Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanksgiving is one of those meals you don't mess with. The family expects the same dishes, done the same way, every year. So, was anyone brave enough to make changes? My family likes the same things too, or so they say. I made a new cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy and some new side dishes too. Do you think anyone noticed or said anything? The only comment I got was on the mashed potatoes. I riced them, which is my favorite way of getting a smooth potato. My husband and son like some chunks still left, so they would have preferred the hand mashed version
What did you do differently? Would you do it again?
Cheer up! You cannot please everyone!
Next year hand out written (yes, written) suggestions, discuss them and follow through.
I made my MIL's dressing which is basically cornbread baked into mush with mushy vegetables. Well, lots of the permisable vegetables were not pre cooked to death, spice found its way into the mix and the corn bread was bone dry to start with. SO asked if it is a lot of work or might be an option during the year. Yeah!!!!
Cheer up! You cannot please everyone!
Next year hand out written (yes, written) suggestions, discuss them and follow through.
I made my MIL's dressing which is basically cornbread baked into mush with mushy vegetables. Well, lots of the permisable vegetables were not pre cooked to death, spice found its way into the mix and the corn bread was bone dry to start with. SO asked if it is a lot of work or might be an option during the year. Yeah!!!!
I am not depressed! I am just amused that it didn't matter how I changed things up. The food was all great and I loved it; they did too. They are used to excellent food and so how good something is never the topic of conversation. I did think changing the stuffing after 20 years would at least get some reaction of "why did you do that?", but it didn't.
Yes for the first time in 30 years my family made changes to the usual Thanksgiving fair. It was only 7 of us and 3 being kids under the age of 10. One with a dairy and gluten allergy. We had the Turkey and mom's stuffing. I made mashed sweet potatoes with a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and mashed that with some veggie broth. We also had roasted asparagus, roasted Brussel sprouts with bacon. I did make the green bean casserole. We had kings Hawaiian rolls, butter and an assortment of olives. I made an apple crisp and my SIL made a gluten/dairy free pumpkin pie. We had 2 kinds of ice cream, one was dairy free and the other was vanilla gelato. Oh and my brother made the stuffing using my mom's recipe but changed it slightly using Earth's balance dairy free buttery spread. I could not tell the difference.
I usually stick to the same favorite but add or modify new ones. For example, we used to do sweet potato casserole with marsh mallows, this year it was topped with pecans and honey. I skipped the egg and all that stuff. It turned out good. Same with soup. It used to be butternut squash, this year it’s savory squash soup, which has both butternut and acorn squashes.
We've been making changes in recent years, as the foods we're able to eat change. This year we didn't do cornbread stuffing or mashed potatoes, and we didn't put marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. I also skipped making gravy, and our cranberry sauce didn't have orange juice or spices. I made a cheesecake instead of a fruit pie. It was all good and we were happy with the changes.
Yes for the first time in 30 years my family made changes to the usual Thanksgiving fair. It was only 7 of us and 3 being kids under the age of 10. One with a dairy and gluten allergy. We had the Turkey and mom's stuffing. I made mashed sweet potatoes with a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and mashed that with some veggie broth. We also had roasted asparagus, roasted Brussel sprouts with bacon. I did make the green bean casserole. We had kings Hawaiian rolls, butter and an assortment of olives. I made an apple crisp and my SIL made a gluten/dairy free pumpkin pie. We had 2 kinds of ice cream, one was dairy free and the other was vanilla gelato. Oh and my brother made the stuffing using my mom's recipe but changed it slightly using Earth's balance dairy free buttery spread. I could not tell the difference.
I remember your thread looking for ideas for how to accommodate the dietary needs of your loved ones this Thanksgiving. It sounds like it all worked out!
We always have mashed potatoes, red cabbage and sausage apple stuffing but the other sides change from year to year.
This year we had sweet potatoes for the first time. Mashed with garlic and paprika. They were excellent. No leftovers. Roasted Brussels sprouts were a repeat from last year but will probably be replaced with something else next time. We also baked bread instead of the usual dinner rolls and baked the pumpkin filling in individual custard cups instead of as pie.
Daughter and I had a conversation in the kitchen about how, although we've been making the same recipes for decades, we have altered them to suit a healthier, more modern diet.
I had remarked that I don't put nearly as much butter or salt in my stuffing as Mom's recipe suggests anymore. And I use less sugar in my cranberry salad recipe.
I'm all for having Thanksgiving dinner be as old fashioned and fatty, salty and sweet as the recipes call for. It's once a year. If you can't indulge on Thanksgiving, then just throw in the towel, LOL.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
