Let’s have a fight

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

I can understand that. French fries are just carriers for salt and ketchup. Honestly, if you stop and think about it, spuds kind of suck. That said, it's probably the most versatile and easily the hardest to screw up. Potatoes are awesome, just not by themselves. 
 

That said, if you're only using butter and salt in your mashed, you're doing it wrong. 

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Im not a fan of normal mashed potatoes, put enough gravy on them and im down though. My family makes what we call "ranch potatoes." We literally only make them at the ranch for some unknown reason and it pisses me off because they are awesome. Instead of being mashed completely they are pretty big chunks of potatoes that are only partially mashed, and then you go all paula deen and put about 3 tons of butter in and a bunch of salt and pepper. You are left with potato chunks that are just butter sponges and then a part potatoe, part butter gravy, liberaly covered in salt and pepper.

They are awesome and ruined conventional mashed potatoes for me, but just trying to describe them has made me feel like a terrible fat piece of E36 M3.

Javelin said:

Birds suck, eat cow!

Agreed.  My wife isn't really into cooking, the kitchen is more my thing.  She's also not a big fan of turkey and while I'm OK either way, it's a PITA to cook.

Beef is much tastier and way easier to cook (the less you do to it the better it tastes).  So for the last decade we've had beef for Thanksgiving, usually either prime rib or a tenderloin roast.

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Dark meat is better than light. 
brown gravy is better than white. 
Sweet potatoes are the devil. 
Pumpkin pie is best pie. 
 

Fight me. Happy thanksgiving.
 

1) Only if you cook it wrong. Dark meat tastes better because it is juicy while the white meat dries out. Brine the turkey and cook it upside down for the first 3/4 of the roasting time. Then you will have juicy, flavorful white meat. 
 

2) Don't care, you had me at gravy. 
 

3) Again, cooked wrong. Sweet potatoes should be a dessert disguised as a side dish. Cook them like mashed potatoes. Add butter, lots of brown sugar- the color should change an orange/brown. Pumpkin pie spice, caramel syrup. Blend thoroughly, pour into a baking dish. Get them HOT. Microwave, and/or oven to caramelize the sugar. Top with marshmallows, broil until lightly toasted. Lots of people who "hate sweet potatoes" have loved mine. A few have requested that I make them- for their birthdays- months after Thanksgiving. 
 

4) Pumpkin pie is the best pie. 

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Im not a turkey fan, and I dont like cooking it. My cheat for many years was a Popeyes pre cooked turkey. I never cared to spend a bunch of effort making a good turkey because I dont enjoy it, and I got voluntold to cook one years ago. I was venting to a friend and he mentioned popeyes sells turkeys. I wrote it off and waited too long and needed one last minute so I stopped by a Popeyes and paid like 30 bucks for a turkey. Turns out they are pre seasoned and cooked and just refrozen. I figured it was gonne be terrible since its essentially a microwave dinner, but I didnt care I wasnt going to be eating it. Ill be damned I got so many compliments on that dang turkey. I did it for years, always got massive props and people asking me how I cooked  it.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Fair comment.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Unpopular opinion... I hate mashed potatoes.  Mealy, flavorless starch paste.

Mashed potatoes are just a carrier for butter and salt.

Not if they're done right.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:

Real countries have thanksgiving in october.

That's because Canadians have trouble being thankful with a meter of snow on the ground in November 

You mean like in Upstate New York last week? Oh, sorry, that was 2 meters. 
 

I haven't eaten mashed potatoes in 50 years. The consistency makes me gag, they're disgusting.  

Duke said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Unpopular opinion... I hate mashed potatoes.  Mealy, flavorless starch paste.

Mashed potatoes are just a carrier for butter and salt.

Not if they're done right.

 

Exactly. Mashed potatoes are awesome when made by my family.

Cranberry in the can > homemade

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

You have issues.

Stampie said:

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

You have issues.

Check with my therapist!

I'll come over the ropes with a counterattack.  The best Thanksgiving food comes three days later.   Equal quantities dark and white meat slices, microwaved, peppered, and served on heavily buttered fresh artisan-style white bread.  If your fingers aren't slippery with excess butter after eating, you did something wrong...

Equal parts cranberries, green apples, and sugar through one of these.

In reply to hobiercr :

You're working too hard.  I have an attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer.

In reply to Stampie :

Oh, my Mom still makes it. She loves doin it old school. Eventually, I'll be doing it, preferably with some sort of Dewalt attachment.

I dont understand cranberry sauce. We never had it at Thanksgiving, are you supposed to eat it by itself or on something else? Is it dessert or an entree?

In reply to gearheadmb :

The cranberries add something tart/sweet to the meal. Meshes well with the turkey. 

travellering said:

I'll come over the ropes with a counterattack.  The best Thanksgiving food comes three days later.   Equal quantities dark and white meat slices, microwaved, peppered, and served on heavily buttered fresh artisan-style white bread.  If your fingers aren't slippery with excess butter after eating, you did something wrong...

This, right here. Gospel! 

gearheadmb said:

I dont understand cranberry sauce. We never had it at Thanksgiving, are you supposed to eat it by itself or on something else? Is it dessert or an entree?

Yes.  All of that.  I almost made some to put over my dressing only Thanksgiving this year but the stores were closed at that point.  It is the accent for anything you eat on Thanksgiving.

travellering said:

I'll come over the ropes with a counterattack.  The best Thanksgiving food comes three days later.   Equal quantities dark and white meat slices, microwaved, peppered, and served on heavily buttered fresh artisan-style white bread.  If your fingers aren't slippery with excess butter after eating, you did something wrong...

I love the leftovers.  I make "stuffing soup" for days.  I just take a bowl with a pile of stuffing and turkey, and drown it with gravy.

On the years when I smoke a turkey, I'll boil the carcass for broth.  Throw in a bunch of the leftover turkey, some rosemary, and a bunch of corn.  Maybe some noodles to flesh it out if there isn't much turkey left.  Smoked turkey corn soup is really awesome.

Maybe the dishes devide us but the leftovers bring us together. Except sweet potatoes. Maybe they're good for compost?

Some of you guys need to try different ways to cook a turkey. 
 

We don't roast them anymore. Dries out the white meat. 
 

Sometimes we deep fry them (in a pot of oil over an open flame cooker). This method also has the excitement of potentially setting the house on fire, or having the bird explode if it is still frozen when it goes in the hot oil. But the flavor is fantastic and juicy. 
 

Usually we spatchcock the bird. This is a 25 lb bird. Basically, you cut the spine out, then flip it over and break the ribs. It reduces the cooking time from about 5 hours to more like 1 hour. And everything tasted wonderful and juicy!

gearheadmb said:

I dont understand cranberry sauce. We never had it at Thanksgiving, are you supposed to eat it by itself or on something else? Is it dessert or an entree?

Yes.

Juicy blueberry pie.  Much better than pumpkin.

I hadnt made a pie for a while, then this thread reminded me it was time.