How to Make Turkey Dinner
Cook a Turkey Tips
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Turkey Dinner
The
main thing about making thanksgiving dinner is to stay organized. Here is how
our Thanksgiving dinner went my entire youth for our family of six.
1. Thaw
the turkey in the fridge 3 days before Thanksgiving
2. Mom had us polish the
silverware the day before Thanksgiving, and clean up the house
3. Make the
pies the night before. Dry bread on cookie sheet in the oven and cube for the
stuffing. Remove the giblets/neck and cook them in a pan of water on the stove.
Let cool, save the broth for the gravy, pick the meat off the neck and cut up
the giblets and liver in small pieces and set aside for the stuffing and giblet
gravy.
4. At 6 am, Mom got up and prepared the turkey.
Cut up pieces of celery and onion, slightly cooked in butter and added sage and egg to the stuffing. Added some of the cooked meat to the stuffing. Stuffed the turkey and put in the oven with a tent of foil over it.
2. While the turkey was cooking. She made the cranberry relish. She ground the cranberries in her meat grinder and then ground up one sliced orange. Stirred it all together and sweetened to taste. Refrigerated.
3. She spread a white tablecloth, and put out the China and water glasses. Us girls added the polished silverware.
4. Mom peeled the potatoes, and cooked them for mashed potatoes. She cooked the corn, green beans, and sweet potatoes.
5. We cleaned our rooms, the bathroom and stayed out of her way. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on TV.
6. By 11:30 the turkey was finished. She generally let it cool a half hour, and then made two platters, one of white meat and one of dark meat. She used the drippings to make the Giblet gravy. The stuffing went in it's own bowl. So we never really had the whole turkey at the table.
7. At 1:00 pm The food started to go on the table. She kept things warm, like the mashed potatotes in the oven. She put out a relish dish with olives and midget pickles, and put the relish on the table. The last thing out of the oven was the dinner rolls.
8. By 1:30 pm we were giving thanks.
The interesting thing to note is that mom was very organized, and always kept a dish sink full of hot soapy water. Washing everything that was used. The knives, trays, cooking pans, etc. We did not have a dishwasher, so the only dishes we had to do was the plates and bowls. Very easy cleanup. Then after all was done, we got ready to go to the movies, and went to the 3pm movie at the theatre. Mom and dad dropped us off and then picked us up. Later in the evening the parents had friends over and they played cards, while we watched TV.
Shopping list for your Thanksgiving turkey dinner
| Pies pie crusts or mix pumpkin mix, or pumpkin and spices evaporated milk eggs pecans white corn syrup apples sugar nutmeg cinnamon Whipped topping | Dinner |
Cooking
Turkey Tips:
Unwaxed dental floss is good for trussing because it does
not burn and is very strong. Or instead of sewing up a stuffed turkey, close the
cavity with two heels of dampened bread. Push each into an opening with the crust
facing out, and overlapping to hold the stuffing in. See the turkey
cooking chart
Instead of stuffing the bird, try steaming it by pouring one cup of water mixed with 1/4 cup of pinapple juice into the body cavity. The meat will be more flavorful and juicy.
Nowadays, people roast their turkeys
breastside down so the juices will make the breast juicier. Turn the turkey back
upright for the last hour of cooking. They used to cook turkeys in brown grocery
bags, but they don't recommend it anymore. That's why they invented oven bags.
Hope all this helps, and have a great Thanksgiving!
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More Holiday related dinner recipe pages!
Turkey
Dinner Tips - How to organize a turkey dinner.
Thanksgiving
Timeline - Thanksgiving for a crowd, and shopping list
Ways
to Cook Turkey - There are many different ways to cook turkey
Cranberry Recipes
- All of my cranberry recipes. Relishes too.
Zucchini
Recipes - Try stuffed Zucchini or Thanksgiving Squash
Potato Recipes
- Mashed, baked, and twice baked, scalloped too.
Fried
Potato Recipes - Different ways to fry potatoes, even hash browns
Sweet
Potato Recipes - All kinds of recipes for Sweet Potatoes
Gravy and Sauce Recipes - Learn how easy it is to make gravy
Stuffing Recipes - Some simple recipes for stuffing.
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