What's on Your Thanksgiving Menu?

Updated on October 11, 2011
M.D. asks from Washington, DC
18 answers

We have a large family that requires some coordination for holdays, so we always plan early. I invited everyone to my house for Thanksgiving this year. My parents will do a turkey, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole. My hubby and I will do ham, stuffing, broccoli casserole, and mac and cheese. My brother/sister will foot the desserts, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Everyone will bring something for an appetizer since we gather around noon and eat dinner around 4. So what's on your plate?

1 mom found this helpful

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A.C.

answers from Savannah on

Meats (and menus) change from year to year, though my all-time favorite is a deep fried CAJUN turkey and I can save some leftovers to make a gumbo afterwards...but sometimes it's honeybaked ham, roasted turkey, cornish hens cooked different ways (sometimes with/without fruit, or whatever), CAJUN fried turkey (just plain turkey won't do, it needs to be injected with deliciousness), prime rib, whatever.
For ham or poultry dinners, I love to make spinach madeline, whole berry cranberry sauce, corn casserole, roasted sweet potatoes with a little butter and cinnamon (though the lady that mentioned pecan, raisin, and brown sugar certainly caught my attention!), sometimes for prime rib or some other meat, we'll do green bean casserole, we'll roast or broil some vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, etc), mashed potatoes and gravy.
Appetizers can be anything: a relish tray, deviled eggs, warm baguettes with spinach artichoke dip, etc.
Desserts I like to do a pumpkin cheesecake, or a blackforest cake. We seem to rotate between pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies. I also do a wonderful autumn cheesecake (gingersnaps for crust, cheesecake topped with cinnamon apples, chopped pecans, and MAYBE a hint of caramel drizzled over it) if we're having guests. We usually pick 2 of those as a family and then next year, another 2.

1 mom found this helpful

✤.J.

answers from Dover on

We (me, DH, DD, DS) go to my parent's house every year where my sister, BIL & 2 nephews live as well. My mom & sister make: turkey, stuffing, gravy, apple & pumpkin pies, sauteed green beans with bacon, red peppers & cashews, corn. I bring sweet potato casserole, cranberry chutney, pretzel salad & make the mashed potatoes when I get there. We usually eat around 4:30ish, clean up, make our game plan for Black Friday shopping, and go the heck to bed around 9p.m. to be up at 3:30!

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Normally, I cook a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings and a pot of gumbo and invite the whole family plus several friends. I'm not cooking this year. I'm taking my dog and going on a long-weekend vacation by myself.

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S.2.

answers from Raleigh on

Pretty normal stuff, I think.

Turkey, mashed potato, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, lots of veggies (corn, carrots, mini onions, squash, broccoli), and bread.

Then,'of course,'there are the desserts....PIES! Pumpkin, apple, banana cream, and my favorite...mississippi mud pie. Yum!

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V.T.

answers from Dallas on

Turkey, sweet potato casserole, corn and rolls for dinner. For dessert, pumpkin cheesecake and pecan tartlets. It's just my husband, daughter and I as I can't travel and our family is in the DC area. My mom usually does the big thanksgiving with turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, carrots and celery sticks, and stuffing. We used to just have the carrots and celery sticks when we were little, but it's become a tradition to have them at the table so they are always there.

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K.L.

answers from Savannah on

This is the first year that I will have to cook a Thanksgiving dinner . . . we used to go over to family's houses but we now live in a different state. I am so nervous that EVERYTHING will go horribly wrong! It will just be me, my husband, and our just turned 1 year old. I am thinking turkey, veggies, some sort of sweet potato (little ones fave), mashed potatoes (honey's favorite), and stuffing (my fave). I already know there will be some major mishap in the kitchen . . . I guess that's why they invented camcorders, so we can capture all the insanity (and memories) on film!

R.A.

answers from Providence on

We have it at my MIL's every year. Our menu consists of :
Turkey
cornbread dressing
regular dressing
gravy
mashed potatoes
broccoli casserole
sweet potatoe casserole
green beans
rolls
cranberry freeze
apple,pumplin,pecan pies
pumpkin cheesecake

M.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

I used to be a traditional girl till I married my Indian Husband. So since they dont have a holiday to rival this one, I try to include him and his needs as well. Generally its Tandoori Chicken, a Turkey with SPICY dressing/Stuffing, Some sort of vegetable fry, No other meats :( boo to that... mashed Garlic and cheese potatoes, Candied Yams, Green Bean Cassarole, Candied Cranberries, Fried Onions, Fresh Buns, Pumpkin Pie, Coconut Pie, Burfee (indian sweets), and Oreo cake or something new and exciting ... desserts are usualy a meal in its self.

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S.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

we eat eariler. More like lunch time I guess (late lunch around 1pm). My whole family gathers at my grandparents (thats my 2 grandparents, their 6 kids, 5 spouses, 14 grandkids, 2 of which are married and each have a child, and several more serious girl/boyfriends/fiances, and one neice) My grandparents do the turkey and rolls and mashed potoes/gravy, and veggies. My grandmother also does jello fluffs and pies (she is use to cooking for a big family) Then everyone brings somethings, which can vary from year to year. My cousin will bring a dessert, and so will my mom and her mom (my aunt, who will also do a green bean casserole) my other aunts bring different stuffings (cornbread, a really good one that is vegatarian and made with cream soup instead of broth, and regular stuffing) sweet potatoes, and other various items. I am still trying to find my regular dish. Last year I made an onion cassrole (it was sauteed vidalias mixed with cream of celery and swiss cheese and topped with slices of french bread and then covered again in cheese) This year I am doing spinach rissoto. My sister is attending a culinary school so my grandmother is expecting her to make something too.

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Our Thanksgiving this year will most likely be small.

Turkey
stuffing
mashed potatoes
corn
candied yams
waldorf salad
deviled eggs
cranberry sauce - both whole and jellied

dessert will most likely be:
apple pie and chocolate

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

DARN IT...

I came up with a menu for this year, last year, and now I've forgotten it!

Think think think...what WAS it???

((Thanks for the heads up! I need to go see if I wrote the darn thing down!)

Most basically, I can't remember if I decided on turaducken or deep fried turkey this year. I'll probably just need to do both. (turaducken is turkey, rabbit, duck, chicken)

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T.V.

answers from San Francisco on

Sounds good, EXCEPT, I hope the turkey makers, save the drippings for the gravy makers?

Blessings.....

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I always smoke a turkey and make smokey giblet gravey.

We also have mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, butter horns and pumpkin and pecan pies. There will also be one or two vegetables.

Good luck to you and yours.

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V.F.

answers from Shreveport on

We always have:
Turkey
Cornbread dressing- been a family recipe for years, a ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, homemade rolls, chocolate mousse pie.
And then there is what the guests bring!

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

our traditional Tgiving dinner:

a roasted turkey
my Mom's dressing...yumm
sweet taters, glazed w/out marshm
mashed taters & turkey gravy
fresh bread or rolls
fresh cooked cranberry sauce
& a green vegie, such as broccoli....rarely a casserole. OR a festive mixed greens salad
a relish tray which always includes black olives so we can wear them on our fingers!
Dessert includes: pumpkin dumpcake made w/ Splenda, pecan pie (my sons' fav), & usually something else.

Normally, it's just my family, my sis & her family, & my Mom & Gma. 12 people at the very most.

M.B.

answers from Orlando on

Turkey, stuffing, rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, corn & greenbeans, mashed potatoes, and for deserts sweet potato pie with marshmallow topping, and my hubby's fave Jack Daniels pecan pie

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L.C.

answers from Dover on

Turkey
Ham
Corn bread dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Gravy
Roasted sweet potatoes with pecans, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon
Fresh green beans with bacon
Corn casserole
Creamed Peas
Devilled Eggs
Green Salad
Dinner rolls

Dessert - pumpkin pie and chocolate cream pie

F.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Well, my mom has always had Tgiving at her house and last year she was in the hospital. So I had to do the whole thing myself for the first time! I don't consider myself a "good" cook so I was a little worried! I googled "easy Tgiving recipes" and used some of them. I also wanted to make as much as I could in crock pots since between my mom and I we have 5 of them. I just did the basics, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole in the crock, stuffing in the crock, cranberry jello salad and rolls. My aunt brought the pies. I believe I'm having it again this year and plan to do basically the same but may add a few more dishes since I think we will have a few more people this year. I have all the recipes in a word doc if anyone wants them they can message me their email and I'll send them. Yours sounds great! I can't believe its right around the corner already! =)

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