A small crew this year for Thanksgiving, so nothing major.The last few years we have been having a midday snack of Stone Crab and Champagne and will do that again. If you have never had Stone Crab claws, they are quite a treat. I am not a Champagne aficianado, so just picked up a modest priced chanpagne recommended by the local wine store- Sabine Godme Succession Premier Cru. I will open some Pinot with the turkey- probably Perkins Hartker that I bought during Vindepence days.
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I can day drink. Then I get a terrible hangover and fall asleep by 6 o’clock at night.
It is probably an age thing. I could do it without trouble up through my forties.
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This may be my best Thanksgiving ever.
We’re going to the Arkansas/Duke basketball game Thursday night. So no other Thanksgiving plans that day.
A neighbor is hosting a Friendsgiving dinner tonight, but not serving turkey. Going to BIL tomorrow, and they’re serving lasagna.
So no turkey
No stuffing/dressing
No cranberry sauce
No sweet potatoes
No hosting
No leftovers
Best Thanksgiving ever!
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Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving to me…minus the hangover.
A bunch of us cash-strapped winemakers try really hard to make Thanksgiving into a rosé-holiday because we like to move some of it during the ‘rosé-is-dead-to-me’ season 
, but despite our nefarious and evil plans I don’t think it’s taken off quite yet… But it really actually is a pretty good pairing if you can get past our scheming and blatant opportunism. 
And I do have some White Zinfandel still available, thanks for asking!
But seriously, now being fully run out of any type of wine except huge Cabernets in my cellar, which is a pairing that would bum everyone out, I will have to drink my own wines for the holidays (daunting familiarity). And yes, I do think I will lean pretty heavy on the rosées, but perhaps serve them a little warmer than usual. Seems to go better with the season.
Perhaps the bigger problem is - make the dry-ass bird whole in the oven like usual, or take the time to do that non-trad deboned one rolled up that was so delicious a few years back?
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Should go wonderfully with the crab. 
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I suggest roasted Peking duck instead of turkey.
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Flying back to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, sisters and some extended family. We usually do a nice Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house with lots of great home cooked food, including my dad’s phenomenal lamb lollipops. My whole family loves wine so I’m always looking forward to bringing some great wines home for everyone.
I’m still deciding what I’m going to bring. In my checked bag I can only fit about 9 bottles max with the 50lb weight limit. I have a couple bottles that are gifts, so I can pick around 7 wines to bring. It ends up being a fun elimination game to pick the winners.
Unfortunately I’ve just come down with COVID, tested myself yesterday twice. I’ve had a sore throat for 4-5 days or so, and it was at its worst Thursday and yesterday. Seems to be the tail end, so I’m hoping I’m better in the next couple days. I really don’t want to get anyone sick!
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Good thread. Looking forward to this holiday. We’ll start with some Cremants while cooking, may have a cocktail interlude, then switch to still whites (Chablis, etc) and likely Pinots with dinner, probably a few Oregon 2015s. If the pacing is right, we’ll have a Kopke port with dessert. And water and everything else vitamin-related to mitigate 
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Try to get a Kosher turkey, Trader Joe’s has them.
It is dry brined and will stay moist. I do not add any more salt.
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Five drinkers, six altogether: three of us and two very good friends and their young son.
We’ll start with Diebolt-Vallois ‘Fleur de Passion’ Blanc de Blancs Brut. if we need more white, 2020 V. Dancer Bourgogne Blanc. With the bird, which I rarely make for T-giving, but this year we are trying the NYT Pomegranate Turkey recipe, i will serve either the '05 Giacosa Barberesco Santo Stefano or 2012 Beta Monticello Cab,
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Is it acceptable to Nixon a wine for thanksgiving? Tricky Dick was known for serving plonk at White House dinners while he had a bottle of Ch. Margaux on the side for him.
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my son arrived today… popped two Rhone’s to share with him … 2011 Allemand Reynard and 2014 Juge. Both are excellent, with a Morgan Ranch fillet and a SRF Cowboy steak ! and sharing with him make it even better
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My kind of Thxgiving wines!
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I don’t think it’s good manners. If you open a bottle at table, you’re sharing it with the table.
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Depends on the crowd.
I’m working but if I wasn’t I would typically open nice stuff. We always have small gatherings so some nice burgs and champagne.
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Salt brine and herb stuff the bird 48 hours ahead of time and leave it uncovered in the fridge during that time. When T-day comes around, get that damn bird out 8 hours ahead of cooking to sit on the countertop. When cooking, blast it at 450 for 25 minutes then flip it for 15 minutes. Then take it out of the oven, sit it on the stovetop for 15 minutes while you decrease the oven to 350, then pop it in until the breasts hit temp.
That bird’ll be moist.
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Whatever you’re drinking or doing this Thanksgiving just post a message over here and share a story and a donation will go to charity.
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I only made turkey once in my life before reverting back to ducks, but this is how I make that bird moist.
Season that bird with your favorite spices inside out generously. Make compound butter from all the herbs, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice, spices, and lots of butter. Stuff that bird with sliced onion, orange, lemon, thyme, bay leaves, garlic and seal the bird with a whole big ass onion to keep the moisture. Gently seperate the skin of that bird from the meat but do not remove the skin from the bird. Leave that butter in the fridge to firm up and gently stuff that butter into the cavity between the skin and the meat. Smear the rest of the butter onto the skin thoroughly. 10lb turkey calls for 1lb of butter.
Preheat oven to 400, spray the bird with avocado oil, no EVOO or it will burn. 20 mins in, start basting. Either you wanna baste every 10 mins or if you’re lazy, cover the breast with bacon to keep it moist. Aim for 30 mins of cooking time starting from the first baste/bacon blanket for every 2lb of meat.
Lots of efforts but the bird will be moist.
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