Thanksgiving Side Dishes

[Disney4us2]

With :pilgram2:Thanksgiving :pilgram:and the winter holidays coming, I was wondering what your favorite side dish is.:turkey: What are your favorite traditions?

I usually make the greenbean casserole but I am getting tired of that even though I love it. This year I am making a carrot souffle. I had it last Christmas and it was soooo good.

Any ideas for no sugar added/sugar free desserts?

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone:turkey:

[EllieMae]

I am a traditional girl. I looove mashed potatoes, green bean cassarole and corn bread dressing. This year I am making my cream of wild mushroom soup to go with the meal. :pilgram2:

[kakn7294]

We are pretty traditional for Thanksgiving as well - turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, carrots, sweet potato casserole, some sort of dinner roll, and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is at my house. Christmas Day dinner looks pretty much the same but usually with the addition of ham and is at Mom's house. Christmas Eve dinner is anyone's guess though! It's also at my house and it's whatever I decide is on the menu! We've had everything from a traditional meal to hot sausage, meatballs, gnocchi, stuffed cabbage, sauerkraut bobalki, perogies, scalloped potatoes, and mac 'n cheese. I haven't decided on this year's menu yet so I'll be watching this thread for some great ideas!

[alphamommy]

We're pretty traditional: turkey, mashed potatoes, corn bread dressing (NOT stuffing), some veggie, pumpkin pie. This year, we're going to my best friend's house, and we're taking pecan pie (her husband is the only one in their house who likes it, so it's his Thanksgiving treat for me to make one).

The one thing we make that's different is pan fried candied sweet potatoes. This is something my mom used to make: peel SPs and slice in thin chunks. Melt lots of butter/margarine in an iron skillet, then add the SP slices and sugar (we use white, not brown). Stir them around until they the sugar melts, then reduce heat and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until SPs are tender. I absolutely love these, but they certainly can't be considered very healthy!

[DVC2004]

I am all about the classics, but I love to cook so sometimes I'll try an updated recipe to a classic. Also I try to make one new dish each year. Our new favorite is a root vegetable gratin where you mash up and puree yukon gold potatoes, rutabegas, turnips and parsnips with cream and butter, then bake with a layer of greyere (sp?) and parmesean cheeses studed with little bits of butter. You pop it under the broiler to finish. It's really good and has an unexpected flavor since it looks like mashed potatoes. I also love this sausage, chestnut and fennel stuffing. Mmmm, now I am hungry!

[cer]

We're pretty traditional: turkey, mashed potatoes, corn bread dressing (NOT stuffing), some veggie, pumpkin pie.

Just curious, what is the difference between dressing and stuffing? Cooked in a pan vs the bird? I have always thought the terms were pretty much interchangable until I saw you make such a distinction.....:confused:

[Lizzy]

Doing Thanksgiving for the first time at my house this year. My boyfriend already has cooked turkey's before in his fryer, so he is in charge of the turkey and all the sides are mine!

I'm staying with the classics as well: Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Corn on the cob, Mashed Potatoes, Gravey, Stuffing and dinner rolls. My Boyfriends mom is bringing sweet potatoe pie and something else that I can't remember ( :blush: )

For desserts I have pumpkin bars and pumpkin pie with whip cream

Is it Thursday yet?

[RedSoxFan]

We're having turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrot/turnips and cranberry bread. And of course, cranberry sauce, olives pickles, etc. I am making apple pie and chocolate pie for dessert. The 2 older boys will be home from college --- it'll be a good weekend!! They come home tomorrow.:D

[BedknobsandBroomsticks]

Here at "Bedknobs" we have all the traditional and then my families "oyster stuffing" or more affectionately known as oyster crackers. My Grandma always made it and when she died Grandpa took it over, then my mom and now me. It is Original Trenton Crackers ( a must... not saltines), 1/2 dozen to 1 dozen oysters and their juice, milk, butter and salt and pepper. So easy that their really is no recipe, I learned from watching my mom and grandparents make it. It is so good, I don't eat the actual oysters though but I love the crackers. Have taught DH to make and now friends and other family member want to know. His family loved it once they tried it. Happy Thanksgiving!:mickey:

[coloradowendyl]

Family tradition here is creamed pearl onions as a side dish! Along with traditional sage stuffing, we also have a cornbread/sausage/dried cranberry dressing which is a tradition in my stepmother's home and that my kids have adopted and a relish tray with spiced apple rings and peaches.

Wendy

[DisneyDog]

We have a very easy and yummy side dish tradition. You take two cans of whole cranberry sauce and two boxes of Stouffer's harvest apples (comes frozen) and cook them together in a pot until everything melts and goes together and the cranberries pretty much fall apart. It is really delicious -- and tastes wonderful over vanilla ice cream, too!

[magicofdisney]

Every year the family meets at my grandmother's home for the Thanksgiving Holiday. No one coordinates this event but tons of people show up with food and we have relatively few duplicate dishes. It's amazing how it works out so well, but boy do we stuff ourselves.

Probably the reason we have few duplicates is because people usually bring the same thing each year.

I'm responsible for rutabegas. I really hate making them but they've kind of become my responsibility over the years. This year I'm also adding Hash-brown Casserole to the mix. This is one of my husband's favorite side dishes.

My grandmother makes a fruit cake each year but she leaves something out (I don't remember the ingredient.) What I do know is, whatever she omits makes it palatable for me, otherwise I don't like that stuff.

[diz_girl]

We do the traditional dinner at our house, with Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. But a few years ago I took a cooking class and learned how to make this amazing Roasted Garlic and Goat Cheese Bread Pudding. It's a savory dish and although the name doesn't sound appealing, once people taste it they are won over. I haven't made it in a couple of years since I had DS, but it was requested this year, so I'll be making it tonight.

We'll be having 11 this year, so I normally have everyone bring something and we only have to worry about preparing the Turkey and cranberry sauce, plus now the bread pudding, which I make the night before.

I can't stand green bean casserole. Neither can DH, so we don't have it at our house for Thanksgiving. And if someone offers to bring it, we decline the offer.

[SBETigg]

Just curious, what is the difference between dressing and stuffing? Cooked in a pan vs the bird? I have always thought the terms were pretty much interchangable until I saw you make such a distinction.....:confused:

We call it stuffing regardless, but technically stuffing is cooked in the bird. Dressing is cooked in a pan. Cooking in the bird is kind of risky, and we never do it. Still, we call it stuffing. There could be some regional differences there in calling it stuffing vs dressing, too, not sure.

Our favorite side dish is shredded spicy brussels sprouts. It really goes great with the mashed potatoes and stuffing(dressing) if you like brussels sprouts (which few people apparently do, but I think more would love them if they had them fresh and cooked properly).

[magicofdisney]

Our favorite side dish is shredded spicy brussels sprouts. It really goes great with the mashed potatoes and stuffing(dressing) if you like brussels sprouts (which few people apparently do, but I think more would love them if they had them fresh and cooked properly).
I love brussel sprouts. I've not heard of this dish but it sounds yummy. :eat:

[Hull-onian]

We like stuffing best made with Bell's seasoning which is made right here in Weymouth, Massachusetts. It's wicked good.:tasty:

[coloradowendyl]

We like stuffing best made with Bell's seasoning which is made right here in Weymouth, Massachusetts. It's wicked good.

Believe it or not, I have friends send me Bell's seasoning. You can't get it in Colorado. Therefore, the joke in our house is that our stuffing is made with "imported" ingredients lol!

Wendy

[PlutoToo]

Best I ban tell around here (in the South) dressing is cornbread based, stuffing is bread based. I like both.:thumbsup:

[Disney4us2]

What is Bell's seasoning?

[SBETigg]

I love brussel sprouts. I've not heard of this dish but it sounds yummy. :eat:

You just slice them up after washing and cutting off the ends. The larger ones take three slices, smaller ones just cut in half. Then, you saute them up in a stick of butter (yes, it's bad, but it's the holidays), and season them with salt, pepper, cayenne (to taste) and a drizzle of lemon. Simple, delicious. Takes about five minutes to cook.