Thankgiving is on the top of my list for favorite holidays. The food part, that is. Not the incredible amount of work it takes to put it all together or the occasional family member who spoils everything by bringing up some touchy subject!
Every year, no matter where we go for Thanksgiving, there is always a robust discussion about which version of mashed potatoes, creamed corn, or pumpkin pie we should make. Traditional recipes must have a new twist and the new twist is not always an improvement. How should we do the turkey? How long in the oven? Brined or not? Try a deep fried turkey? (We fried the turkey one time and I cannot believe we didn’t catch the whole house on fire!)
Every family has some traditional recipes and I would love to hear from you all about yours. Do you go for an easy pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin and prepared crusts or do you cook the pumpkin or squash, mash it, make the crust yourself? What are your favorite vegetables? Corn? Green beans? Black eyed peas? Brussel sprouts? I make something called “purple salad” (named by my grandkids) which is German red cabbage with bacon, apples and spices. It’s warm so not technically a salad but some of the kids love it. Last year I tried to send a batch to my son and his family in Tucson, but somehow it got delayed in the mail, and by the time it arrived, it smelled super bad and had to be tossed!
Here are some websites I have used for Thanksgiving recipes:
The classic New York Times recipes –
Sixty-seven Thanksgiving recipes from BonAppetit
Seventy Thanksgiving recipes from Country Living
If this is too overwhelming, how about just ordering in a Thanksgiving dinner? It’s not a sin. I remember one episode of Everybody Loves Raymond called “No Fat” where Marie decided to do a tofu turkey, which was awful, and they ended up ordering in the real thing under cover late at night! The important part of Thanksgiving is being with friends and/or family. And being grateful. We can’t forget that!