This salad was very pretty and scored well in my family. The recipe was torn from a magazine so I’m not sure of the source, and I couldn’t find it online, in a cursory search.

Mixed Beet and Orange Salad

Serves 8/ active time 15 minutes, total time 55

4 oranges, mixed varieties

1.5 lbs beets, mixed varieties

Slice oranges and refrigerate. Roast beets in 400 degree oven until tender (in foil pouches with a strip of orange zest, olive oil, s&p. Peel and slice when cool.).

Dressing:

Save 1/2 tsp zest and 2 tsp juice from an orange.

2 TBS finely chopped shallot

2 TBS white wine vinegar

1 TB Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/2 cup EVOO

1/4 cup micro-greens or watercress

Shake in a jar and season to taste. Arrange sliced beets and oranges on platter, drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle with the greens.

I am enjoying reading all the recipe suggestions.

Personally I love cheese in every form, but much of my thanksgiving crowd does not. I would seek to exclude cheese from these recipes, but Annie your brocolli with cheese and worcestshire sounds lovely. Can you share?

I did not grow up eating brussel sprouts and only got introduced to them much later on, usually steamed. I love them but do not love the "aroma". Roasting them I find is absolutely delish and no aroma.

We love this refreshing cucumber salad....everyone enjoys it. I added some dried cranberries.

I forgot all about cauliflower polonnaise...love it and often make it for the holidays. I also love the combo of broccoli, califlower and carrots.

@salonva I too grew up with the Campbells soup green bean casserole and cranberry sauce from a can. Unlike you, I always thought both were awful :-)

Mom was not a cook. She hated cooking and would take every short cut imaginable. Actually making cranberry sauce was a foreign concept to her. Fresh vegetables? Never had them (other than corn on the cob in the summer). Not even frozen! Everything from a can. Yuck.

We have hosted Thanksgiving since we got married (was not choosing which side of the family to go to!). My mom, and especially my dad, enjoyed our Thanksgivings so much!

My mom was always amazed I could cook and bake! She never baked anything ever.

My mom would make this for holiday meals. Still love it.

Mandarin Orange and Pecan Salad

Dressing:
2 T. sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 T. minced fresh parsley (optional)
3-4 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil

Salad:
Greens of choice (enough for about 6 people - romaine or spring mix is good)
Half of a small red onion, sliced (or to taste)
1 cup sliced celery
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained (or fresh navel orange segments)
Approx. 2/3 cup candied pecan halves (store bought is also fine)

Optional: Dried cranberries

For Pecans: Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans and about 1 1/2 to 2 T. sugar. Stir and watch closely until sugar begins to melt. Turn down heat and continue to stir until sugar is completely melted. Watch carefully; they can burn very quickly. Remove from heat and cool completely. (You can make these well ahead; keep tightly covered at room temp.)

For Salad: Whisk sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Tabasco together until the sugar and salt completely dissolve. Whisk in oil. Combine all of the salad ingredients. Whisk dressing and toss well with salad ingredients.

A bit OT but this salad mix from TJ’s is tasty and very good on turkey sandwiches.👍🏻

I am fairly ambivalent towards green bean casserole but make it for those who want it. I do make my own white sauce and crispy onions for the top. This year I will probably make the white sauce with soy milk and cashews so that the lactose intolerant gues can enjoy it. I used to love the store bought crispy onions, but now they taste rancid to me. It is a nice dish to have have beause it can be prepped ahead of time. If I was not doing it, I would roast green beans with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest and then top with panko mixed with herbs, a bit of parmesan (or not) and hazelnuts.

This year for a simple side, I will be trying a new recipe for cauliflower roasted with a tahini maple sauce. I will also make a kale salad with clementines and pomegranate to have something a bit less dense. Honestly, by the time I serve the meal, I am not interested in much of it because I am so tired of looking at it and messing with it that I really want is a cup of punch and then a nap.

It will be the same sides I always fix. I have 2 DIL's that only like 2-3 vegetables.

@mtnrdredux_gw, Allison Roman not only moved out of NYC, but is now married and pregnant.

Yes, i saw! But am I misremembering or did I also see her brine a raw turkey with a pearl bracelet on?

@faftris will you please share your cranberry sauce recipe, or did I miss it here someplace?

This one is the easiest and always the first to disappear at thanksgiving.

Broccoli salad with bacon, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, cheese.

Ingredients: 1 lb broccoli florets, 4 slices cooked bacon, 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese, 4 (or more) oz dried cranberries, 4 oz unsalted sunflower seeds, coleslaw dressing, real mayonnaise.

Cut up the bacon into small pieces, cut up the cranberries in small pieces, cut up broccoli in small bite size pieces. Mix all together along with sunflower seeds.

Mix a dressing consisting of about 25% coleslaw dressing and 75% real mayonnaise but before adding to the broccoli taste for sweetness. Add more coleslaw dressing if it's not sweet enough or more real mayonnaise if it's to sweet. Once it's just right dump some into the broccoli and mix all together. Add as much or little as you like, no need to be precise.

Then take a look, add more of any item you think looks good to you. It can't really be screwed up except for the dressing. I've used 4 different kinds of coleslaw dressing and all have had different levels of sweetness. This is why I make the right sweetness by mixing the real mayonnaise with the coleslaw dressing because I don't want the sweet to overpower the salad. Some people use raisins but the cranberries give it a much better taste.

I think I might go for roasted veggies to take over to my daughters. I think I have done this for the last three years. Any hints on how to give it a different look?

@kevin9408 I like that salad, too and agre about making it not too sweet. I hate it when people make it with Miracle Whip! I also started just barely steaming the broccoli; we like it so much better than raw. Just enough that it starrs to turn bright green and plunge it quickly in ice water so it doesnt actually cook.

Happy to share:

2 lb. cranberries (I use 3 twelve ounce bags)

3 apples, peeled, cored diced

2 pears, peeled, cored, diced

2 cups golden raisins

2 cups sugar

1 cup orange juice

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup orange liqueur (optional)

Mix all the ingredients except the liqueur in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Simmer 45 minutes uncovered. Everything will break down, but it will have texture.

Stir in the liqueur at the end if you are using. I like Triple Sec.

It makes a lot, but you can scale it down.

I portion it in pint containers and freeze it for use all year. Chicken, pork chops, turkey burgers, chicken sausages.

@lily316316, do you like lentils? This lentil salad w roasted veggies is one of my faves.

Do any of you recall NPR’s Susan Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish? I was working and commuting in those years, so I never made it. I was pretty much a traditionalist way back then. And the ingredients made the relish sound too weird, and, and there wer things about Stamberg that I liked, but other things about her personality (?too britely assertive?) that annoyed me and made me think her elbows were too sharp).

I found her recipe online and will give a link to anyone wanting it.

➡️ https://www.npr.org/2006/11/23/4176014/mama-stambergs-cranberry-relish-recipe

Kevin - that sounds yummy! I'm going to try it. But what might I substitute for the sunflower seeds (I don't care for them much) ?? Any ideas?

Question: When and how did that Green Bean Casserole become part of the Thanksgiving menu? Did it begin in California? New England?

One of my doctors and I were talking one day and he told me how reviled he was by it. So I used to tease him and tell him I’d give him recipes for it.

It was never on my family’s Thanksgiving menu. But one of my siblings married outside the clan and then began making and bringing thie green bean casserole. I can take it or leave it. However, a vew days ago, I came upon a largely fresh ingedient version and it looked delicious.

Our fare is largely roasted turkey wirh simple but delicious bread stuffing; mashed or whipped potato, squash, stuffing, real gravy from the roast turkey drippings, flour and broth; young baby peas, creamed baby onions (with some of the turkey broth and thickened roux.) Desserts home made deep dish custard pie, maybe apple or pumpkn pie.. My parents were both good accomplished cooks.

@roxanna, how do you feel about pepitas or pignolias?

Rosanna, the sunflower seeds do little for the flavor so you can leave them out, but maybe crushed cashews? Think I'll try that next time.

My uncle bought a 1/2 lb of the stuff from Hi-Vee 2 years ago and I really liked it but at $13.00 a pound I wasn't going to buy it. All the recipes on line said mayonnaise or miracle whip and it just wasn't right. I went to Hi-Vee and started talking to the woman who makes it and after making her smile a few times (yes, I'm able to do that) I asked what the dressing was, she said coleslaw dressing. It still was to sweet, so I got sugar free and it was even sweeter but of a different flavor. This is when I started mixing it with mayonnaise to tone it down. I guess it depends on the brand of coleslaw dressing used. next time I think I'm going to also steam the broccoli like Olychick mentioned.

Colleen - I have never tried either. I really ought to expand my taste buds, lol. I do recall that pignoli were extremely expensive a few years ago.

Thanks, Kevin - crushed cashews might be perfect (I do love them).

Mtn— re Allison Roman, she did! She got married and moved to the suburbs and has a little shop!

I forgot her green bean casserol… I am making a homemade version of my own with onion and mushroom and beefstock bechamel but still using the French’s canned french fried onions which — in AR’s words—“cannot be improved upon.” I agree, I tried Alton Brown’s method of making them and it was not a reasonable enough facsimile.

“DH remarked that he missed the canned variety with the imprint of the can on the "sauce".

LOL, salonva, my late BIL would only eat the canned stuff.

I found this recipe for cranberry sauce from Wms. Sonoma long ago. I always make it 2-3 days in advance and double the recipe.

Wms. Sonoma's Apple-Orange Cranberry Sauce

Note: Best made a few days ahead.

12 oz. fresh cranberries (about 3 cups)
Juice and zest from 1 large orange
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Place cranberries, orange zest, orange juice and apples in medium saucepan. In small bowl mix sugar, salt, cinnamon and cloves and add to cranberry mixture. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low simmer and cover partially. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, apples are tender and berries have burst, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool. Cover and chill; bring to room temp before serving.

I've enjoyed reading about everyone's special sides! The green bean casserole is not part of our family's tradition but it's an American classic. I think I'm going to try TinaMarie's Southern Living recipe for roasted brussels spouts and squash -- that looks perfect -- thanks for the rec!

This is certainly not traditional, but as a vegetarian I love having a hearty side that has still has fall / Thanksgiving flavors. This is one of my absolute favorites and I'll probably be making it this year. It has butternut squash, cranberries, and sage and then a base of millet. Vegetarian and gluten free.

Mark Bittman's Autumn Millet Bake @ 101Cookbooks.com

https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/mark-bittmans-autumn-millet-bake-recipe.html

I haven't made this before, but this is another dish I am considering instead.

Butternut Squash Gratin @ FeastingAtHome.com

https://www.feastingathome.com/butternut-squash-gratin/

Those look delicious! I've never cooked with millet but use farro a lot. I wonder if that could be substituted? I could buy millet, but always have farro on hand. Might need to be cooked longer. eta: I just read the recipe notes and she says Mark Bittman suggests subbing other grains if desired.

So many good recipes, honestly.

I have on my brain pomegranate seeds, and was thinking about brussel sprouts an sweet potatos- well I googled and saw this one. ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH SWEET POTATO AND POMEGRANATE

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds
• Spray oil (I like avocado oil for its high smoke point)
• sprinkle of sea salt
• drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Dice up your sweet potatoes and slice your brussels sprouts.
3. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and spray with oil until well coated.
4. Sprinkle sea salt all over the veggies and put into the oven.
5. Let roast for 20 minutes.
6. While brussels and potatoes are roasting reduce your balsamic vinegar. (how to in blog post)
7. Remove from oven after 20 minutes and add the pomegranate seeds.
8. Lastly drizzle the balsamic reduction all over the top and sprinkle a little more salt over the top.
9. Enjoy warm

It meets the no cheese bit.

I should do that but I don't. I always think drizzling will be fine and I won't have to dirty another dish. Usually, it is fine but the oil is often uneven.

I took frozen turkeys to my son's house last Sunday. I bought a lot on sale last year and they need to be cooked. I kept one for Christmas. He likes to dry brine and will cook the turkeys. I am bringing deviled eggs and dairy free chocolate pies. No idea what else we are having? It will be on Saturday.

“Am I the only person who puts prepped veggies in a bowl, adds oil, and S&P if called for, tosses to coat, and then arranges on the baking sheet?”

Bunny, you’re not the only one.☺️

chloebud, thanks. I know it's a big deal for some to not have an extra dish or bowl to wash, but I'd rather do it right and wash that extra bowl.

Bunny, sometimes I do toss them on the sheet, but using a bowl is definitely more even and thorough.👍🏻

I don't like green bean casserole much but didn't grow up with it. I only tried it later at other people's homes or work potlucks. I usually make a green bean dish for Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas because me and my kids really like it. It has rice, onions, sliced almonds and green beans. The rice is cooked in chicken broth so has a lot of flavor. I used to cut up carrots and celery and open a can of black olives but I'm the only one who ate most of it, so I quit doing that.

I used to make oyster casserole, which is really delicious. Haven't had it in a long time, though. Last week I tried to find some canned oysters at Wal-mart and couldn't find any. Then I went to an Asian grocery and they didn't have any either. I was wanting to make fried oysters. Now I'm wanting oyster casserole.

Not a green bean casserole fan at all. Did not grow up with it. We serve my grandmother's green beans, a Southern recipe cooked with bacon so not super light but much lighter than the casserole. We also make a salad similiar ingredients to the Trader Joe's Fall Harvest Salad kit. Otherwise, it is a carb fest; mashed potatoes, stuffing, cream corn and sweet potatoes. Cream corn used to be only Easter but the little boys loved it so much that my MIL added them into every holiday probably 20 years ago. We serve a different type of meal at Christmas now, so no cream corn then but still on the menu for Thanksgiving and Easter.

Like the idea of roasted vegetables, may add those to my Christmas menu.

@Bunny, if you don’t care for the cream of mushroom soup in the green bean casserole, I can highly recommend Robert St. John’s Mushroom Béchamel Sauce as a substitue. It is so good, I want to just eat the sauce!

Scroll to the bottom of this article for the recipe:

https://robertstjohn.com/2016/08/29/maw-maws-chicken-scam/

bbstx, sounds good!

When DD was testing whether or not she was gluten intolerant, we made the Mushroom Bechamel using potato starch. It came out good with the substitution.

Yum! bbstx, thanks for that link.

I like a good broccoli or cauliflower and cheese casserole (nothing with canned soup please) because they can be made ahead of time and reheated. Roasted brussel sprouts are too time sensitive and with all the last minute kitchen activity I like things that have more leeway in terms of keeping them warm.

@Olychick I have had the Michael Chiarello Winter Panzanella Salad saved for years! Thanks for the reminder of it! It seems like a lot for 1 or 2 people. Does it save/store well or should I cut it way down? I am concerned about the croutons going to mush.

@Funkyart - It is so good! I like the croutons crunchy, so what I've done is make a full batch and just stir some croutons into the portion I'm serving (when I’m not feeding a crowd). The rest of the ingredients last great. Then stir in croutons to the other ingredients when you serve it the next day. Someone here made it last year and said she liked it better after the croutons got a bit soggy, but I really don't like soggy bread. The croutons on their own are SO good! They last a long time in the refer (because of the cheese and butter, I store them in the fridge in a tupperware type container). I do stir the croutons in 10-15 min before service, just to blend the dressing. If you use an artisan type bread, they won't get soggy too quickly.

Because in traditional panzanella, stale bread is soaked in water and then squeezed out, I thought the bread was supposed to be a little moist as opposed to crunchy.

I always make my panzanella croutons with ciabatta. Just a preference but the edges stay crunchy and the centers can get kind of chewy once the tasty dressing is absorbed.

@chloebud that's my go-to bread, too! It's a bit of a pain to remove the crust unless you can find some thick loaves, but I don't like the crusts on it.

@bbstx that is probably true, but I really hate soggy bread, so prefer to make it with crunchy croutons.

I love green bean casserole, and I make it with a mushroom velouté sauce, as béchamel upsets my stomach, due to the milk. I sometimes add slivered almonds to it.Here's a beet salad recipe that I like, and it does not have to be served immediately!

Roasted Beet Salad

• 1 pound red, yellow and/or candy-striped beets, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 9 cups arugula, watercress, baby spinach and/or mesclun
• 1 - 8-ounce log goat cheese (or Gorgonzola cheese)
• 1/3 cup broken walnuts, toasted
• Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Place halved beets in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil; toss to coat. Cover with foil and roast in a 425 degrees oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and roast about 15 minutes more or until fork-tender. Cool; peel and slice 1/4-inch thick. Set aside.

Arrange arugula on 4 salad plates. Top with beets and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with half of the Lemon Vinaigrette. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Serve immediately, passing remaining vinaigrette.

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In small screw-top jar combine olive oil, finely grated lemon peel, lemon juice, garlic, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Cover; shake well.

Kath...I'm just guessing oyster casserole tastes a lot like oyster stuffing? Years ago, we used to go to other peoples homes or be on vacation/dive boats with a chef for Thanksgiving. We will never forget my MIL served oyster dressing. The oysters hadn't been cleaned. Gritty dirt! OMG it was awful. 🦃 I haven't eaten an oyster since...kinda funny really....

Kath, they, oysters, come in the seafood department. Walmart and Publix. They both carry the Pacific brand.

Nicole, no ours were not really dressing, although we always had oyster dressing Thanksgiving and Christmas.