I have to have turkey, mashed potatoes and the smell of homemade stuffing (my Mom’s recipe) which I don’t eat but thankfully my Son In Law loves. To me, the best part about Thanksgiving is the planning and cooking. I could do without the actual shopping but it’s not the same if I don’t cook and plan the meal.

Yes! That’s why I keep adding. It is the one time of the year I don’t care about anything except a life threatning allergy. Well, Christmas also, but not the other 363 days!

Fifty years ago, DH and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving together, and my first one half the country away from my family. Bittersweet, just the two of us, but I went ahead and cooked for seven people as tho I was still at "home". Didn't do a turkey, as my DH is vegetarian, so I had a lovely little Cornish Game Hen for myself (yum). BUT -- all the usual sides and desserts had to be available, or it just wouldn't have been Thanksgiving.

We were eating that feast for a very long time...

=)

The most important component of the Thanksgiving meal for me is the stuffing. My stuffing lol. Turkey, of course, but everything else can change and vary (and it does).

Real mashed potatoes. My sister's MIL made potato salad one year, and I've never gotten over it :)

We are lucky to have sufficient good food on our table every day of the year. "Feasts" happen a couple times per year. But if you see stuffing on the table, you can bet it's Thanksgiving.

Yeah, have to agree about needing turkey and dressing.

My sweet potato casserole and dressing.

For those that just want a taste of mincemeat pie go to World Market and look at the Walker's selection. Most years they have mini mincemeat tarts. Saw them in todays ad not certain how long they are on sale.

Rob,one year my parents decided to go off the rails and serve a smoked ham,rolls, potato salad and pickles for thanksgiving. THERE WAS NO PIE THAT YEAR! HORROR OF HORRORS !

They have not been allowed to plan Thanksgiving or Christmas ever again. If they want to host, fine. But me and one of my sister's is always charge of the menu. They will never get that trust back. :)

Stuffing with raisins.

Isn't it funny how we all have our particular tastes when it comes to holiday food? It's probably a miracle that families can come together and share some of these foods, when their preferred way of fixing something is different than the hosts'. I remember once when I was first married. We had another couple we were friends with over for Thanksgiving dinner and for some crazy reason I made oyster stuffing (never had before nor since) because it sounded festive to me. One of our guests (who has now been a very close friend for about 40 years) just about left because she doesn't eat seafood and was so disappointed to not have stuffing.

Then one time we went to their house and they put apples and nuts in their stuffing and I couldn't eat it; wasn't used to the sweetness of the fruit and didn't like it at all with the texture of then nuts, esp with gravy, blech! So we agreed, no more oysters or apples in the stuffing if we're sharing the meal!

THERE WAS NO PIE THAT YEAR! HORROR OF HORRORS !

Fine with me :-) Pie is a very unnecessary addition in my book, especially pumpkin pie. It would be hours after dinner before I'd be ready for pie anyway.

I make mincemeat tarts each year before Christmas.....it's a very British thing :-) Easy to do with prepared mincemeat and they are just a mouthful so not a temptation to overeat. I have bought the Walker's (the shortbread people) mincemeat pies before but they do not taste like homemade and they are pricey compared to making your own!

Pie is a must! First is pumpkin pie with whipped cream (I make it regular or dairy free depending on who is coming). Next is pecan (regular pecan or faux pecan depending on who is here also), The third is cherry or apple depending on my mood.

ETA: I may have to add in my Dad's Coconut Cream pie. and I forgot about my grandson's favorite Fudge pie that is dairy free. Hubby would also vote for peach. Do you get the idea we kinda like pie? Woops don't forget the lemon meringue.

The sauerkraut (with T gravy) I always make with ham hocks and apples. Yum!

Dandyrandylou, that sounds like something I would love (not for Thanksgiving, though ;) do you have a recipe that you would share?

This is really an interesting thread! So many different 'traditions'.

Back when I did Thanksgiving dinner the menu rarely varied. Then, as our sons married and added to our family, more dishes were added to include things their wives liked. Then one year, one son decided to fry a turkey, and we've never looked back! So delicious! I did usually pick up a couple of turkey thighs and some extra giblets to make broth for gravy and use in the dressing. But I honestly can't think of any one dish has to be there for it to be "Thanksgiving". The menu has changed quite a bit since my son has taken over doing it, but that's okay. I still make both apple and pumpkin pies though. So maybe that's it?

Actually, I think family being together is the most important, to me anyway.

Rusty

A lazy man in a Laz-E-Boy

Mayflowers, my mother is originally from NE and creamed onions were something she always made, but couldn't get much of anyone else interested in eating. She would coerce my DH into eating them with her :^)

For me, it's white bread stuffing, but it's been many years since that's been on the Thanksgiving table. That was my mother who made the best white bread stuffing, but due to proximity we spend T day with DH's family and his family does cornbread dressing, which is pretty dang awesome too.

Let me have the stuffing and you can have the turkey.

My mom has been gone for 16 yrs now, but I still remember the taste and texture of her pumpkin pie. She used an old family recipe that was different to any pumpkin pie I have ever eaten. I wish I had that recipe. she never wrote it down. It was in her head and she made the pie just like her mother did. All I know was that it had plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, enough to turn the pie dark brown.

Jem - are you sure it wasn't squash pie? I mention it because that's what we've always had in our family and it looks and tastes very similar to pumpkin. The texture (denser) and color (darker) are the significant differences. My mom used canned squash and I believe the recipe was on the back. It might be worth it to make one just to see if this is closer to what you remember. I have some dishes that I remember from growing up that I can't seem to duplicate as I remember and there is no written record. Sad. I thought this might be worth a shot for yours.

skibby, you're bringing back so delicious memories, but in the south it's called sweet potato pie and it starts with boiling sweet potatoes just as you would to make mashed potatoes. Also in the south, it's dressing made in a pan and rice & gravy is the starch. For dessert it's sweet potato pie or pecan pie with homemade whipped cream. I'd never someone call pecans pee-cans until moving away from the south, sounds disgusting.

My south is cornbread dressing in the pan, with oysters, no rice on Thanksgiving, and pumpkin pie. The gravy is turkey drippings thickened with cornstarch, no flour. I haven't ever had sweet potato pie. Sweet potatoes are in a casserole topped with puhcans. or in a skillet (candied yams) (not to be confused with a real yam, they are sweet potatoes). It is also a puhcan pie.

Isn't it weird how things change going across the country. When we traveled, I used to collect local cookbooks, because they were so interesting.

I wonder how much longer traditions will last. I read the other day that sales of cold cereal is down because, wait for it, cold cereal is too much trouble. You have to wash the bowl and spoon!

Yes to cornbread dressing in a pan, I've never heard of putting oysters in it. We must be from different areas of the south, I'm from rice-growing areas so we always had rice and rarely ate potatoes. And yes, I prefer cornstarch based gravy, it's lighter. Love your puhcan, I'll remember to use that so others won't think pee-can.

skibby: I am sure it was pumpkin, and not squash. (1) We grew mostly pumpkins and avoided squash. (2), Often, it was me who brought in the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and it was me who separated the seeds, removed the skin, and did the rough preparation of the insides to provide material for Mom to make into pies.

Thanksgiving was a busy time in our farm kitchen. Since pumpkin pies will keep several days, these were made a few days in advance of Thanksgiving Day. The problem was that about half of these pies would be gone by Thanksgiving.

At our house we have to have rutabegas.

I will add to my original post. Our traditions have evolved over the years. We haven't always had turkey. One year, my employer gave me a boneless Honeybaked Ham, and I gave it to my mom, who served it for Thanksgiving with all the normal sides and a turkey breast. The year after that was the smoked ham debacle. Another year we had a Prime rib roast. Some years, my parents host. Some years my sister hosts. I never host, get off my lawn. Sides have varied. The only STAPLES have been some sort of potato, and pumpkin pie. This year, I was actually looking forward to stuffing. The original plan was that i make regular sausage stuffing and then a batch made with turkey sausage because the sister who is hosting it is married to a man with severe pork,beef and dairy allergies. But then she said she just wants me to make a huge batch of turkey sausage stuffing with margarine and not butter. They have gotten used to it i guess, and expect us not to know the difference. So at least I will not be tempted by the stuffing this year. The mashed potatoes will likely have margarine instead of butter as well, so I wont be tempted by them either. This might be the lowest carb Thanksgiving i have ever eaten! But I am getting my pie. It is NOT Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie.

Okay, i take back the low carb thing, as SOs mom makes the best chicken dressing and i am hoping he will bring me back a plate of it.......And the pie probably has enough carbs to make up for the stuffing AND the mashed potatoes.

jemdandy, try doing a google search for "vintage recipe for pumpkin pie". I found one right at the top of the search results that said it was from 1900. You may want to try it. People were saying in the comments that it was just like what their grandmother used to make.

vintage recipe for pumpkin pie

I was reading the other old recipe from 1803 which suggests that you can sweeten with molasses. Maybe that's why their pies were dark in color, would they have had molasses to use?

Arkansas girl, that is almost identical to the way I make my pumpkin pies most of the time. I have had that recipe over 60 years. We love it. The only thing different is in the the spices. I do like using evaporated milk in mine and I do heat it up to mix and bake it. We do like it a lot.

Sue in Central Indiana

Well, the stuffing, most specifically something resembling Mom's style of stuffing which had bread crumbs, Jimmy Dean sausage, celery, onion, and some great herbal seasonings. (I do not like cornbread stuffing.)

I don't care if I have cranberry sauce in that jello-like form (too sweet usually), but I do like cranberries done less sweetly. Either potatoes or sweet potatoes (BUT NEVER MARSHMALLOWS).

To be honest, when it came to dessert time, I was always satiated on the other items, and didn't care if I had dessert or not. Mother loved to make pecan pie, and I never liked it. She didn't make pumpkin pie, but when I had it elsewhere after striking out on my own, I really liked that.

Oh, the turkey has to be the full bird. I never liked the breast. Still don't.

Mother would make that bean casserole with the crispy onions on top. The crispy onions of that dish... good... until they got soggy after sitting out a while...

I follow the pumpkin pie recipe from my McCall's cookbook circa 1963, which calls for sweetening with molasses. The molasses gives it a richness. I imagine that brown sugar would, too. I put more spice in than most also - double the amounts called for in that recipe (except for the clove).

I had a pumpkin pie from the grocery store last week (had a coupon) and it was about the worst thing I had ever eaten. Almost as bad as okra ;)

Creamed onions yum! My mom made them. They were passed around the table then my younger brother and I finished them off. Tried making them but my family doesn't like them .

I could totally do without a turkey ,, other than to hold the stuffing put in the cavities. Must have pies!! Pumpkin, pecan and all the sides . I've developed an aversion to dishes with soup added so spent years looking for a green bean casserole without the soup.

Norsetex, I've never made this is from a food blog I like.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_green_bean_casserole_from_scratch/

Pretty interesting, all the very strong feelings about dessert :-) Dessert is at the very bottom of my list for Thanksgiving must-haves and pecan pie doesn't even register at all (it's like eating pure sugar!!). I'm not sure I understand forgoing any of the real "dinner" portions of the meal in favor of a dessert you can have any time of year. And if you do not forgo portions of the typical T'day dinner, how can you possibly stuff in any pie or other dessert?? I just don't get it......... :-)

I don't make pies that frequently, the filling is fast but the shell takes time to cut the flour/shortening up, chill, roll-out and then rest. Store-bought pie shells, never, ever... uck!

We always had the big meal around 13:00 and I was taught portion control and not to have seconds. So we didn't have any problems eating dessert.

Definitely Tart Cranberry Cake. Husband loves it so much, he told me since we are taking one to Thanksgiving dinner at our son's this year, he wants me to bake two so we can leave one at home for ourselves. :)

Filling (cooked outside of the turkey) and gravy. Hands down, absolutely my fav. Can't wait!

I used to make a cornucopia out of dough strips using a funnel shaped strainer. It's been quite some time ago but was a nice addition to the table. Has anyone made those?

Cranberry and Orange Relish

Katlan, what is filling? I haven't heard of it.

Most of this here is about food. Mine is not. Dinner is always at my in laws house and my mother in law is always upset about something or the other. Seems this time will be worse than usual. My older daughter said she is probably not going to be here (and the grandma called her a couple of times about that). Now my husband really has to go to Spain on Monday and will likely not going to be back in time for the dinner Thursday. Once this is over it might deserve its own threat. Can you tell I would like to skip Thanksgiving?

All this food sounds really yummy! Kadefol - can you please share your recipe for Tart Cranberry Cake?

Iris,me and SO have an arrangement for holidays. I go to my family's thing, He goes to his family's thing,and then we come home happy to each other. Both of us are welcome and invited to each other's family events,but that is how we do it. There is no expectation from his family that i will be there,and none from mine that he will be there. I won't say there is no family foolishness,but I don't have to deal with his and he doesn't have to deal with mine.

It probably helps that my family is flexible. No one in our family is stuck on having the family together on the actual day of the holiday. My sister is hosting thanksgiving on thursday,my mom will be having another big dinner (not turkey) on friday. I am working both nights though,so no party for me. :(

I hear more and more that holidays are a source of stress because of family drama. Makes me sad. If a holiday is not enjoyable, what's the point?

Iris,I would totally bail on thanksgiving this year in your shoes. Who wants to "celebrate" with someone who is always upset about something? On thanksgiving of all days????

Iris, that's so ridiculous! I don't know why it is that some people are always on guard and looking for something...anything...to pick a fight about. There seems to always be one in a family, at least! In my family it was my SIL (brother's wife)...every time we had a celebration she was in a snit about something. Also, they were ALWAYS late and in my family, we are all chomping at the bit to eat so we did not wait on them to get there so every year she was mad about that! No matter that Mom would tell her that we are going to eat at noon or 1:00, whatever the time was for that year. They would always be at least an hour late.

Stacey_mb, I adapted the Tart Cranberry Cake from a Taste of Home recipe. I reduced the sugar and made a few other other changes. The original recipe is here: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/tart-cranberry-cake/ and below is my adapted recipe:

Tart Cranberry Cake

• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup White Whole Wheat flour
• 2-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 2/3 cup chopped pecans or almonds
• Whipped cream, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and lemon-colored, about 5 minutes. Add butter and extracts and orange zest; beat 2 minutes. Gradually stir in flour just until combined. Stir in cranberries and pecans or almonds. Spread in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish.
• Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Family.

I found the Aunt Nellie's onions today so I plan to make some next week. I have never had them before but they sound good.

Ooohh....the best!! Be sure to come back and let us know what you thought of them :-)

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Would have been fine going out to eat and was thinking of sushi or seafood before my daughter said she wanted a traditional meal at home.

I made creamed onions tonight following the recipe on the jar of Aunt Nellie's whole onions. The aroma while they were baking was super great! The skin on a couple of the onions could have been more tender I thought, and I think next time I will add a couple of chicken breasts or tenders (may brown them first) to go with that delicious sauce and just leave in oven longer.