Thanksgiving side dishes by region

[unclemick]

Interesting. We fit the Midwest with rolls, but also go with the green bean casserole. I like the Southeast with the mac and cheese though.

Drove up to Grant City Mo - talked about how many Green Bean casseroles would show up - NONE! Everybody thought somebody else would bring some for sure. Now - I brought Sicilian style (Rocky and Carlos) Mac and cheese.

Nobody brought salad either.

Heh heh heh - rolls galore. Turkey and ham, pumpkin, pecan pies, mashed potatoes, brown and white gravy, etc.

 

[FUEGO]

Rolls, green beans, green bean casserole and mac n cheese here.

Also had spicy papaya salad, rice noodles, egg rolls, spring rolls, and sticky rice.

 

[RAE]

I love Thanksgiving dinner, and at our house (in Michigan), there are some things that just have to be included every year:

-roasted squash (Blue Hubbard is the best, but they are too big for our small family to eat a whole one, so we usually go with Butternut as a good second choice).

- turkey (usually grilled outside after soaking in brine for a day)
- garlic mashed potatoes w/gravy
- traditional bread stuffing w/celery, parsley, onion, marjoram, thyme, sage
- cranberry sauce w/orange
- pumpkin pike w/ real whipped cream

Beyond that, we usually have a green vegetable of some kind (varies from year to year), and maybe a second kind of pie (blueberry is a favorite of mine).

 

[6miths]

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter Dinners are all similar at our house.

Turkey (sometimes add a ham)
Dressing (done in the bird)
Gravy
Cranberry sauce - both real and the jellied stuff
Mashed potatoes
Squash
Corn (off the cob, not creamed)
Peas
Cole slaw (creamy)
Orange jello with mandarin oranges in it (going on 50 years!)
Fruit salad (with marshmallows!)
Rolls

Desert - apple pie, a berry and shortcake concoction, pumpkin pie (not at Easter) and whipped cream

 

[Omalley]

DW is the chef and here is our MI menu was:

Turkey
Stuffing - in the bird
Corn
Whole cranberry sauce
Roasted Brussels sprouts sautéed with bacon
Mash potatoes, turkey gravy
Rolls

Cheesecake with apple sauce
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin roll

Omalley

 

[scrinch]

California-

Roast turkey (sometimes we'll smoke a second one)
Mashed potatoes
Gravy from the turkey drippings (usually one batch with and one without giblets)
Stuffing (we stuff the bird and cook the rest on the stovetop)
Peas with pearl onions
Cranberry sauce (berries, sugar, water, heat)
Rolls
Green salad

Pumpkin pie
Berry pie

 

[FUEGO]

California-
Green salad

Is this just a regular salad? Like lettuce, tomato, carrot, salad dressing? I guess it would make a good side dish but I've just never heard of it with a traditional Thanksgiving spread.

Guess it's a western US thing (per the article).

 

[jazz4cash]

And cornbread & rolls/biscuits are side dishes? Huh? But it's on the internet so it has to be true...

+1

 

[scrinch]

Is this just a regular salad? Like lettuce, tomato, carrot, salad dressing? I guess it would make a good side dish but I've just never heard of it with a traditional Thanksgiving spread.

Guess it's a western US thing (per the article).

Maybe it's west coast or maybe just my family, but we have a salad with almost every dinner of the year.

 

[ABQ2015]

My mom, who spent her entire life in Louisiana, made a great oyster cornbread dressing. Now living in the southwest, we have regular dressing made from bread crumbs and always have a green salad as we do most meals. I insist on sweet potatoes and prefer the casserole with nuts and brown sugar topping - but forego the pecan pie as it is a little too sweet. But my favorite is the turkey enchiladas the day after Thanksgiving.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Growing up in California it was always:

Turkey
Bread stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Sweet potatoes or yams made with brown sugar
Peas
Canned cranberry sauce
Rolls
Pumpkin pie and one other pie.

Afterward we'd break out the cards and had a riotously good time.

DH, DS and I aren't fond of stuffing ourselves, nor do we like yams, peas, or cranberry sauce.

So...
For us it was:
Turkey
Bread stuffing my mom's recipe to which I added turnips, and baked separately.
Pan gravy
Green beans made with onion/mushroom/garlic pesto sauce topped with crispy onions-a light version of the green bean casserole
Pumpkin chiffon pie with vanilla wafer crust, all handmade.

DH loves pumpkin pie.

DS learned did most of the work with my supervision and commented how much work it was. He ate extra pie knowing it was homemade and real!

Our after Thankgiving feast activities are usually card games or bowling.

This was the first Thanksgiving in years I wasn't w***king.

Next year I aim to go to California or Washington for Thanksgiving.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[folivier]

Roasted turkey stuffed with bell pepper, onions, celery and garlic
cornbread dressing with ground beef and pork
green bean and artichoke casserole
carrot casserole
yam casserole
and for dessert doberge squares
and today will be turkey andouille gumbo made with the leftovers (that's the best way to eat turkey imo)

 

[audreyh1]

Roasted turkey stuffed with bell pepper, onions, celery and garlic
cornbread dressing with ground beef and pork
green bean and artichoke casserole
carrot casserole
yam casserole
and for dessert doberge squares
and today will be turkey andouille gumbo made with the leftovers (that's the best way to eat turkey imo)

As soon as I saw artichokes in a casserole I was thinking Louisiana, and the andouille gumbo leftovers confirmed it!

 

[Bestwifeever]

People cook so much better now. Growing up it wasn't Thanksgiving without this menu (most dishes served only on Thanksgiving): sweet potatoes slid right out of the can into a baking dish and heated up with a dab of margarine and brown sugar sprinkled on top (we were too poor for marshmallows--fortunately)--so awful in terms of taste, texture, and presentation. And always some Brussels sprouts, probably canned too, and then boiled to an unappetizing aroma and consistency, served plain, on a plate next to the jellied canned cranberry sauce. White bread, celery and onion dressing cooked inside the turkey. Mashed potatoes--real and plain and good. Turkey cut up into pieces after roasting to dryness and eaten that way. Amazing real gravy made with turkey drippings, flour and water. A relish tray with little sweet gherkin pickles and green olives from jars. A bowl of nuts. Rolls from the grocery store. Pumpkin pie from the recipe on the can, real crust, for dessert, no whipped cream or ice cream. All cooked by mom (from the midwest) per dad's orders (New England roots).

 

[HFWR]

Our part of the south leans heavily on the carbs. We will have two kinds of dressing (never called stuffing), one with sausage and one without. My personal favorite is oyster dressing, but I got downvoted on that.

Also Mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, sweet potatos with candied pecans on top, and a pecan pie. Plus rolls and cornbread. Is gravy a side dish?

Yep, starch... Broccoli casserole, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes with homemade noodles, traditional and oyster dressings (white bread-based, though, frankly, I prefer cornbread)...

Not sure why, but we've always had a small contingent for oyster dressing, even though we were midwesterners.

 

[devans0]

Our Iowan family's sides include corn casserole made with cornbread flour, green bean casserole, a cut vegetable tray with ranch dip, mashed red potatoes with ranch dressing and cheese, dressing using liquid from a deglazed turkey pan, gravy using that same deglazing liquid, crescent rolls, a tart and fresh cranberry and orange relish, pumpkin pies, pumpkin cake. What we missed this year was the sweet potato pie, sweet potatoes, cornbread and squash.

Sourdough bread is already baked for leftover sandwiches, crock pot already made stock from the turkey bones, as we cleaned up.

Ranch dressing is a Midwestern thing.

 

[pb4uski]

Do folks have mashed potatoes (with a masher) or whipped potatoes (with a mixer). I prefer whipped because of the smoothness but many people prefer mashed.

DW prefers bread stuffing and I prefer meat stuffing (cooked ground beef, pork, potato and spices). We had both yesterday. Nice thing about meat dressing is that any leftover can be put into a pie crust for meat pie.

 

[Midpack]

Do folks have mashed potatoes (with a masher) or whipped potatoes (with a mixer). I prefer whipped because of the smoothness but many people prefer mashed.

DW prefers bread stuffing and I prefer meat stuffing (cooked ground beef, pork, potato and spices). We had both yesterday. Nice thing about meat dressing is that any leftover can be put into a pie crust for meat pie.

We like chunks, so we go mashed. Whipped reminds us of 'Potato Buds' (yuck). This year we had garlic smashed potatoes, not mashed or whipped,

 

[Walt34]

Do folks have mashed potatoes (with a masher) or whipped potatoes (with a mixer). I prefer whipped because of the smoothness but many people prefer mashed.

We're the opposite of Midpack, strongly dislike chunks so the potatoes go through a ricer first and are then whipped. Thinned a little with some milk (careful, though, not too much, we don't want Elmer's Glue) and then LOTS of melted butter and I add freshly ground black pepper. Yum....

 

[steelyman]

I'm doing my best to make a good showing for my old region in my new, so was happy to partake as part of yesterday's Thanksgiving traditions: collard greens!

 

[braumeister]

Do folks have mashed potatoes (with a masher) or whipped potatoes (with a mixer).

With a mixer, but just a little so not very smooth. And definitely unpeeled. With a little garlic and LOTS of butter.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm doing my best to make a good showing for my old region in my new, so was happy to partake as part of yesterday's Thanksgiving traditions: collard greens!

No black eyed peas?!?!?

 

[Sarah in SC]

The black eyed peas and collards are for New Years! With cornbread. Yay for starches!

The smoked turkey was amazing, actually way better than the baked one. Am so very happy to have a good cook in the house in the form of our roommate! I can feel whatever cooking skills I had, evaporate by the day.

 

[steelyman]

No black eyed peas?!?!?

Does music count?

(that's like asking, "Does a florist stay open on Mother's Day?")

 

[ABQ2015]

I like my mashed potatoes with lumps. Also unpeeled especially if the potatoes are Yukon Golds.