# Describe your typical Thanksgiving dinner. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113 "2006-09-10T00:29:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/41 "2006-09-11T06:29:56Z")
Turkey (1/2 of which must be injected with tabasco and rubbed with cayenne) Gravy Mashed Potatoes Sweet Potato casserole Green Bean Casserole Homemade cranberry sauce (everyone’s fave) Stuffing Corn oosal (Indian addition…like the sub-continent) Peas salad We also have some baked salmon because my dad and a couple of his friends can’t have lots of meat Desserts: apple and pecan pie with vanilla ice cream Drinks: Lots and lots of Riesling, coconut water & regular water Thanksgiving Rocks. Hands-down my fave American holiday (along with Halloween). I find life kind of goes down hill after Thanksgiving. My family and I don’t celebrate Christmas and I find the forced gaiety of New Year’s to be a let-down, every single year. My parents’ house actually sits in a really, really old woods in MA that has one of the last few wild turkey flocks left in the US. Seems they know what’s up-I usually seek 7 or 8 hanging around in early winter. We even had a turkey crossing sign for a while. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/42 "2006-09-11T07:29:12Z")
I don’t think my family does anything especially unusual for Thanksgiving. We seem to be in a set pattern with little variation. **Constants** **Oven-roasted turkey** **Homemade gravy** \*\*Homemade mashed potatoes \*\* (my Thanksgiving favorite–even more than turkey) **Sparkling apple and/or grape cider or juice** **Ice water** **Butter and margarine** **Near-constants that sometimes vary in how they’re prepared** **Carrots & peas** (or sometimes just peas) - carrots are fresh, peas are frozen. **White and/or wheat dinner rolls** - bought from a local store bakery (can be crescent, hard, butterflake, or brown & serve). **Cranberry sauce** - sometimes homemade, sometimes from a can (either whole berry or jellied). **Stuffing** - usually from a mix but we try to use something better than Stovetop. **Homemade sweet potato or yam dish** - can be baked or sautéed. Sometimes with an orange sauce, sometimes with a brown sugar & butter sauce, sometime with toasted marshmallows. **Fruit salad** - sometimes just fruit in juice, sometimes fruit in a whipped cream sauce (a.k.a. Ambrosia salad), or sometimes (but not recently) fruit in jello. The fruit salad always consists of apples and grapes with bananas, Mandarin oranges, pineapple, and/or pears. **Pumpkin Pie** - usually bought from a store or local bakery. We haven’t baked a homemade one recently. **Second pie** - not everybody in our family can eat pumpkin pie (e.g., me) so have always have another pie available. This pie can be apple, cherry, blackberry, blueberry, huckleberry, or chocolate. **Tea and coffee** - to go with the pie. **Occasional Menu Items** \*\*Crudites \*\* - carrot sticks, celery sticks, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and/or sweet pickle slices. **Giblets** - not too many people like them so they’ve been showing up less often. **Baked ham** - back-up meat in case something happens to the turkey. **Green (or string) beans** - plain or sometimes with bacon bits. **Potatoes Au Gratin** - if we just buy a turkey breast which doesn’t make as much gravy for the mashed potatoes as a whole one (however, that might’ve happened at Christmas). **Soda water** - that’s just for me though. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/43 "2006-09-11T14:58:42Z")
Oh, wow, Thanksgiving’s coming up in October. (Yes, Canadians do Thanksgiving, it’s actually a European tradition brought over to the New World.) Turkey Stuffing (sage, onion, bread kind) Potatoes Gravy Brussels sprouts Cranberry sauce Crusty buns Another vegetable, which can be: carrots and turnips, green beans Pumpkin pie And maybe apple pie I can’t imagine also trying to produce a lasagne, ham, or macaroni and cheese, too! In the last years, we usually have Thanksgiving with family members our age and their kids, and split the cooking in half, so no one has to do the whole dinner. I have tended to do the turkey/stuffing/gravy portion, as Suzanne has a much nicer touch with vegetables. Turkey and all is one of my favourite meals… YUM. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/44 "2006-09-11T16:15:58Z")
Lately since I’ve been doing half the cooking we’ve been changing it up a bit - usually one or two dishes might be more “fresh” takes on the old same old. Last year it was: Turkey, brined ala Alton Brown Stuffing, this time we did Paula Deen’s Roasted green beans with chevre and sun dried tomatoes, instead of casserole Cranberry-orange sauce homemade for the first time ever Mashed potatoes and gravy Carrots Pickles and olives and suchlike Pumpkin pie We used to do a sweet potato casserole, but nobody ate it. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/45 "2006-09-11T16:28:59Z")
Holy Batshit!! :eek: You guys sure do shovel it away ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/46 "2006-09-11T16:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Holy Batshit!! :eek: You guys sure do shovel it away [/QUOTE] You have no idea. We do this at the end of November, again at Christmas and often at New Year’s Eve. Then we get a break until Easter. Not to mention that there’s often two (or more) sets of inlaws, and lots of people simply arrange “Christmas with your family” on another convenient day - say, the Saturday after the actual holiday so they can spend time with everyone. Not to mention office parties, school parties and parties with friends. There’s a reason we’re fat buggers. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/47 "2006-09-11T16:44:19Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] You have no idea. We do this at the end of November, again at Christmas and often at New Year’s Eve. Then we get a break until Easter. Not to mention that there’s often two (or more) sets of inlaws, and lots of people simply arrange “Christmas with your family” on another convenient day - say, the Saturday after the actual holiday so they can spend time with everyone. Not to mention office parties, school parties and parties with friends. There’s a reason we’re fat buggers. [/QUOTE] Birthday/Anniversary/Wedding/Divorce etc. etc. As a matter of fact I’ve had dinner/lunch with buddies whilst in the USA and it totally amazed me to see the amount of grub laid out. What’s more disturbing is that quite a lot of it went untouched altho’ I doubt it was dumped, just saved for another day. As far as fatness is concerned, I was behind 2 women on Michigan Avenue and I kid you not I thought I was witness to monkeys fighting in sacks… **big** sacks ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/48 "2006-09-11T16:44:41Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Holy Batshit!! :eek: You guys sure do shovel it away [/QUOTE] Yeah, we’re pretty fat. We do eat it for a week, though, both holidays. “Hell is two people and a five pound ham.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/49 "2006-09-11T17:39:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, generally speaking, after listening to my mom paradoxically brag about using a Reynolds bag to speed up the cooking process to just 2-3 hours, and moaning about spending all morning cooking… You do know that there’s more to “cooking” than just putting the turkey into the oven, right? When I’m preparing a holiday feast, where the longest cooking time is 70 minutes, I generally allow about 5 hours for the total kitchen-work time. That also includes things like washing, peeling, and chopping various vegetables, assembling salads, baking multiple things that need cooling time or different temperatures, preparing whatever it is that’s going to be in the oven longest (basting, etc.), and whatever else goes into what you’re making. It adds up. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/50 "2006-09-11T18:01:29Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] … **Whole Mushrooms** roasted in a creamy parmesan sauce with breadcrumbs on top … [/QUOTE] This sounds wonderful. Can you post a recipe? Our Thansgivings are usually the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and various sides, like green bean casserole and sweet potatoes - straight up, none of that gooey, syrupy marshmallowy gunk. For a while we included an Italian dish, like spaghetti or lasagna but as the TG crowd dwindled that was left out. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/51 "2006-09-11T18:06:48Z")
Add me to Peri…we sure don’t do turkey! We usually do a honey-glazed ham. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with my aunts, so we had no meat, all vegetarian stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/52 "2006-09-11T19:02:51Z")
Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. Turkey Mashed potatoes Baked yams Cornbread dressing/stuffing Ambrosia/fruit salad Deviled eggs/celery stuffed with pimiento cheese/olives/bread & butter pickles green bean casserole green peas cranberry sauce (jellied & whole) gravy (giblet & no-giblet) Pumpkin pie w/ whipped cream Apple or pecan pie homemade refrigerator rolls sparkling cider coffee Maalox/Tums/Rolaids/Zantac/Pepsid ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/53 "2006-09-12T14:40:39Z")
It depends on where we go. I greatly prefer TG at my Aunt Susan’s house - she’s a fantastic cook. We usually go to my in-law’s as well, and then eat a third time with my dad. Talk about gluttony. Aunt Susan’s Menu Deep-fried turkey (compliments of Uncle Joe) A small ham (ususally from Heavenly Ham) Homemade mashed potatoes and gravy (no giblets) Stuffing with celery, onions, and sage (usually Brownberry brand - my brother insists) If my Aunt Kat is there, a small pan of stuffing with snotballs (oops - I meant oysters) Green bean casserole Corn of some type Sweet potatoes of some kind Veggie tray Homemade cranberry sauce Rolls of some kind Numerous desserts - apple pie, pumpkin pie, cheesecake cookies, chocolate chip cookies Soda, milk, water, and lots of wine My mother-in-law has a similar menu, except last year she made instant mashed potatoes. She didn’t think anyone would mind. We told her otherwise, and volunteered to make them for Christmas. She also uses gravy mix, Stove Top stuffing, and "can"berry sauce. I prefer homemade versions of all of those. At my dad’s house, it’s usually a pitch in, since it’s typically four people. He’s gotten smart and started buying a large turkey breast only instead of buying the “smallest” whole turkey available (and trying to foist the leftovers off on us). It’s still fairly traditional, but on a much smaller scale. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/54 "2006-09-12T15:40:08Z")
[Quote=WhyNot] **Whole Mushrooms** roasted in a creamy parmesan sauce with breadcrumbs on top [/Quote] Must…have…recipe. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/55 "2006-09-12T15:45:51Z")
[QUOTE=melondeca] Must…have…recipe. [/QUOTE] I just emailed Mom for it. I’ll post it as soon as she gets back to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/56 "2006-09-12T19:17:32Z")
We pretty much have the same stuff that’s already been posted, but one year I made [Circus Peanut Gelatin](http://www.spanglercandy.com/spangler/products/cprecipe.php). I didn’t tell anyone what it was until they had all tried some. Everyone was completely grossed out (except my weird uncle). The next year, I made a [Cat Litter Cake](http://bertc.com/kitty.htm). They rarely ask me to bring anything for Thanksgiving now except ice, and if I do bring a side dish, it is regarded with the utmost suspicion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/57 "2006-09-12T20:22:38Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] We pretty much have the same stuff that’s already been posted, but one year I made [Circus Peanut Gelatin](http://www.spanglercandy.com/spangler/products/cprecipe.php). I didn’t tell anyone what it was until they had all tried some. Everyone was completely grossed out (except my weird uncle). The next year, I made a [Cat Litter Cake](http://bertc.com/kitty.htm). They rarely ask me to bring anything for Thanksgiving now except ice, and if I do bring a side dish, it is regarded with the utmost suspicion. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I got out of bringing stuff to family meals after the Fried Dandelion Flower Incident one Fourth of July. Now I have to go early and cook under Mom’s supervision. :smack: (They were really good. Everyone loved the “Fried Mushroom Thingys” until they found out what they were. Plebians.) ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/58 "2006-09-13T05:53:09Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] My parents’ house actually sits in a really, really old woods in MA that has one of the last few wild turkey flocks left in the US. Seems they know what’s up-I usually seek 7 or 8 hanging around in early winter. We even had a turkey crossing sign for a while. [/QUOTE] Err… there are wild turkey just about everywhere dude. TN has a nice long hunting season for them, they range from Canada to Mexico. True, at one point in the last century they were seriously threatened however they’ve since been re-established in much of their original range. Wild Turkey tastes amazingly good, you just have to be even more careful than ordinary not to overcook it and let it dry out. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/59 "2006-09-13T06:15:11Z")
Yeah, but these be original Mayflower turkeys or something. I don’t know, they only moved into the neighbourhood a three years ago, the neighbours pointed them out proudly and smugtastically told us they were among the few truly wild flocks left. Gotta be that Taxachusetts snobbery. They lounge around in the middle of the road even. I don’t think it would be a good idea to discharge a gun in this neighbourhood. You’d likely hit a human. It would probably be better to run them down with a sharpened stick. They’re kind of cute. Everyone likes them hanging around and the coyote population probably keeps the numbers down. And anyway, I bet you guys don’t have a turkey crossing sign!! ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113/60 "2006-09-13T15:26:26Z")
Standard fare in our house: Turkey (roasted in the oven) Cornbread stuffing/dressing Giblet gravy Mashed potatoes Green Bean Casserole Broccoli/Wild Rice Casserole Canned crescent rolls Sweet potato casserole with candied pecans on top Canned smooth cranberry sauce Fruit salad with cool whip Pecan Pie Chocolate Cream Pie Cheesecake Gah - I’m hungry! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-your-typical-thanksgiving-dinner/372113.md?page=4)