ^__^

Just don't bake it at 350 the whole time or it'll crack. Couple of the reviews give better times, I Just can't remember which one I used.

[Der Cute]

crock pot and game hens (less meat) or goto grocery store like safeway etc and get a precooked meal - no cooking

[Der Cute]

And get box stuffing, try cornbread w/ box recipe, and something else simple. Like bean casserole and if you get a ham, get a small one.

[Frantic Freddie]

So, I just came back from our monthly "supper club." The chick in the group with the native american background decided to her her own spin on "Thanksgiving."

The food was all native recipes...very unusual, and very "Autumn holiday" without being overly starchy, sweet, or processed. We ate it sitting around a campfire on rugs on the ground. It was AWESOME.

Menu was:

Small pumpkins stuffed with rice and sausage and baked. (tasted like there might have been some cheese in there, not sure). (southwestern tribes)

Peanut soup. No kidding. Peanut soup. I LOVED it. (Aztec)

Fry bread (pretty sure fry bread is a widespread thing)

goat cheese

soft cheese with blueberries

cranberries, crunched up and mixed with a a little citrus.

the best roasted pumpkin seeds I have ever eaten.

The "small pumpkins" would traditionally be squash,the southwestern tribes (Hopi,Zuni,Navajo,Apache) didn't have rice or cheese.

Fry bread is a late 19th-early 20th century invention (I love an an Indian taco,fry bread with beans,meat & chile )

The southwest is not a particularly fecund area,the tribes depended on beans,corn,squash & chiles,none of which need much water.For meat they relied on game of course,they had no pigs or goats until the Spanish introduced them.

Here's a really traditional Navajo bread recipe:

1 cup cedar ashes
1 cup hot water
1 lb blue cornmeal
1 quart water

I've got a recipe for blue corn,piñon nuts & green chile turkey stuffing that's delicious & a nice change from the usual sage-based stuff.

I have a turkey fryer & I've done several that way,mmm good.

[AdminAssistant]

I have a turkey fryer & I've done several that way,mmm good.

And that is what I'm going to miss the most. Deep fried turkey is soooo good.

[42_42_42]

Does anyone know a pecan pie recipe without corn syrup in it? My recipe is essentially pecans + Karo, but I'm going to MIL's and she can't eat corn.

Maple Pecan Pie: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...can-Pie-104528

This is what I make every year instead of regular pecan pie.

[telecom_goddess]

I don't trust turkey deep fryers....every single year someone starts a fire with those things. I"ll roast it in the oven the traditional way.

But I don't make stuffing by hand, I use stove top. Tastes good and makes life sooooo much easier.

I do all the cooking so I want to make it easy.

[AdminAssistant]

I don't trust turkey deep fryers....every single year someone starts a fire with those things.

They're perfectly safe if used properly. The main reasons that houses catch on fire are people trying to do it inside or in the garage or not thawing the turkey completely. It's really really super moist and tender, and the only way my family will eat it. We tried oven roasted turkey one year. Dry and blech.

My aunt also loves it because it gets all the men outside and out of her hair and/or kitchen while she's making the side dishes. It's that guy thing of needing to stand around watching meat cook.

We'll probably work on the menu this weekend, although I can't do much until after I turn in my paper on Tuesday. One of my friends is having a potluck Friday night and I can't decide if I want to make a pecan pie for that or wait until Thursday...hrmm.

[telecom_goddess]

They're perfectly safe if used properly. The main reasons that houses catch on fire are people trying to do it inside or in the garage or not thawing the turkey completely. It's really really super moist and tender, and the only way my family will eat it. We tried oven roasted turkey one year. Dry and blech.

And that right there is the problem, so many people don't do it right and they are a hazard. I still wouldn't trust it for myself. As for oven roasted turkey, I don't understand how it can end up dry...mine NEVER does. I don't think I can make it dry...even if I tried. But every year it's juicy as hell.

[Andara Bledin]

As for oven roasted turkey, I don't understand how it can end up dry...mine NEVER does. I don't think I can make it dry...even if I tried. But every year it's juicy as hell.

It's dry because people are doing it wrong.

My mother and aunt make a roast turkey to die for. My brother doesn't do a bad job of it, either.

^-.-^

[42_42_42]

Ways people screw up and make a dry roasted turkey:

People tend to leave the bird in the oven too long (due to being paranoid about it not being done enough), which causes it to dry out (there is a big misconception that a LONG roast at a LOW temp = moist bird).

People also depend on the little pop-up timer instead of a probe thermometer, even though the bird is overdone by 10-15 degrees by the time the thing pops up, if it doesn't malfunction.

People also don't let the bird rest before carving, which means all the juices spill out instead of being IN the meat.

If people followed the Alton Brown method of turkey prep, they'd never have a dry roasted bird: 1) brine the bird overnight, 2) start bird in a rocket-hot oven and then reduce to a medium heat, 3) roast until 10-15 degrees UNDERDONE, 3) let rest a good 30 minutes MINIMUM (bird will finish "cooking", that is, reach correct doneness temp while resting).

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Brining is amazing. You brine something, it will not be dry. Not only that, but it will cook faster.

Brining. Hot oven. Meat thermometer.