# So talk me through Thanksgiving rolls **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2019, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125 "2019-11-28T13:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/21 "2019-11-29T09:07:54Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > This year my nephew made fresh-“churned” butter for the rolls right before the meal. Not in a real churn or anything, He just puts cream and a little salt in a jar and shakes it until it’s butter and buttermilk. > > Yum. Just Yum. Jamie Oliver does this in a food processor. Takes about 30 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/22 "2019-11-29T13:55:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sweet potatoes are also delicious with butter and maple syrup (or maple sugar). My daughter (age 24) prefers sweet potatoes to plain potatoes. > > One of the best lines in _ **Corner Gas** _ came when Dog River was having a potluck and town idiot Hank volunteered to bring the sweet potato pie: > > **HANK:** [_Talking to Karen on the phone_] I don’t know about this sweet potato pie. The potatoes aren’t sweet. > **KAREN:** Did you buy sweet potatoes? > **HANK:** It’s hard to tell until you get 'em home and taste them. That was a GREAT show! [/aside] ---
**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:** [November 29, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/23 "2019-11-29T14:22:36Z")
Rolls are a bit idiosyncratic. The dinner I had yesterday at a family friend’s house didn’t have any sort of bread at all (other than as a component of the stuffing). At my sister’s house on Sunday, there won’t be rolls, but there will be loaves of fresh-baked bread. Some families will insist on rolls, but store-bought are fine. Some will insist on Gramma’s recipe (which will, of course, be different from some other grandma’s recipe). Some (especially in the South) will have biscuits instead of rolls (which, properly, should NOT be sweet). Turkey, stuffing/dressing (in my region, we call it all “stuffing” even if it’s cooked separately), mashed potatoes, and gravy are all very nearly ubiquitous. Cranberry sauce, that 1970s green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes with marshmallows are not ubiquitous, but still pretty common. You’ll have some sort of vegetable, and probably two or three, though what kind varies considerably. Dessert is usually pie, especially pumpkin pie (which might, depending on the family, actually be sweet potato pie). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/24 "2019-11-29T14:22:46Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > One difference would be in the use of butter for scones vs. lard or Crisco for biscuits. Makes for a slightly different flavor and texture. Aren’t biscuits made with either? From my research, it’s an argument in the biscuit-making community as to which to use. [Like here’s an example](https://www.southernkitchen.com/articles/eat/does-the-fat-you-use-in-your-biscuits-matter). I’ll have to try making them with shortening/butter next time. The times I’ve made biscuits, it’s always been a butter-based recipe, but I do see my bag of White Lily flour suggests shortening. Alton Brown looks like he splits the difference with half shortening, half butter (which is a combo I use for my snickerdoodle cookies.) Cooks Illustrated uses all butter. Scones are usually butter, but can also be made with lard or a mix of lard and butter. Lots of different scones recipes out there. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/25 "2019-11-29T14:25:32Z")
The thing about making the dinner, at least in my family, is that there is expected to be a lot of leftovers. So, sure, there’s a lot of food, but you don’t eat a lot of it. You’ll get two meals out of it on Thanksgiving Day, and then more stuff to carry around later. So, sure, the rolls do seem like a bit much. But some really like them, and get little of the other starches or reduce the veg. And then there’s stuff left over for later. We also tend to do that when we eat out, in my experience. For example, instead of cooking the meal this year, we went to a restaurant that was open. And, even normally, it allows you to get both the buffet/salad bar and a main course for the same price as just the buffet. So of course I still have leftovers–the buffet stuff alone is enough for meal, and I can save the main course for later. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2019, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/26 "2019-11-29T14:27:40Z")
Oh, I knew I was missing something: A dinner roll is never called a “bun”. In American English, “bun” means one of two things: It’s either the thing you serve a hamburger or other sandwich on, or it’s a sweet sticky thing like a cinnamon bun or hot cross bun. Both of those can also sometimes be called some sort of roll (like a Kaiser roll or a cinnamon roll), but without any modifier, “roll” means a smaller thing, individual-sized but usually baked close-packed in a pan so they have to be pulled apart, and too small to make a standard sandwich out of (but possibly a small sandwich). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/27 "2019-11-29T15:12:26Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That was a GREAT show! [/aside] The episode is “Mail Fraud,” which allegedly introduced the word “staycation” to the English language, though I seem to remember it coming earlier. While y’all are celebrating Turkey Day, I’m in my apartment in Moscow chowing down on roast chicken with tropical salsa and Cuban black beans with rice. Yum! All I need now is a cold beer. :o I went out to dinner with my daughter for Canadian Thanksgiving back in October. Nowhere near as good as a real home-cooked meal. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/28 "2019-11-29T15:30:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Aren’t biscuits made with either? From my research, it’s an argument in the biscuit-making community as to which to use. “Chef at Home” Michael Smith\* recommends freezing your butter and then grating it into the bowl with the flour before gently mixing the dough. This is supposed to create little pockets of steam inside the biscuits as they bake and the butter melts, making them extra tender and flaky. \*If you’ve lived in Canada, you probably know him; not sure about the US. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/29 "2019-11-29T16:10:58Z")
Oooh, thank you for the recipe, I will try it at once! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/30 "2019-11-29T17:48:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Aren’t biscuits made with either? A proper traditional Southern biscuit is made with lard or Crisco. It’s what people traditionally had. Most people were poor and butter was expensive. They were also often served only for special occasions like Sunday dinner. Other days were mostly cornbread\* instead. I don’t have any scone recipes that use anything other than butter and I don’t think I have ever had any that were made with anything else (though of course I wouldn’t be surprised at all if commercially made ones use a less expensive fat). Of course anyone is free at any time to use whatever they want and name the end product whatever they wish! \*and let’s not even get started on the opinions on how _that_ is made … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/31 "2019-11-29T17:55:47Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > …Of course anyone is free at any time to use whatever they want and name the end product whatever they wish! > … Only if you’re not afraid of the [Southern Grandma](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/angry-old-woman-threatening-rolling-pin-22759636.jpg) showing up in the middle of dinner! The knock on the door from that rolling pin can strike terror in the heart of the strongest good ol’ boy. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/32 "2019-11-29T17:58:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Only if you’re not afraid of the [Southern Grandma](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/angry-old-woman-threatening-rolling-pin-22759636.jpg) showing up in the middle of dinner! The knock on the door from that rolling pin can strike terror in the heart of the strongest good ol’ boy. Ha! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/33 "2019-11-29T19:04:49Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I have learnt something. > > “Rolls” seems to be used in place of “buns”. > > I never talk of rolls. Except the occasional lobster roll if i’m in the Maritimes. Rolls. [https://www.loblaws.ca/Food/Bakery/Baguettes%2C-Buns-%26-Rolls/Dinner-Rolls/Rolls%2C-Butter-Flakey/p/20158425\_EA](https://www.loblaws.ca/Food/Bakery/Baguettes%2C-Buns-%26-Rolls/Dinner-Rolls/Rolls%2C-Butter-Flakey/p/20158425_EA) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/34 "2019-11-29T19:06:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Chef at Home” Michael Smith\* recommends freezing your butter and then grating it into the bowl with the flour before gently mixing the dough. This is supposed to create little pockets of steam inside the biscuits as they bake and the butter melts, making them extra tender and flaky. > > \*If you’ve lived in Canada, you probably know him; not sure about the US. That what I remember Cooks Illustrated recommending as well in one of their biscuit recipes. Personally, these days I just do the two ingredient biscuits, using equal parts by weight self rising flour and heavy cream. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/35 "2019-11-29T23:16:35Z")
We definitely have special rolls, made with my late MIL’s recipe (probably her mother’s or grandmother’s), using a special pan that is only used for that and only for holidays. Yeah, they are bread rolls. Yeah, they are good. Nothing extraordinary about them though, IMHO. As an aside I laugh at the typical comments about holiday gorging and expanding waistlines. As a healthy non-sedentary adult, the worst that happens from a big holiday meal is 2-3 pounds of temporary water weight gain and then I’ll be back to regular (not to be confused with “standard American”) lifestyle in 24 hours. In fact, today I woke up and worked out and ate my one meal of heaping leftovers and it was great. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/36 "2019-11-30T19:52:41Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Only if you’re not afraid of the [Southern Grandma](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/angry-old-woman-threatening-rolling-pin-22759636.jpg) showing up in the middle of dinner! The knock on the door from that rolling pin can strike terror in the heart of the strongest good ol’ boy. Yes, but if Grandma wasn’t invited in the first place, there’s probably deeper issues than how the mealtime bread was made. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/37 "2019-11-30T20:23:15Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > They are flaky and split apart easily, which means they make great carriers for leftovers - split one in half, slap a slice of ham or turkey on, add whatever other ingredients you want (cranberry sauce, gravy, a slice of cheese, etc.), top with the other half of the biscuit, and that’s some mighty fine eating right there. Yeah, my family does this for breakfast the morning after. We prefer proper\* croissants, though. \*As opposed to the tiny little things that come out of those Pillsbury canisters. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/38 "2019-11-30T20:52:38Z")
I usually make either cheese puffs (gougeres) or Parker House rolls, and I am asked to make them if I’m not hosting, and there are never any left over. They aren’t the easiest thing to pack up and take somewhere though, because you want them fresh out of the oven for the meal. At least in the case of the Parker House rolls. Gougeres not so much. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/39 "2019-11-30T22:37:41Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > Yes, but if Grandma wasn’t invited in the first place, there’s probably deeper issues than how the mealtime bread was made. She was coming back from the grave with that rolling pin. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125/40 "2019-12-01T01:56:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > She was coming back from the grave with that rolling pin. “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” - William Faulkner [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-talk-me-through-thanksgiving-rolls/844125.md?page=1)