Favorite Thanksgiving Food

[ednbarby]

I think my favorite item is the mashed potatoes - especially when you make them homemade with garlic and homemade gravy.   

[moremojo]

You can't have Thanksgiving without turkey, of course, but you can't have turkey without the stuffing--and that's what I claim as my favorite!

[Arad-3]

I gotta have the turkey! But if i have turkey i gotta have those mashed potatoes and gravy!! And cranberry sauce is a must. However, stuffing i love but not all stuffings are equal so that will depend on where I am

[David]

Mmmm! Love Mashed Potatoes and Turkey!     

[Front-Ranger]

You are making me hungry, Barb!! My favourite thing is the spiced peaches. It wouldn't be T-giving without them.

[Lynne]

I had to vote for stuffing   It's my favorite and something I only go to the trouble to make on rare occasions, so it makes things special.  And there's a hundred ways to do it and everybody claims their way is the 'best' which is fun!

I remember one of Price and my first Thanksgivings in Boston, we had to have two types - his breadcrumb/oyster stuffing Connecticut style and my cornbread/sage Southern style.  Well, all would have been well, EXCEPT for the detail that self-rising cornmeal was not readily available in Boston and how was I s'posed to know that I needed to add baking powder and soda??  A total bust, but a fun memory! 

[delalluvia]

Dressing, but only if it's the good kind - from inside the turkey.

I prefer cornbread to white bread dressing.  I suppose I've never eaten white bread dressing that was any good, so I'm biased.

But you can't have cornbread dressing/mashed potatoes without decent giblet gravy doused on top!!

[ednbarby]

Oh, yeah.  I do the giblet gravy, too.  Grosses Ed out if he has to look at them boiling beforehand, so I try to leave things somewhat mysterious.   Used to be he'd come in the kitchen and be like "What are you *doing*?"  He's since learned to just stay clear. 

I make a white bread stuffing with Italian bread.  I put *so* much butter, onions and celery in it, though, along with the chicken broth, that no one ever complains that it didn't come out of the turkey.  If it's borderline soggy when you put it in the oven and you cover it, it never gets too dry.  And I roast my turkey in one of those oven roasting bags.  Lazy, I know, but the turkey never dries out even if you over-cook it just a tad and clean up's a snap!

[Jeff Wrangler]

It's all about the stuffing. Baked in the bird--and Salmonella threat be damned.

Mother always used Italian bread, or some other thickly sliced white bread, though I've learned to like cornbread stuffing, too. Chestnut stuffing is good, too.

And you gotta have gravy on that stuffing. Stuffing without gravy just ain't right.   

[Meryl]

Stuffing, of course!  Moist and savory, with gravy.  That's what makes it Thanksgiving. 

[nakymaton]

The green jello mold that my mother makes...

No. Just kidding.

Stuffing. And gravy. And turkey. And making little lakes in mashed potatoes.

And then pretending the green jello mold is algae growing in the mashed potato lake.

No. Just kidding.

[serious crayons]

My favorite Thanksgiving food is a bowl of Froot Loops, which I eat while watching football and waiting for the turkey to be carved that my mother spent three hours cooking.

Just kidding. 

PS How do you cook a turkey dinner in three hours? Do you think she microwaved the turkey?

[ednbarby]

Maybe he wasn't including the actual roasting time?

You've also gotta love the turkey sammitches you get to have for days (weeks?) afterwards.  Mmmmm, mmmmm, good.

[Jeff Wrangler]

You've also gotta love the turkey sammitches you get to have for days (weeks?) afterwards.  Mmmmm, mmmmm, good.

Tell you what, maybe the favorite Thanksgiving food is really the leftovers. 

[MaineWriter]

I like the creamed onions (traditional in our family). I posted a really good recipe (which I will be making next week) over on the holiday recipes thread on Anything Goes.

Leslie

[southendmd]

Damn, I'm getting hungry reading all this.

Stuffing!  I grew up with Pepperidge Farm stuffing from a bag, but now I prefer wild rice and chestnuts with lots of herbs.  YUM

Also, homemade gravy:  I put all the giblet and goobly bits in a saucepan with red wine on the back of the stove while the turkey is cooking, and use that as the base for gravy.  Just can't go back to store-bought.

[Lynne]

You've also gotta love the turkey sammitches you get to have for days (weeks?) afterwards.  Mmmmm, mmmmm, good.

How did Bobby Twist put it?? 'Gonna be eatin this for two whole weeks?!'

[delalluvia]

My favorite Thanksgiving food is a bowl of Froot Loops, which I eat while watching football and waiting for the turkey to be carved that my mother spent three hours cooking.

Just kidding. 

PS How do you cook a turkey dinner in three hours? Do you think she microwaved the turkey?

I guess it depends on how big the turkey is.  I was just watching a cooking show last night and they quoted a cooking time of just under 3 hours for a 12 lb.

[serious crayons]

I guess it depends on how big the turkey is.  I was just watching a cooking show last night and they quoted a cooking time of just under 3 hours for a 12 lb.

True. But that's just time in the oven. Then there's all the prep before and after.

I've only cooked one Thanksgiving dinner and it took me all f'in day (in fact, I was in tears by 10 a.m.). But even cooks who seem much more adept than I am seem to take longer than three hours.

[Penthesilea]

You all know we don't have Thanksgiving over here, so no traditional turkey. Confession time: I never have eaten any turkey my whole life.
But I do love mashed poatoes and I love to make little lakes in it. No kidding, Mel 

Can someone explain the cranberry cauce to me, please? It sounds yummy, but I have no idea whether my association is correct. Is it sweet? Or sweet and sour? Do you eat it together with the meat? Or is it for dessert? Or is it more like a regular brown gravy(not sweet), only with a hint of friut?

[Penthesilea]

I looked it up at wikipedia. It seems to be similar to the cranberry jelly we eat together with venison.
So I think it has a sweet and fruity taste, doesn't it?

[delalluvia]

I looked it up at wikipedia. It seems to be similar to the cranberry jelly we eat together with venison.
So I think it has a sweet and fruity taste, doesn't it?

Yes, it's just a sweetened and jelled condiment.  Not very sweet.  It has a tartness.  It's a condiment, to be eaten with the turkey, but like most Thanksgiving day food, almost everything can be and is eaten together.  Some people make their own cranberry sauce, but it's more like a chutney in consistency than a sauce.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Yes, it's just a sweetened and jelled condiment.  Not very sweet.  It has a tartness.  It's a condiment, to be eaten with the turkey, but like most Thanksgiving day food, almost everything can be and is eaten together.  Some people make their own cranberry sauce, but it's more like a chutney in consistency than a sauce.

I guess what Del's calling a chutney is what folks in Central Pennsylvania would call a "cranberry relish." Around here it usually consists of ground cranberries and apples, with a little orange thrown into the mix, and sometimes walnuts. I think some recipes also call for using Jello, but I don't think my mother or my grandmother ever included Jello when they made their own cranberry relish.

Much to be preferred to the jellied stuff that comes out of a can.   

[Penthesilea]

Thank you both Del and Jeff 
Yup, my accosiation was right. I think I'd love cranberry sauce (or relish or chutney).

[cmr107]

I voted for mashed potatoes. I've been the mashed potato maker in my family since I was like 13. My mom always made really good ones, then she taught me. Tell you what, mine might be better than hers! 

I also really love turkey, but I couldn't vote for two things. And here's what will make ya'll think I'm crazy - I don't like gravy!

Goodness, I can't wait for Thanksgiving. I haven't had a day off from school since Labor Day, and I haven't been home since September either! One more week...

[dot-matrix]

My Mama was a Southern Belle so we have some different traditions in our family, one of my fav's are the mixed greens with turnips...Mama mixed Turnip Greens, Collard Greens and Mustard Greens and cooked them with peeled and diced turnips, salt pork, pepper and a little vinegar.  She was also a great bread baker so it's not a holiday for me without Mama's greens and dinner rolls

Thank goodness I paid enough attention to learn how to prepare a pale but passable version of both before I lost her.

[serious crayons]

I have kind of an urgent question: Does anybody have any ideas for a nice main dish to replace turkey for a 10-year-old vegetarian? My son has been a vegetarian since April. What happened was, he found an injured bird, kept it a few days, nursed it back to health. And then, suddenly and mysteriously, he found it dying. He held it in his hands until it died, and ever since that he's been a vegetarian.

I eat meat myself, but I'm proud of my son for having the discipline to have stuck to his vegetarianism for seven months, with no sign of wavering. But I know Thanksgiving will be tough. Obviously there are side dishes: potatoes, rutabaggas, green vegetable, pie ... But skipping turkey, dressing and gravy won't be easy.

Does anybody know of any tasty Thanksgivingish vegetarian main dish? I'm thinking maybe something that might involve pumpin or yams, maybe seeds or nuts, other vegetables .... cheese is OK (he's not a vegan -- yet!) ... any great ideas?

[nakymaton]

Katherine, do you have any of the Moosewood cookbooks? (Or could you find them in a local library?) I've got a stack of them (I like vegetarian cooking), and there are a lot of possibilities.

Chilean Squash (cooked squash or pumpkin, onion, red & green bell peppers, garlic, cumin, eggs, corn, chili powder, cheddar cheese, coriander, salt, and a tiny bit of cayenne and black pepper) sounds kind of like what you're looking for... if he eats eggs?

There are a lot of different vegetarian stew possibilities, and also vegetarian versions of shepherd's pie, that are pretty good and might be Thanksgiving-ish enough.

I once made vegetarian spanikopita for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of work.

[serious crayons]

Chilean Squash (cooked squash or pumpkin, onion, red & green bell peppers, garlic, cumin, eggs, corn, chili powder, cheddar cheese, coriander, salt, and a tiny bit of cayenne and black pepper) sounds kind of like what you're looking for... if he eats eggs?

There are a lot of different vegetarian stew possibilities, and also vegetarian versions of shepherd's pie, that are pretty good and might be Thanksgiving-ish enough.

I once made vegetarian spanikopita for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of work.

Thanks, Mel! Good ideas. I don't have the Moosewood Cookbook, but I'm semi-familiar with it and could probably find the recipe online. The only complicating factor is that whatever I do I'll probably have to do in my mother-in-law's kitchen.

But you know what? I bet if I just do something -- show that in some way I'm supporting his choice -- it will be good. He's not that fussy about food. But the main thing is, I want to make him feel good about being so disciplined and sticking to his principles.

[nakymaton]

Thanks, Mel! Good ideas. I don't have the Moosewood Cookbook, but I'm semi-familiar with it and could probably find the recipe online. The only complicating factor is that whatever I do I'll probably have to do in my mother-in-law's kitchen.

Do you have a crock pot you could bring? It would be pretty easy to make a vegetable stew (or maybe something with vegetables and a legume and a grain, like rice & beans or corn & green beans or something, to make the complete protein stand-in, in case your mother-in-law is skeptical about the whole no-meat business). If you had a crock pot, you could just chop the vegetables (or even use frozen ones plus potatoes plus spices -- like cumin + oregano + garlic, something mild but with lots of flavor), plug in the crock pot, and let it sit in some out-of-the-way corner.

[serious crayons]

Not exactly a dish, but a possible turkey stand-in: A veggie friend of mine told me about tofurkey, a meat substitute made from tofu. (I haven’t tried it ’cause I can’t eat soy.) Looks and acts like sliced deli meat. Maybe a few pieces of that on your son’s plate?

Do you have a crock pot you could bring? It would be pretty easy to make a vegetable stew (or maybe something with vegetables and a legume and a grain, like rice & beans or corn & green beans or something, to make the complete protein stand-in, in case your mother-in-law is skeptical about the whole no-meat business). If you had a crock pot, you could just chop the vegetables (or even use frozen ones plus potatoes plus spices -- like cumin + oregano + garlic, something mild but with lots of flavor), plug in the crock pot, and let it sit in some out-of-the-way corner.

Both excellent ideas, Mel and Barbara! Thanks!

[RouxB]

A good sweet potatoe pie-but that's dessert.

Dressing (we don't call it stuffing)-cornbread with sausage, oysters and Lynne's sage.

Have to pass on the white, or any other color, "stuffing".

[Ellemeno]

I was so surprised to find that most of us chose stuffing.  But of course, it's stuffing with gravy.  And with turkey, and a bit of cranberry sauce.  All that in each bite.

And here's my secret - I prefer the cylindrical jellied cranberry sauce to real homemade cranberry sauce.

[Meryl]

I'm with you, Elle.  No problem with the canned cranberry.  But I love all versions, 'cept maybe those with too much orange. 

[serious crayons]

And here's my secret - I prefer the cylindrical jellied cranberry sauce to real homemade cranberry sauce.

My mom used to use this. And she'd plunk it in a bowl whole, so you could still see the can seam imprinted on the side!

I have made this really good sauce with cranberries, orange juice and zest, and granny smith apples. You mix them together, maybe with some sugar, and bake until they thicken to a gel-like consistency.

If anybody wants the recipe, let me know!

[Ellemeno]

My mom used to use this. And she'd plunk it in a bowl whole, so you could still see the can seam imprinted on the side!

Ah, a thing of beauty.    I want to get a little faceted glass rectangular dish, just for my canned cranberry sauce, and a special little knife/server.