So let's talk Thankgiving

[Mommyof1]

What is a must have for it to be Thanksgiving to you?

 

Stuffing, plain normal stuffing and turkey.

 

Pumpkin pie

[J-rap]

Sweet potatoes

[bettyandbob]

Apple pie

[displace]

Roasted vege with apple butter- sweet potato, carrots, butternut squash, onions.

[meganrussell]

Family.

[Selkie]

Pumpkin pie - that's the only traditional Thanksgiving food that I like. Dh loves turkey and mashed potatoes, so I always make those for him.

[Sandwalker]

Cranberry sauce, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie.

[MEmama]

Pumpkin pie. DS makes the BEST. :)

 

We don't care about the other foods, anything goes. It's not really a holiday in our home.

[HomeAgain]

Our menu changes based on location.  We've lived where pumpkin is savory or not spiced, where people grill for the holidays, where it's almost impossible to get traditional fare.  So we do local favorites and give thanks for the opportunities to experience so much. :)

[creekland]

If we are making Thanksgiving dinner we always have a Butterball stuffed turkey (we stuff it - sage based stuffing), mashed potatoes, home made gravy (from the turkey juices), cranberry sauce (bought), potato rolls (bought), and garden peas if we still have any frozen - bought if we don't.

 

We don't have pies, sweet potatoes, or green bean casseroles or similar.  I'm not as fond of those and no one else wants to cook them, so...

 

BUT, I can't say any of that is a "must have."

 

Most years we've gone to my grandma's house and everyone brings something.  If it's ever been on a thanksgiving buffet (and even if it hasn't), it's probably there.  That's yummy.  It's just not a "must have" since we don't do it when we're alone.

 

Then, due to family circumstances the past few years we've been getting together with extended family at a restaurant - and that works too.  ;)  I wouldn't care if it's Chinese - it's not - but I'd feel the same if it were.

 

So... like a PP, I think it boils down to the "Must Have" being some sort of family or friends.  (My kids have done Thanksgiving with friends when they can't make it home and they enjoy that.)

[JFSinIL]

Smoked grilled turkey. Hubby has been doing the bird on the Weber for years now, it not only tastes very good done that way, but frees up the oven for other things. I so miss having a double wall oven like in my childhood home - why did they stop installing those? I could not fit one in this 1906 kitchen anyway :-(
Anyway - also expected for past few years are:

homemade cranberry/orange sauce. Hubby , BIL Tom and one kid will eat this.
pilaf with wild rice, brown and white rice, etc. Forget not the toasted pecan bits on your peril!
mashed taters. Boxed gravy (I let Trader Joe make it).
sweet taters somehow, perhaps roasted in chunks with other root veggies since I can use my oven thanks to the Weber :-) But only hubby and Uncle Tom eat these things.
plain white rice/steamed broccoli/multi-color Jello salad - all so son with autism will have something he likes to eat
crescent rolls from the pop and fresh dude - used to do homemade but no one cared.
pumpkin pie, fresh whipped cream made at the last minute
small chocolate cake (again, son with autism)
more desserts, you surely did not expect us to stop at two?

the only variety now is what extra veggie I might make that I like - perhaps garlicky roasted Brussels sprouts?

Oh yeah - and stuffing! Stovetop is fine. Use some of the same sauteed veggies/nuts that go into the pilaf. Only self and the girls eat stuffing.

Christmas is always beef tenderloin(s). A local Italian store runs specials on them and folks stock up as soon as they hit the cold bins near the butcher. In those big heavy plastic bags, so they keep a while. Still pricey, but solid meat, no waste - and roast in less than 40 minutes. Then everyone expects the same pilaf/roll/taters etc. but I aim for a different veggie for hubby and BIL.

Edited October 23, 2017 by JFSinIL

[medawyn]

My must have other than turkey and mashed potatoes is my grandmother's cranberry salad. Fresh cranberries, green apples, oranges, pecans, celery, sugar, and marshmallows if you are in to that sort of thing. (I'm not, because leftovers are the best part, and marshmallows don't make great leftovers.)

 

Last year we were on our own for Thanksgiving, and while I'd rather not do it again - I miss family and friends- I did love having my own turkey to play with; stock and soup and casserole and enchiladas! I'm contemplating sticking a turkey in my freezer for December.

[Kassia]

Family.  I don't really care about the food.  I love stuffing.  My sons love mashed potatoes.  I always make homemade cranberry sauce for all of us except for dd because she prefers the canned.  I'm the only one who likes turkey so we've had corned beef for many years, but we may not this year...we'll see.  But family is the best and what I'm most thankful for.  

[BarbecueMom]

What is a must have for it to be Thanksgiving to you?

 

Norovirus.

[Word Nerd]

Turkey and stuffing are musts for me.

[OneStepAtATime]

Overall?  Being with family.

 

Foodwise?  Because we do a large extended family thing including both DH's and my family we have a fairly large menu and I have come to look forward to 75% of it over the years.  My consistent favorites:

 

MIL's Sherbet punch/Turkey

Mom's Green Bean Casserole/Glazed Ham

Brother's Giblet Gravy

Son's Pumpkin Pie

BILs' Strawberry Cheesecake

My Stuffing/Fresh fruit salad/Dinner rolls/Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole

SIL's Sweet Potato Casserole

 

Other dishes are o.k. like the corn but the things above I really look forward to.  Other dishes rotate and change every year so I also look forward to seeing and trying what is new.

 

Other than that, Thanksgiving is also when all the family in my generation get together and go eat and see a movie.  I look forward to that, too, since many live out of town and it is nice to just hang out and talk then go see a movie and hang out again afterwards.

[Sherry in OH]

The only things we always have are homemade cranberry relish and pie.  We have pumpkin and at least one other type of pie.  We eat leftover pie for our traditional Friday after Thanksgiving breakfast.   

 

Otherwise, I ask each family member what one dish he most wants and plan a meal around those items.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Stuffing.

Turkey gravy.

Those are things I don't have any other time.  I would also mention turkey, except that I don't love it.  But I LOVE stuffing.  And turkey gravy on mashed potatoes.  

 

Also, we always go to church.  Unfortunately our own church only has a Thanksgiving Eve service.  We do attend that (after all, it's our church) but we have to visit another church to go on Thanksgiving Day.

 

When DD was little we were members of the local zoo, which had a 'Feast for the Beasts' on Thanksgiving Day each year.  This was a members only day with special tour guides and treatish food for all of the animals.  We would go to church, and then the zoo, and then either go home and cook big or run off to a family or friends gathering.  

[Rosika]

We don't do turkey. All of our holiday meals involve lamb, goat, or both, on a spit in my cousin's backyard. To me, THAT and pumpkin pie = Thanksgiving.

 

My SIL always brings a deli packet of sliced turkey for her husband, who is not from our culture. He can do packaged meat, but farm style meat messes with his head. He's an American who grew up in a large city. He also can't eat veggies he knows came from the garden, because ... dirt. In his mind, grocery store veggies come from sterile beginnings. LOL

 

The more I think about it, the more my BIL and his quirks = Thanksgiving (and every holiday!) Our culture make him wonder if his wife is worth it!  :lol:

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Turkey & gravy

Dressing

Sweet potato casserole 

Caramel pie

 

 

ETA:  Macy's parade while cooking

Edited October 22, 2017 by 1GirlTwinBoys

[Ellie]

For *me*, I have to watch the incredibly stupid Macy’s parade while cooking. And then I’ll complain about how stupid it was this year. Because it will be...stupid. And full of lip-syncing ‘singers’ and actors. It’s a huge disappointment. And I still watch it. 🙄🙄🙄

 

I abhor Macy's Christmas parade. I have abhorred it since it changed to its current format, which has been a mighty long time. I want it to be like the Rose Parade: focusing on the floats and marching bands and whatnot that are in the parade, not the stupid acts. I refuse to watch it. :crying:

[gardenmom5]

What is a must have for it to be Thanksgiving to you?

 

Stuffing, plain normal stuffing and turkey.

 

Pumpkin pie

 

stuffing cooked IN the turkey

cranberry sauce

mashed potatoes and  gravy

pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  (we do the real stuff.)

chess tarts

fruit cake (though sometimes we skip and only have it at christmas.)

egg nog (2ds starts asking for it in october when costco gets it in.  last year, something happened to the brand they carry - and NO ONE had it in.)

 

those are the staples - and filled in around them.  and there must be plenty of pie for breakfast friday morning.

[gardenmom5]

We don't do turkey. All of our holiday meals involve lamb, goat, or both, on a spit in my cousin's backyard. To me, THAT and pumpkin pie = Thanksgiving.

 

My SIL always brings a deli packet of sliced turkey for her husband, who is not from our culture. He can do packaged meat, but farm style meat messes with his head. He's an American who grew up in a large city. He also can't eat veggies he knows came from the garden, because ... dirt. In his mind, grocery store veggies come from sterile beginnings. LOL

 

The more I think about it, the more my BIL and his quirks = Thanksgiving (and every holiday!) Our culture make him wonder if his wife is worth it!  :lol:

 

what on earth is farm style meat?   is it when you share the story of how that particular animal met its demise?

btdt.  My sil had a hog farm.  

and I'm from a large metro area.

 

[Alessandra]

Every year, I want to cross something off the list, but kids love their traditions. So:

 

Soup (usually purchased)

 

Turkey, already ordered from a local poultry farm.

Shiitake mushroom gravy

Sausage chestnut stuffing

Cranberry sauce and cranberry relish

 

Seasonal vegetables. I try different recipes, but all the veggies are ones that could be harvested in a northeast garden in late fall. So, root vegetables, onions, a potato dish, squash, Brussels sprouts, no green beans. About four dishes.

 

Mini corn muffins (Jiffy mix) and gourmet bread sticks, etc.

 

Sometimes a small salad course -- arugula, pears, walnuts with a poppy seed dressing.

 

Sweet potato cake with brown sugar icing

Cranberry upside down cake

Pumpkin pie in a gingersnap crust

Apple cranberry pie

(I like Indian pudding, no one else does. But I may add it back this year.)

 

Chocolate turkeys for kids

Fruit bowl with special fruits -- lady Apple, persimmon, etc.

 

We use Spode Woodland china and serving dishes shaped like turkeys. Turkey salt and peppers and ditto napkin rings.

 

ETA

Thanksgiving doesn't work for me unless the table is full. I miss my childhood days when all the veggies came from our own garden. But the fresh killed turkey is new for us this year, and I am looking forward to it.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Alessandra

[PeterPan]

We had our traditions for years, like huge spreads, everything made from scratch, blah blah. Now my inlaws are gone and everything has changed. I don't even remember last Thanksgiving, it was such a blur. We're gonna downscale it even more. We're going to redefine what it means for us and find some new traditions that really work. I think I'm going to order an artificial tree or two and have putting up the tree after the meal be part of it. Less about the food, more about the together. 

 

 

We use Spode Woodland china and serving dishes shaped like turkeys. Turkey salt and peppers and ditto napkin rings.

 

Ooo, I love this! You're right, there are other ways besides food to have that continuity.

[Alessandra]

We had our traditions for years, like huge spreads, everything made from scratch, blah blah. Now my inlaws are gone and everything has changed. I don't even remember last Thanksgiving, it was such a blur. We're gonna downscale it even more. We're going to redefine what it means for us and find some new traditions that really work. I think I'm going to order an artificial tree or two and have putting up the tree after the meal be part of it. Less about the food, more about the together.

 

 

 

Ooo, I love this! You're right, there are other ways besides food to have that continuity.

Thank you. The Spode is our regular fall/winter china. The serving pieces are things I have found in antique shops or eBay over the years. The large turkey tureen is just used as a centerpiece now. But the other dishes are wonderful and all have lids, which keep food warm. We even have a little squirrel dish for nuts.

[HomeAgain]

what on earth is farm style meat?   is it when you share the story of how that particular animal met its demise?

btdt.  My sil had a hog farm.  

and I'm from a large metro area.

 

 

I would guess anything that isn't prepackaged and pretty. :lol:

 

I grew up taking part in chicken plucking and having a side of beef in my freezer.  My husband did not.  He won't even touch chicken on the bone. I struggled to articulate my thoughts one day about how I grew up vs. him, and how I feel like the grocery store contributes to waste because people are disconnected from the animal that provided the meat.  The lightbulb suddenly went off for him when he figured out where I was coming from.  :hurray:

[Loowit]

Turkey

 

Pumpkin pie is a must.  DH told the kids years ago that we can't listen to Christmas music until he has had his Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.  So they always remind me that we have to have pumpkin pie.

[Spryte]

Friends. Family. People.

 

I like turkey and stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans - but don't need it. It's more about the people.

 

Oh. Green chile. There must be green chile somewhere, sometime close to Thanksgiving - o rarely get it on the day, these days, and that's ok. Gotta have a fall fix, though. Nothing says fall like roasted green chile.

 

And sometime around Thanksgiving, I will give in and have a pumpkin spice latte, half syrup. Because pumpkin spice.

[OrganicJen]

My son requires 2 batches of sweet potatoes every year.

[MercyA]

Cranberry sauce from a can. I like the fancier kind, too, but there must be cylinder-shaped sauce sliced in a dish, can lines still visible. 

 

My mom's crumb apple pie.

 

I love those spiced apple rings, but when I took them to the in-law's gathering, no one knew what they were. :ohmy:  No, they're not beets. They're apples soaked in cinnamon and Red 40, best eaten with sweet pickles and a side of jello salad. Ah, the memories... 

 

 

[tdbates78]

My husband doesn't like "Thanksgiving food" which is a bit of a running joke in our family. This hear we are traveling over Thanksgiving and have a reservation for an Italian restaurant :)

 

I personally love yeast roles and sweet potato casserole. I can live without Turkey but love ham.

[DoraBora]

Family, of course... 

 

The aroma of celery and onions cooking down (to put in my grandmother's delicious oyster/rice/cornbread dressing recipe) will forever mean Thanksgiving Day to me.

 

And Cowboys' football a little bit after 3pm...  Always on Thanksgiving.  All of my life.   :001_smile:

[mmasc]

Family, of course...

 

The aroma of celery and onions cooking down (to put in my grandmother's delicious oyster/rice/cornbread dressing recipe) will forever mean Thanksgiving Day to me.

 

And Cowboys' football a little bit after 3pm... Always on Thanksgiving. All of my life. :001_smile:

Yes! Cowboys game for me too! I can’t remember a Thanksgiving where the game wasn’t on in the background...some people watching, some people just in the same room chatting. Love it.

 

Also, dressing (aka stuffing). My favorite Thanksgiving food ever. :)

[brehon]

My great-grandmother’s cornbread dressing (NOT stuffing) and her fried pies.

 

The Cowboys game and the UT-A&M game. I miss that rivalry.

[Sneezyone]

Bacon-wrapped green beans w/Catalina, twice-baked potatoes (with a twist this year, they’re not ready!!), stuffed mushrooms, rolls, and ham.

 

DH has requested ham instead of game hens/cornbread dressing this year. I guess since it’s hard to come by in this region it feels more ‘special’ to him.

 

We’re not having company, for a change, so our menu is smaller than usual.

 

Oh, almost forgot, definitely dessert. This year it's Turtle cheesecake lemon pound cake.

Edited October 22, 2017 by Sneezyone

[Zinnia]

Dressing, pickled peaches, stuffed celery, olives, some sort of jello salad, and cranberry sauce. Those are the things that scream Thanksgiving to me.

[gardenmom5]

 

We use Spode Woodland china and serving dishes shaped like turkeys. Turkey salt and peppers and ditto napkin rings.

 

ETA

Thanksgiving doesn't work for me unless the table is full. I miss my childhood days when all the veggies came from our own garden. But the fresh killed turkey is new for us this year, and I am looking forward to it.

 

ah spode. :001_wub:  to me, any other china just isn't.   which is funny as I chose a royal daulton pattern.  (it coordinates closely with dh's grandmother's china.  which we have.)

 

two of my great-aunts had spode.  one had tower pink, and the other rosalie  (in my dreams, I would buy a bunch of rosalie, buttercup and cowslip - and the solid white on with the lattice/basketweave) - and somehow a square salad plate showed up at my house.  I've no idea how, as she was long dead.  I <3 it.

 

and how could I forget dh's rolls . . . . he spent three days on the phone with a niece when she lived in another state, walking her through making them  until they turned out right.  (two things she wasn't doing - needs to have a metal pan and an electric oven.  she baked them at the neighbors since theirs was electric.  they offered to test them and make sure they weren't poisonous.)

[happi duck]

Macy's parade together

Cooking together (homemade cranberry sauce=Thanksgiving)

Christmas movie together

[maize]

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Cranberry sauce

[Alessandra]

ah spode. :001_wub: to me, any other china just isn't. which is funny as I chose a royal daulton pattern. (it coordinates closely with dh's grandmother's china. which we have.)

 

two of my great-aunts had spode. one had tower pink, and the other rosalie (in my dreams, I would buy a bunch of rosalie, buttercup and cowslip - and the solid white on with the lattice/basketweave) - and somehow a square salad plate showed up at my house. I've no idea how, as she was long dead. I <3 it.

 

and how could I forget dh's rolls . . . . he spent three days on the phone with a niece when she lived in another state, walking her through making them until they turned out right. (two things she wasn't doing - needs to have a metal pan and an electric oven. she baked them at the neighbors since theirs was electric. they offered to test them and make sure they weren't poisonous.)

I have some modern Spode Woodland, some Spode in the same pattern that is older (and nicer), and some older Palissey, same pattern again, but much richer colors. I got the Palissey at a street market in Cambridge (UK), and that's what got me started.

 

And I have yet more Spode, the Blue Italian, inherited -- set was originally for 24. Its quite old and very different from modern version. The colors are richer and blur together a bit. In my dreams, I would have a kitchen big enough for a Welsh dresser, and I would fill it with blue and white china....

[gardenmom5]

I have some modern Spode Woodland, some Spode in the same pattern that is older (and nicer), and some older Palissey, same pattern again, but much richer colors. I got the Palissey at a street market in Cambridge (UK), and that's what got me started.

 

And I have yet more Spode, the Blue Italian, inherited -- set was originally for 24. Its quite old and very different from modern version. The colors are richer and blur together a bit. In my dreams, I would have a kitchen big enough for a Welsh dresser, and I would fill it with blue and white china....

 

 

 

:drool:  :001_wub:   a big welsh dresser with beautiful china . . . and a big farmhouse table . . . . :001_wub: 

[Rosika]

I would guess anything that isn't prepackaged and pretty. :lol:

 

I grew up taking part in chicken plucking and having a side of beef in my freezer.  My husband did not.  He won't even touch chicken on the bone. I struggled to articulate my thoughts one day about how I grew up vs. him, and how I feel like the grocery store contributes to waste because people are disconnected from the animal that provided the meat.  The lightbulb suddenly went off for him when he figured out where I was coming from.  :hurray:

 

:smilielol5: Yes!! Exactly this!

 

 

When you pull up to the house on a holiday, you can see and smell "dinner" doing a slow turn over the fire pit. Everyone is gathered around it talking, the way some families gather around the tv to watch football. Kids are running amok, occasionally stepping up to the spit to pull a handful of meat before going back to their play. Discussion ensues about which goat or lamb we're about to eat, and we name it (if only by number, but the kids usually name them) when we thank the animal during grace. And yes, freezers full of meat slabs!

[Alessandra]

:drool: :001_wub: a big welsh dresser with beautiful china . . . and a big farmhouse table . . . . :001_wub:

And on the table, a rectangular wooden dish, rough cut, with apples, not shiny matching apples, but farm apples.

 

I see that it's an old dough bowl I want, something like this

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/490323594/1-carved-wooden-dough-bowl-primitive?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_-active_topseller_1_notvetted&utm_custom1=4036eb9a-3df4-476f-94a6-2bfcc15ace4b&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIidi9odCF1wIVhDZpCh2afQVhEAQYCyADEgLJAfD_BwE

 

I do have some lovely hand carved wooden spoons from an Appalachian craftsman.

 

Note to self: Find my copy of the Marie Kondo book and throw it out.

Edited October 23, 2017 by Alessandra

[ScoutTN]

Pastured turkey -can't go back to store bought!

mashed potatoes and gravy

dressing

made from scratch cranberries

pumpkin pie

[importswim]

I abhor Macy's Christmas parade. I have abhorred it since it changed to its current format, which has been a mighty long time. I want it to be like the Rose Parade: focusing on the floats and marching bands and whatnot that are in the parade, not the stupid acts. I refuse to watch it. :crying:

I agree. Now it just seems like a constant advertisement for shows on broadway or the network where the parade is being broadcast. Sigh. I still watch it though. For my kids it's the dog show right after the parade that's the must see!

[Alessandra]

This sounds just beautiful, would you describe it for me? I want to see if what I picture in my head when I hear "welsh dresser" is at all correct.

 

I can't seem to copy the pix, but if you google 'Welsh dresser blue and white', you'll get typical photos.

[Ravin]

Friends and/or family, turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce (the canned kind!), sweet potatoes (preferably cooked from fresh, not canned, and not "traditional" candied; I do a version with apple sauce, or one with pecans and real maple syrup that's yummy), pumpkin pie. Other dishes are optional.

[Tree Frog]

...snip...

Sometimes a small salad course -- arugula, pears, walnuts with a poppy seed dressing.

 

Sweet potato cake with brown sugar icing

Cranberry upside down cake

Pumpkin pie in a gingersnap crust

Apple cranberry pie

(I like Indian pudding, no one else does. But I may add it back this year.)

 

Chocolate turkeys for kids

Fruit bowl with special fruits -- lady Apple, persimmon, etc.

 

We use Spode Woodland china and serving dishes shaped like turkeys. Turkey salt and peppers and ditto napkin rings.

 

ETA

Thanksgiving doesn't work for me unless the table is full. I miss my childhood days when all the veggies came from our own garden. But the fresh killed turkey is new for us this year, and I am looking forward to it.

Do you share recipes? The cranberry upside down cake sounds like something our family would love!

[Debbi in Texas]

Homemade carrot cake