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| I saw this map on Threads - I have no idea where it came from or how valid it is. |
JENN McKINLAY: Potentially, the most controversial meal of the year in the U.S. is Thanksgiving dinner. Folks can be downright persnickety about what they deem acceptable and here are the top five areas of conflict.
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes?
Mashed!
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)?
Dressing! (mostly because we deep fry our bird)
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked?
See above!
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned?
Canned!!!!!!!!!!!!
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
Why not both and a cake wouldn't be out of line as well.
How about you, Reds? Where do you stand in the debate?
RHYS BOWEN: As one who did not grow up with Thanksgiving I have no strong feelings about anything except sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows. No thank you. Never. Never.
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes? See above
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)? Both. I do sausage stuffing and herbed croutons stuffing both in and out of the bird.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked? Oven roasted. Last year my son dismembered the turkey beforehand and roasted the pieces, removing each when it was done, and thus the breast did not get too dry.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? I don’t mind canned but like the berry one, not the one that looks like dog food.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Apple for me, although the rest of the family likes pumpkin.
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes? I like sweet potatoes. But they are already sweet. I never got the marshmallow/brown sugar thing. Leave mine alone.
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)? Cornbread dressing out of the bird.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked? Oven roasted, but I do like smoked turkey. Son-in-law has a smoker–maybe he could be convinced to try smoking a turkey for Christmas…
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? My homemade cranberry relish is my one non-negotiable TG tradition. It’s an old recipe from Gourmet. Not sure anyone but my daughter and I would really miss it if I didn’t make it, but we love it. She even gave me a special cranberry relish dish a few years ago.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Don’t leave out pecan! I like them all. Hubs doesn’t like pumpkin or pecan, so I try to come up with (do you hear me, Trader Joe’s?) something apple for him. Son-in-law doesn’t like any of the above, requests cheesecake.
1. Mash those russets, please! Though I wish I could find a recipe for sweet potato and apple casserole that we had when I was growing up. IMHOP marshmallows do not belong on dinner plates. Ever.
2. Stuffing IN the bird because otherwise it doesn’t taste like stuffing.
3. Please oven roast that turkey but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at one someone else fried or ‘cued. But then the stuffing would be pallid since it would have to have been separately baked.
4. Canned cranberry sauce. With whole berries. Essential for next-day’s turkey sandwiches.
5 Apple AND pumpkin… AND custard pies… topped with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream. My people have the strongest opinions about this and so we try to please everyone. Leftovers are scant.
6 ADD ON: For my son in law: mashed turnips. It says “home” to him. Peeling a turnip is not for the faint of heart.
Jenn: I hear that. I used to make mashed turnip and carrots for the boys. Oof.
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes? Oh definitely mashed white potatoes! Sweet potatoes have their place, but not under a pile of marshmallows…Yes to the turnips! They can be mixed in with the mashed potatoes…
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)? Out of the bird. Cornbread preferably. Sausage for the carnivores. I think I read years ago that you can get some kind of bug if you stuff the turkey, so I’ve adapted!
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked? Roasted. I will eat the others but not make them.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? Canned. With ridges. No whole berries. Sorry Debs!
Jenn: There's my soulmate in cranberry sauce - jellied. No berries!
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin, with whipped cream. Though I made a fantastic pumpkin cheesecake with caramel sauce a couple years ago. Best of all!
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes? I love mashed potatoes more than I can even describe. With butter, and or bacon bits, or chives, or garlic. Or not, whatever. Ah. LOVE them. Baked sweet potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes are fine, very nice. Not transporting, though.
Marshmallows and whatever else, pineapple? That is –horrible.
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)? Out of the bird. Pepperidge Farm, with celery and onions and butter and I would eat that FOREVER.
No oysters, no sausage, no anything but the most basic of basics.
3. For the turkey: Oven roasted. Just do not mess with this.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? Oh, the kind I make with whole cranberries and sugar and water and triple sec and orange peel. I have never had canned cranberry sauce, and I know this is a thing, but I am so happy that you are happy with it, and I will leave it at that.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin, yes. Because it’s tradition. And a tiny piece of apple. With ice cream, vanilla or coffee. But I just need one bite and then I’d like some more stuffing, please.
1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes? If I only get one, mashed potatoes. How many times a year do we get to make a fluffy, milk-and-butter plumped bowl for an entire ladle worth of gravy?
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)? I serve both, but I prefer dressing. One of the few food textures I dislike is moist or wet bread.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked? I've had deep fried and LOVED it, but there's no way I'm making it at my home. I think it's a dish designed for the southern states, where the weather is still mild on the holiday and they have car parks in which to place the deep fryer and the cooler full of beer.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? Why, thank you, I'd love you to bring your homemade cranberry sauce! Oh, I'm responsible this year? Hope you like it cylindrical and ribbed for your pleasure.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Yes, please. Also, pecan, chocolate chiffon, and caramel-apple trifle.
How about you, Readers? Where do you stand in the debate?
1. Both . . . maple sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes
ReplyDelete2. Dressing . . . never in the turkey
3. Turkey . . . oven roasted
4. Cranberries . . . homemade
5. Dessert . . . both pumpkin pie and mince pie
Maple sweet potatoes sound yummy!
DeleteI agree with you Joan! Hard Sauce for the Mince Pie please! I believe we are a dying breed
Delete*(except for the UK who seems to understand that mince pie and fruitcakes are wonderful!)
Yes to the hard sauce! My husband would be so disappointed if I didn't make mince pie . . . .
DeleteMaple sweet potatoes . . . cut, arrange in baking dish; mix half cup maple syrup with two tablespoons melted butter, one tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Pout maple mixture over potatoes; roast at 400; stir every 15 minutes until done OR cook and mash sweet potatoes; stir in about a quarter cup of maple syrup . . . .
DeleteOh, mince pie! I haven't had that in forever.
DeleteI make my sweet potatoes with peaches and ginger. So yummy!
DeleteI was lucky enough to eat turkey made in a kamado, a ceramic all-in-one barbecue set-up. I also don't know what the basting sauce recipe was but it was delicious. The carcass was saved for making the best turkey rice soup (jook) ever!
ReplyDeleteWe make turkey soup after the turkey is oven roasted. Delicious!
DeleteThat sounds fascinating!
DeleteAs a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats fish), I am mostly limited to watching everyone else eat at the big family dinner. However, I do love mashed potatoes and make a fabulous onion and mushroom gravy. No to the sweetening of sweet potatoes. Dressing, obviously. Cranberries from the can, although if someone else makes the other kind, I'm all in. Dessert? I'm not big on pumpkin pie, so give me the apple please.
ReplyDeleteI'll have a contingent of vegetarians at my table - will you share the mushroom gravy recipe, please?
DeleteSure, Edith, although I don't really use a recipe anymore. I saute onions and sliced baby bella mushrooms, then add 1/2 cup (for 2 people, so adjust measurements accordingly) vegetable broth. In a small Mason jar, I combine one tablespoon of corn starch with another 1/2 cup veggie broth and a teaspoon of browning sauce. Makes sure the lid is tight and shake until the corn starch is dissolved. Pour the thickening mixture into the skillet and stir and simmer until the gravy is the right consistency.
DeleteI should add, the browning sauce is optional.
DeleteThat sounds really good, Annette. And perfect for non-vegetarians who want gravy but aren't roasting or pan frying meat.
DeleteThanksgiving is the only time of the year when I like gravy.
DeleteThis is from my vegetarian daughter who makes this often. She credits allrecipes:
DeleteVegetarian gravy
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons nutritional yeast
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.
Annette and Barbara, thanks for sharing vegan gravy recipes. You just never know when someone will be coming for dinner who doesn't eat meat or dairy.
DeleteThis is great Barbara, I plan to test it out. Looks simple enough too.
DeleteThanks for sharing your recipes, Annette and Barbara! They sound so good!
Delete1. Smashed, so there are still some chunks, plus roasted garlic and loads of butter. Never marshmallows!
ReplyDelete2. Bread dressing, my mom's, with onion, celery, walnuts, and loads of butter. I ladled some turkey stock over to keep it moist.
3. Spatchcocked and dry rubbed turkey, then oven roasted
4. Homemade cranberry sauce
5. Dessert - both, plus pecan!
1. Smashed potatoes, not sweet
DeleteFrom Diana: your bread dressing sounds delicious!
DeleteGotta have chunks!!!
DeleteWell, for 50-plus years I've been a vegetarian, so no more turkey. (Although during the 9 years we lived in Georgia, far from family and family friends, we did a potluck Thanksgiving with local friends who were equally far from family. Rajan's company gave every family (including vegetarian us) a turkey, and so we shared it with our omnivore friends and cooked a lot of Indian dishes to share as well (samosas among them.) Once we returned to California, we did a Thanksgiving potluck at my godfamily's home and brought our veggies while they varied the meat from year to year - turkey, salmon, ham, you name it. There was always lots of good stuff for us (dressing, no matter what meat, mashed potatoes, my godmother's homemade cranberry sauce, great salads, our dishes, and then pecan pie and pumpkin pie, and often I took a cheese cake.) In my Turkey-eating days, growing up, we always had a roasted turkey and stuffing and the canned cranberry sauce, which I really liked, plus mashed potatoes. Now that we're in Portugal, we do our side of the godfamily potluck dinner , i.e. minus the meat and dressing (and minus the cranberry sauce, as Thanksgiving is not a thing here.)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, when I host big holiday dinners, I include vegetarian quiches and a hearty vegan soup. I know some friends fall into one of those two camps, and they're tasty enough everyone likes them.
DeleteI put my vegan sweet potato soup recipe below.
DeleteThose dinners sound amazing, Elizabeth!
DeleteActually, like Annette, I'm pesctarian, so I do eat the salmon. (I love salmon!)
ReplyDeleteSalmon is always a good choice.
DeletePersnickety, non-conforming answers…but MY best Thanksgiving Dinner. 1. Baked in their jackets sweet potatoes 2. Corn bread stuffing just the bread, no veggies or gizzard pieces, please. Baked with the bird, which needs must be turkey. 3. Oven roasted, thigh and leg pieces…breasts and wings ugh. 4. Canned, jellied cranberry sauce because it is such fun to whoosh out of the can. I don’t eat either style cranberry sauce. 5. Apple — as my mother and grandmother made it: plain apples unsealed top crust that poofs up into a lovely dome. After baking, but while still hot, remove top crust (in one piece, takes skill), stir in butter, sugar, and spice gently turning the apple slices into applesauce, replace top crust. If crust breaks during this process, serve ala mode with chocolate ice cream. Whole meal served with love and gratitude. May we be thankful. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThat pie sounds amazing and very challenging, Elisabeth!
Delete1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes?
ReplyDeleteI serve both, but a few years back I went to baking sweet potatoes for those who like them to cut down on sugar.
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)?
Dressing and we like it to have a crust.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked?
Oven roasted but I can see my husband wanting to smoke one.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned? Slid out of the can and served as is with ridges and all.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
I make both, but eat apple. Or sometimes the apple pie is a chocolate Dream pie instead.
From Diana: One year someone brought your type of chocolate pie to thanksgiving dinner.
DeleteI like the chocolate change up, Brenda!
Delete1. Mashed potatoes
ReplyDelete2. NO to either.
3. Oven roasted
4. Canned
5. Apple
This is the right answer according to the Constitution of Jaylandia!
Jay, you are blessed to have good health and that you are able to eat canned cranberry sauce despite the high sugar!
DeleteMy doctor might dispute the good health part. But I generally only eat the cranberry sauce on Turkey Day so I'm not going to pass up the chance to eat what I like on Big Meal Day!
DeleteNo stuffing? Hmmm. I'm not sure i can wrap my head around that. LOL.
DeleteJenn, while others may like stuffing, I find it gross and distracting from the actually worthwhile foods to be had on Thanksgiving.
DeleteOmigod, Julia. I spit out my coffee at "ribbed, for your pleasure"!
ReplyDelete1. Both: Mashed potatoes is everyone's favorite. Sweet potatoes are mine and Steve's. Plus, a friend gifts us roughly 20# of his homegrown sweets each fall. I'll make a casserole with pecans.
2. Dressing: I am not a fan of any kind, but all three of my kids insist on Stovetop. So I make them do that part.
3. Turkey: this year we will have a Butterball in the oven, and a smoked wild turkey Steve shot on our farm in the spring. His smoked turkey is divine.
4. Cranberries: I like them all. This year we will have both the canned jellied type and a cooked fresh one.
5. Dessert: for the Halloween party I made two pumpkin sheet pies (it was a huge success, if you're looking for a fall dessert for a big crowd). We had a whole one left, so I froze it for this week. And I'll make apple crisp. My favorite is chocolate bourbon pecan, but the only other family member who likes it is my mother, and we rarely have Thanksgiving together, since she lives with my brother.
What green veggies do you all like? I have a bunch of lettuce growing under covers in the garden, so we will offer a fresh salad, and I'll be roasting Brussels sprouts, too. We are not a green bean casserole family.
Reply
I should mention that I'm making so many different varieties of dishes because my nephew and his family are coming to dinner for the first time, and they are notoriously picky eaters.
DeleteKaren, will trade sweet potato soup recipe for pumpkin sheet pie recipe. 🥧 🍲
DeleteDiana, a fruit salad is always a good idea! (Jenn, see what I did there?)
DeleteKaren, I adore Brussel sprouts, that's a great choice. Do you have a special recipe you can share?
DeleteMe-too for the pumpkin sheet pie recipe. Do you use real pumpkin or canned?
DeleteJudy, this is the sheet pie recipe I used. There are a bunch of them around, but it seems I picked a good one. One pan cut into approximately 3" squares easily fed 45 or so guests, as a late-night supper sweet ending. https://littlesunnykitchen.com/pumpkin-slab-pie/
DeleteElizabeth, my personal favorite Brussels sprouts recipe is Brussels Sprouts Cockaigne from the Joy of Cooking. Halve the sprouts, then saute' minced garlic in half butter/half olive oil. Add sprouts, and cook over medium heat with lid on the pan until the veggies are softened, then remove lid and allow the sprouts to caramelize. So good. We will probably also roast some this year, with balsamic vinegar, since that is how my oldest daughter and her family prefer them.
Judy, looking forward to the sweet potato soup recipe. Reference 20# stash above.
Scroll down, i put it below.
DeleteMargo, this used canned pumpkin, but I'm sure you can make your own. I was making dinner and dessert for 50, so I cut some corners!
DeleteWe do green beans with chooped bacon - Hub likes to zhuzh the veggies.
Delete1. Mashed potatoes usually served at big thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. However I am NOT a fan of mashed potatoes 🙄. I am thinking of baking sweet potato casserole. I found a recipe though I’m concerned about the sugar. Onset of menopause means I have to limit daily sugar consumption to less than 25 grams per day!
ReplyDelete2. Stuffing is my favourite! Often there are two types —- vegetarian stuffing and regular stuffing at big gatherings before Covid.. Love both! I think I had both stuffing and dressing?
3. Turkey 🦃 is oven roasted
4. By mistake I bought canned cranberry sauce and yikes!!! 48 grams of sugar! And my daily limit is 25 grams! Luckily I also bought cranberries and already made cranberry sauce at home. All ready for thanksgiving dinner.
5. Love pumpkin pie. Even love pumpkin spice coffee. Forgot to buy the gluten free pie crust this year . This year it will be pumpkin muffins instead. Love apple pie too. Before COVID, at gatherings for thanksgiving, there are pumpkin pie, apple pie, berry pie and pecan pie.
Diana, look into coconut sugar for your sweetener. It has a much lower glycemic rating than white sugar.
DeleteKaren in Ohio, thank you! I have coconut sugar and I can try that instead of brown sugar?
DeleteWould coconut sugar work for sweet potato casserole?
DeleteYes, easily, to both questions. Coconut sugar is already brownish in color. It's not as sweet as cane sugar.
DeleteIt's been years since I made a Thanksgiving dinner (Irwin and I are going to a restaurant, just us two), but if I were to do one:
ReplyDeleteSweet potato soup (exquisite! Serve hot or cold. Adjust spices to taste!)
Mashed potatoes
Dressing and stuffing (Lucy, remove the stuffing immediately after you take the bird out. Keep it hot!) I've made many recipes so I'll decide soon which ones.
Oven roasted
I like any kind of cranberry sauce and will served canned, but if someone wants to bring homemade, fine.
Pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate cake, ice cream and whipped cream available
Recipe for sweet potato soup, please? That sounds delicious!
DeleteSure, Diana. I'll share it in about a half hour.
DeleteI'd like the sweet potato soup recipe, too.
DeleteJudy, look forward to getting your sweet potato soup recipe. thank you!
DeleteI love a butternut bisque but you're talking me into a sweet potato soup!
DeleteCanadian Thanksgiving was on October 14 (late this year) and I did not celebrate at all since my taste buds were MIA.
ReplyDeleteStill, here's my non-confirmist answers.
1. Neither, just include 2
2. Stuffing. I use my mom's sausage-bread stuffing recipe.
3. Oven roasted turkey
4. Neither. We never ate any cranberry sauce with turkey
5. Only time of year I eat pumpkin pie but I prefer a bumbleberry pie ifvI xan find it.
Grace, your thanksgiving dinner sounds delicious! Recipe for your pie?
DeleteMay I ask what is bumbleberry pie?
DeleteIt is a mixed berry pie. Some bumbleberry recipes also include rhubarb and apples but I look for pies with a mix of 3 berries: strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
DeleteYour mixed berries pie sounds delicious! I learned something new today! A bumbleberry pie is mixed berries pie.
DeleteGrace, While living in Oregon, we discovered Willamette Valley Farms berries and pies, grown
Deleteand made locally! Their frozen pies are now available in many areas & if I am not mistaken
can be ordered on-line and mailed! Their "Bumbleberry Pie" is wonderful, as are ALL
of their pies!
Lucky you! I can buy freshly made bumbleberry pies at our farmers markets and/or one supermarket (Farm Boy).
DeleteBerry pie would be fabulous!
DeleteMashed potatoes with plenty of butter! I would love mashed rutabagas! But I'm the only one that would eat them. Mashed squash is also good and we have it every year. (No sweet potato anything.)
ReplyDeleteEither stuffing or dressing
Prefer oven roasted, but if you are the chef, do it your way
Canned
Not fussy about kind of pie, but we usually have a choice. This year, just for fun, I am also baking a cake.
Question: what is the deal with mac and cheese? My son said we'll also be having that because "it is traditional!" Huh. Thought he grew up in my house. Just doesn't seem right if you are already having mashed potatoes.
Loved Mac and cheese before I had allergies. Never liked mashed potatoes.
DeleteJudi, one of my sons-in-law grew up having mac and cheese for Thanksgiving. He makes a KILLAH smoked mac and cheese that is a heart attack on a plate, but oh, my, is it fabulous. No, I don't have a recipe. He guards it with his life.
DeleteJudi, I have been seeing mac & cheese on a lot of these types of “surveys” and don’t get it either. Maybe in the South it’s traditional? Loved your “thought he grew up in my house” line! Is there, perhaps, a significant other in his life whose “traditions” have now become his? — Pat S
DeleteWe do mac and cheese because it the Hooligan's and my MIL's favorite - has to be from scratch tho -- NEVER out of a box.
DeleteThis is what we have for Thanksgiving:
ReplyDeleteOven roasted turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing (not in the bird)
Salad
Rolls
Sometimes French Green beans (without canned creamed soup and fried onions UGH)
Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream
Real cranberries cooked on the stove top. Sometimes I include jellied cranberries too.
Perfection.
Delete1. Mashed white potatoes with any delicious thing my daughter chooses to add + cream cheese. Sweet potato soup as first course 2. Stuffing always outside the bird add turkey stock for flavor. Type varies from year to year. 3. Bird is broken down (cut up) dark meat smoked, breast is roasted. 4. 2 cranberry sherbet home made from my great grandmothers recipe and cranberry chutney (vegan in the style of chutney from India) Recipe created last night and passed the picky eater test. 5. Simple ice cream pie. a. chocolate crumb crust filled with peppermint ice cream b. graham cracker crust filled with pumpkin ice cream. Note. We don't eat this all at once. For feasting times, we eat one day at time course soup salad main sherbet desert. snack snack snack.
ReplyDeleteCranberry chutney sounds delicious.
Delete1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes?
ReplyDeleteMashed! This year we’re sharing cooking duties with 2 of our BFFs (we’ve been having Thanksgiving dinner together for years) so she’s doing sweet potatoes (no marshmallows ever!) and I’m making scalloped potatoes with heavy cream and Asiago cheese.
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)?
Dressing!
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked?
Over roasted. And the carcass for turkey stock!
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned?
A homemade cranberry orange relish (one year I forgot my cranberry relish and the jellied cranberry sauce for the in-laws and no one noticed)
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
My BFF makes a pumpkin pie from a sugar pumpkin that is always delicious and not too sweet. I make a pear-ginger pie, and someone usually brings cookies.
We have had years when the cranberry can never made it out of the cupboard and we didn’t notice until after.
DeleteI, too, have forgotten the cranberry sauce and no one noticed. LOL.
Delete1) Both--though we just did sweet potatoes when I was growing up. Not sweet potato casserole, simply boiled sweet potatoes with butter. Delicious. No no no to marshmallows and brown sugar.
ReplyDelete2) Both, though this year it will just be dressing outside the bird.
3) Oven roasted (at 9-1-1 we used to have bets on when and from which part of town our first oven fire call of the day would come from on Thanksgiving)
4) Homemade
5)Pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and some other pie (hopefully berry)
my Mum and Aunt would eat left over whipped cream for breakfast the morning after thanksgiving dinner!
Deletewhen they were young children...
DeleteI personally can't wait to have pie for breakfast.
Delete1. Both
ReplyDelete2. Dressing
3. Smoked
4. Canned
5. Pumpkin
And dinner rolls for WV? Nope. How bout homemade noodles?
My 11 year old granddaughter loves pasta so we'll for sure have that just for her, with olive oil and salt only!
DeleteOooh, homemade noodles? I'd make room for that.
Delete1. mashed potatoes
ReplyDelete2. Dressing - my favorite
3. Turkey - oven roasted (like Edith, spatchcocked and dry rubbed)
4. Cranberries ribbed for my pleasure. I think I was 35 before I knew there was another way.
5. We were a pumpkin pie family, my husband’s was pecan. For a few years we got apricot and I really like that.
Oooh, I love eating apricots but have never seen/tried an apricot pie!
DeleteOne of the benefits of California. There used to be a restaurant off the 5 in the Central Valley, I think called the Apricot Inn. Everything on the menu was apricot. It was a favorite place to stop on that long trip.
DeleteI just really love the word spatchcocked. :)
Delete1.Mashed! No marshmallows allowed!
ReplyDelete2. Dressing, we usually do a large turkey, so stuffing is not safe!
3. Oven roasted to perfection!
4. Homemade whole berry cranberry sauce.
5. Apple and pecan pies. I used to make a homemade pumpkin (no canned junk) but stopped a few years ago, no one misses it! We make pumpkin muffins instead!
Now I want pecan pie...sigh.
DeleteRoasted Turkey. Mashed potatoes (with skins and garlic), mashed sweet potatoes (with Jamaican jerk spices), both homemade and canned cranberry sauce, sometimes inside (stuffing) and outside (dressing)….this year just dressing.
ReplyDeleteThe Jamaican jerk sweet potatoes sound amazing!
DeleteI'm with Lisa! Jamaican Jerk spices sound fabulous.
DeleteTo start off, you need to know that we have our Thanksgiving in October, so my palate is not slobbering, BUT
ReplyDelete1) I thought mashed potatoes were not a side, but a required – where else are you going to have a need for all that gravy, some of which just might flow over to other places on your plate? That alone makes it mandatory, and any other variation on the potato theme, would be for something for another meal.
2. Stuffing IN the bird unless you are deep-frying it, otherwise it doesn’t taste like stuffing. We had a new recipe this year for stuff cooked outside the bird (in a slow cooker, so saved on stove area needed) for our Thanksgiving too-crispy critter, and it was very tasty.
3. Canadian Thanksgiving when we can do it outdoors, the deep-fried version is good. Christmas it needs to be cooked in the oven. Deep-fried means you get French fries or poutine – no mashed.
4. Have no use for cranberry sauce but it always looks so good poking out from a post meal sandwich. Make my own. We also serve hot pepper, and spiced apple jelly – both are mandatory. As are olives.
5. Apple and pumpkin – very little cinnamon in the apple, lots of spices in the pumpkin. Have the pumpkin on the main day (and for breakfast the next morning, slathered in whipped cream), and the apple is with the hot turkey sandwich on day 2.
6. Vegetables – mashed turnips with a touch of carrot – water is needed for gravy – it adds the best flavour, Brussels sprouts – yes!, candied sweet potatoes – no marshmallows and sticky enough to pull teeth, and if you can get any without having to mortgage the house, some cauliflower. No bean-slop, and no mac and cheese.
7. By the way for Christmas, it needs to be plum pudding and hard sauce. No trifle, no cheesecake, no yulelog. The trick is to hide the hard sauce (it needs at least a day to mellow) so there are no finger-holes through it before the meal.
Margo, my mother always made candied sweet potatoes from canned sp's, with lots of butter, and white and brown sugar. I still have the same kind of Corningware pan she made it in, although no one here would eat it now.
DeleteOoh, plum pudding and hard sauce. Yes, please!
DeleteMashed potatoes and recently sweet potatoes for a grandson who doesn’t like mashed (no marshmallows).
ReplyDeleteSausage stuffing both in the bird and roasted separately (for flavor- in the turkey & roasted separately for the crunch) then mixed together.
Oven roasted turkey and probably no cranberry. I like a couple bites of fresh cranberry orange relish and my husband prefers the canned but no one else eats it so I’m going to skip it this year.
Pies- pumpkin, mile-high apple with caramel sauce and maybe pecan.
All of your pies sound wonderful!!
DeleteCaramel sauce!!! Yum.
DeleteI like the mixing of the stuffing for texture.
DeleteCarrot, Apple, Red Lentil Soup
ReplyDelete3 Tablespoons corn oil (any cooking oil that you like is fine)
2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
3 Large Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Apple, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion (I use a large sweet onion, but you choose what you like)
½ cup of Red Lentils (They completely dissolve)
½ tsp. fresh minced ginger
½ tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp salt (I omit this)
*½ tsp. Ground Cumin
½ tsp. Chili Powder
½ tsp. Paprika
4 cups veggie broth (32 oz.) **I always make my own broth!
Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onion and sauté until it is translucent.
Add sweet potato, carrots and apple. Cook for around 10 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.
Stir in lentils, ginger, cumin, chili powder, paprika, and broth, increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat back to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Puree in batches or use your immersion blender!
This soup is vegan but you can top it with yogurt or sour cream.
*Note: The spices in this recipe make a mild and lovely flavored soup, but I increase all of them by a lot. I double all of them, excluding the black pepper, and add ½ teaspoon of Half-sharp Paprika. I will use a lot more fresh-ginger.
Taste the soup before you puree it and see what else you want, so go slow. Ooo-la-la!
**To make my own simple vegetable broth, I take the peelings and ends of all the veggies I use in a recipe and boil them in about 6 cups of water while I am making the soup. Then I just strain them into the soup.
Judy Singer
Thanks, Judy! This sounds delicious!
Delete2 more tips, Karen: I haven't used the sweet potato peels in the broth, but I think it would be fine. I scrub the carrots and potatoes before I peel them. This soup is delicious served as a cold soup in the summer!
DeleteJudy,
DeleteSound delicious, my daughter love lentils so we will most likely try this when she is down visiting this week.
Sounds delish, Judy! Will try it for my soup rotation.
DeleteThis sounds amazing!
DeleteThis soup sounds fabulous! Thanks, Judy!
DeleteYou are all very welcome. One more thing about this soup, you could change the entire flavor profile by adding spices you'd prefer to have on sweet potatoes. I would think that you could even turn it into a dessert soup if you chose to do so. How adventuresome are you?
Deleteis this carrot soup also sweet potato soup?
DeleteSorry, the title got cut off and I didn't notice that "Sweet Potato" disappeared when I transferred the recipe to the blog. This is the sweet potato soup recipe.
DeleteI'm from Kentucky and have never had hashbrown casserole. My mother-in-law served dressing, dumpling, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (baked not casserole), macaroni and cheese and at least two green vegetables with her turkey.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of hashbrown casserole. Seems like an Iowa thing.
Delete1. Both!
ReplyDelete2. Both
3. Deep fried
4. I’ll pass
5. Both!!
LOL!
DeleteMashed sweet potatoes with orange juice and maple syrup. Roasted turkey with stuffing in the bird and a pan in the oven. I make fresh cranberry relish. No canned cranberries. I don’t hav a strong view on pies but will be making an almond apple cake.
ReplyDeleteOooh, you had me at cake.
DeleteI have to disagree with the map! I don't know who they surveyed in Texas, but I have never seen anyone eat creamed corn as a TG side!
ReplyDelete81 years in Central Texas, I completely agree Deborah. Never had creamed corn at TG.
DeleteI've never seen creamed corn IRL - LOL.
DeleteJenn, I wish I had never seen creamed corn IRL! — Pat S
DeleteJudy, your soup sounds delicious for anytime!
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest, mashed potatoes are my preference, but this year a friend is bringing sweet potatoes, I seriously hope with no added anything! Additionally, roasted turkey; either stuffing or dressing, but only Mom's recipe with all the goodies, bread, oysters, sausage, wild rice, mushrooms; giblet gravy, cranberry relish (whole berries, whole orange, cored apple and pear, sweetened with honey to taste), roasted carrots or brussels sprouts. As for desserts, we always have pumpkin for some other family members, but I much prefer apple or other fruit pie. Grace's bumbleberry sounds delightful.
I don't think I've ever had stuffing with oysters. Hmmm.
DeleteMy dad made oyster dressing every year. I don’t think he ever offered it to the rest of us.
DeleteOh, oyster dressing--caused a massive uproar in my family! If I may be so bold: tell the whole story on my newsletter...:-) hankphillippiryan.com/contact
Delete1. Mashed! But baked sweet potato with cinnamon and butter is good too!
ReplyDelete2. Either, but the crispy top from the oven is great!
3. Oven roasted but the one I did on my Weber kettle was amazing (and cooked much faster).
4. Canned, jellied!
5. Apple Pie! (Thanksgiving dessert is pie!)
Yes, I do feel that dessert has to be pie.
Delete1. Mashed potatoes please! Sweet potato casserole with a crunchy pecan topping only comes around on Thanksgiving, so I'll have a small helping!
ReplyDelete2. Don't care about the stuffing--too many other foods to make room for. Mom always did stuffing, until B-I-L showed up. Then she added dressing, plain.
3. Don't care about the turkey--always oven-roasted.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce would be good, but I'd be the only one eating it. No thanks to the canned variety.
5. Dessert - any pie is welcome if I don't have to bake it. I like to make pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. Or soft pumpkin cookies also with cream cheese frosting.
And this year, gasp, we're not even having turkey, stuffing, etc. I'm making youngest nephew's favorite meal and his dad will be bringing the pumpkin pie and whipped cream.
"Any pie is welcome" - my new life mantra!
DeleteDeana here......
ReplyDelete1. Mashed potatoes please.
2. Dressing on the side. We use the broth being created from cooking the giblets. We also add oysters to our dressing.
3. Oven roasted please.
4. Homemade cranberry relish please. You know, it just a bag of picked over cranberries, a chopped-up whole orange, with its peel, put through a food mill and sugar to taste. I have Ninja blender which does a great job of grinding the orange. I also make a cranberry green chile (or jalapeno) sauce that has brown sugar and vinegar. I have a jar of each sitting in my hotel room refrigerator right now.
5. I really like pumpkin pie best. That said, I've made a apple, pear, cranberry tarte tatin. (sp?)
I love pumpkin pie for breakfast the next morning :)
DeleteMom did too. Veggie, eggs, milk - basic food groups covered
DeleteGrowing up we always had mashed potatoes AND sweet potatoes baked with those yucky marshmallows, green beans, macaroni and cheese, oven roasted turkey, dressing (Pepperidge Farm mix with onions, celery and chopped meat from the organ meats of the turkey, canned cranberry sauce with those wonderful ridges Julia mentioned and dinner rolls. Dessert was pumpkin pie with whipped cream topping. I know we kid about the ridges on the cranberry sauce, but as a child I took great pride in getting that sauce out of the can in one piece and then slicing it into service pieces. I loved the ridges! -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteMe, too. I thought the ridges were to show you where to slice it.
Delete1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes?
ReplyDeleteI love a sweet potato casserole with pecans and brown sugar
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)?
Dressing! Add oysters please, and no fruit.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked?
We do it all the ways, but this year will be fried.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned?
Canned
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
Neither. Pecan.
I do love a pecan pie - I usually make Trisha Yearwood's recipe - sooo good!
DeleteIt's always fun to see what people become devoted to you. My husband wondered for years about why a turkey ( or chicken) was not crispy all the way around like his mother's was. Then he realized she used a bulky space-eating (annoying) appliance called a rotisserie.So he got one! And he does the turkey every year. Crispy on all sides. So that means the stuffing is cooked separately.(We use Pepperidge Farm) And we have some form of sweet potatoes (NO marshmallow), homemade cranberry sauce ( I experiment). My family actually prefers cherry pie and I make one using canned, sour, water packed cherries. A chocolate pies in some form usually shows up too. Lots terrible going on this world this year, but i have been sick and am better, and all 3 grandkids will be at our table. So - thanks for that and wishing you all the very best too.(however you define it)
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving, Triss!
DeleteThank you
DeleteSweet potatoes and apples-a long standing dish my mother made.
ReplyDeleteHallie, perhaps this is what you are looking for:
Cut the sweet potatoes into slices about an inch thick. Alternate it with a layer of apples quartered.
then sprinkle brown sugar and pour some maple syrup over each set of layers.
Continue alternating until casserole pan is full.
Cover and bake until both the sweet potatoes and apples are soft. As it cooks, baste occasionally.
Roasted turkey with no stuffing or dressing. This year it’s going to be turkey wings for me.
In the past there were some other alternatives such as duck and goose.
The goose didn’t have a lot of meat. To me, it tasted like roast beef.
Cranberry sauce, either jellied or berry. Have also cooked the cranberries with frozen strawberries.
The sweetness of the strawberries pairs well with the tartness of the cranberries.
Growing up, it was always squash, custard and apple pies. I haven’t seen squash pie in years.
This year it will be a cherry pie with a lattice crust. I just happened to see it and it reminded me of a
bakery that made cherry and apricot pies, I hope this one is as good.
Ooh, that sounds delicious!
DeleteAnon, your sweet potatoes and apple casserole sounds delicious! I might try it this year. — Pat S
DeleteSo I forgot to mention the map. Granddad was from Kansas we never had creamed corn. Grandma tried it once, at a non-Thanksgiving meal and it was a complete bust, yuck. Grandma was from Oklahoma, we never had baked potatoes.
ReplyDeleteHa! I've never had creamed corn in my life and don't plan to!
Delete1. Mashed Potatoes
ReplyDelete2. Dressing out of the birid
3. Oven roasted is probably my favorite, but I like it all three ways
4. Canned with the ridges
5. Pumpkin (but only how my daughter or I make it) and also pecan, although this year a friend's daughter is making some cherry pie for us (she's selling baked goods for Thanksgiving)
Oh, yum on the cherry, Kathy!
DeleteCherry pie is a fave of mine. Yum.
DeleteAmerican in Canada here. We tend to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with food and American Thanksgiving with phone calls to family. Our meal: Roast white potatoes with gravy and mashed sweets; leg of lamb, brussel sprouts, homemade cranberry sauce with maple syrup and cinamon, and ice cream from the corner shop.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that cranberry sauce sounds amazing.
DeleteMy family has mashed potatoes and two types of sweet potatoes. My family has one we love (layers of sweet potatoes and apples baked together with raisins and cinnamon sprinkled in as well), but my sister-in-law and her family had the more traditional sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. At this point, after 20 years of celebrating Thanksgiving together, this is what we all love and expect. It's weird, but it's the new tradition.
ReplyDeleteThere are never too many potatoes. I might be the outlier but I love marshmallows on my sweet potatoes.
Delete1. Baked sweet potatoes. Served whole in their skins. Don't need to do a thing else.
ReplyDelete2. Cornbread dressing in a pan.
3. Turkey? Smoked or roasted.
4. Raw cranberry relish with pecans and oranges.
5. Pumpkin for sure, but others to "sample."
Sampling is always important.
DeleteWe have eaten at a restaurant that serves an amazing Thanksgiving feast buffet for years so they covered most of the options mentioned (except deep fried turkey). This year we decided to stay home and, since it’s only the two of us, I’m making Cornish game hens. But to answer the survey questions:
ReplyDelete1. Mashed potatoes and sometimes sweet potatoes.
2. Dressing
3. Oven roasted
4. Jellied cranberry sauce with ridges, please. (And I, too, loved Julia’s “ribbed for your pleasure” line!)
5. My husband likes pumpkin, I like pecan so usually I get an apple with some kind of extra thing (berries, rhubarb, whatever I can find). — Pat S
From Kim Hays: I also love pecan pie, Pat!
DeleteWe went out to a cabin in the Greer, AZ for one of our Thanksgivings and I made Cornish game hens. It's still one of my fave Thanksgivings!
DeleteJust before I quit and wait for the phone call - nothing ever gets fixed correctly from the telephone co. - In Newfoundland, the 'side' for the turkey is Jigg's Dinner. For the uninitiated that is boiled salt beef, potatoes, turnip and often pease pudding - mess of dried peas in a bag and cooked in the water. It is served along with the turkey at the table. the water is used to make the gravy. and all of it mixed with the turkey meal leftovers is made into hash the next day, over which is poured the gravy. My brother who married a Newfoundlander says it is delicious. Well maybe, we will see, as we going to theirs for Christmas. 911 is predialed on my phone...
ReplyDeleteWow! I will expect a full report at Christmas, Margo!
Delete1. Sweet potato casserole or mashed potatoes?
ReplyDeleteMashed, always mashed
2. Stuffing (in the bird) or dressing (out of the bird)?
Dressing, especially since we've downsized to a turkey breast.
3. For the turkey: oven roasted, deep fried, or smoked?
Oven roasted. I used to brine it, now it's done draped with a butter-soaked cheese-cloth, a tip courtesy of Hank.
4. Homemade cranberry sauce or canned?
I prefer homemade, but everyone else likes canned (or none) so canned it is.
5 Dessert: Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
I usually do both, but this year's attendees have only requested apple. The Girl, who is the die-hard pumpkin fan, will be with The Very Nice Boyfriend and his family in OBX.
Thanksgiving in OBX - well done, Girl. LOL.
DeleteWe’re having a smallish Thanksgiving this year because Mom is still recovering from knee replacement.
ReplyDelete1. Both. Mashed potatoes are required and so is our sweet potato soufflé. No marshmallows, it has a pecan streusel on top.
2. Stuffing
3. Oven roasted
4. Homemade
5. Dad would mutiny without pumpkin pie. Some years with more guests we’ll make apple, pecan, etc. I am making an apple cake with brown sugar buttercream.
I don’t know if any of our neighbors here in Georgia are having collard greens but we definitely are not.
Thanksgiving in Canada is in October 🍁
ReplyDelete1. Mashed!
2. Stuffing (in the bird)!
3. For the turkey: oven roasted!
4. Homemade cranberry sauce!
5. Dessert: Pumpkin pie!
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends on November 28th this year!
I am now swooning over the thought of cherry pie. I always forget about it, but it is so wonderful. and I am loving ALL of these responses!
ReplyDeleteMashed potatoes with gravy and sweet potato casserole, Roasted Turkey Stuffing separate, Pumpkin, Apple, Pecan pies and Pineapple lime jello and fruit salad
ReplyDelete