Thanksgiving Menus

[#1hoosierfan]

My mom cooks dinner with a little help from my sister and myself.

Roasted turkey
"bread" dressing
oyster cornbread dressing
mashed potatoes
green beans
sweet potato casserole
dumplings
gravy
cranberry relish
rolls
pumpkin pie
chocolate pie
pecan pie

 

[Scouter]

Anyone already planning their Thanksgiving menus for this November? Or am I crazy doing it a month in advance?

I have decided to just do my own thing this year. No traveling to visit family, which has caused some family to be a bit upset. Oh well. They can come and see me if they really want to. Why am I expected to do all the traveling?

So my menu is based around food that holds good memories with family and friends.

Roasted turkey (my recipe in my mom's table top roaster)
Stuffing (one of my grandmother's recipes that I grew up with)
Broccoli Casserole (my cousin's recipe that I had for the first time last year)
Deviled Eggs (recipe from my "Theatre mom" who took me under her wing when I moved to Indy in 2014)

But I don't know what else to make. I feel like I need one more side. I likely will just buy a frozen pie because I am not much of a baker and don't eat a lot of dessert. Or maybe make an apple crisp because it is easier. Hmmm..

So, what do YOU make? Maybe I can get some additional ideas!

Broccoli casserole sounds good! Never had. I make a sweet potato casserole that I'm sure is entirely fattening. But also my favorite is my cranberries cooked with orange pieces in red wine till they pop and it's sweet, tangy and so yummy!

 

[Scouter]

My granddaughter and her fiance will make a charcuterie board for nibbling on during the day.

Roast turkey breast
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Sweet Potato Casserole
Deviled Eggs
Rolls & Butter
Cranberry Sauce
Pumpkin Pie

I never change the menu because if I even try to, my family strongly object.

I was going to mention, since moving from NY to VA and working with girls in MD and DC, they tell me they always have mac and cheese for Thanksgiving and I told them that is not a traditional Thanksgiving dish and had never heard of that before. Plus one said they always also have a ham and cakes. I told her no one has cake at Thanksgiving. It's not a thing. We had fun comparing different traditions that seem to be based more by where you live.

 

[Scouter]

DH and I are going to my brother and SIL's house (as we do every year). There will definitely be:

Turkey with homemade gravy
Stuffing (in the turkey plus the extra baked in the oven on the side)
Cranberry (homemade and jelly from the can)
Corn
Mashed turnip
Mashed potatoes
Roasted vegetables
Homemade bread (whatever my brother decides to make)
Whatever else he decides to add but the above are the usual suspects

We always bring the sweet potato casserole (brown sugar/pecan topping, no marshmallows in sight) and some kind of dessert.

That's the type of sweet potato casserold I make too. Yum.

 

[Scouter]

Frozen whole turkey takes about 4 days to thaw in the refrigerator so for us that is probably the item that requires the most advance planning. Other than deciding on quantity/size of side dishes based on how many will be in attendance, there really isn't anything on our menu that requires weeks of planning.



Tried making it with roasted pie pumpkins a few years ago and no one could tell it tasted any different. Most of the flavor of pumpkin pie is from the added spice blend. It is a LOT more work to roast a pumpkin for a result that made no difference, so we are back to using canned pumpkin.

so true

 

[easyas123]

What are creamed onions? I love onions so this has piqued my interest.

It's made using pearl onions. I've never made it from scratch myself, but here are the recipes I'm looking at:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/creamed-pearl-onions-sage-and-thyme
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9162/moms-traditional-creamed-onions/

It was always on the Thanksgiving table at my grandparents and it's just something I'd like to resurrect on my Thanksgiving table. Plus I love onions, so .... I'm going to give it a whirl!

 

[Disneyland1084]

Or am I crazy doing it a month in advance?

Not at all, you're a planner and that's a good thing. When I go grocery shopping later this week I plan on buying the turkey. I have room in my freezer, so why not? I'll be doing the usual:

Turkey
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Stuffing
Deviled eggs
Bread rolls
Green bean casserole
Corn casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Cranberry sauce
Olives

I'll get a couple pies from Costco. I used to do them from scratch, but I just don't have it in me this year.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Lots of menus include deviled eggs. I don't think we've ever had those at Thanksgiving, I associate it with more of an Easter meal. I like them though! For those that include deviled eggs, do you serve them with the main meal, or eat them as appetizers?

 

[Disneyland1084]

Lots of menus include deviled eggs. I don't think we've ever had those at Thanksgiving, I associate it with more of an Easter meal. I like them though! For those that include deviled eggs, do you serve them with the main meal, or eat them as appetizers?

We serve them as appetizers, but whatever is left, we put on the table when the food is served.

 

[Scouter]

We serve them as appetizers, but whatever is left, we put on the table when the food is served.

Wow, are there any ever left over? They go quick in any home I've been in!

 

[easyas123]

Lots of menus include deviled eggs. I don't think we've ever had those at Thanksgiving, I associate it with more of an Easter meal. I like them though! For those that include deviled eggs, do you serve them with the main meal, or eat them as appetizers?

Part of my appetizer spread.

 

[NYCgrrl]

was going to mention, since moving from NY to VA and working with girls in MD and DC, they tell me they always have mac and cheese for Thanksgiving and I told them that is not a traditional Thanksgiving dish and had never heard of that before. Plus one said they always also have a ham and cakes. I told her no one has cake at Thanksgiving

My Nana was a VA “Southern belle” surrounded by a lot of immigrants .
She always put a ham on the table (as well as fish and turkey) and I can’t think of any holiday that didn’t have cake as well as pie. She didn’t make mac + cheese; she made mac, stewed tomatoes +cheese and that was a weekday dish never on holidays.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Wow, are there any ever left over? They go quick in any home I've been in!

Usually yes. My SIL makes them and ALWAYS goes overboard.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I don't really do recipes and made this up myself - it's more technique than recipe...
Oven at 350
Veg quantity is roughly 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, but you can have more or less of whatever is your favorite (my fam LOVES mushrooms and onions, so we really increase those, but you can also do 1/2 green bean and 1/4 of each of the others if you like beans more - and I tend to use 2 types of mushrooms)
Prep the green bean (snap the ends) - toss on the parchment lined pan
Prep the mushrooms by cleaning and slicing (dice ends and thinly slice caps) - toss on the pan
Prep the onions with a dice (about size of mushroom or a little smaller - both much smaller than green bean) - toss on the pan
Drizzle with olive oil (your amount choice) and s&p and hand toss
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes - see if you like your veg cook (some folks like veg more or less cooked and some folks have more or less veg on the pan)
If you do, add a handful of fried onions on top (your choice on amount) - bake 5-10 more minutes, depending how crispy you like your topping
Serve

It's great - my kids ask for this as the main veg every year now. Everyone always wants the crisp onion topping on veg and this delivers - no sog on the fried onions...

This sounded so good I'm making it right now for tonight's dinner. The veggies just went in the oven. Instead of salt and pepper, I added some of the Penzy's Justice spice blend that was mentioned on the other thread, since I'd just received it and hadn't tried it yet. (It smelled amazing)! Can't wait to dig into this later. Serving with rice pilaf, and steak for the meat eaters, and beyond beef "steak" tips for the non.

ETA: loved it. Added just a very small splash of soy sauce after tasting. Super easy too. I do roasted green beans fairly regularly, but not with the added mushrooms and onions. It's a great combo.

 

[design_mom]

Kirkland lasagna and maybe pie for dessert. Just 3 of us and none of us like turkey, plus my husband will most likely work that day so easy dinner.

Your meal sounds amazing to me! I'm not a Thanksgiving food person at all. (I think I've successfully been taken off the list for "who will host Thanksgiving" by saying that I'd be happy to do it, but if I'm the host, I'm serving something I'm thankful for... like lasagna!)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

but if I'm the host, I'm serving something I'm thankful for... like lasagna!)

We had lasagna for Thanksgiving last year. My husband was testing dinner prep for Christmas (I was going to be post hip replacement at Christmas, so not able to get around and cook a full dinner).

 

[fla4fun]

I got my turkey today! 23.8 pounds of deliciousness waiting to be roasted. I can’t wait!

 

[easyas123]

I got my turkey today! 23.8 pounds of deliciousness waiting to be roasted. I can’t wait!

Nice Size! I should start looking...I sometimes leave it to late and have trouble finding a decent sized bird.

 

[LilyWDW]

Nice Size! I should start looking...I sometimes leave it to late and have trouble finding a decent sized bird.

Last year I had issues finding anything less then 15 lbs when I went looking. So if I see a 10-12 pounder I will for sure grab it.

 

[fla4fun]

Nice Size! I should start looking...I sometimes leave it to late and have trouble finding a decent sized bird.

I got mine at Target, if you have one near you. You can look online to see if they have stock in the store, although when they get down to one or two, take that with a grain of salt. Last year I ended up at Walmart, but I think I waited too late hoping for a sale. Sometimes it’s worth paying full price to get the size you want.