Ideas For A Turkey Dinner Menu

You probably do some advance planning as I do. You look for ideas in treasured cookbooks, in magazines, and from what you have made in the past that everyone at your table liked. There are many possibilities, from casseroles, salads, and vegetables to an endless variety of delicious desserts!

If you are like me, you probably start planning it out in your head long beforehand. You have to consider what you have time to make, the ingredients you have available, and so on, that you have to work with. How many guests will you have, and how many gluten-free guests?

Have a look… these articles will save you time.

1. How To Cook A Turkey Dinner – includes Turkey Roasting Tips and Recipe for Sausage Stuffing.
   2. Ideas For a Turkey Dinner Menu – includes salad recipes: Cold Beets, Spinach Soufflé Salad, and Cabbage Salad with Yellow Peppers and Peas.
   3. More Recipes For A Turkey Dinner Main Course – Includes recipes for Maple Baked Sweet Potatoes, Whipped Red Skinned Potatoes, and Tart Cranberry Sauce with Orange.
   4. How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake. The recipe is in the Bonus Section of Gluten-Free, You Can Do It -by Trina Astor-Stewart. Contains charts for Trina’s Flour and Bread Mixes. Three Series Of Mixes: Original, Corn, Nightshade, Tapioca, and Rice Free Mixes. Over 300 Recipes.
   5. Perfect Pumpkin Pie!

How do you decide what to serve with your Thanksgiving or Christmas Turkey Dinner?

Sometimes a family is so large that having one or two people cook the whole thing is almost impossible. In that case, the host family often roasts the turkey and provides drinks, such as juice, punch, coffee, and tea. The balance of the meal is then either potluck or organized by dish. Heaven forbid the absence of mashed potatoes as a base for all that lovely, tasty turkey gravy! For some reason, potlucks work well for a large crowd, but for a middle-sized group, it is safer to manage who is bringing what, or you might have all desserts and no MASHED POTATOES.

In many instances, when I have hosted a family turkey dinner, I have not had a lot of time to take pictures of everything. The last time was not that different, but I determined that everyone must wait to eat until at least a picture of the turkey on the table was taken. You see, now that I am blogging, I must share with you, right?

If you’d like to see how I roasted the turkey, the recipe for the Sausage Stuffing, and other tips, you can visit my blog, entitled ‘How To Cook A Turkey Dinner’.

I photographed the rest of the dinner two days later, using leftovers after everyone had left, as some had come from a distance and stayed overnight. It is all about having a good time and doing as much as possible ahead of time so that you are organized. There are always last-minute happenings and things you have to roll with. Be calm -just do it. Everyone’s feelings and the harmonious atmosphere are the main things! It could even be you who forgot to put that dish on the table that you are so proud of having prepared. This happened to me when, halfway through the dinner, I realized I had forgotten the cabbage salad, which was all pretty as a picture waiting in the fridge…

It is the get-together with the family that is the most important!

I remember a Thanksgiving Dinner at home when I was growing up. Although a great cook, my mother was beside herself over some unfortunate occurrence or some squabble. Emotions ran high, and the next thing we all witnessed was the raw turkey being slammed on the floor! For the life of me, I cannot remember what caused such a ruckus, but it has stayed with me to this day. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is worth that! But on the other hand, you never know what behind-the-scenes pain someone can be going through. “Forgive first, forget later” was my mother-in-law’s wise approach. She had a lot of experience with a big family in her day!
My mother-in-law, at each visit, would share some of her experiences with me, and one time she whispered, “You know, sometimes it is just best to turn a blind eye. It all boils over eventually anyway.” Mothers-in-law have many little secrets stored away that can shed light on things since no two families’ coping strategies are alike.

Pardon me. I have digressed. You are here for ideas and recipes about what foods to serve with a turkey dinner, so here is what was on the menu at my last Turkey Dinner. Of course, it was all gluten-free!

• Roast Turkey with Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing, and Turkey Gravy, was the meal’s centerpiece. Visit my blog for recipes on how to cook a turkey dinner at this link.
  
• Below are the recipes for the following:
• Chilled vegetables were Cold Beet Slices, a Spinach Soufflé Salad, and Cabbage Salad with sweet yellow peppers and peas.
  
• Hot vegetable dishes were: Maple Baked Sweet Potatoes, Whipped Red Skinned Potatoes, and, of course, Turkey Gravy.
• Also served was a Tart Cranberry Sauce with Orange, Homemade Gluten-Free Bread, and butter, as well as a sparkling juice combination of White Grape Juice with mineral water. Since most of the family drove a distance, we did not serve wine. I had frozen some sweet red grapes to use in the juice instead of ice cubes, but as it happened, I forgot those altogether. (I mention this to let you know to go easy on yourself, too. Itis okay not to sweat the small stuff. 🙂
  
• Dessert was Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. These were served with coffee or tea.

Now, let’s move on to the recipes for the salads…

Cold Beet Slices:

How to Cook and Peel Beets

• Wash the beetroots, and remove the tops if they are included, as they often are at Farmers’ Markets.
  As an aside, beet tops are both delicious and good for you; wash them well, then stir-fry with onions.
• Place in a large stockpot and cover with cold water.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Simmer beets until they are semi-soft when stuck with a sharp knife.
• Remove from heat, drain, and shock by covering once with cold tap water.
• Set beets aside to cool.
• Peel the skins off the beets by first cutting off the top and bottom ends, and the peels almost slide off.
• Place in a covered glass container to store in the refrigerator. Slice beets just before serving.

Spinach Soufflé Salad

• Hot vegetable dishes included Maple-Baked Sweet Potatoes and Whipped Red Skinned Potatoes.
• Also served was a Tart Cranberry Sauce with Orange.
• Dessert was Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. The pumpkin Pie recipe with Trina’s Favorite Pie Crust Recipe is in my new book. Gluten-Free You Can Do It. ‘Bonus Section

Gluten-Free, You Can Do It -by Trina Astor-Stewart. The cookbook contains charts for Trina’s Flour and Bread Mixes. Three Series Of Mixes: Original, Corn, Nightshade, Tapioca, and Rice Free Mixes. Over 300 Recipes.