What's on the Menu for Thanksgiving at Camp David?

[MineralMan]

Well, President Obama and family will be at Camp David for Thanksgiving. Here's the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, from a White House press release:

THE WHITE HOUSE
OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THANKSGIVING MENU AT CAMP DAVID
Free-Range Roast Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Cranberry Sauce
Sautéed Green Beans
Morelia Style Gazpacho with Spinach Salad
Zucchini Gratin
Whipped Maple Sweet Potatoes
Buttered Mashed Potatoes
Giblet Gravy
Fresh Clover Rolls with Honey Butter
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Topping
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Mousse Trifle

Sounds a lot like the menu I'm making for my wife's family tomorrow. Yumm!

[FarCenter]

1. Why do cooks put syrup or other sweeteners on the sweet potatos?

They taste better without the sugary goop on them.

[LisaM]

4. Don't know. I just roast yams

then squeeze them out of their skins, mash them, and add grated fresh ginger.

Traditions vary, though. I have a friend whose mother used to cook carrots in 7-Up!

[roguevalley]

30. my mama would put marshmellows on the yams and let them melt

with brown sugar. it was tradition. Yum. I wanna go to camp.

[MineralMan]

7. I agree about that. I think, though, that the sweetened ones

are a big hit with lots of kids. I'm leaving the sweet potatoes or yams off tomorrow's menu. Most of my wife's family doesn't care for them. I'm substituting German sweet and sour red cabbage as an experimental side dish. We'll see how that goes.

An old friend of my mother's always served sauerkraut with the turkey at Thanksgiving. It was very good, and also a German tradition, I suppose. The red cabbage dish should have a similar appeal.

[FarCenter]

11. A sweet and sour red cabbage does sound good with turkey

It also provides some added color and texture.

[janx]

19. It DOES. n/t

[LisaM]

13. I make that!

I do it in the crock pot.

[MineralMan]

15. Yup. The crock pot it is. With apples, too.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Gazpacho? Lou Dobbs would be having a fit!

and Mousse? I'm not sure if what's worse - that it's "French" or just "Librul elitist"

[MineralMan]

9. Morelia Gaspacho is an odd dish, unique to the region...

Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. It's pretty much a fruit cocktail, but with cheese and chili flavors. I imagine it will be served between courses as a palate freshener. Sounds interesting. This is not Gaspacho, the soup.

Here's a description, and a recipe, from a 1997 Sunset Magazine:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1216/is_n5_v199/ai_20039390/

[LisaM]

3. It sounds great

Except for the cornbread dressing. I like the bread dressing (except I put it into the turkey and call it stuffing). This is a debate for the ages - which you prefer!!!!


I'm curious about that gazpacho, I'm going to see what that is.

[janx]

14. I put mine into the turkey and call it dressing!

;-)Have you ever tried tossing a little rye bread into the mix?

[LisaM]

20. No, though I've done a mix of white and whole wheat bread

I like to keep it the way my grandmother made it, because 1) I like it; and 2) it makes me feel closer to her, even though she's been gone for a while now.

[janx]

28. Understood!

My grandmother's roasting pan has gone through three generations. It's great. :hi:

[proud patriot]

5. sounds like our Dinner

cept I made Spicy sausage stuffing last night .

I'm very interested in the Zucchini Gratin recipe .

[RedEarth]

6. Sounds great...but, they need some Pecan Pie too!

[MineralMan]

8. I notice that there's no Turducken or Tofurkey on the menu.

I guess the President is a traditionalist when it comes to that festive meal.

[janx]

17. Just thinking about those two things makes me want to retch...

:rofl:

[MineralMan]

23. Wel, the turducken is just overkill. I'm sure they're tasty and all

that, but...really...

The Tofurkey, on the other hand, is another matter. It's produced in a factory, from soybeans that are manipulated in several ways to give up their essential soybeanness and become something completely artificial. No edamame for the tofurkeyites. No toasted soy nuts. No. They want something that resembles soy not at all.

It's not a natural food...tofurkey. It's a factory product. Much energy is expended in its making. It's carbon footprint may well exceed that of a real turkey, in fact. And we will not discuss the chemistry of the product. Soybeans do not become tofurkey willingly, I can assure you.

Just like sausage, you do not want to see tofurkey made.

[MineralMan]

25. Tofurky vs. Turkey

Here are the ingredients lists:

Turkey -- Ingredients: Turkey

Tofurky -- Ingredients: water, vital wheat gluten, organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), white beans, garbanzo beans, non genetically engineered corn starch, natural vegetarian flavor, expeller pressed non genetically engineered canola oil, shoyu soy sauce (water, non genetically engineered soy beans, wheat, salt, culture), spices, lemon juice, calcium lactate from beets.

Now, I use magnesium chloride and calcium chloride to deice my driveway when necessary. Hmph. What is "natural vegetarian flavor?" Sounds suspicious, like it might be made of ground-up vegetarians or something. Uff da!

I think I'll have the item with just one ingredient, thanks...

N.B. Sorry for my previous misspellings of Tofurky. I spelled it Tofurkey, under the assumption that they were trying to imitate the name of the real thing. I won't make that error again.

[janx]

27. Oh. . .

:puke:

Some soy products are great, and I've enjoyed them over the years (got burned out on tofu in the seventies though).

But there's no way I'd consider eating what you just outlined.

[janx]

26. Turducken is overkill, yes.

Why would anyone need to eat three kinds birds at the same time? I've never been a vegetarian, but that sounds like gluttony to me. ;-)

I prefer one bird at a time, dressed and roasted in the oven or smoked outside (my brother does a wonderful job of that).

[HopeOverFear]

10. What, no mac and cheese???? Step it up, ya'll!

[Ryano42]

12. Roasted FAILbird

with FAILstuffing

FAILSberry sauce

and FAILEDpie.

FOR A FAILED PRESIDENT.

Oh and they dressed too garishly.

or so I hear from here and the TEEVEE...

:eyes:

[MineralMan]

16. You didn't hear it in this thread. But, you managed to

bring it here, didn't you? Thanks a whole bunch.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

18. Then late in the evening

we make turkey sandwiches on the leftover rolls, stuffing and cranberries.

I think I love those as much as the big dinner.

[flvegan]

21. Is it just the Obamas, or are they having friends/extended family over?

Quite a spread, regardless.

[janx]

22. I wondered the same thing. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

24. yum, just reading it satisfied my need to construct it! /nt

[Bobbie Jo]

29. Well...whatever it is, I'm sure it will be wrong.

...and ill-chosen. :eyes:

Edited to add: here's a rec just the same.