Happy Thanksgiving To All!

…May Your Bounties Be Plentiful

Approximately 387 Years ago the first traditional Thanksgiving took place. Today we will gather with our loved ones to celebrate the many things in life that we are thankful for. For some, it can be surviving the financial mess, having a job, a family, friends. For others, it can be just making it to see another Thanksgiving.

It’s a time to enjoy good food, good people, and good games while being able to give thanks for the ups and downs of the past Year. After having that piece of Turkey and spoonful of stuffing, sit back with your loved ones and enjoy the day. Watch a game, watch a movie, play outside, or just talk. It’s a day to reflect and enjoy the things around you, and take a holiday on the busy “go-go-go” mentality we experience the rest of the Year.

Food

It’s the heart of Thanksgiving. It’s the source of the gathering that brought together the Pilgrims and Native Americans during the traditional first Thanksgiving. So why not treat your Friends and Family to the best.

Good Eats Roast Turkey
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 7 hours
Cook Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
Total Cook Time: 9 Hours 45 Minutes
Yield: 10-12 Servings

Wow your friends with this juicy, tender, and moist tasting savory Thanksgiving turkey. Click here to get the full Recipe Information, Ingredients, and steps-by-step cooking instructions (from The Food Network’s Alton Brown).

Some other Main Dish Ideas:

• Roasted Turkey with Maple Cranberry Glaze (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Inactive Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Mom’s Holiday Turkey (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Inactive Prep Time: 8 hours, Cook Time: 3 hours, Yield: 12 to 14 Servings)
• Do Nothing Turkey (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Riesling Roast Turkey with Fig and Root Vegetable Dressing (Difficulty: Difficult, Prep Time: 1 hour, Inactive Prep Time: 12 minutes, Cook Time: 3 hours, Yield: 8 Servings)
• Irish Lamb Stew (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 30 minutes, Cook Time: 8 hours, Yield: 8 Servings)

Sides & Vegetables:

• Turkey Gravy (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 2 hours 45 minutes, Yield: 5 to 6 Servings)
• Apple Cranberry Stuffing (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Prep Time: 30 minutes, Cook Time: 55 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Sausage, Dried Cranberry and Apple Stuffing (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 30 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Hawaiian Sweet Bread Holiday Stuffing (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 13 minutes, Cook Time: 35 minutes, Yield: 16 Servings)
• Traditional Supper Stuffing with Cider Gravy (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 20 minutes, Yield: 4 Servings)
• Cranberry-Orange Sauce (Difficulty: Difficult, Prep Time: 5 minutes, Cook Time: 20 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Cranberry-Almond Sauce (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 50 minutes, Yield: 8 Servings)
• Canned Cranberries (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 5 minutes Yield: 6 to 8 Servings)
• Braised Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, and Red Swiss Chard (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 35 minutes, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Smashed Potato, Parsnips and Rutabaga (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 25 minutes, Cook Time: 12 minutes, Yield: 10 to 12 Servings)
• Butternut Squash and Pepita Dressing (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 1 hour, Cook Time: 45 minutes, Yield: 10 to 12 Servings)
• Saute of Root Vegetables (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 35 minutes, Cook Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 8 Servings)

Desserts:

• Cranberry-Mango Fool with Gingersnaps (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 17 minutes, Yield: 4 Servings)
• Pumpkin Rum Pie (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 15 minutes, Inactive Prep Time: 45 minutes, Cook Time: 1, Yield: 8 to 10 Servings)
• Pecan Pie with Chocolate-Cinnamon Whipped Cream (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 10 minutes, Cook Time: 1 minutes, Yield: 8 Servings)
• Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie (Difficulty: Easy, Prep Time: 8 minutes, Cook Time: 40 minutes, Yield: 6 Servings)

Complete Thanksgiving Menus:

• Full Classic Thanksgiving Menu
• Full With a Twist Menu
• Full Easy Thanksgiving Menu

What To Watch

In one day you’ve downed enough food for a week. Now it’s time to sit back and relax with your family and friends to enjoy what’s on TV.

Sports
Primetime Network: NFL Network
Road Team: Arizona Cardinals
Home Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Game Time: 8:15 PM EST

The “Bird’s” going down, and there’s football on TV…can this day get any better. Tune all day to CBS, Fox, and the NFL Network to get your NFL fix. Capping off the day will be the Battle of the Birds as the Eagles hosts the Cardinals. McNabb looks to redeem himself from last week’s benching, and Warner looks to redeem himself from losing to the NY Giants.

Other NFL Games Slated:

• Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions (Game Time: 12:30 PM EST, Network: CBS)
• Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys (Game Time: 4:15 PM EST, Network: FOX)

Primetime Network: TNT
Road Team: Orlando Magic
Home Team: Washington Wizards
Game Time: 8 PM EST

It’s Primtime, and hoopsnation fans can watch some NBA on TNT after enjoying their Thanksgiving Day Feast. Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson will provide the banter on the night’s games, and entertain you while the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard has his own scoring feast in the Paint against the hobbling Wizards.

Other NBA Games Slated:

• New Orleans Hornets at Denver Nuggets (Game Time: 10:30 PM EST, Network: TNT)

Movies

Why not enjoy a cinematic experience right at home with your loved ones. They’re are too many options here to count, so if your favorite isn’t on the list, by all means add it. Avoid the cold, and enjoy these classic holiday movies that will put a smile on your face and help you remember the fun times.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Genre: Comedy
Year: 1987
Running Time: 92 Minutes
Directed By: John Hughes
Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy

Steve Martin plays the tightly wound Neal Page, a bundle-of-nerves advertising executive. John Candy portrays the innocent, but always skewered, Del Griffith (Director of sales, American Light and Fixture, shower curtain ring division), a shower curtain ring salesman who seems to live in a world governed by a different set of rules from those governing Neal Page’s marketing life.

The movie follows the story of Neal Page as he tries to return to his family for Thanksgiving in Chicago after being on a business trip in New York.

Some other Movie Ideas:

• Miracle on 34th Street
• Home For The Holidays
• Meet the Fockers
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
• The Incredibles
• Chasing Christmas
• The Waterboy

~ by drcorner on November 26, 2008.