# What "traditional" food will you have on Thanksgiving? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885 "2003-11-23T21:04:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/21 "2003-11-24T14:46:53Z")
Isabelle, I’m curious to know if you buy turkey substitute, or bacon substitute, would she be distressed by the smell, if it is similar to the real thing? My mom is doing up the spread this year we should have on the menu: Turkey 'n Gravy Mashed potatoes (no lumps we use a ricer) Mashed turnips (Southland brand frozen) Stuffing Green beans Creamed onions (thx, dad… bleh!) Sweet potato casserole, sweet enough to be dessert! Rolls Apple pie (my contribution) Pumpkin pie 2-3 other kinds of pie Antipasto spread with meats cheese olives, the works shrimp cocktail stuffed celery fried mozzarella fried artichoke hearts jeez, we eat a whole lot of crap! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/22 "2003-11-24T15:02:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yBeayf \* > \*\*Green beans baked with breadcrumbs, cheese, and lots of garlic. \*\* This sounds **wonderful!** Do you have a recipe? To answer the OP, I’m making the whole dinner for my family and the in-laws. We’re having the usual Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey (brined according to Alton Brown’s recipe on _Good Eats_) Mashed Potatoes Oyster Stuffing The old standby Greenbean casserole Corn Souffle (old family recipe) Cornbread Pudding (Alton Brown’s recipe) Scalloped Oysters (my grandmother’s recipe) Cranberries (made with the lumpy kind from a can, orange marmalade and walnuts) Sweet Potatoes (old family recipe, made with lot of bourbon, and with pecans sprinkled on top) Sauerkraut (it’s a Baltimore thing; I hate the stuff) Crescent rolls and dinner rolls Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate-pecan pie ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/23 "2003-11-24T15:13:30Z")
Our family is about as traditional as it gets for Thanksgiving: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, bread rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry jelly, etc. For dessert it’s pumpkin pie along with a couple other pie choices offered. We have always drank iced tea with our family meals, including Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/24 "2003-11-24T15:17:16Z")
We’re having my family and my in-laws. It’s also my one year anniversary. How in the world my husband managed to get out of taking me out by making me cook for 15 people is beyond me. :rolleyes: We’re having: Crab Dip Appetizers Ham Roll Up Appetizers Turkey (fresh - bought from our friends who own a Turkey Farm up by Island Lake) Giblet Stuffing Gravy Mashed Potatoes Sweet Potatoes Corn Glazed Carrots Martha’s Cranberry Compote Rolls Huge Relish Tray About eight thousand desserts, including wedding cake since we didn’t have one when we got married. Yeah, my Mother in law’s idea. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mearl\_Dox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Mearl\_Dox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mearl_Dox)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/25 "2003-11-24T15:22:02Z")
I love Thanksgiving. 😃 Turkey and gravy Mashed potatoes and gravy Stuffing and gravy Biscuits and gravy It’s just a good thing there aren’t any traditional Thanksgiving desserts that could have gravy added. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/26 "2003-11-24T15:37:26Z")
Has Miss Manners ever tackled this one? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/27 "2003-11-24T22:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yBeayf \* > \*\*Baked artichoke stuffed with breadcrumbs and cheese. \*\* Mmmm…haven’t had an artichoke in a long long time. My grandmother taught me how to make them (she never used cheese, though), but I forgot. This was years ago. It’s been a few Thanksgivings since she passed away. As a kid, she always had peppermint patty type thin mints on the table as part of the dinner. Since then, I’ve been sure to get some for the table every Thanksgiving. It cracks up my wife, but she understands why I do it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/28 "2003-11-24T22:44:18Z")
Damn, now I’m hungry for sauerkraut. I might just have to bring some with me. It’s genetic–Mom’s Pennsylvania Dutch. 🙂 Oh, and I forgot the homemade cranberry/orange relish–yum… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/29 "2003-11-24T23:27:16Z")
Mmmmm…meeeaaaaatttt. We do the usual turkey, cranberries, potatoes and gravy and rolls. I make a sage sausage stuffing using locally baked breads and with a few chestnuts thrown in to satisfy the wifey. Crab-stuffed celery and deviled eggs for horsey doovers. Maybe I’ll do a raspberry sorbet for a desert option this year, or maybe a pumpkin creme brulee. Actually, we go to my sister’s house for T-day, and I do the whole thing again on the weekend just for us. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/30 "2003-11-25T02:01:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you have a recipe [for the green beans]? \ Ok, there’s no real recipe for the green beans, but the basic gist of making it is: Take a bunch of cooked green beans (they should be fairly soft; this dish should end up with sort of a loaf consistency). Add olive oil until they are uniformly covered with it. Mix in extremely dry breadcrumbs until a decent texture has been achieved. Mix in parmesan to the rough ratio of 1 part cheese to 4 parts green beans. Mix in garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Bake in 400 deg. oven around 20 minutes, or until top is slightly browned. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTurkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TwoTurkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTurkeys)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/31 "2003-11-25T07:11:16Z")
In answer to what we are having for Thanksgiving …need I say more than my user name?! My daughter and I went shopping tonight for the _BIG_ dinner. I happened to look into the back seat after our last stop and it struck me very funny that we had enough food to feed at LEAST 20 people!! Her whole back seat was full of bags. I had to laugh because truthfully, my daughter, her husband, and I are the only adults that will be attending Thanksgiving dinner. The other _guests_ are little boys. LOL It is absolutely ridiculous the way we cook cafeteria sized meals. I guess it is not so bad, we do have plenty of left overs…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885/32 "2003-11-25T12:46:23Z")
Thanks, **yBeayf**! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-traditional-food-will-you-have-on-thanksgiving/214885.md?page=1)