"I just wish I could figure out something more interesting to do with stale cubed bread!"

I think I've posted this before, but I always have taken this to our Thanksgiving dinner (pre-covid) gathering...30-35 people and there is never a drop left. Not sure what the source of your bread cubes is, but I usually use ciabatta or similar, just because the texture is perfect and it softens but doesn't get soggy -it's a little labor intensive to remove the crust, lol. I usually toss the bread cubes in just before serving.

Winter Panzanella Salad

Olychick, that sounds similar to the roasted salad I linked, just with croutons—-another very good idea!

Yes, I thought so...the croutons roasted with parmesan are scrumptious.

I’ve been scrolling through Thanksgiving tablescapes that feature Friendly Village tableware and happened upon this picture from the blog BetweenNaps on the Porch:

And now I am OBSESSED with these adorable acorn shaped, lidded soup bowls! The blog post was dated 2016 and the writer liked them so much she bought a set that year at Pier 1. There are pretty good copycats out there but none have the green leaf on the cap ☹️ I really want these particular bowls, and have convinced myself that my grandchild, if deprived of eating soup from these bowls once a year, will likely turn out to be a criminal or a heathen. Amazing, isn’t it? An hour ago I did not know these things existed and now I have to have them. (The Great Satan may be the internet after all, lol lol!)

here's one for your grandson!

Acorn covered bowl

I would be sad if there were no stuffing.😢

Have to agree with Bunny. I could do w/o potatoes before dressing--it is after all a once a year thing! There's rice recipe I prefer from Walter Mondale but bread 'stuffing' is an absolute must at Thanksgiving. I guess we are purists!! Also no dark meat would cause a mutiny at my gathering. DH will smoke a large bird on the grill. My son always brings a huge green salad ala Cost Co LOL but hey he's contributing!! We discovered a pear/apple pie a few years ago that is now a must have. Speaking of acorns: I am working on my table favors. DH had to make the little plates so I got him started early!!

Thank you for the turkey breast recipe. Everyone here prefers white meat, and this will work perfectly!

Great recipes and ideas, thank you!

I actually thought that lovely table setting was yours at first. Love your tablescapes. :)

I have to have cornbread dressing with holiday dinners. Mine has cornbread and bread crumbs, both.

Stuffing needs three ingredients to be truly successful imo: a nice mild sausage, butter, and summer savoury. (E.g. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/419-sausage-stuffing-with-summer-savory - our family recipe is from a really old Nova Scotia church cookbook)

Our Thanksgiving is passed but we always include homemade apple pie and sharp cheddar. I prefer dark meat for the turkey.

Another who must have dressing. I AM NOT COOKING THANKSGIVING! I have put my foot down this year. I am not doing both Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

Oly, thank you, that bowl is on its way!! I searched ebay last night and didnt see it, only the same shapes but without the **key feature** green leaf.

I see there is not a little feeling against the planned omission of stuffing—- I had no idea it was so revered 😳

Arcy, your son is a good egg to bring salad greens from Costco, that’s a great contribution IMO!

Thank you Jinx, and our dressing is often made with cornbread also, my mom’s favorite. Whenever I have tried to jazz it up with additional ingredients though, like sausage or apples or nuts, my mother is aghast. The older she gets the less she conceals it.😎

I see there is not a little feeling against the planned omission of stuffing—- I had no idea it was so revered

Good stuffing, mind you. For me it's the singular dish of Thanksgiving, with a dollop of pan gravy.

For years my SIL would host Thanksgiving because she had the biggest house. I love her, but she's not a very good cook. She would get a smoked turkey and announce that it didn't need gravy (!!!) or stuffing. The one holiday where the meal is the crowning event, and it was so lacking.

Not sure of our final numbers for thanksgiving, but it will be at most ten people, though more likely eight. We definitely have to have stuffing. My dh makes it and adds onions, sausage,celery and lots of sage. It's fabulous. He does scratch his head when I put a layer of stuffing on my turkey sandwich the next day. He calls it a "bread, bread" sandwich. I'll also make mashed potatoes, maybe steamed and butter carrots/or green beans, and some sort of baked bread. Desset (s) will be a pumpkin pie or bourbon pecan pie, bread pudding, and some cookies. We'll also do some signature cocktail. (We did a bourbon with tangerine juice (and maybe seltzer?) one year and labeled it "the tipsy turkey". It was fun.

Last T-day, I made a spatchcocked turkey brined in buttermilk. We really liked it and I'll make that again this year.

We'll be spending the day with my sister and BIL. BIL has celiac, so stuffing and rolls are tricky. My DH would be upset there was no stuffing and I don't like to put a dish on the table unless everyone can eat it. The gluten free breads I've used for stuffing just don't have the texture to hold up being doused with turkey stock... they tend to disintegrate. I'm still deciding how to proceed. I do agree with Robo... in my house, stuffing has to include sausage.

I'll most likely make this KALE SALAD. It's got a bright citrus dressing which is a nice balance to other traditional foods.

For us, Thanksgiving is all about the one time a year Stuffing (not dressing). A must have.

The only change in our meal comes from the guests who insist on bringing something to add to our table. I do the basics, Turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes*, green beans, brussel sprouts, canned cranberry sauce (!), etc.

* I now buy the big pan of mashed potatoes from Costco. Amazing how much easier Thanksgiving is now that I do not spend time cooking and mashing them.

Last year was our smallest group ever, damn Covid. Hopefully we’ll have 12 at our table this year.

Since, higher powers willing, we will be travelling at Christmas, I will be hosting Thanksmas.

I need to think about how to combine our traditional meals into one, without having to serve Tums. Christmas is usually filet and saffron risotto and pavlova, but ThxG has to have both turkey and stuffing ,and pumpkin custard.

There will be two of us for Thanksgiving, but it's got all the traditional dishes.

Stuffing on a turkey sandwich is divine. I never stopped to think that it was bread, bread.

Instead of turducken you can make a turfilet, Mtn :-) I also see a pumpkin custard with a baked meringue topping and rice with bread sauce in your future, lol.

Seriously, maybe you can just do small plates of all those things. Your day after sandwiches will be fab!

Czar, I actually spatchcocked a turkey myself one year as the butcher’s dept in our store had never heard of such a thing. It’s NOT easy, but it did cook far more evenly.

Maddie, i would buy real mashed potatoes in a heartbeat but we have no Costco. I do make the Pioneer Woman’s mashed potatoes (with cream cheese) the day before, refrigerate them in a dutch oven and reheat on the day.

There will also only be two of us for Thanksgiving, but I generally make turkey and stuffing, but then I make stuffing at other times of the year, just because I like it.

Our tradition is to drive from L.A. to Palm Springs on Thanksgiving Day, as there is essentially no traffic on that day, whereas the Wednesday before is horrendous. The last time we did this, we discovered that nothing along the way was open, and we had planned to have lunch on the way. We did find a coffee shop in Redlands that was open on TG, but that was about it.

One year we went to Joshua Tree instead of Palm Springs, another year we went to Death Valley, and another year we went to Borrego Springs. I guess our tradition is really just to go to the desert, and the weather is always very pleasant at that time of year - thus we are able to hike outside without worrying about excessive heat.

We've not spent TG with family since 2012 - the year our parents died, and not even that year, since we had to go to funerals in August and December.

When we did spend TG with our parents, I would generally do almost all of the cooking, and I did enjoy that, but it is not something that I miss. I felt an obligation to my mother to help her, but I do not have that kind of feeling for other relatives, most of whom are in Texas. I've always hated flying at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I tried to get my mother to have our family reunions on Texas Independence Day (March 2) instead (because the weather is always pleasant in March), but she was too much of a traditionalist. She always got very emotional at Christmas, but was willing to alternate TG and Christmas for our reunions.

Since we have not had family reunions since 2012, I cannot imagine what they would be like today.

I've had Thanksgiving dinner at the Furnace Creek Inn, Lars. You eat where you can, right?

We will probably have TG camping out in the desert with just the kids, burning things in a Dutch oven and wondering why we make things hard for ourselves. Maybe we'll stop at the inlaws on the way and they can cook for us.

I'm not from the cornbread stuffing part of the world, but I wonder if an acceptable celiac's version could be made with "real" cornbread--the type with no flour.

I'm a purist, aka a traditionalist. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it would not be Thanksgiving without stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, rutabagas, and creamed onions. I can do without turkey and am thinking of roasting Cornish game hens instead, but what do I do about gravy?

I've been wondering why people in the South make pumpkin pie when sweet potato pie is so much better.

Eileen, you can make gravy with roux, sauteed onions, chicken stock and cognac 😎 It’s delicious. And I’ll raise my hand as one who doesn’t like sweet potatoes. I don’t love pumpkin, but it’s better to me than the alternative. I could probably make sweet potato pie and the rest of my family would never know the difference.

We go to a friend's lake cabin for TG - just the four of us. Last year we stayed home and I made most of the dinner other than pre-made mashed potatoes from Costco and gravy in a jar - mashed potatoes aren't my favorite part.

I made this turkey roulade which I've made a couple times - it includes dressing. I had this sweet potato dish sans marshmallows and I bring this to friend's TG every year and will do so again this year.

I also usually bring some kind of brussels sprouts dish - here are some recipes I've made but I've also done simple roasted brussels. Brussels Sprout Hash, BS with Currants and Pine Nuts, Roasted Lemon Pepper BS with Parmesan.

And here is another one of my favorite holiday sides: Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

I’m giving in to the stuffing controversy after speaking with my mom. BUT— I just ordered WS’s foccacia and herbes de provence stuffing mix in the hopes that it will be delicious and at least a little different.

Dressing is a staple for our Thanksgiving dinners. We also must have sweet potatoes. I like them baked, roasted, souffle/casserole, whatever. We rarely have mashed potatoes at thanksgiving. I've never had dressing on a sandwich but I eat very few sandwiches. Just let me have all the leftovers! I usually make a cranberry salad, broccoli casserole or another green veggie (green beans either fresh or frozen from this summer) and creamed corn.

For those of you who don't like making the mashed potatoes the day of, I have tried Pioneer Woman's make-a-head mashed potatoes and they were pretty good!

@User I'm glad your mom will have her stuffing!

Sweet potatoes are not food.

And yams are something else entirely.

We have to have a stuffed turkey! Stuffing here is white bread, celery & bacon...inclusive. Whole cranberry sauce, canned....like momma used to open. ha ha

Pumpkin cheesecake w/ real whipped cream

Real mashed potatoes

Gravy

I start cooking at 5:30am.......like clockwork every year. I love home cooked holiday meals!

I love that, a "small plate" Thanksmas!

I wasn't even thinking about Thanksgiving yet until both my brothers invited themselves. I suggested to one brother that he host us at his new high rise apartment overlooking the lake, but he doesn't cook and has place settings for only 4, not 6. I said, cater the food and use disposables, or borrow like I always do! Yeah, that won't happen.

Oh well, I'll be happy to have them over. They'll bring a bottle of wine and a box of fancy nuts. DH will want to do the menu, never preps or cooks in advance, always day-of, using every pot, pan, bowl, and utensil, and make a huge mess.

In the end I'll be thankful we are together. We siblings haven't been together for Thanksgiving in 15 years. The last one, as my brother was leaving he asked quietly "Did I just miss it, or was there no stuffing?" Yeah, we'd forgotten to make stuffing! Imagine! Well, for Christmas that year DB gave me a handsome antique sterling spoon with our initial on it. He got it because of the initial. But when I saw the little descriptive card inside, under the padding, it called it a "stuffing spoon"! I showed that to DB and he was a dumbfounded as me. Such a funny coincidence.

My sister is hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I will help her cook. I also enjoy preparing Thanksgiving dishes, and will do another meal for my kids the week they are home from college, as well as another one for dear friends the week prior (or week after, not sure).

My family likes a very crumbly, heavy-on-the-sausage cornbread stuffing that I've made for years. I don't have a recipe for it, but it's all about the cornbread-sausage ratio.

Olychick, thank you for sharing the Winter Panzanella salad recipe. I don't usually buy bread, but this summer picked up an artisan sourdough loaf at a farmer's market for BLT sandwiches. I only used part of the loaf, and so sliced and froze the leftovers. I see them every time I open the freezer, and now I know what I'll do with them!

Kswl--thanks for starting this thread (I didn't see it initially). And I, too, will be trying the brandied fruit.

Bpath... time to get out the stuffing spoon. Great story.

Bpath, great story, and a great wau to remember the stuffing!

Sounds like you are cooking for serial feasts, feathers👩‍🍳

@User Have you checked Poshmark?

Confession: In my single days, I'd make Stovetop Stuffing and it would be my dinner entree for a couple of days. I still like it.

Just want to point out that herbes de Provence contains ….. savoury!!

Update:

Covered acorn soup bowl arrived and is beautiful and REALLY. BIG. Bigger than i thought it would be, and I am now considering the smaller ones from WSonoma even though they are a single color.

Foccacia stuffing mix arrived from WS, also from World Market I received the preserved lemons, Lyle’s golden Syrup, Thanksgiving crackers and six mini panettones. I ordered them because they are cute, so now I have to figure out what to do with them. Along with the requisite paper crowns, jokes and fortunes, these Thanksgiving crackers each contain a plastic wind up turkey and the box contains a large folded paper raceway. We‘ll have a rousing turkey race with am Amazon gift card for the winner. We usually do this at Easter also with wind up hopping bunnies that came in crackers we got years ago. I will have to get a runner up prize for Andy.

Any ideas on how to turn these into cute individual breakfast items? They dont have the traditional panettone shape; they look more like a very tall muffin but the texture and fruit is all regulation / brioche.

This would not be for your individule panettones but just wanted to say that i have sliced a larger one and made french toast with them. served with maple syrup. delish….

They look small but these are really too big for one person to eat. i might cut the bottom third off, then cut what’s left in half and ice between the layers and on the top and sides and decorate like a small cake. How does that sound?

Sounds great, especially if you can find little thanksgiving decorations for the top.

So cute! i could make those from marzipan!

I wouldn't frost them because they are a sweet bread, but you could glaze them like you would other breakfast sweets and scones. I would use an orange glaze. Or just cut them in half and lightly toast them. Serve with orange butter.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/orange-butter-recipe2-1970635

That’s a great idea Eileen. i could actually use those as a breakfast bread instead of a dessert. That’s the best idea yet, thank you!

Kswl, do you have any diy marzipan resources you could share?

I don’t, Zalco, only because I have only made mushrooms and acorns and easter eggs with it and they are so easy no directions are required. There are plenty of youtube videos on the subject but i find if i just look for photos I can copy what i see. You need to use paste or gel to color marzipan, as liquid coloring will make the stuff too wet. It gets hard when left out in the air so you want to keep it wrapped and sealed except for the bit you’re working on. It’s like play dough and a lot of fun to work with. True story: the first time I tried making cake decorations with it i had no idea how much i would need and ordered a SEVEN POUND TUB of the stuff from a vendor on Amazon. I could have made a Christmas village with that much marzipan! You can get it at the grocery store in tubes like toothpaste. Not the best quality but good enough to learn on and the packaging keeps it fresh.

Thank you, kswl.

I've always eaten panetonne as a breakfast bread. Actually, with a glaze, they'd be similar to hot cross buns. But I like the idea of the orange butter and that recipe does sound good.

You know, they ARE very similar to hot cross buns. i don’t do enough baking to see the patterns and principles involved.

Last year I discovered that making your own marzipan is incredibly easy and the flavor is so much better. I made mine using the almond flour from Costco (I did not want the skins present in almond meal). I did two variations, one with rosewater and one with kirsch. This year I may try making a batch with ginger liquer. If I were to make decorations with it, I would probably use molds which reminds me I want to find molds for this Christmas to get the portions better before dipping in chocolate.

Mmmmm, kirsch marzipan!