Thanksgiving To-Do List

[serious crayons]

Thanks for the turkey recipe! I'm not making turkey on Thanksgiving, but I've had a turkey breast in my freezer for way too long now.

[Jeff Wrangler]

(Shakes head.) I just don't get mac and cheese as a side dish at Thanksgiving. I never heard of that till I moved to Philadelphia.     We don't even have both mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. (Actually, we don't do mashed potatoes. We just have sweet potatoes. Filling/stuffing/dressing takes the place of the mashed potatoes.)

[serious crayons]

We have dressing/stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga, bourbon-sweet-potato pie for dessert (my contribution). No mac 'n' cheese, but I think that's common in some places.

But I've never heard of corn on the cob! And Chuck, I'm surprised you aren't planning any more Italian-influenced side dishes.

[Front-Ranger]

Surely y'all do some kind of cranberry thing?? What do you put in your dressing/stuffing?

[CellarDweller]

Katy, we usually do Italian each year, this year will be different.

My family really doesn't eat stuffing/dressing, so that won't be on the table.  I asked about it, nobody wanted any.  LOL

[southendmd]

Surely y'all do some kind of cranberry thing?? What do you put in your dressing/stuffing?

I've posted my cranberry chutney recipe here somewhere.

As for stuffing, I prefer real stuffing (inside the bird), but maybe not this year. With fewer meat-eaters, I'm making a turkey breast roulade instead.

When I do make stuffing, I prefer fresh (stale) bread.  My friend Joey made me a loaf of challah, which I have in the freezer.  I like the traditional mix of leeks, onions, garlic, celery, egg and broth.  Fresh sage and parsley are a must.  When I bake it outside the bird, I sometimes put a turkey wing on top to simulate being inside the bird.

[Jeff Wrangler]

My mother always used stale bread--never store-bought bread cubes. As for other ingredients, I just remember egg, a little onion, parsley flakes, and a little milk to "wet it down." Plus, she always fried it before she stuffed it in the turkey.

[serious crayons]

Katy, we usually do Italian each year, this year will be different.

That's what I thought! None of my business, but is there a particular reason (again, no problem if it's private).


As for stuffing, I think cornbread stuffing is the platonic ideal -- but frankly I like bread better. I also prefer not to put it in the turkey, which is slightly unsafe, but to infuse it with some aspect of turkey, like broth or gravy or whatever. I can do without celery, but if someone wants to put it in there I can pick it out or endure it.

Paul, do your vegetarian friends object to eating stuffing upon which a turkey wing has been cooked? i love cranberry chutney! A friend who loves to cook made it for a Friendsgiving one year.

I'll eat most Thanksgiving dishes, traditional or otherwise within reason. But anything that combines sweet potatoes with marshmallows is a hard no for me. In fact, the whole point of sweet potatoes is they're sweet -- let them be the sweetness focus and add just about any savory ingredients.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'll eat most Thanksgiving dishes, traditional or otherwise within reason. But anything that combines sweet potatoes with marshmallows is a hard no for me. In fact, the whole point of sweet potatoes is they're sweet -- let them be the sweetness focus and add just about any savory ingredients.

Yeah, that's just gross. 

I do rather like cornbread stuffing.