Early Turkey Planning

Here is a preliminary menu for the big day...

Starters:

• Assorted Cheeses from World Harvest
• Bubble & Squeak (because Ashley's dying to try it - vegetarian)

Dinner:

• Cornbread dressing (not vegetarian)
• Smoked turkey (not vegetarian)
• Sweet potato casserole (non-marshmallow variety)
• Spanish smashed potatoes with kale (veg)
• Vegetarian dressing
• Vegetarian gravy
• Collard / mustard greens (cooked with vegetarian Vietnamese broth, ghee, and Ethiopian spices)
• Roast root vegetables
• Groundnut harvest stew

Dessert:

• Sweet potato pie with spicy dark chocolate
• Possibly some other pies, cakes, etc.

Drinks:

• Single malt scotch (Lagavulin?)
• Bourbon (Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve?)
• Żubrówka with apple juice (as always)
• Achel Trappist Extra
• Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout
• Schlafly Reserve Barley Wine Style Ale
• +Some seasonal stuff and IPA's
• Wine? (It depends on what everyone brings. We may go here for some supplies as well.)

Did I miss anything? I may start a wiki and then everyone can contribute without searching their Gmail for the discussion.

Update: I have now created the wiki. If I missed anyone or if any regular DV posters want in on the recipe action, let me know. You will need to respond to the invite in order to access the wiki. Again, if you want in on the action, send me an email at my Gmail account. (My blogger username is the same as my Gmail account.)

Still Here

Just thought I'd let you all know that we are still here in Misery.

Also, I wanted to start a discussion on Thanksgiving. I know that several of you are planning on attending the whatever annual Native American genocide day or whatever we're calling it now. Maybe we could all post ideas for food items, recipes, and drinks for this little shindig.

We will smoke a turkey as is our usual contribution. I will also provide my sweet potato casserole (which we actually had tonight for dinner). I'm sure there will be more to add to the menu as the event draws nearer.

As far as the drinks, I have a start on that already. I have been aging some special beers from Schlafly Brewing out of STL. They made a limited edition Stout (brewed in bourbon barrels) and barley wine that actually improve with age. Also, I'm sure there will be some bourbon and scotch floating around the Dingo-Early household come November.

So, start posting menu ideas and recipes for the big event. Even if you are not able to attend, I'd like to hear what people are planning for the second-best meal of the year. (R's Polish feasts on Christmas Eve are decadent.)

Genocide Celebration Pictures

Here are a few pics from our Genocide Celebration...
Scenes from the Waffle House...
R made a phone call to J to make our meal at the WH feel "traditional".
The only thing we smoked was the turkey...and some short ribs...and a neck or two.
Here's the spread. Besides the turkey and short ribs, we enjoyed sweet potatoes, roasted root vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls (not throwed), goat cheese and squash turnovers, butter-pecan Brussels sprouts, and a delicious squash soup. (Plus some beer.)Here was my attempt to eat with Jack. It's hard to tell, but Jack discovered that the starch from mashed potatoes makes an excellent styling jell.Finally, there were no more than four options for dessert! There was the apple pie, sweet potato pie (Bodhi's favorite) with bourbon whipped cream, cheese pie, and chocolate ice cream. It was more than I could handle. We pretty much wore pajamas the rest of the weekend.
Of course, none of this meal would have been possible without the many contributions by our friends J & J (R's colleagues in Rhet/Comp) who brought the beer, rolls, soup, turnovers, ice cream, and their best creation, Vered. S & J brought Jack, green bean casserole, pies, some cheese, and mashed potatoes.

It was strange not having many of you with us for this edition of the Genocide Celebration, but the company and food we did have helped make this a successful fourth Thursday of November.