We usually have mashed potatoes, but I think of them as an optional item that goes well with gravy. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry, and stuff with pumpkin/squash seems like the key holiday items. Oh, and apples. We always have apple in the pies, and sometimes in the sides.
lol at the turkey at 400 overnight. The key to cooking turkey, imho, is to use a thermometer, and take it out when it’s done. It stays hot for a VERY long time, and it’s better if it’s had time to “rest”, so I just aim to make sure it’s done before supper time, and don’t stress too much about how much before supper time it’s done.
I actually like a well cooked turkey whether it’s fried, roasted, or smoked. I’m not a chef or even a good cook, but I’m a good recipe follower and can do a good roast bird. Cooking bags can be a friend also. It’s even better with a good drippins gravy. The only way I don’t like it is Troll style (SDMB Classic by Master Wang-Ka).
Spiral sliced ham is, done properly, a treat. Even an average Spiral sliced ham is good.
Stuffing is something I can take or leave, but preferably leave.
Mashed potatoes are good, especially the way my wife makes them. I leave them to her so I’m not sure about the exact recipe.
We usually do a pumpkin pie and an apple or cherry pie. Neither one is disagreeable. Not even if it’s just a store made or frozen one.
Rolls are good. Home-made, King’s Hawaiian, cheap ones from a cardboard tube are all acceptable.
The rest of the traditional sides are, to me, meh. Don’t like green beans, sweet potato casserole, or corn.
Since other have bitched about the holiday in general, please let me add my $.02. For thanksgiving, it’s just me, DESKWife, DESKKid(18), DESKKid(15), Kola the dog and my father-in-law Larry the Loser. When we were younger and lived far away from our families, we had a thanksgiving “party” and invited all our friends to come and join if they had no other plans. As everybody got older and fewer people didn’t have plans, we finally started to skip that “tradition”