From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking


How did the feast go? Everybody enjoyed all the fixings and camaraderie?
How did the gluten-free dishes turn out? Tasty?

Turkey sandwiches today?

Turkey pot pie for Wednesday?

Turkey hash for Thursday?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

~
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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On 2026-10-13 12:26 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

How did the feast go? Everybody enjoyed all the fixings and camaraderie?
How did the gluten-free dishes turn out? Tasty?

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters. I did supper
and my wife and son cleaned up. I made the stuffing with gluten free
bread. We forgot to take some out the night before but that turned out
not to be a problem. I had it stuffed and into the oven by 10:30 to
come out at 3:45. I had potatoes and carrots peeled and beans trimmed
and ready to go. I took the turkey out and let it stand and I started
the potatoes. After about 15 minutes I started the carrots.

The first problem was removing the turkey from the pan. Instead of a
rack I have been using a pile of carrot and celery. It makes for great
pan juices. This time the bird was stuck to the pan. I thought I had
loosened everything but I had the butt end up about 2" when there was a
snap and the entire breast popped up. That in itself was not so
horrible but most of the stuffing popped out, a lot of it ending up in
the pan juices. The worst part was the sudden release of steam that
burned my finger.

I went into recovery mode, placing the meat and bones on a platter and
using a slotted spoon to recover the stuffing. There are worse things
in the world than drippings in the stuffing. There was enough for
everyone to get some. I mashed the potatoes and left them covered to
stay warm. Carrots were drained and covered. I turned on the beans.

While the beans cooked I made the gravy. I had planned to use Veloutine
as the gluten free thickener but the was a whack of bread crumbs. I
poured off the fat and stirred the crumbs around in the juices and it
started to thicken. It was actually too rich so I made a corn starch
slurry and padded it out. The carrot and celery "rack" mushed up nicely
and made a great dark gravy.

I thought I handled the service well, slicing and dishing out in the
kitchen while my son delivered plates. It was not until later when my
wife was cleaning up that I was told I had forgotten to serve the
carrots. Actually, with the squash and beans they weren't missed but I
now have some to go into the squash soup I am making.

Turkey sandwiches today?

Turkey pot pie for Wednesday?

Turkey hash for Thursday?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

LOL four nights of turkey. I don't know. My wife always send our son
and my brother home with lots of turkey. After dinner I got to sit back
and relax and I don't even know how much turkey we have left. I am about
to soupify the leftover squash and will check on the turkey supply.

Everybody heaped praise on the dinner and I think everything turned out
great. No real failures. My son was very happy with the dressing. His
MiL had served them turkey the night before but did the stuffing in a
separate pan. It was gluten free for his sake but he said stuffing has
to be done in the bird.

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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking


Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 12:26 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

How did the feast go? Everybody enjoyed all the fixings and camaraderie? How did the gluten-free dishes turn out? Tasty?

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of mini disaster or drama? I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep. 😉 

I had potatoes and carrots peeled and beans trimmed and ready to go.

I try my best to have some of the prep done the day before if it's going
to be a large, prepared dish.  It saves so much time and frazzled nerves. 

I made the stuffing with gluten free
bread.

White cornmeal doesn't contain gluten. But you might not care for that
type of stuffing/dressing or it might be available in your area. Just
saying.

The first problem was removing the turkey from the pan. Instead of a
rack I have been using a pile of carrot and celery. It makes for great
pan juices. This time the bird was stuck to the pan. I thought I had loosened everything but I had the butt end up about 2" when there was a
snap and the entire breast popped up. That in itself was not so
horrible but most of the stuffing popped out, a lot of it ending up in
the pan juices. The worst part was the sudden release of steam that
burned my finger.

ACK! I hope no blister.

I went into recovery mode, placing the meat and bones on a platter and
using a slotted spoon to recover the stuffing. There are worse things
in the world than drippings in the stuffing. There was enough for
everyone to get some. I mashed the potatoes and left them covered to
stay warm. Carrots were drained and covered. I turned on the beans.

While the beans cooked I made the gravy. I had planned to use Veloutine
as the gluten free thickener but the was a whack of bread crumbs. I
poured off the fat and stirred the crumbs around in the juices and it started to thicken. It was actually too rich so I made a corn starch
slurry and padded it out. The carrot and celery "rack" mushed up nicely
and made a great dark gravy.

I'm glad everything turned out despite the annoying mishaps. At least
your turkey or any of the vegetables didn't land on the floor.

I thought I handled the service well, slicing and dishing out in the
kitchen while my son delivered plates. It was not until later when my
wife was cleaning up that I was told I had forgotten to serve the
carrots. Actually, with the squash and beans they weren't missed but I
now have some to go into the squash soup I am making.

Turkey sandwiches today?

Turkey pot pie for Wednesday?

Turkey hash for Thursday?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

LOL four nights of turkey. I don't know. My wife always send our son
and my brother home with lots of turkey. After dinner I got to sit back
and relax and I don't even know how much turkey we have left. I am about
to soupify the leftover squash and will check on the turkey supply.

Everybody heaped praise on the dinner and I think everything turned out great. No real failures. My son was very happy with the dressing. His
MiL had served them turkey the night before but did the stuffing in a separate pan. It was gluten free for his sake but he said stuffing has
to be done in the bird.

Well, everything sounds delicious and it seems everybody enjoyed the meal.
And you do have leftovers of different things to make other different
dishes with the remains.

~
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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On 2026-10-13 3:06 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 12:26 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

How did the feast go? Everybody enjoyed all the fixings and camaraderie? >>> How did the gluten-free dishes turn out? Tasty?

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of mini disaster or drama? I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep. 😉

My mother did countless Christmas, New Years, Easter and Thanksgiving
dinners without any disasters or drama. It was amazing to see how she
planned and prepared and pulled off dinners for 15-20 people without any problems. She started early for Christmas and would have most of her
baking done and into the freezer in November. Then it was just a matter
of getting things out of the freezer a day early. My brothers and I were usually recruited to do specific jobs like mashing potatoes, setting the
table etc. As our kids got older they got jobs. I have been to many
festive dinners and I saw lots of issues and no one seemed to match her
ease of grace.

I had potatoes and carrots peeled and beans trimmed and ready to go.

I try my best to have some of the prep done the day before if it's going
to be a large, prepared dish.  It saves so much time and frazzled nerves.

I find morning is good enough for me to do that stuff. My wife looks
after the cleaning, table setting etc.

I made the stuffing with gluten free
bread.

White cornmeal doesn't contain gluten. But you might not care for that
type of stuffing/dressing or it might be available in your area. Just saying.

I am not sure about white cornmeal here. It's hard enough to find grits.
The best I have managed is quick cooking and even that is hard to find.


FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle. It
is hot. I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but
sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will
smooth it out.





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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On Tue, 13 Oct 2026 15:37:25 -0400, Dave Smith
<adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> wrote:

On 2026-10-13 3:06 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 12:26 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

How did the feast go? Everybody enjoyed all the fixings and camaraderie? >>>> How did the gluten-free dishes turn out? Tasty?

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of mini
disaster or drama? I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep. 😉

My mother did countless Christmas, New Years, Easter and Thanksgiving >dinners without any disasters or drama.

That's what you think. Maybe she stressed and suffered in silence
because she didn't want to burden lil' Davey with her angst.
--
Bruce
<https://i.postimg.cc/kGrR1tp8/orange-clown.jpg>
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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking


Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 3:06 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of mini disaster or drama? I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep. 😉

My mother did countless Christmas, New Years, Easter and Thanksgiving dinners without any disasters or drama. It was amazing to see how she planned and prepared and pulled off dinners for 15-20 people without any problems. She started early for Christmas and would have most of her
baking done and into the freezer in November. Then it was just a matter
of getting things out of the freezer a day early. My brothers and I were usually recruited to do specific jobs like mashing potatoes, setting the table etc. As our kids got older they got jobs. I have been to many
festive dinners and I saw lots of issues and no one seemed to match her
ease of grace.

My mom didn't have dishes prepared as far in advance as your mom did, but several things out of the way a few days ahead. I guess that's where I
copied her with things like potatoes peeled and diced, celery washed,
cornbread baked and ready to be used in a day or two, etc.

Yes, we had jobs as well, one might be peeling those potatoes or even
vacuuming the house, plus setting the table, etc.

I made the stuffing with gluten free
bread.

White cornmeal doesn't contain gluten. But you might not care for that type of stuffing/dressing or it might be available in your area. Just saying.

I am not sure about white cornmeal here. It's hard enough to find grits.
The best I have managed is quick cooking and even that is hard to find.

I rather suspected you'd not see shelves of white cornmeal at your grocer.
Can be an area of the country specific.

FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle. It
is hot. I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but
sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will smooth it out.

Dairy to the rescue!!

~
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On 2026-10-13 4:01 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding
sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle. It
is hot. I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but
sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will
smooth it out.

Dairy to the rescue!!

Not all heroes wear capes ;-)

--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On 10/13/2026 4:01 PM, ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 3:06 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of mini >>> disaster or drama? I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep. 😉

FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding
sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle.

I never suggested ground peppers, chipotle or otherwise. Tarragon! and sorry, no maple syrup. No sweet stuff added to the roasted butternut
squash soup.

It is hot. I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but

sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will
smooth it out.

Dairy to the rescue!!

~

Yep, a dollop of sour cream is nice.
--
Jill
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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

jmcquown wrote on 10/13/2026 5:17 PM:

On 10/13/2026 4:01 PM, ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

On 2026-10-13 3:06 p.m., ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

Everything turned out great... despite my mini disasters.

Has anyone ever had a holiday dinner that there wasn't some sort of
mini
disaster or drama?  I think those little trauma's are built into the
prep.  😉

FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding
sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle.

I never suggested ground peppers, chipotle or otherwise.  Tarragon!  and sorry, no maple syrup.  No sweet stuff added to the roasted butternut squash soup.

It  is hot.  I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but

sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will
smooth it out.

Dairy to the rescue!!
~

Yep, a dollop of sour cream is nice.

Anything sour or acidic is perfect, your Majesty!


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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

jmcquown wrote on 10/13/2026 5:17 PM:

No sweet stuff added to the roasted butternut squash soup.

This SIGNATURE royal dish is known far and wide. I never tire of
hearing about any minutia regarding this famous Dataw island dish, your Majesty!

Many thanks, your Highness!

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From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

On 2026-10-13 6:17 p.m., jmcquown wrote:

On 10/13/2026 4:01 PM, ItsJoanNotJoAnn@webtv.net wrote:

Dave Smith <adavid.smith@sympatico.ca> posted:

FWIW, my butternut squash soup is done. Since Jill objected to adding
sweetness to it I did the chipotle and maple version just to rate the
effect of the sweetness. I think I added a little to much chipotle.

I never suggested ground peppers, chipotle or otherwise.  Tarragon!  and sorry, no maple syrup.  No sweet stuff added to the roasted butternut squash soup.

No, you did not suggest ground peppers. When I posted about the
butternut squash soup with chipotle and maple syrup you objected to the sweetness the syrup would add. I opted to use that combination on this
batch and I made sure to consider the effect of the added sweetness. I
think it balanced the chipotle.

It  is hot.  I never know about that stuff. I know it can be hot but

sometimes I find it a little on the mild side and other times I find it
over powering. This is on the hot side but a dollop of sour cream will
smooth it out.

Dairy to the rescue!!
~

Yep, a dollop of sour cream is nice.

I had some of the soup for supper last night and it was really nice with
the sour cream. I will be a little less aggressive with the chipotle
next time. I will remind myself that sometimes it seems a little weak
and sometimes it is powerful, and I can always add more if it is too
subtle.


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