A thread for posting side dishes that you make. If it's intriguing, expect a recipe request.

I have only cooked Thanksgiving 4 times lol. However, other than average sides, these were different than the usual:

Jordanian Salad
Mushroom phyllo cups

We usually roast brussel sprouts and steam artichokes as sides which is not necessarily usual for elsewhere but they are in season veggies here.

Nothing exciting here, just the traditional things and some extra cranberries:
bread stuffing
candied sweet potatoes (brown sugar and butter)
green vegetable (beans, asparagus or brussels sprouts)
regular cranberry sauce
cranberry orange relish
cranberry waldorf salad (aka "cranberry fluff"; there are many different versions, but ours has cranberries, sugar, apples, grapes, walnuts, mini marshmallows and real whipping cream)
relish tray with sweet gherkins, black olives, green olives, and carrots
pumpkin pie

We always used to have mashed potatoes also, and I prefer them over sweet potatoes (lots of sugar in this meal already), but it's too many things to prepare at the last minute, and too much to eat, so now we make mashed potatoes a few days later to enjoy with the leftovers.

One year I fancied up the brussels sprouts with chestnuts and some other stuff, but I like them better plain with butter. It's funny, this time of year we're inundated with recipes about how to make Thanksgiving food more interesting, and I always think I should try something new, but really what I want for Thanksgiving is the exact same thing every year, because it's tradition and that's part of the point for us. I can remember eating these exact same foods (except brussels sprouts, probably was frozen peas) 50 years ago with my grandparents and parents and aunts & uncles & cousins around a huge table at my grandparents' house in Pittsburgh.

That said, if anyone has good side dish recipes, I'd love to see them. Change must be possible, because somehow brussels sprouts got into our rotation.

It's pretty traditional here with nothing of the unusual sort.

- Mashed potatoes, hand mashed with real small lumps left in them. Like Worth, I want the taste of potatoes so I add just a bit of salt, butter and milk or cream.

- Bread stuffing made with homemade bread and yes, actually stuffed into the turkey.

- Cranberry sauce, whole berry and made from fresh cranberries.

- Green bean casserole, made from a recipe in Cooks Illustrated and it beats the old canned bean/mushroom soup version all to pieces. Made from fresh green beans and a fresh mushroom-laden white sauce made with cream. Topping is made from buttered bread crumbs and Durkee fried onions and is much more crisp and tasty. I make this once a year and look forward to it and the usual dinner guests always request it.

Homemade rolls - Martha Stewart's No-Knead rolls are super easy, can be made ahead and frozen, thawed the day needed and slightly warmed in the microwave just before serving. Like they just came out of the oven.

Guests are bringing a few other things.

I love making Thanksgiving dinner. Over the years I've developed a time table that starts on Monday and plans out small prep steps for each day. When Thanksgiving day comes the final cooking is easy, no rushing around or forgetting anything.

Seven Bends wrote: ↑Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:50 am .... I always think I should try something new, but really what I want for Thanksgiving is the exact same thing every year, because it's tradition and that's part of the point for us. I can remember eating these exact same foods (except brussels sprouts, probably was frozen peas) 50 years ago with my grandparents and parents and aunts & uncles & cousins around a huge table at my grandparents' house in Pittsburgh.

@Seven Bends , I'm right with you on this one.

Mashed white potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes
A 50/50 mix of the above
Brussels sprouts
Cornbread stuffing - bagged, adding sauteed onion & celery, sometimes with roasted sunflower kernels, rarely giblets
Whole cranberry sauce, canned
Rolls - bought, or drop biscuits - made from scratch
Pumpkin cheesecake (pumpkin pie - never again, and I really like pumpkin pie)

@Seven Bends I read that some people make their mashed potatoes the day before and then just put them in the crockpot on Thanksgiving day. Last year I put my bread stuffing in the crock pot in the morning and it was really good.

I also like a traditional dinner and we pretty much always have the same thing.

Buttered sweet corn from my garden (frozen)
Bread stuffing
Cornbread stuffing (my personal favorite)
Cranberry relish (whole cranberries, mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple) Make this the day ahead.
Mashed white potatoes from my garden. NO cream cheese, just butter, salt and milk.
Turkey breast from a locally raised turkey.
Whatever dessert my brother brings but pumpkin pie is my favorite.

@brownrexx Great idea about the crock pot, thanks.

Could you post or link to the cranberry relish recipe you use? I googled but there seem to be a lot of different variations with those ingredients.

Brined turkey(I may try the buttermilk recipe this year)
Baked Parmesan mashed potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes
Buttered carrots
Angel Corn
Bread stuffing
Fresh baked rolls
Homemade apple-orange cranberry sauce

@pondgardner Angel corn! I've never heard of that, just looked it up and it sounds delicious.

@Seven Bends Although I usually cook from scratch, my cranberry relish uses all cans and is super easy.

1 can of whole cranberry sauce, 14 oz
10 oz can of mandarin oranges, drained and I also break up the segments with a spoon
8 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained.

Mix everything together and chill overnight or longer.

Out of this world Mashed potatoes seem to be an art. A whole thread could be devoted to them. I’can’t say I know how to achieve the perfect mashed potatoes. Which kind, what to add, it’s like a high I have been chasing most my life. Seems like less is more. Less adulteration, the better, but then I’ve had great mashed potatoes with things like roasted garlic, or herbs, or some sort of cheese mixed in. Some people add much too much milk, rendering the potatoes too wet and milky, or too much butter, smothering the great potato flavor in a sea of butter. Some overprocess them, make them gummy or something.

If you believe you make the perfect mashed potatoes, please share your theory or ideas on what makes the best mashed potatoes.

I've had perfect mashed potatoes only once, made with Irish Cobblers straight out of the garden. My theory is that the best potatoes make the best mashed potatoes.

I try to mix it up and have done the following (some may have been at Christmas too, I forget):

smashed potatoes (boiled potatoes with skin on (water has some malt vinegar in it), smash them flat, roast them with garlic/sometimes curry until crispy)
scalloped potatoes
Hasselback potatoes
Note: I think mashed potatoes work better than all other potato recipes, unless you do both. Must have that potatoes and gravy!

roasted root vegetables (parsnip, carrots, yams, squash, turnip etc.)
roasted brussel sprouts with bacon

Caesar salad with homemade dressing and croutons
Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Broccoli Salad

Squash and Leek Soup, Potato and Leek Soup, Pumpkin Soup
Creamy Fried Confetti Corn
Cranberry Apple Sauce
Cornbread/Sourdough bread/Biscuits
Irish Brown Bread with Guinness Reduction [first had this at Raglan Road Restaurant at Disney World] (https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2013/03 ... reduction/)

Sweet Potato Pie
Trifle with homemade Madeira pound cake

I am in Canada, but have also tried several of the more local USA dishes like Hawaiian Salad, Frog Eye Salad, Sweeet Potato Casserole and Green Bean Casserole. None ever made a return...

Recent years I keep it pretty basic.

Totally traditional. Won't be home this year so this is what I made last week.
Stuffed 20 lb. bird cooked over cherry, apple and a bit of pecan. Hand mashed potatoes. Bread dressing in the oven, cornbread in the bird. Steamed broccoli and a tomato salad.
The bird came off in 4 1/2 hrs. and caught every bit of drippings. The gravy was made both with and without chopped giblets. All was super tasty with the gravy coming out on top. Grilled turkey drippings would make ice cream taste better.

@karstopography I am no expert but with mashed potatoes, the variety of potato and it's associated level of starch makes more of a difference than the additives in my opinion. Yukon Gold are only moderately starchy and make very flavorful mashed potatoes

Russets aka Idaho potatoes are high in starch meaning that they absorb a lot of water and can make watery mashed potatoes.

Waxy potatoes like red ones do not mash as well and are more suited to things like potato salad where they retain their shape well.

I think that I will mash my Keuka Gold potatoes for Thanksgiving. I use warm, full fat milk, real butter and a potato ricer.