What is your Thanksgiving plans?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Bachelor-style thanksgiving dinner (lol). I started early due to planning to visit family for TG day of out state in Hawaii. What plans do others have in store? BTW this was a Zacky farms turkey thighs for $2.19/lb ($5.89 total). In past years I've done whole turkeys but bachelor style by sawzalling (new blade of course) a frozen whole turkey in half. Half a bird would last me the entire week of turkey ala king, turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, etc.

[dawnwes]

Same as every year since we moved to NC.

Go to our friend's house and they cook the turkey and pies and we bring all the other sides:

Mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Green bean casserole
Yams dish
And I bring some sort of appetizer. Usually my buffalo dip and veggies and chips.

Before we moved here, the church we attended always did a huge Thanksgiving meal and it was free and open to everyone who wanted to come. We would help serve and then eat there. It was lovely.

[MonkeyMama]

We host my dh's extended family. Basically because we moved somewhere lower-cost and have the biggest kitchen/house. We do a potluck and so it's not a lot of work for any one person. We just do a big turkey every year. Lord forbid we mess with tradition. Everyone wants their food just so.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, pies, stuffing, spinach casserole. We usually provide appetizers and some desserts (deviled eggs, brie cheese dip, home made salsa, and fudge). I guess that's the only way we get our personal touch in.

[fruitbowlk]

we are heading to the Shenandoah Valley and Skyline Drive in the Virginia Mountains.

[ua_guy]

Staying local(ish) and spending it with my folks. Every year there's a hoopla about who's hosting (hosting wars) and who's spending it with whom and trying to coordinate with the plans of in-laws, etc.

No matter what, it means my partner and I will be spending multiple hours in a car, being holiday-traveling warriors along with our hyperactive dog who hates the car, and we almost never get to just relax and spend holidays in our own home (minor gripe).

It's a wonderful problem to have. It means our families love each other, it means people are healthy and are able to celebrate the holidays together. For some of our older relatives, the number of years left to spend the holidays together while they are still healthy and alive is probably coming down to a precious few, so there's really no time or place for petty arguments. "Shut up and be Merry" is the unspoken tag line. We do have a good time, though.

[cypher1]

Volunteered to work a shift that night, so I can have an extra floating holiday. Otherwise celebrating Thanksgiving the day after with family since we'll all be off anyways.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

We're thinking of making a little trip to southern Illinois for some walks in nature & visits of small towns if the weather is good. We have to figure a time to cook the turkey we bought, though.

[QuarterMillionMan]

A local Hawaii high school holds a fundraiser to cook turkeys for $15 or $20 kalua style which is a Hawaiian method or process of cooking using heated rocks underground, covered by layers of banana leaves, and burlap material. 97guns might be familiar with it. The finish product comes out with a smoky flavor and very moist. You take the turkey wrapped in heavy tinfoil and heavy duty aluminum pan, and they cook it. Every year we do 2 turkeys like that. I think the entire process requires overnight cooking. We take the turkeys the day before thanksgiving day and pick up the turkey the day of thanksgiving. In my turkey thighs picture above I used liquid smoke but it doesn't come close to a real kalua turkey flavor.

Turkey ala king with mashed potatoes.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

That looks so good. Sigh. I miss that. Smoked turkey, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potatoes. The basics.