It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

"Karen AKA Kajikit" wrote in message
...
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Why not a turkey breast? Although they can be pricey.... turkey legs can be
quite wonderful and I've also cooked turkey thighs and loved them. I've
crockpoted a turkey breast with cranberry jel and onion soup mix squished
together and then put on the breast. It sounded weird, but was quite good.
I even made gravy from the turkey, cranberry, onion soup mix stock in the
crockpot and it was delicious.

Lynne

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Cornish game hen? I don't care much about turkey but cornish hens are tasty
little critters I plan to roast one (and use the giblets tucked inside
to make a nice gravy). I'm not going to stuff it but I plan to make some
cornbread dressing and use it to stuff a split, seeded buttercup squash
which will also be roasted.

Jill

On Fri, 10 Nov 2006 02:29:34 -0500, Karen AKA Kajikit
wrote:

It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Crash and I had a very last-minute, two-person, no-money Thanksgiving
a few years back. There was no money to buy anything, but we got
lucky with what was in the freezer.

We roasted a turkey breast and made gravy from canned chicken broth,
sherry, butter, and flour. Made an impromptu bread dressing, some
kind of canned vegetables, and I think we managed to pull off a
pumpkin pie with what we had lying around.

We played Christmas music and danced in the dining room. Best
Thanksgiving, ever. What made it special was that we were together.

If you don't care about the turkey part of this, filet mignon would be
a nice thing to center a meal around.

King's Crown wrote:
"Karen AKA Kajikit" wrote in message
...
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Why not a turkey breast? Although they can be pricey.... turkey legs can be

I second the vote for a turkey breast rather than the whole bird... I
did this a couple years ago when I couldn't make it home to spend the
day with the family. And it's not particulary expensive when you
consider that you're getting solid meat.

Plus, you won't have 18 weeks of left overs...
...fred

Karen AKA Kajikit said...

It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

The brand Jennie-O makes "freezer to oven" turkies with gravy packets.
It's premium priced though but very good, imho. Tryptophans?? They're in
there!!!

I annually donate one with stovetop stuffing, Betty Crocker "real" mashed
potatoes, frozen mixed veggies and Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie to a church,
to give thanks to others.

Andy

Oh pshaw, on Fri 10 Nov 2006 05:17:58a, Jude meant to say...

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Last year, we ordered a large turkey breast from Boston Market. Plus
gravy. I made sides, breads, desserts. That way we could manage turkey
for 2.

Our Thanksgiving dinners are most often for just the 2 of us. Neither of
us like dark meat (in fact, I don't even much care for turkey). Anyway, I
always roast a bone-in turkey breast. It's just enough for nice slices for
the meal and meat for sandwiches. Better than going out.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

(I may not agree with a word you say, but I shall
defend unto my death your right to say it. (Voltaire)

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Last year, we ordered a large turkey breast from Boston Market. Plus
gravy. I made sides, breads, desserts. That way we could manage turkey
for 2.

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Forget restaurants, they don't serve you a very good meal, it's sparse
and they rush you to get out so they can seat the next grouping... the
turkey dinner at the nearest Salvation Army depot iwill be far better
than at any restaurant.

No matter what, if you're going to do some sort of roast then you will
need to go through all the same oven motions... if you don't want a lot
of left overs and don't want to wrestle a large mass of meat then opt
for a smallish hen turkey, they're no higher a difficulty level than a
roaster chicken. You should be able to easily find a hen turkey in the
11-12lb range and they are no differently priced per pound than a
larger turkey. Of course you can always prepare some other kind of
roast; a pork loin, a fresh ham half, even that roasting chicken, but I
think turkey is traditional for Thanksgiving and the Holiday is just
not the same otherwise. And I do just the turkey breast during the
rest of the year but amputated turkey is not very festive looking for a
Thanksgiving dinner... then you may as well buy a couple pounds of
sliced turkey at your local deli counter... in fact many delis will be
selling a complete turkey dinner for as many as you stipulate, but even
that is almost as bad as eating at a restaurant.

I suggest you prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at home, just
roast a small turkey with all the traditional fixings, roast sweet
potatoes, doctored canned gravy if you must, canned cranberry sauce
isn't terrible and can be doctored too... even a box of StoveTop can be
doctored to suit and will be better than what's served at any
restaurant. And don't forget to pick up the pumpkin pie, vanilla ice
cream, and fresh apple cider.

Sheldon

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

Look around for a young turkey. They are not nearly as meaty as a larger
turkey but quite tasty. Typically they are around 8 pounds so it is like
cooking a big chicken. That way you can have a selection of meat and
avoid those tastless turkey breasts. Another method is to just buy a
larger frozen turkey and have them cut it in half on the band saw. You
can freeze one half for later use.

"Wayne Boatwright" wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote in message
28.19...
Oh pshaw, on Fri 10 Nov 2006 05:17:58a, Jude meant to say...

snip..

Our Thanksgiving dinners are most often for just the 2 of us. Neither of
us like dark meat (in fact, I don't even much care for turkey). Anyway, I
always roast a bone-in turkey breast. It's just enough for nice slices
for
the meal and meat for sandwiches. Better than going out.

--
Wayne Boatwright

I love the dark meat on turkey........it's my fav part.

elaine

Oh pshaw, on Fri 10 Nov 2006 07:05:39a, elaine meant to say...

"Wayne Boatwright" wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com wrote in message
28.19...
Oh pshaw, on Fri 10 Nov 2006 05:17:58a, Jude meant to say...

snip..

Our Thanksgiving dinners are most often for just the 2 of us. Neither
of
us like dark meat (in fact, I don't even much care for turkey). Anyway,
I
always roast a bone-in turkey breast. It's just enough for nice slices
for the meal and meat for sandwiches. Better than going out.

--
Wayne Boatwright

I love the dark meat on turkey........it's my fav part.

elaine

I love the dark meat on chicken, but I don't really like turkey at all. I
will eat small amounts of white meat on holidays, but that's it.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

(I may not agree with a word you say, but I shall
defend unto my death your right to say it. (Voltaire)

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.


Others have suggested a turkey breast, but I want to ask, do you like
white meat or dark? If you like dark, as I do, buy a package of 2
turkey thighs. I did this several years ago when Jim caught bronchitis
and we had to cancel out our invitation. He was in no condition to be a
guest, but was strong enough to eat and be out of bed, and I still
wanted a traditional Thanksgiving.


I liked the 2 turkey thigh idea so well that I started making it all the
time until it was no longer special for Thanksgiving. A duck is nice
under those circumstances. It provides leftovers, and duck soup is my
favorite, even over chicken soup and turkey soup.


For vegetables, if you like brussels sprouts, they're perfect for making
in small amounts. If you don't like them, green beans with butter are
nice. Skip the casserole, and just make them on the top of the stove.
An acorn squash bakes nicely for 2 people next to the bird. So do sweet
potatoes.


Instead of a whole apple pie, a small apple crisp is lovely. Or make
pumpkin custard in 2 little souffle dishes instead of rolling out the
crust for a whole pie.


Make sure you get out your best dishes. If you don't drink alcohol,
serve apple cider in your best glasses.


--Lia

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

We'll only be 5 this year, and one of us hates turkeyg. I'm torn
between making the whole bird and filling the freezer with leftovers
and making bird broth, or trying out the turkey breast I got a few
weeks ago. DH likes to do the caveman thing with the legs, so it'll
probably be the latter.

Add to that roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed onions and mushrooms,
something green (salad or cooked veggie), and a couple of fruit sauces
and gravy, and you've got my idea of good. Don't forget the chocolate
something for dessertg

maxine in ri

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:

It looks like it'll be just DH and me this year... no doubt he'll ask
if I want to go out to eat, but we can't afford a Really Nice
Restaurant and cheap places will be overcrowded (and why would I want
to pay good money to eat mass-produced overcooked, oversalted turkey
anyway?)

But I don't think I feel like cooking a turkey just for two people...
what are your suggestions for a special dinner for two? DH likes meat,
and I like veggies, and we can have anything except seafood.

If you don't want to go the breast route, but like the whole roast bird
thing, they have nice big roasting chickens, six pounds are so.



Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)