Thanksgiving Sides You Hate?

I can tolerate the yams and oyster stuffing, but that green bean salad made with cream of mushroom soup and those french fried onions make me gag.

I don't care for the Turkey really, but like most of the side dishes except the green been slop R1 mentioned. I've made a better version for an ex who really had to have it, and it still was my least favourite. Not particularly keen on cornbread dressing/stuffing either.

None - the rich sides are the best part and what make the turkey bearable.

Anything with marshmallows.

If you count dessert, pumpkin pie. My grandmother used to make panna cotta with strawberries or raspberries. I have continued that tradition, and added Martha Stewart's cranberry tart w/nut crust, or crème caramel.

I have only been offered the green bean casserole once. It was never part of Thanksgiving when I was a child; I'd not heard of it, in fact, until I was already an eldergay. I usually skip the sweet potatoes or yams and, in more recent years, the Brussels sprouts.

Green bean casserole was my ex husband's favorite side. That was strike two.

Don't make what you hate, no matter how expected.

Fuck traditions brought to you by Butterball and Campbells.

Right on R7. We're having a roast chicken with only our favourites. Thankfully my current partner have gery similiar tastes.

R6 I know your pain, and your post made me laugh. I would catch my ex eating that leftover slop cold straight from the fridge. He'd look at me sheepishly, and ask if I wanted some. I just said "no thanks, it's all for you baby."

I don't like any kind of pie, but especially pumpkin pie. I find it bizarre that people look forward to Fall when food and coffee places start offering shit like pumpkin lattes. Just shoot me.

Yans/sweet potatoes. Also I have an Aunt who brings deviled eggs and I have never tried them.

Brussels sprouts, but only because what people do to them. Yams can hold up with marshmallows. Green beans and mushroom soup is tolerable. The crap that is done to Brussels sprouts is criminal. No dates. No figs. No other crap.

Anything sweetened with marshmallows is disgusting, so glad I never had that served to me as a child

I pretty much hate all thanksgiving sided except cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, and that’s only because they would never have mushrooms, marshmallows, giblets or oysters in them.

I don’t just hate most sides. hate turkey too.

I agree with R4 and R6.

I have a broccoli casserole recipe that is basically green bean casserole but without the Campbell's Cream of Blargh, and it's very good, I'll post it over in the recipes thread. A creamy gratin-type casserole just doesn't work well with grean beans.

Every year my Grandma always made a huge Tupperware bowl of lime Jello, cottage cheese, crushed pineapple, Cool Whip and walnuts. As our tastes developed so did our distaste for this jello salad, and the last few years we celebrated the holidays together she only brought a small bowl of it, and it still went untouched.

Anything with green beans - they are disgusting, and the work of the devil.

[quote]Thanksgiving Sides You Hate?

I have always found my Aunt Barbara's left side detestable.

My grandmother had a dessert Jello with cherries and walnuts (and maybe pineapple?) that was good, but I've never had a Jello side dish for dinner that made sense.

My mother's side of the family.

No, unfortunately, I love it all.

That canned, fried onion, green bean casserole that's smothered in cream of mushroom sauce..."gag"

as a kid,I hated any type of jello salads with fruit or nuts and marshmallows. Gross.

But now that I'm older I tried making Watergate salad and brought it to a potluck party. Everyone loved it!

Darfur Orphan needs to chime in.

My husband insists on rice stuffing. Yuck.

The Green Bean casserole….every time I see it, I think they green bean industry must have worked overtime on this one and it’s still not tolerable.

Sweet potatoes - horrible

The sliced Oceanspray cranberry log. But I love fresh cranberry compote. The bright acidity of the berries are a great contrast to the rest of the gluey foods.

For a vegetable side I prefer just doing a simple mix of roasted veggies including brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, etc. Put some butter on them, maybe a little garlic, and cook in an air fryer or convection oven until they are all sweet and brown and roasty.

[quote]The sliced Oceanspray cranberry log. But I love fresh cranberry compote.

You know this one could be a whole thread by itself. So many people love that. My other half made me buy 2 cans even though I make it from scratch. So there are going to be both versions on our table when guest come over.

Everyone claims to love sweet potatoes so much, but nearly every recipe calls for throwing something in them to disguise the taste. I like them mashed, with some butter and salt, but just want to throw-up when I see them with marshmallows, or brown sugar, blah, blah, blah. Ugh.

[quote] Also I have an Aunt who brings deviled eggs and I have never tried them.

Deviled eggs are good and hard to fuck up, probably. Geez, branch out a little and try one.

I concur with R4, and I also don't care for candied yams/whipped sweet potatoes, or any similar such permutation. But for me, the real Thanksgiving landmine is stuffing/dressing that contains offal - livers, gizzards, giblets, boiled eggs, or any other such horrors.

The only risk this poses would be at Thanksgiving dinners staged by others - relatives, friends, etc - and in my old age, I don't attend these any more. When I was four, I was taken to Thanksgiving at my aunt & uncle's in Dallas. Through bitter experience, my own parents knew what not to set in front of me, since I was an extremely pukey child. The drawback to this was that I was rather sheltered, culinarily speaking - I'd had no exposure to traditional dressing. So when my aunt asked me if I liked 'dressing,' I thought she meant whipped salad dressing, like Miracle Whip. 'Yes,' I nodded enthusiastically. But when it was put on my plate and I attempted some of it, I instantly projectile-vomited, and painted a path all through the house, looking for the bathroom. (This was the worst, the fact that I never stood still in one place when I got sick.) "But he said he liked dressing," my aunt cried plaintively over what she no doubt regarded as the ruins of what was left of Thanksgiving. Looking back on it, I am so sorry.

That was one of those 'traditional' dressings. What I've since grown to love is the kind of dressing my grandmother on my mom's side made - cornbread, assorted cubed bread, celery and onions, somewhat overseasoned with rubbed sage and poultry seasoning. It's the one I specialize in making; friends insist that I make it and send it over to them for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[quote] the kind of dressing my grandmother on my mom's side made - cornbread, assorted cubed bread, celery and onions, somewhat overseasoned with rubbed sage and poultry seasoning

I grew up with this style as well, but torn up farmers bread or even sourdough rather than cornbread. I don’t like the sound of heavier stuffings with sausage or oysters.

I dont get oysters in stuffing at all, why?

Apparently, oysters were super-plentiful in the northeast in the beginning of the 20th century.

I used to get so sick after thanksgiving dinner when i was a kid. They'd force me to eat it and I'd have horrible heartburn & reflux. My mother would say "How can you have a stomache?.You hardly ate anything? "

Nowadays i can take pepcid or prilosec and tolerate it. But back then it was hell, especially because i was forced to eat "at least one slice of turkey with some gravy. " Turns out turkey and gravy are my worst relux triggers.

OP is a godless Commie.

Did you know that technically, stuffing is what goes inside the bird. If it's baked outside it's called dressing?

[quote]torn up farmers bread or even sourdough rather than cornbread.

R34, I do a mixture of both, also including cubed wheat and some pumpernickel. I do a special batch of cornbread, not intended for eating by itself, which contains granulated onion powder, celery powder, and poultry seasoning. It too gets cut up into cubes, although I don't think it much retains its shape when the hot chicken broth hits it.

I've developed a shortcut which cuts down on baking time considerably. I place the diced onion and celery into a saucepan, together with some dried Craisins, and simmer them in chicken broth until they're soft. When it's nearly ready, I add margarine and let it melt into the broth; this gets poured into the roasting pan over the seasoned cornbread & bread cubes. A quick stir-through to make sure the vegetables get evenly distributed, cover the roast pan, and into the oven it goes. Basically, this is just to warm it up, and perhaps caramelize the dressing in contact with the sides and bottom of the pan - not unlike Stovetop Stuffing, it's pretty much done anyway. It doesn't require any baking time to speak of.

Why do people call sweet potatoes yams? A sweet potato is not a yam.

[quote]Yams can hold up with marshmallows

Is this an American thing?

The green bean casserole is MUCH better when made using fresh green beans instead of canned or frozen.

I hate when people put weird things in the stuffing, like sun dried tomato, etc. This isn’t Cracker Jack, I don’t need a prize.

Does anyone eat yams at all other than Thanksgiving? I seriously have never been to a dinner party around the holidays where this was served except for Thanksgiving. There are thousands of online recipes trying to mix it up but still, just meh. It's like a ball and chain most people cant cut.

Green bean casserole. Yuck. Just make fresh green beans.

That sweet potato thing. Same thing. Just whip some and add butter, salt and pepper. Delicious.

Sausage and mushrooms with a mix of chicken stock and beef consume make a good alternative for stuffing if you are not into the organ meats like giblets and liver that people add in sometimes. They give it that dark meat flavor without that weird textures you get from those "other" body parts mixed in.

R40 Nice to see you posting again Poisoned Dragon. I hope you're doing better after reading about your kidney stones.

I never got over the betrayal of being told candied yams "taste just like candy!" . Yuh, maybe if you were born in 1890, but not to a post war kid who could buy Drakes Cakes, Twinkies and Chunky Bars. I spit it right out with a loud "PTOOIE!" and got a smack in the face. "Well what did you make me eat that for in the first place? You LIED! You said it was candy! "

Smack #2 to the mouth.

I have hated thanksgiving since childhood. Being made to dress in petticoats, foofy dresses, ankle socks, patent leather shoes and made to sleep the night before with metal curlers pressed into my skull, pulling my hair so tight i looked Asian. Just a slight turn of the head would pull my hair follicles with such force i screamed. All to go to grandma's house a block away and forced to eat vomitous concoctions. Even dessert couidn't be looked forward to becsuse it was disgusting pumpkin or mincemeat pie. Would it have killed my grandmother to buy a pint of chocolate ice cream for the kids? I'm with the person upthread who marvels about the fuss women make over pumpkin spice season. Girl, you couldnt *force* me to drink that shit in my coffee.

Being a baby dyke fan of the tv show Combat, i quoted a charcater from the show and said "I'd rather take a Nazi bullet" than eat mincemeat pie. Smack #3 at the Thanksgiving table.

Stuffing/dressing should simple. Bread cubes with onion, sage, celery, a bit of garlic and poultry seasoning is all you need. Sautee celery and onion in butter and add chicken stock to whole thing. It's simple and delicious. You don't need sausage, mushrooms or oysters.

My only addition to R50 is white wine or sherry to deglaze the celery and onion pan a bit. And sometimes I add a little lemon juice before it goes into the oven because I’m an acid freak.

Thanksgiving at our house always had a jello salad with canned cranberries, walnuts, marshmallows, and pineapple. It was, and remains, disgusting. My grandmother made it, then her, my great aunt, and, now that they're dead, my mom. I always hated stuffing, until one year my mom took it out of the bird and dumped it on the griddle. It cooked all the way through and developed a bit of a crust. I love it now.

Sliced, canned cranberry sludge. Mom always gets a can of it (Ocean Spray?), slides it out whole onto a glass dish, then slices it. As a kid, I loathed it. As an adult, a slathering of it on a dry piece of turkey breast makes it swallowable, at least.

That said, I love green bean casserole. I make it exactly once a year and use French cut Del Monte canned green beans and, with the exception of a *lot* more pepper, exactly according to the recipe. We always had gravy, which, when I was a kid, was made from scratch. As an adult, Mom started using canned turkey gravy. I use packets. At Mom's, she always has a big bowl of sweet corn that she preserved from last summer. With tons of butter. I'm from the Midwest, so corn is considered a vegetable, which it is not. I think green bean casserole is a sturdy Midwestern tradition, which might be why so many here hate it. I think you had to grow up with it.

R33 that is a super cute story. I mean puke sucks but in the context it's adorable. Can you share the stuffing recipe from your grandmother? It sounds amazing.

I didn't grow up eating green bean casserole. I have a family member who is always trying to be WASPy and she started making GBC as a "tradition" late in life. IMO, if you didn't grow up eating it, why start?

I wish it would be a custom to replace green beans with asparagus with hollandaise sauce. I could start it I guess but then I would probably be obligated to actually cook it.

Pretty much anything would be good with Hollandaise sauce. But, yeah, aspargus with Hollandaise sounds so much better than green bean casserole.

AsparAgus, I meant.

[quote]They give it that dark meat flavor without that weird textures you get from those "other" body parts mixed in.

R47, "that dark meat flavor" is exactly what I object to, even more than the texture issue. I'm probably the world's most finicky meat eater.

[quote] Can you share the stuffing recipe from your grandmother? It sounds amazing.

R53, I've described it somewhat at R40. Before the vegetables and chicken broth are added to the roast pan, the cubed bread gets a handful of rubbed sage, a generous sprinkling of poultry seasoning and dried parsley, and some black pepper. Toss the seasonings with the cubed bread.

To do it like my grandmother did it, just don't simmer the vegetables beforehand - put the chopped onion and celery in with the cubed bread, and omit the Craisins (those weren't around back then). Bake it at 350°F for a couple of hours, checking intermittently to see if it needs more water. Close to the end, uncover it, sprinkle on some ground paprika, and bake another fifteen to twenty minutes to give the top a crust.

Green bean casserole….hands down…a mushy mess!

I never ate green bean casserole growing up. This year i bought some kind of frozen thing from Trader Joes that looks like little green bean & onion appetizers. I'll try that in lieu. It will probably be awful.

Addendum to R58:

Grease the insides and bottom of the roast pan with butter or margarine. Also, per grandmother's recipe, add pats of butter/margarine to the dressing before placing in the oven (in my shortened version at R40, it's added to the broth and vegetables).

I spent a quarter century or so being out of the U.S. on Thanksgiving. It's a nice time to travel, and as a nice bonus it steers clear of a meal I fairly hated - the sides, the main dishes, the desserts -- and the plans that went with it.

I usually do asparagus. I love asparagus. Sometimes I simply saute in oil oil with some salt and fresh cracked pepper.

R5, Martha's cranberry tart with nut crust sounds fabulous, but the recipe I found online calls for gelatin. Is that the one you use? Don't cranberries have enough pectin to set without the use of gelatin? I'm vegetarian.

Before freezers were universal canned vegetables were the only option. Cream sauce or the shortened version of Campbell's for non-cooks plus French friend onion rings are perfect for those without a plentiful spice drawer.

I'm not a huge fan of offal or meat in general. However, I did enjoy my mom's stuffing with small cubes of turkey liver. Other ingredients in my mom's stuffing were pretty standard: white sandwich bread, celery, and onions. When my aunt (mom's sister) was responsible for the stuffing, she left out the livers but added sausage and bacon. Aunt's stuffing sounds good on paper, but I preferred my mom's stuffing.

Aldi is selling a green bean casserole pizza that lots of people are going nutty for. We never had green bean casserole growing up so I have no idea what the appeal is.

Why do people put oysters, sausage or chicken livers in their dressing? YUCK!

[quote]I didn't grow up eating green bean casserole. I have a family member who is always trying to be WASPy and she started making GBC as a "tradition" late in life. IMO, if you didn't grow up eating it, why start?

Requests, R54. I didn't grow up with it either, but friends, as well as my younger brother whom I look after, ask for it each year. I use frozen Pictsweet Farms Italian Green Beans, cooked with finely chopped bacon, seasoned with a little granulated garlic powder, granulated onion powder, chicken stock concentrate, and black pepper. When it's nearly done, I add some chopped baby bellas (small portobello mushrooms, aka 'golden mushrooms'), and cook it down until the broth has greatly reduced. Then it gets the obligatory can of Cream of Mushroom soup stirred through.

I coat the bottom of an aluminum half-pan with the French Fried Onions, and pour the green bean mixture over them. Another layer of French Fried Onions on top, and into the oven it goes, for warm-up and light toasting of the onions. Pretty standard fare.

I like Stovetop Stuffing. But lately whenever I’ve made it, it’s a little crunchy. Not crunchy as in top-browned, but crunchy as in bread cubes were not rehydrated. I follow directions exactly.

I am all consuming.

R32 you've never had someone serve you a deviled egg with no salt in the mix. Horrifying.

Stove Top chemical-laden dressing/stuffing instead of the real stuff which is super simple to make.

Mixture of different kinds of stale bread including ends crumbled, sauteed onions, celery, garlic, variety of spices.

We don’t keep bread in the house

I wouldn't know... but they all sound amazing to me.

A couple of ideas DL'ers might find useful.

We're having chicken rather than turkey. Given the pandemic and very limited guests, this just makes sense - but we've done so for Thanksgiving for any year where we don't expect more than six people.

I make a sort of savory carrot cake stuffing with minced carrot as well as celery and onion, chopped walnuts and dried fruit - cranberries, dates, pineapple. No sugar added and made with stock. It's always been popular.

In the place of giblet gravy, stir a large spoonful of pate into the gravy and finish with cream. The flavor is there, but richer.

Skillet cook mashed potatoes: cook and mash the potatoes the day before then cook in a cast-iron skillet, mixing in pats of butter and/or duck fat. Keep turning the potatoes - they will crisp up and then stir the crispy bits into the mixture. The result is a much earthier flavor.

In place of cranberry sauce (which I love), I use lingonberry jam. Very tart, very geared towards winter comfort-food dishes and whole lingonberry-jams are softer than cranberries.

I actually like the green bean casserole, if made with fresh green beans and from scratch, but try broccolini blanched and tossed in burre noir with toasted cashews - it's a Julia Child recipe and one of my favorites.

Speaking of Child, her creamed parsnips could make an interesting substitution for mashed potatoes.

I love pumpkin pie. But a friend's mother makes a squash chiffon that is heavenly (and I usually dislike squash pie). We have a bakery that does a superb pumpkin cheesecake.

Peel the celery and buy a selection of stuffed olives; we have smoked salmon, homemade pate, brie with truffles, dill harvarti, pickled mushrooms and caviar as snacks.

r64, thank you for asking. I no longer bother with the gelatin. I think I used it the first time, then never again. As you surmise, the cranberries and sugar set up perfectly.

Who would’ve guessed that queens who eat ass would be so fussy about food.

We should've done a thread about green bean casserole being foisted upon us. Nobody wants that shit!

Well, it's tasty if made right - with fresh green beans.

The problem with my family's Thanksgiving dinners was always that it was too rich had too many carbs: mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, dinner rolls, gravy, rich pies with whipped cream, etc. It was all too much. Just give me turkey and gravy, a potato dish, fresh green beans and maybe a bit of cranberry sauce. That's all that's needed. For dessert, something sweet but light. My husband whips the pumpkin pie mixture so that the pie is light and airy almost like a mousse.

I have a recipe for a pumpkin mousse pie from a cook book adapted from the colonial days. It gets raves.

I like stuffing, gravy, and pecan pie. day after, I like a turkey (white and brown meat in small cubes) and mayo sandwich.

[quote]I hate when people put weird things in the stuffing, like sun dried tomato

I would flip the table if someone put sun-dried tomato in my stuffing.

I could tel R47, was baby dyke in the first couple of sentences. No need to write 3 paragraphs to wait and tell us at the end. Although I did find it funny perspective.

[quote]Who would’ve guessed that queens who eat ass would be so fussy about food.

Not all gay men are into rimming you stupid whore. So yes, I am fussy and no I dont eat ass.

I pretty much hate everything you listed R75. Every "twist" is loaded with weird shit and excessive fat. Are you from a norther European county by any chance?

Duck fat in mashed potatoes is not necessary.

[quote] "I don't care for the Turkey really"

Me neither, R2. I much prefer a nice roast chicken. I have done a turkey breast for myself (they were on sale), and that was fine, but nothing beyond that.

Dislikes: Sweet Potatoes prepared w/marshmallows. I'd rather have them with butter, a tiny bit of brown sugar, and ground cloves. Or just as oven-baked fries, w/a bit of parmesan cheese to counter & emphasize the natural sweetness of the vegetable (though this isn't a traditional Thanksgiving side).

And I was never one to make it, but I used to like green bean casserole. These days I'd rather have a nice, simple almondine instead.

Since the last 2 years it is just me and the boyfriend we are doing a Jenny O turkey breast, easy and convenient since we prefer white meat. Just going really simple, may even do Stove Top stuffing and mashed potatoes from a box, pillsbury rolls, corn, and store bought pumpkin pie with Cool Whip.

*DL posters all faint in horror while clutching their pearls at my tackiness*

We used to always do the big family thing and did it up fancy, but last year because of Covid it was kind of nice not having to deal with everybody so this year we didn't offer to have it so I am taking the easy way out.

Marshmallow mashed sweet potatoes.

Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon.

I would have to say all of them except some turkey, gravy, and cranberry. Some olives too. That’s it.

I only eat ass. The rest of it I hate. I sit there and look at the turkey on my plate, and I hate, hate, HATE it.

Stove Top doesn't taste the same lately, r88. The chicken Stove Top tastes like it has cornbread croutons now and fewer spices than it used to.

No one likes them, but I love the creamed pearl onions, which my grandma always made, I’m sure most of the appeal is nostalgia. The green bean casserole is better with fresh beans and homemade sauce.

r92 I will use Turkey Stove Top, hope it hasn't changed.

R75: Duck fat?

Fuck dat.

Seriously, that's pretty much the essence of that gamey, dark meat flavor that turns me inside out. It would be the same with the use of pate.

[quote]We're having chicken rather than turkey.

My brother and I don't really care for turkey. So we're having chicken also, but from Chicken Express - crispy breaded chicken strips, and fried okra. I don't have a deep fryer, so for something like fried breaded okra, I've got to send out for it. We like it that way, and it saves me a lot of work, effort that I otherwise put into the sides I send over to my best friend and his family.

Talk about things that don't belong in dressing - several here have mentioned putting garlic in it. I cannot even imagine. Now, I really like garlic, just not in certain things. I would never put garlic in guacamole, for instance, or in my Cream of Poblano Chile Soup (see DL thread, 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐜𝐤, reply 41). I can see putting garlic in mashed potatoes, and I season most of my vegetable dishes and gra𝐱ies with granulated garlic. But I just can't see it in dressing.

Pumpkin Pie, that combination of flavors and texture, tastes like it has already been eaten.

[quote]No one likes them, but I love the creamed pearl onions, which my grandma always made, I’m sure most of the appeal is nostalgia.

R93, peas in white sauce with pearl onions is one of the requests from my best friend's MiL, so I'm making it this year.

[quote]Anything with green beans - they are disgusting, and the work of the devil.

I felt that way until my family's income improved and my mother ditched the can greens beans for fresh. Like two different vegegatbles.

I’ve never heard of green bean casserole for Thanksgiving.

You bitches that hate sweet potatoes are weird. Just toss some butter and eat it. Tastes like a fruit.

I don't hate sweet potatoes, R100. I just don't care for them at Thanksgiving, especially with all the things that get done to them as a Thanksgiving dish - honey, molasses, candied pecans, marshmallows, etc, which I find disgusting.

I'm a diabetic, and I go into Thanksgiving on a sugar budget, as it were. I'm choosy about how I spend my carbs, and I consider sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving a waste of my allowance. Insulin only helps so much.

I tried sweet potatoes as a child because I was fooled by the marshmallows on top and thought it would taste like pumpkin pie. Nasty!

I am fairly agnostic, but I draw the line at canned pastry croissant rolls. These crept into our family menu in the 1990’s, and they are honestly pretty cheap and nasty. But my nieces and nephews love them.

Re the sweet potatoes, a really simple and delicious way to cook them: peel and slice them. Put the pieces in a bowl and mix them with about a cup of cream and a tablespoon or 2 of prepared horseradish (to taste, obviously, but stronger is better). Arrange them in a baking pan, salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 350 oven for about half an hour, then remove the foil and let them bake for another 10 or 15 minutes. They are amazingly good, it's super easy to do, and people usually ask how to make them when they try it. Recipe is from a Charleston chef whose name I can't remember right now.

R86, then use the duck fat to lube the table leg before you stick it up your asshole.

Fewer splinters that way.

R104 Slice how thin? Curious here

R105 Go sit on the stairs until we come for you.

R102 my mom stopped pushing the sweet potatoes and started just baking marshmallows in a buttered pie dish for Thanksgiving by the time I was 7.

I hate the term "sides," does that count?

[quote]Re the sweet potatoes, a really simple and delicious way to cook them: peel and slice them. Put the pieces in a bowl and mix them with about a cup of cream and a tablespoon or 2 of prepared horseradish

Whew gurl no. This is the only way I'm having my sweet potatoes during the holidays!

r107 that is cute, that was nice of your mom.

R107 I love hearing that. Our family is pretty formal and traditional and have fairly simple things, but all made from scratch and done to a pretty high standard because our sister is a chef and we all cook. Our cranberry dish is like a compote with real cranberries, ginger, lemon and all of that. But our niece had canned cranberry sauce as a little girl on alternate thanksgivings when she was a little girl. Her fraternal grandmother passed away a decade ago, but our mom, my niece’s surviving grandmother, discreetly sets a small bowl of the canned sauce beside my niece’s plate, with the can’s ring marks in evidence and all. It’s pretty touching to see that little acknowledgment and that memory in evidence.

It seems that many Thanksgiving side dishes were made by the four-year olds attending the dinner.

"Let's put marshmallows in everything. Ooooh...ooooh...let's open a can of Cream of Mushroom soup and glop it all into a bowl of green beans. But wait, now let's open a can of fried onions and sprinkle that shit over the entire mess. Tee hee...look a jell-o salad, it wobbles. Hahaha....look at the cranberry "sauce" it comes out of the can looking like a big, bloody turd. etc. etc.

R112 ‘ cranberry "sauce" it comes out of the can looking like a big, bloody turd. etc. etc.’

I can’t recall that phrase, but is it from Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales?

[quote] Stove Top doesn't taste the same lately, [R88].

There are green herbs in it that don’t rehydrate. They have the consistency of small pieces of uncooked pasta. Crunchy, unpleasant and they need to be spit out or you might stab your throat.

I hate being forced to eat at the "kids' table."

One of my favorite thanksgiving side dishes is turnips. I’ve tried Southland frozen turnips and they are too light. In my family, turnips were thicker — mashed, not whipped and with less fluid. My mother and grandmother always mixed a little mashed potatoes into the mashed turnips to cut the bitterness. I love the combination of turkey gravy over turnips. A match made in heaven.

Nobody seems to like turnips anymore.

I love cranberry sauce. But I can’t find the small cans of it anymore. I used to always keep a small can of it for when I had roast chicken. Half a can for the chicken and half a can for leftovers. I’m the only one who eats it (the others don’t eat any kind of cranberry at all. They are very basic males). So it’s such a waste to buy that big can.

I do anyway, at thanksgiving. But I had to give it up with roast chicken.

Uncle Archie!

stuffing

I always think of “sides” as American diner talk. “Wut kinda sides yew wont with that?” (Snaps gum)

“We got a puh-TAY-duh, anna veggie for sides. How yew wantcher puh TAY duh? Frahd or mash? (Blows bubble)

We gotta spinnich anna peezen carrots. Which wun you wont?

For dessert there’s PAH.

We got a apple PAH anna peach PAH. We outta eyez CREAM.”

R106: You can cut the sweet potatoes to the thickness you'd prefer, really. If they are on the thickish side, it will definitely take longer for them to cook. I guess I'd cut them about 1/4 of an inch thick, less than a half-inch anyway. Don't be tempted to dot this with butter - the cream does that job really well, and they don't need anything more than that and the horseradish. This method really helps to keep them from seeming sickeningly sweet. It's "adult", not like candy. -R104

R105 has got to be Greg. No one else would get so offended by someone not like his overdone, pretentious food suggestions.

Pussy casserole

[quote]So when my aunt asked me if I liked 'dressing,' I thought she meant whipped salad dressing, like Miracle Whip.

Proof you should have been drowned at birth.

[quote]Since the last 2 years it is just me and the boyfriend we are doing a Jenny O turkey breast,

Are you getting this from the food bank? Jenny-O is bottom level turkey.

Canned carrots. I prefer roasted carrots.

R124 Yes, in keeping with this holiday's nod to thankfulness, we must make fun of the poor. your comment about tbe foodbank makes me sad, as I volunteered at one for ages. People were just so grateful for any kind of meat really. Comments like yours reminds me of those people we served.

I must be the only one who loves green bean casserole.

Well, smell you R126 and your virtue signaling. What did I say that was incorrect? Jenny-O is bottle-level turkey and is often given to the poor from food banks. My comment was about the poster, not the food banks.

Asshole.

R127 I don’t hate it…I usually mix it up with whatever other sides I have on my plate.

I ❤️ corn

R128 Saying your comment made me feel sad remembering the poor we served isn't "virtue signalling", and 'm not an asshole either. I just happen to be grateful especially for the food I have, and I think we can sing the praises or demerits of a Jenny O turkey hreadt without making reference to people who rely on foodbanks.

I've never eaten a Jenny O turkey, but I damn know for sure that the people at the foodbank I volunteered at would be over the moon i they received one. We never eid have those to pass out, but it would've been nice.

R128 BTW, to counteract my "virtue signalling" I'm going to come straight out and say you sound like a fucking Republican Cunt. (you probably smell like one too.)

How's that for you? See, I'm not so fucking virtuous after all.

I hope you choke to death on your affluent and gourmet holiday dinner. Please don't forget to be ever so grateful it didn't come from a foodbank before you begin to choke.

YOU STINK

You sound triggered, bro. You triggered?

R33 I'm not armed, so no worries! I just find it sad that people find it funny to make fun of the many decent people who do depend on foodbanks. It's indecent, and it stinks.

R116, I love turnips. We are roasting some as a side along with parsnips.

Eat whats on your plate, chile. People are starving in San Francisco.

We never had green bean casserole but we probably had “green beans almondine” at Christmas or thanksgiving. You don’t see it very often these days. I guess it’s a 70s dish.

God I miss the past. Just like Scrooge, I miss all the people and all the fun and happiness of Christmas past. Plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins, all 4 grandparents nearby. Not one of us lives in our hometown anymore. Went from 50 people living within 15 -20 miles of each other to nobody living anywhere near each other. All aunts and uncles gone. Plus my husband is Jewish and just sits around waiting for me to make Christmas happen. He couldn’t care less. He takes my son to the movies every Christmas Day, which was never a thing for us.

I miss Christmas carolers - I did it myself to make money for Christmas presents for my parents. Working to make Christmas happy for the family, saving money all year for presents, learning to wait months for a good present taught me patience and responsibility. And nobody watched tv all day on Christmas. Certainly no sports. We’d all play the board games we got as presents together. .

I hate green bean casserole. Just sauté the green beans and leave them with all the crap on them.

I'm the one who posted we are having a Jenny O turkey breast. There is just two of us, neither of us are big turkey fans. I like to put gravy over my stuffing, mashed potatoes, and turkey and kind of mix them together so we don't need the finest turkey. If we were doing our traditional Thanksgiving it would be different, we wouldn't be going so casual and do the big turkey with fancier trimmings. Last year and this year because of Covid we are using it as an excuse to be casual and just relax on the holiday.

Cranberry sauce I have never liked, even homemade. I do like a little bit of it in a turkey sandwich, though.

Pumpkin pie, I can eat. But I understand why people don't like it. Somewhat bland, texture is mushy, possibly too many pumpkin spices in the mix. I always though kabocha (the Japanese pumpkin) might make a better p. pie.

It’s ok R139. The snobs can die in a deep-fried turkey grease fire. My partner and I are picking up a Costco rotisserie chicken on Wednesday. I’ll heat it up in the oven on Thursday in a shallow pan with chicken broth. Otherwise it’s canned cranberries, refrigerated mashed potatoes that cook in the microwave, a jar of chicken gravy and a Costco pumpkin pie. The only thing I’m putting any effort into is a first try at homemade stuffing. I found a recipe with cubed stuffing bread, sage sausage, apple, celery and toasted walnuts. If it sucks we’ll give a few bites to our sweet old dog and toss the rest.

Who the fuck are we trying to impress??

p.s. I’ll be posting everything to Instagram Thursday afternoon. 🙄

R139 I'm sure you two will enjoy your dinner, and have a nice holiday. Ignore the shitty comment. Just for the record, after volunteering for almost thirteen years, we never gave out Jenny O turkey breasts for whatever that's worth.

Some years we did have some no-name or obscure named frozen turkeys, but they were only for large families, nd there were never enough. I do recall a few Butterball turkeys over the years, but they were a rare thing.

To everyone who has plenty, please consider a donation this year to your local foodbank or pantry. Every little bit counts, even if you can only spare a few canned goods.

Thanks r141 and r142. We used to do the Thanksgiving meal with both of our families. Because of Covid last year and this year it's just the 2 of us so we don't need a big turkey and don't want to fuss with a lot of preparation. I agree, I don't need to impress anyone.

I unabashedly love the canned cranberry sauce - grooves and all. Don’t even push that all natural real fruit sawdust crap at me. Give me the can!!!

It doesn’t agree with me r130

My husband always insists on making teriyaki green beans, which I never cared for and usually just leave behind.

R144 Exactly. It must be straight from the can and cut into slices.

One year college friends and I had a kind of picnic Thanksgiving, where each guest brought something. The hosts made only the turkey.

All went well. My contribution was sausage potato salad, hot. It's simple, because the only other ingredients are fresh dill and mayo.

But it takes a long time to prepare, especially because I had to keep sticking fork tines into the sausage (the thick Italian kind) while it was broiling, to let the fat run out.

Then you mash the potatoes, carve up the sausage, and toss them with the dill and mayo.

It really went over big, though I'm not known for cooking. One guest, a Russian, said to me, "Ya cyel svoi yazik," which means I ate my tongue. It's a Russian idiom for I loved it.

I made it two years running, then stopped, because it takes too much effort.

Mom used to make mashed rutabagas.

Ghastly stuff.

[quote]Who the fuck are we trying to impress??

Apparently no one with that all white trash menu.

[quote]I love turnips. We are roasting some as a side along with parsnips.

How do you tell a parsnip from a turnip from a rutabaga? You roll them in a sack of flour and feel for the wet spot.

Wait. That's a different joke? Are your sure?

[quote]Jenny-O is bottle-level turkey

r128, what is "bottle-level"?

This should be “Thanksgiving asides you love”

“Rita looks like she’s back on the pills.”

r150 I would rather have a "white trash menu" Thanksgiving with people I really enjoy than have a fancy Thanksgiving dinner with relatives I would rather not deal with. Went through a lot of tense Thanksgivings at my parents house where they had to have it perfect to impress the relatives and it was no fun.

Guys, stop giving the asshole your time and energy.

Haven't you noticed there's always at least one person on here who is desperate to ruin threads where we're having a pleasant time? Punch and delete and keep enjoying the thread.

[quote] reply 105 has got to be Greg. No one else would get so offended by someone not like his overdone, pretentious food suggestions.

What a stupid person you are. If you knew me you'd know that I don't like overdone, pretentious food, especially on a holiday. I like traditional, simple, but excellent. That means I eschew green bean casseroles in favor of simply sautéed beautiful haricots vests and I wouldn't dream of bitching-up a sweet potato. But you're too stupid and judgmental to hold your opinions to yourself. So here is what I think of R75's suggestions and why most of them would never be mine:

[bold] We're having chicken rather than turkey. Given the pandemic and very limited guests, this just makes sense - but we've done so for Thanksgiving for any year where we don't expect more than six people. [/bold]

I would never not have a turkey. A small turkey for six people would be perfect and provide some good leftovers.

[bold] I make a sort of savory carrot cake stuffing with minced carrot as well as celery and onion, chopped walnuts and dried fruit - cranberries, dates, pineapple. No sugar added and made with stock. It's always been popular. [/bold]

No offense, but this sounds ghastly. Sounds too sweet. And I like a traditional bread stuffing.

[bold] In the place of giblet gravy, stir a large spoonful of pate into the gravy and finish with cream. The flavor is there, but richer. [/bold]

This might actually be good. I don't know.

[bold] Skillet cook mashed potatoes: cook and mash the potatoes the day before then cook in a cast-iron skillet, mixing in pats of butter and/or duck fat. Keep turning the potatoes - they will crisp up and then stir the crispy bits into the mixture. The result is a much earthier flavor. [/bold]

I personally find this entirely unappealing. I love creamy, smooth mashed potatoes. Crisping them up and also adding duck fat to them is not at all to my liking.

[bold] In place of cranberry sauce (which I love), I use lingonberry jam. Very tart, very geared towards winter comfort-food dishes and whole lingonberry-jams are softer than cranberries. [/bold]

I could see trying this, as well. But probably not on Thanksgiving. I am a traditionalist.

[bold] I actually like the green bean casserole, if made with fresh green beans and from scratch, but try broccolini blanched and tossed in burre noir with toasted cashews - it's a Julia Child recipe and one of my favorites. [/bold]

I've never had green bean casserole. My family did not go in for these casserole types of things. I am making haricots verts this Thanksgiving. The beans will be sautéed in butter and topped with some very toasted almond slivers.

[bold] Speaking of Child, her creamed parsnips could make an interesting substitution for mashed potatoes. [/bold]

This I'm interested in. I love parsnips.

[bold] I love pumpkin pie. But a friend's mother makes a squash chiffon that is heavenly (and I usually dislike squash pie). We have a bakery that does a superb pumpkin cheesecake. [/bold]

I don't love pumpkin pie. I prefer sweet potato pie. Squash chiffon — who knows, but it doesn't appeal to me in theory. Pumpkin cheesecake sounds bad and way too heavy. This year I will be making apple pies, buttermilk pie, pecan pie, and mincemeat pie.

[bold] Peel the celery and buy a selection of stuffed olives; we have smoked salmon, homemade pate, brie with truffles, dill harvarti, pickled mushrooms and caviar as snacks. [/bold]

This all sounds pretty good, but I keep hors d'oeuvres simple on Thanksgiving.

So, R122, stop being an idiot—if that's possible. And I mean no disrespect to R75.

[quote] "...neither of us are big turkey fans."

Oh, dear!

How about, "...neither of us [bold] is [/bold] big turkey fans."

R86, once you're done with the table leg, could you pass it down to Greg? Thanks!

Some people here are going to not be pleased with anything. Some very unhappy people post here.

[quote] once you're done with the table leg, could you pass it down to Greg? Thanks!

R75, thanks for being a douche. Happy Thanksgiving!

Greg, of all the tone-deaf twats on this site, you take the prune-infused cake. “No offense to R75,” after you call my suggestions overdone and pretentious (WTF? Minus the dessert, it’s basically just a Scandinavian take on the usual stuff). Carrots and cranberries in a savory stuffing is simply GHASTLY (Clutch those ping-pong balls a little tighter, darling! You might step on one!) from the chap who informs us that prune and cod are a match made in heaven. The gravy might actually be good? Well, fuck me, I guess we’ll never know, will we?

You say you’re a traditionalist and if you read my post you might have noticed one thing: I actually like all the basic Thanksgiving standard fare. These are simply possible variants, mostly Danish. If they don’t sound appealing then don’t make them. I am not demanding that everyone rush out and cook Pommes Copenhagen and then report back to me they way a certain poster does with his recipes.

You and R85 are traditional in one way – the sour bitch and the pompous bore both of whom turn up to suck the joy out of the room every fourth Thursday in November.

I never heard of Jenny O and can’t imagine someone making such a fuss about a turkey breast like the anti-Jenny O nut.

I’m worse. I buy my turkey breast already cooked at Costco. It’s really good, but quite expensive this year. All their pre roasted turkey breasts weigh somewhere around 4 lbs.

It’s freaking roast turkey, not beef Wellington, Yorkshire pudding and a Christmas suet pudding.

[quote] Greg, of all the tone-deaf twats on this site, you take the prune-infused cake. “No offense to [R75],” after you call my suggestions overdone and pretentious

No, I didn't. Read it again. I was quoting R122 who said:

[quote] R105 has got to be Greg. No one else would get so offended by someone not like his overdone, pretentious food suggestions.

I never called your suggestions overdone and pretentious—R122 did and then had to nerve to say because they are overdone and pretentious, they must be from ME.

That's why I said no offense.

However, R75, your response at 161 shows what a jerk you are.

I never insulted you.

How very dare you besmirch this fine product. Actually they are delicious and perfect for 2 or 3 people.

Like many, I hate the green bean mushroom casserole. And I can’t stand the cloyingly sweet yams with marshmallows on top.

If someone wants to prepare something other than a whole turkey, I highly recommend Ina's recipe for turkey roulade.

Green salad.

You put some on your plate to be polite, but then the other hot dishes make it lukewarm and wilted. And then, God forbid, some of the lettuce gets mixed in with your mashed potatoes.

Holiday ruined.

[quote] Green salad. You put some on your plate to be polite, but then the other hot dishes make it lukewarm and wilted. And then, God forbid, some of the lettuce gets mixed in with your mashed potatoes. Holiday ruined.

Yep. That's why I wouldn't serve salad on Thanksgiving. There's enough going on without it. Or, if I did, I would either serve it on a salad plate or would serve it as a separate course. Like you, I don't want lettuce anywhere near gravy.

[R116] I love turnips, even sliced thin and eaten raw.

I rarely eat corn but to me it just tastes good mixed with the Thanksgiving turkey, mashed potatoes, and dressing.

Jenny O turkey breast is just a bunch of turkey chunks glued together to make a full “breast”. You ever take a close look at that thing? Ooof!

R169 Exactly. I think a small green salad is best served as a starter... a separate course. Personally, it gives me time to finish all the last-minute things without guests in the kitchen. I need those last couple of minutes to get everything ready to go. If someone doesn't want to eat it, I'm not offended. Thanksgiving food tends to be heavy, so I like the idea of a light starter.

I’ve read and am tired of not only this thread but countless others where posters are being belittled due to their brand choices or lack there of.

Let me state this. I am guilty of doing it too. BUT when it comes to food, namely a Thanksgiving meal, it crosses the line into gross emotional immaturity.

R174👏Bravo

I actually like green bean casserole, too, but not with mushrooms in it. I even like the jello salad with cottage cheese thing, except for the walnuts. I don't like nuts much, so pecan pie is completely revolting to me. I like just about every other traditional Thanksgiving side dish.

I hate the east side of the table.

At Thanksgiving dinners, I much prefer the west side.

When I was a kid the only thing I liked was the dinner roll.

The only thing I liked was putting black olives on my fingers. The rest of Thanksgiving was "Grandma's style food," with all those heavy flavors that the adults claimed were delicious.

We have a food bank every 2 weeks in our tiny town and anyone can go to it. The choice the other day was a whole turkey or just a turkey breast. I chose the turkey breast because it's for just me and my husband. The turkey breast is "Festive" brand. We're going to cook it in the Instant Pot with herbs. I guess we'll find out if it's any good, or whether we will be ridiculed by Datalounge!

At family Thanksgiving dinners, I always wear a long boa made out of turkey feathers.

My stepfather HATES IT (but he tolerates it for my mother's sake.)

r177 Sounds like you have a real story.

{{{ snaps fingers, whistles hauntingly }}}

I don’t like gravy.

It’s mysterious.

[quote] We have a food bank every 2 weeks in our tiny town and anyone can go to it. The choice the other day was a whole turkey or just a turkey breast. I chose the turkey breast because it's for just me and my husband. The turkey breast is "Festive" brand. We're going to cook it in the Instant Pot with herbs. I guess we'll find out if it's any good, or whether we will be ridiculed by Datalounge!

Hope it's delicious!

Turkish delight.... it's very disappointing.

[quote] I don’t like gravy. It’s mysterious.

How is gravy mysterious? I think many would say that the gravy is the star of the show.

[quote]I would rather have a "white trash menu" Thanksgiving with people I really enjoy than have a fancy Thanksgiving dinner with relatives

You have issues dude. Who said you cant have an elegant dinner with the real people you enjoy?

Creamed Spinach is delicious when there's horseradish in it too: Basically, it's Spinach, Sour Cream, and Horseradish, warmed but not to the point of boiling. Mmmmmmm good!

[quote]I don’t like gravy. It’s mysterious.

WHAT??? Gravy is the crown jewel of the meal. Everyone loves gravy. It's where all the flavor comes from. What kind of man are you?

[quote] Turkish delight.... it's very disappointing.

How so? I've always wanted to try Turkish delight. Why don't you like it?

Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

[quote] and the last few years we celebrated the holidays together she only brought a small bowl of it, and it still went untouched.

Jesus what a bunch of ASSHOLES. Your poor old grandma, making something special for her beloved grandchildren to eat, and you miserable rats couldn’t even be bothered to take one fucking spoonful each?

Fuck you!

R190 bc Turkish delight comes in gross flavors like rose, fig, and mastic.

Gravy is Sexy!

I thought it was graxy?

I don't hate them, but I don't understand why people love mashed potatoes. I love potatoes in almost every form except mashed. When they cool off, they become a grotesque, tepid paste that breaks apart. In Ireland, I learned that Irish people make colcannon, which is basically mashed potatoes with green onions and kale or cabbage mixed in, and that at least sounds a little more interesting than pale mush.

R196, you are a kindred spirit. Potatoes can be excellent in many forms and ways, but mashed is rock bottom (though potato pancakes and latkes when basically masked potatoes made into flattened circles and fried up are worse in most cases.)

At least colcannon, while still a bland food, has some color and flavor and texture more appealing than baby food. Colcannon with leeks can be rather nice. Even chunky mashed potatoes are infinitely better than smooth mashed potatoes. I just don't like a big glop of mushy, mashy food as a dish unto itself.

Yeah, I don’t hate.

I make a classic Waldorf salad that everyone hates but my mom and me. Apparently eating processed mayonnaise is too much for my family of stick insects. IMHO seaweed salad has no place at the Thanksgiving table. Give me the cornucopia made from bread sticks and fill it with Pepperidge Farm delectables. Happy Thanksgivings my lovelies.

Love mashed potaoes and fresh, salted butter. Or with gravy. I love boiled potatoes with butter, too. Simplicity.

No one eats mashed potatoes cold you haters. Good mashed potatoes are creamy smooth with lots of butter, cream. Seasoned perfectly with salt and pepper. I could live off them if it didn't turn me into a fat slob. There's a French Chef on Youtube that ads roasted garlic. So good, although I will say he also prefers Yukon gold over basic Russet for more flavor. Uses heavy cream instead of milk.

If you want the best mashed potatoes:

-When your cooking the potatoes(Yukon Gold is my choice), add a small sliced onion(I'm assuming 4-5 lbs of potatoes) and a bay leaf(NOT. ONE. WORD.) to the pot.

-Drain well once potatoes are cooked(discard bay leaf, onions will have practically disappeared), put them back into the pot to dry out a bit over low heat.

-Drag mom's old Sunbeam MixMaster out of the basement(it does the job the best, a KitchenAid stand mixer works also[with this, use the paddle, not the whip])

-Mash about halfway to desired texture, then add hot milk and melted butter, plus plenty of S&P. Beat SLOWLY just to combine all ingredients, you do not want to wind up with paste. Cover the bowl to keep contents warm.

-If the potatoes are going to stand more than 10 or 15 minutes fold in a PINCH of baking powder.

-Don't forget to make plenty of gravy.

You're welcome.

If you want really smooth mashed potatoes, get a Ricer. It's like a giant garlic press for mashed potatoes. They come out so smooth, you will never mash by hand again. You dont have any electrical devices to clean. Just whisk in melted butter, hot cream salt and pepper, done.

I just need turkey, gravy, and stuffing (we don't put it in the bird but still call it stuffing) to be happy. We do a small turkey because to me it sometimes tastes funny when you reheat it so I don't want a lot of leftovers.

I’m ricing my totties, it makes them super smooth. Ready to go are my stuffing, creamed spinach, mac & cheese and cranberry-relish. Today I need to prep the turkey and let it air dry in the fridge, and make a pecan pie. Tomorrow am i’ll make a charcuterie plate, sauté the Brussels sprouts and cook the bird. I’m looking forward to a nice dinner with good wine! Happy Thanksgiving

Sounds good r205, especially the pecan pie.

Bronzie,

A ricer is good but a food mill is better. I will share my method for making mashed potatoes shortly.

The sticks and dirt oh and the rocks. The rocks are the WORST!!

Normally when making mashed potatoes, one cooks the potatoes in water before mashing them together with butter and cream (or milk). What I love to do is cook the potatoes in the cream and butter, so that no potato flavor gets lost down the drain.

[bold] Greg's Steps for the Most Delicious Mashed Potatoes [/bold]

1. Add cold, peeled, quartered potatoes, heavy cream, salt, a few knobs of unsalted butter, and a couple of Tablespoons of good olive oil to a sauce pan. I sometimes also add some fresh sage, a little fresh thyme, and garlic—but it's not necessary. The cream should just barely cover the potatoes. Cover the sauce pan and simmer on medium about 20 minutes or until tender.

2. When the potatoes are tender, place a bowl on the counter and a colander inside that bowl. [bold] Yes, I am telling you to DRAIN the potatoes. [/bold]

3. Pour the potatoes into the colander, and collect the cream in the bowl. Discard the thyme, garlic, & sage.

3. Mash potatoes using a food mill, potato ricer, or a potato masher. Do this directly into the empty sauce pot.

4. Slowly fold the potato-infused garlic cream back into the potatoes. Do it slowly so you don't end up adding more liquid than you want.

5. Be sure to taste and add kosher or sea salt and finely ground fresh black pepper. (You could also choose to use white pepper)

The result? The most incredible flavor profile and the best mashed potato you'll ever taste.

I add a bit of buttermilk to mashed potatoes. It gives them a bit of a tang.

[quote] I add a bit of buttermilk to mashed potatoes. It gives them a bit of a tang.

That's lovely. You could also add a dollop of sour cream or Creme Fraiche. Martha Stewart's mother always added cream cheese to mashed potatoes.

R211 Creme Fraiche is super handy and delicious, a trick I picked up when I lived in Paris. It’s crazy good on some deserts like apple, pear or peach tarts. It also “jacks up” Pan drippings and sauces, and is crazy good in winter soups like Mushroom, Squash, etc. so good.

[quote] Creme Fraiche is super handy and delicious, a trick I picked up when I lived in Paris. It’s crazy good on some deserts like apple, pear or peach tarts. It also “jacks up” Pan drippings and sauces, and is crazy good in winter soups like Mushroom, Squash, etc. so good.

I agree! It really elevates things. I prefer it to whipped cream on certain desserts. It imparts such a nice tang.

[quote]Martha Stewart's mother always added cream cheese to mashed potatoes.

Martha Stewart’s mother was a murderous WHORE.

She also put sour cream on top of macaroni and cheese. Was she trying to kill her family?

I see that my step-mother just bought a lemon merengue pie for tomorrow. Now, I love lemon merengue pie, but for Thanksgiving? Where's the pumpkin???

[quote]A ricer is good but a food mill is better.

Not for mashed potatoes. Cooking potatoes in butter and cream and passing it through a food mill is a recipe for pureed potatoes. Nothing wrong with that. Delicious, in fact. But those aren't mashed potatoes.

We baked 2 pumpkin pies today and we've already finished off one! I put cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice in them.

We also made a small batch of ice cream, qith vanilla and almond flavoring.

We also prepared the green bean casserole today so that tomorrow we only need to pop it in the oven.

We were going to mke cranberry sauce tonight but decided to relax.

Tomorrow we cook the turkey breast in the Instant Pot, make some gravy from the drippings, make a small batch of dressing, a small bit of cranberry sauce, and my husband wants to grill some yams on the grill outside.

All this just for the 2 of us! Yikes. And of course the cats will get some turkey too. We're going to have lots of leftovers! Any takers?

I hate cooked carrots. Even with butter & brown sugar.

I have been cooking all week just for 2 guests, oh well they like it. It's not that hard if you plan ahead and do a little bit each day. Everything except the turkey just needs heating up on T Day. Here is what I am making:

Starters: Sausage stuffed mushrooms, Blue Cheese Endives, Shrimp Cocktail, Rosemary Roasted Cashews, Assorted Cheeses.

Make ahead gravy roasting a few turkey wings, then making a turkey stock, then a roux with the dripping, stock for the liquid.

Cranberry sauce cooked with port wine, cranberry, orange zest, and blackberries

Roasted garlic Yukon Gold potatoes. The trick is to roast the garlic ahead of time and press it through a ricer with the potatoes. Boiling with it, just too bland and raw.

Pumpkin pie with kicked up spices of Cinnamon, fresh ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamon. pinch of white pepper.

Sweet potato mash with butter, heavy cream, a splash of brandy, topped with a toasted walnut and pecan crumble.

Pear onions and peas in a cream white sauce YUK ( husband insists on having this)

Stuffing, AKA Dressing outside the bird with sage sausage, pan roasted mushrooms, and the usual sautes onion celery, butter, bread, chicken and beef stock ( the beef stock mimics the dark meet flavor without adding gizzards and all that other organ meat)

Turkey of course.

Wine, Cocktails, Negroni Sbagliato with orange peal over crystal clear ice spheres.

Food Coma

R219: That menu sounds absolutely delicious! Your guests are very fortunate! Happy Thanksgiving!

Black truffle brie

Sweetbreads and capers

Roast duck with sorrel dressing

Creamed parsnips in zucchini shells

Broccolini in brown butter with toasted cashews

Fruit compote in champagne

Homemade lemon curd with ladyfinger cake

Claret

Coffee

Port

Brandy

Cigarette

Throw up

Pass out

R221, sounds yummy! I LOVE creamed parsnips! Happy Thanksgiving!

????

Greg, these are the Thanksgiving dishes and sides I hate.

It's why I scheduled my dental surgery for this Tuesday.

So I don't have to eat that shit.

R221/R223 — OH! I misunderstood. That's quite an elaborate list of things you dislike. I tend to make pretty traditional Thanksgiving fare. It pleases more people.

Thanks r223. The only thing on that list I'd like is the lemon curd for dessert. And coffee (though on a hate list it would be flavored, so I wouldn't want it after all).

R224, R225, it's this year's menu and is actually less fucked up than past years, where squirrel stuffed with chestnuts, goose eggs in aspic and brandied crab salad have also featured.

The mysterious colds and bouts of food poisoning I have suffered every fourth Monday in November is the puzzle of my physicians.

R226, I assume you're kidding about this food.

No, I'm related to a lot of bored rich people with sadistic personalities, R227.

Same r218 my mom used to do the butter and brown sugar thing to them and it was plain nasty. I will eat cooked carrots if they are in a pot pie or soup so they blend in but I do not care for cooked carrots as a side.

Anything that isn't traditional.

Your bird better be moist and flavorful. Don’t make me choke on dry bird because you don’t know how to roast a turkey.

Hippies. Hippies with dirty feet.

Creamed spinach is more a steakhouse dish to me.

I would love to try oyster stuffing!

R205 here, everything turned out well, but I forgot the dressing, until someone reminded me it was still in the warmer. Ugh a rookie mistake! Maybe I shouldn’t have had that 2nd pisco sour before dinner. Hope everyone had a relaxing day.

Greg is alive?

[quote]I would love to try oyster stuffing!

NO, oysters do not belong in stuffing. Neither does fruit, sorry to disappoint you gays. Chestnuts are OK.

Oyster stuffing is disgusting. It's a taste fest of salty, slimy fish sludge.

Who wants fish in their turkey? It's not supposed to be a Trudunken you white trash gays.