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Yankee style mac & cheese is the worst. The only mac & cheese is Southern custard-style baked macaroni and cheese with eggs, butter and evaporated milk. Everything else is just cheese sauce with boiled pasta.
This is what it should looked like after it's baked. Not my photo.
I would rather have roast goose or duck than turkey. Or, frankly, spaghetti carbonara. Even the best turkey I have made is only "fine." But she who must be obeyed follows tradition, and so turkey it is!
The only good thing about turkey is the stuffing. My Dad makes a family recipe. Oatmeal Raisin Dressing. Soaked in turkey fat, with extra fat added. it is fantastic! Everyone thinks the recipe sounds weird, but it is awesome. And what I really look forward to. I eat very little turkey at the table, mostly just crush the dressing, taters, and gravy. The best part of the bird drips out in the form of fat.
Your comment about your dad's oatmeal dressing led me down a rabbit hole! I think I'm gonna have to try Scottish "skirlie" -- steel cut oats sauteed with beef fat and onion. A recipe: https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/re...skirlie-recipe It calls for "pinhead" oatmeal which is apparently similar to steel cut oats. I also saw a few recipes for dressing that called for rolled oats, but they had some broth added. Skirlie sounded more interesting to me.
Upstate NY, by upstate I don't just mean 30 miles north of NYC ;-)
My current cookers include a Shirley Fabrication 24x36 patio model; Weber Performer with the Slow-n-Sear 2.0 & Drip & Griddle; Pit Boss Series 2 propane smoker & SnS Travel Kettle.
Straight Whiskey: I'm a bourbon guy. All time favorite Pappy Van Winkle 12 year. Standard go to Blantons
Blended Whiskey: James Oliver American Whiskey
I also enjoy an occasional cigar
I dislike most big holiday meals aside from cooking to make family & friends happy. The meal seems to take on so much importance, the meaning of the day can get lost. I'm trying something different this year. I'm buying the Thanksgiving meal pre-cooked so I can spend more time with people instead of in the kitchen cooking!
That said, I am planning a post Thanksgiving day turkey cook. I ordered a pasture raised turkey on Crowd Cow and when someone here in the pit posted a 50% off sale, so I can explore some different flavor profiles. I plan to break the turkey down into its component pieces to I can experiment with the breast meat and smoke the dark meat for a turkey chili recipe I got off the Thermoworks site a few years back.
The big dinner is 11/26. I have a SRF half bone in Karabuta ham. Going to make broccoli salad with dried cranberries, bacon, etc. I make W'ham Sweet Taters, which aren't sweet. Boil til barely tender, finish up in a skillet with butter and liberally season with W'ham Original Rub.
There will be smoked turkey -- I cooked the Turkey Smoke contest at the KCBS world invitational on 11/13. Turkey folks presented us with a giant pink blob with a small piece of turkey skin on it (only identifying marker!). I cut it into 2 pieces and trussed them up with twine, one was about 4" in diameter and the big one is 6". I turned in the 4" piece for the contest. The other one is whole and in the freezer. Thought I'd thaw it, inject with more butter and reheat via sous vide. Got some turkey necks to make gravy. Hopefully, the turkey is edible!
My brother's girlfriend is filling in the rest, with help from Trader Joes. It'll be a fine day! Especially if the Hogs beat Mizzou.
Turkey sucks. If turkey was actually good it would be widely available year-round. It's not even half as good as chicken and easily loses to ham as well.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, more specifically the announcers, make me want to rip my eyes and ears off. I think you get that job after you’ve graduated from announcing the National Paint Drying Championship
The parade is more fun when the production is openly mocked. Don’t make fun of the performances themselves, but the horrible camera work, the lip syncing, bad editing choices…. Hate-watching the parade is a favorite holiday tradition
WillTravelForFood Now that I could get behind but that's not an option here. My wife gets mad at me for ripping on it and pointing those things out so I have to keep busy elsewhere in the house because if I can hear it I can't stop myself
I'm also in the not-really-into-ham camp. I mean, I have had some really good ham, but it is just not my thing. I'm not sure why, either. I like bacon and other cured meats, but that "hammy" flavor isn't something I want more than a few bites of.
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