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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
I 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!
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