For those of you not doing the turkey for Thanksgiving

I am curious as to what the independents will make on this festive day. I tend towards goose, eschew green beans in any form of casserole and find brown sugar glazes on vegetables and potatoes to be vile. But I do love organic cornbread/oyster dressing with my goose.

• We sometimes add a ham on Thanksgiving. At Christmas it's always a rib roast. Last year it was roasted in a shell of sea salt. Best piece of meat I've ever eaten. The hardened shell retains all the moisture. I'm drooling already.

• Chapon roti, champignons et marrons.

• Cornish game hens!

• OP, you're coming off as a try hard here. Are you really Gwyneth or something? Surprised you won't be serving moose stew. No that's an idea. Does it always have to be a bird?

• I always roast a chicken. Not a fan of turkey unless it's sliced and served between two slices of bread.

  Mia

• I would probably cry if I showed up for thanksgiving and there was no turkey. I certainly wouldn't go back. Can you put aside your insufferable pretentions for one day?

• I did a prime rib roast one year. It was delicious, but I will stick with turkey from now on and save the beef for Christmas.

• You would really cry because your host did not succumb to the marketing pressure of Butterball? You need therapy you poor thing. This is a celebration of the harvest, not a day to eat turkey. My favorite Thanksgiving was suckling pig, but for the people I am having this year a pig is too much so a goose it is.

• I do a turkey breast just because buy my Thanksgiving dinner is Enchiladas, refried myacoba beans, cranberry orange relish, brussel sprouts and pumpkin flan

• [quote]You would really cry because your host did not succumb to the marketing pressure of Butterball? It's an expression. Where do you fall on the Autism scale, exactly?

• Goose is heavenly, but it's traditionally associated with midwinter celebrations, not autumn. Tell me, has anyone tried a roast capon? Does it have more flavor than turkey?

• I know, r6. Me too. I was very disappointed one year when my BF's mother made baked potatoes instead of mashed because they were easier. It made me mad because I asked repeatedly what I could make to help. If she had said, you know, peeling all those potatoes is a lot of work...I would have jumped on it. OP, I hope your invitation comes with the caveat that you will not be serving a traditional turkey thanksgiving dinner. I wouldn't opt out, but I'd sure as heck get to the grocery store to get a small turkey and all the fixings so I could make it myself on the weekend.

• OP, you're a pretentious queen

• R12 tell your mom that she doesn't have to peel the potatoes. Wash them well and cook them with peels on. They are delicious and contain all the fiber and nutrients. I grew up with the skins in my mashed potatoes. R11 I have never seen a capon for sale. Where can you buy them.

• Reservations.

  Bengali in Platforms

• I would love a crust of bread for Thanksgiving.

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• Who the fuck doesn't have turkey on Thanksgiving? Unless you're vegetarian or vegan, not serving turkey on Thanksgiving makes you a jackass.

• McCormack and Schmits on the Plaza.. reservations for six at 6:30... in time to watch the Christmas lights come on from the window in the restaurant. None of us cook and all of our parents are deceased. So traditional T'giving, Christmas Eve and NY Eve meals are at restaurants.

  kcguy

• No turkey?

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  am I the first?

• A gorgeous loin pork roast, rubbed with ground fennel, and I haven't yet decided on my sides, but I'm leaning towards roasted butternut squash, and some kind of apple something. Going to have brussel sprouts, no dessert decided upon yet.

• I was considering M&S, kcguy. Was it difficult for you to score reservations? I like to take my mom out for dinner and I've probably waited too late again this year...

  Bengali in Platforms

• r20, that's what I made last night. A regular Sunday night dinner. Nothing festive about it.

• Tofurky

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• Capon can be ordered from a butcher. A lot of people don't have turkey R17. For a long time it was more of a Northeast thing. During WW2 turkey was served overseas to our soldiers and when they came back many of them opted to try and find turkey in other regions. By the lat 60's Butterball had convinced much of the country that this bird was 'traditional', as it was for parts of America. They worked very hard on distribution and advertising to spread this tradition to the poor rubes in the south and west who had eaten ham, goose, or in the middle...roast beef. If you enjoy it, by all means have it. No one is suggesting that those of you who love and want turkey cannot have what makes you happy. For those of us who don't, allow us the same freedom. I don't 'warn' guests. Friends who know me, know that I don't succumb to marketing traditions and love guessing what the main might be each year.

• For R22 not festive, for me pork is a rare treat and I would devour it.

• [quote]"I shall eschew the 'Mustard and Cress' in future. That's a good word, Stevens - eschew - I met it in a crossword the other day and took a fancy to it."

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• I shall eschew escarole and escargots and escabeche.

• My Greek family does a whole roast lamb. Suck it haters....it is what we want. Fuck you and your boring turkey.

• Does Aunt Tula chase you around with eyeball R28?

• No...we scoop the eyes out and put olives in the cavity. The cat gets the eyes.

• I am the REAL R28 and we don't stuff with olives but with grapes. I never asked what happens to the eyes, but we decorate the platter with grape leaves and grapes. Lamb is a brilliant Thanksgiving feast and we do have guests and we never 'warn' them and they are thrilled. Some of you need to let go of your habits and live a little. If I went to a friend's and they did not serve my traditional lamb I would not say a word. I would be grateful to share their meal.

• R21- Hi Bengali! We made the reservations about three weeks ago. But you could still try or check out Open Table. Last year we went to Plaza III. Past years, the rooftop at the Inner Continental Hotel which is a great place to watch the lights come on but.. it.. got too expensive. Horrible service the last time we were there and so expensive. McCormack &Schmit is pretty reasonable from what my friend told me. He made the reservations so I don't know much beyond that. I live in the area so I can walk over. You know how crazy the Plaza can be..... forgot one other place where we have done Thanksgiving... Figlio's across from Mill Creek. It was a buffet with both traditional and Italian offerings. If you take the newspaper, I imagine some of the restaurant Thanksgiving day ads will be in the Thursday Preview section, either this week or next. I think you still have time to get in should you decide to do that.

• Got it turkey folks can't abide the idea of others eating something else. ...but let's hear from the others. Anyone doing seafood? I went to a dinner a couple of years ago and she did a seafood buffet with the most amazing scallops. It was a light, healthy meal and wonderful.

• A Cuban pork roast that is marinated in lime juice and tons of garlic for a few days. Black beans and rice. Roasted brussel sprouts, creamed spinach and snow on the mountain for dessert.

• Is goose greasy like duck? I've heard that they're both similar to dark meat chicken, which makes me vomit.

• I have no devotion to turkey, but eating lamb on any day of the year is no cause for celebration, unless you're the sort of person who likes sticking in his mouth something that smells like old roadkill eaten and passed through the ass of a mongrel dog.

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• R35 goose can be greasy, it depends on how you cook it. If you pierce the skin well and do a long slow roast the fat melts, leaving you with moist meat and a crackling skin. You can't rush it.

• Possum. Daddy kills it, Mama stuffs it, then at the table we all have a big food fight, then afterward whittle sticks and sit on the front porch pickin' our teeth!

  Charlene%20Frazier%27s%20hillbilly%20Thansgiving

• Ham with Pineapple, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and fruit juice.

• Thank you, kcguy/r32. I appreciate your help. We've done M&S and M&S Grill before, the second because I forgot to make reservations (yet again!) and both were fine. A friend told me that Capital Grille is good on Thanksgiving, so there's always that. Plaza III might be good, too -- I have a feeling that it's only a matter of time before it's forced out to make room for another chain restaurant. If you see a 40YO homo stereotypically escorting his mother to dinner, it's probably me!

  Bengali in Platforms

• R32 PlazaIII Kansas City? If so I used to eat there all the time.......long ago. They had a soup everyone like made with ground beef and veggies. My fav entree was a beef filet topped with crap and asparagus. Steak Diane maybe

• I have a soup made with Italian saugage and vegtables.

• crap and asparagus....mmmm.

• R41 Plaza Steak Soup I have a recipe and have made it before. Tastes just the same as the restaurant version. Let me know and I can post it later when I get back home.

  kcguy

• R40 we did Plaza III last year. You could either order off the menu or do the Thanksgiving special. It was fine although the service was off. That was to be expected as we were there when the lights were turned on and the place and the entire district was packed.

  kcguy

• R41 here is that recipe. It was in the KC Star way back when.. My mom got it and use to make it. I have made it too. Freezes well. Tried it in a crock pot. Didn't care for it even though the crock pot was easier. Best done the old fashioned way on the stove.. just my opinion. Plaza III Steak Soup 1 stick butter or margarine (LOL the recipe said 'oleo' so you know how old (1960's) this is! 1 cup of flour 5 cups of water 1 lb. lean ground beef 1/2 cup each of cut celery,onions, carrots --put in sauce pan, add water and heat til tender. 1 box frozen mixed vegetables 1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes. 1 tsp accent (or not.. do they still make this? 1 1/2 tsps. of Kitchen Bouquet 1 tablespoon of beef base 1/2 tsp. black pepper brown meat, drain. melt the butter in a 2 qt container and slowly add flour, whisk this to a roux? paste consistency. Gradually add the 5 cups of water, stir and heat to thicken. add accent, pepper, beef base and tomatoes. add kitchen bouquet, vegetables and browned beef. Cook over medium heat 30 minutes or several hours on low heat.

  kcguy

• To each their own but I could never bring myself to eat lamb or suckling pig,the guilt over eating a baby animal would be more than my antidepressants could handle!lol I like turkey and ham but one of the things I look forward to most is the homemade baked beans.

• R46, that soup does sound good. Lots of MSG & salt in Accent & Kitchen Bouquet & "beef base" (bouillon?), so plenty of flavor even with the lean meat. Really retro recipe! I do still see Accent & Kitchen Bouquet in supermarkets, though I don't know anyone who's bought them since about 1960.