I know there are some non-americans on the forum and I'm sorry to be so America-centric (umm,I forgot the real word for that), but Hey! Turkey Day is just a week away!! What are your favorite side dishes for the holiday? Any unusual ones?

I'm a roasted-garlic mashed potatoes kind of girl. Boring and stinky, yes, but yummy.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Answers

Maggie made some sweet potatoes at the (Canadian) Thanksgiving dinner she had for all of us in Toronto, and they were wonderful. I've been thinking about asking her for the recipe, but I keep forgetting. Mr DF's never even seen a sweet potato, so it's time to learn him good.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

I like dressing best.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Dressing... or stuffing? My family calls it both. Because we are freaks.

I love celery with cream cheese and walnuts; squash casserole (with cheese and bacon on the top); rolls; green beans and almonds; gravy... pretty much everything.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Cranberry jelly, the Ocean Spray kind that slides out of the can in a log. And stuffing with saugage and celery mixed in.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

I only call it dressing when it's served on Thanksgiving. And I love the Ocean Spray cranberry substance, too.

Bleh. Just today I started a super-restrictive diet, and I'm not going to be able to eat any of that stuff. I'm probably going to have to avoid this topic from now on.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Oooh, food!

I may, if I do say so myself, make kick-ass stuffing. See, first I get 1 loaf of good firm white bread (NOT Weber's or Wonder), and let it sit out for a day. Then I crumble it up, mixed with the stray bread bits and pieces that I save for months previously (the dry end of an Italian loaf, etc.). Then I dice up a yellow onion, a handful of baby carrots and about 3-4 stalks of celery and a clove of garlic and brown them slowly in a half-stick of melted butter. NOW's when it gets really good.... I cook up a package of sausauge... that white- plastic-wrapped Farmer John's log is perfect. Brown and crumble. Then I cook the giblets (well, the heart and the liver), and dice them in a food processor. This is about the only time I'll use dried herbs... (fresh herbs tend to get soggy... mebbe I just haven't learned the secret...) I sprinkle in the usual assortment of sage, poultry seasoning, season pepper, etc. and mix it all up. Yum yum!

Me and The Husband-Type Man try to experiment with different side dishes. Last year, I made this cauliflower/feta cheese casserole that was really good. The year before, he made amazing shortbread (not really a side dish, but). This year, well, (shameless self- promotion), check out my website.... www.dwanollah.com

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

My aunt makes it with oysters sometimes. I like it without meat, but with something crunchy like walnuts or water chestnuts.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

My mother always wants a ham, so we have that and then I buy a smoked turkey and stick a knife in it on a buffet table. None of us (brother, sisters, their families, like baked turkey for some reason.) so we really have a lot of neat side dishes. Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with Ranch dressing and real butter whipped into it smooth, mounds of black olives, sweet potatoes with marshmellows melted on top, grren beans with pearl onions and bacon, lots of little sweet baby gherkins, crackers and rat trap cheese. And apricot brandy...lots of apricot brandy. Lots. Mucho. Mom goes to bed before the food fights start. Did I mention giblet gravey made from giblets saved just for the occassion.? And film. So when my tighty- ass seester gets kazooked and behaves like a belly-dancer we can reecord it and blackmail her for another 11 months.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Bubba, have you been hitting the apricot brandy a little early?

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Si.

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

I make homemade (yeast and everything!) rolls... when they are soft and warm from the oven, smelling SO good, pull one apart and blot up a little gravy. I know, I know - EVERYTHING about that is bad bad bad for you, but SO SO SO delicious. .

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Bubba, what is rat trap cheese?

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Gwen, what's with the super-restrictive diet?

-- Anonymous, November 15, 2000

Man, you guys are making me wish we had Thanksgiving in Australia. This food sounds fabulous.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

I love everything at Thankgiving. The turkey, or ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top. Cranberry sause in a can, although for the past several years I make my own sause. And don't forget the pumpkin and pecan pies. I have a super duper simple pecan pie recipe. Warning, *not low cal*. I tried a stuffing with cranberries and different things in it one year, but the set-in-their-ways Missouri folks didn't like it. I don't do the turkey. I'm not sure what is wrong with me, but I can't put my hand in the hole and pull out all the stuff they put in there before you cook it.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

You know what really was delicious? That cheesy potato casserole Maggie made at her house. That was the biggest hit of the entire dinner, with good reason.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Oyster dressing, yum. I promised my mom we'd do a simple Thanksgiving dinner when my parents came down, but y'all are making me reconsider. We'll be doing turkey, potatoes, gravy, dressing, green beans, biscuits, and squash pie for dessert. I make really good gravy, and my husband (Condiment Man) puts it over everything. He swears it makes even green beans taste better.

My dad used to make oyster stew for Christmas morning breakfast when we were kids. I still love it, and really wish I could get my family to try it.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Mmmm...I'm hungry now. I usually make a kick-ass broccoli casserole. Oh, and some home made macaroni and cheese--the kind that's REALLY ooey-gooey extra extra cheesy baked with breadcrumbs on top.It's so good it has a heart attack warning attached. Bubba, we always have ham too. Anyone had a fried turkey? They are SOOOO delish. Maybe it's just yet another southern dish, though. Ooooh, I just can't wait for Thanksgiving.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Paul, I'm just tired of not being able to find cool thrift-store clothing in my size. And I figure I might as well get my diet off on a good, super restrictive start.

Jackie, those pototoes *were* fabulous. Didn't they have a special name? Like "Hash Brown Casserole"? No... what was it? Maggie, tell us if you read this.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Oh, yum. This all sounds so good.

Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal of the year. We stick with the traditional stuff in my family. Stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, some green vegetable so we can kid ourselves into thinking it's a healthy meal, creamed onions, rolls with lots of butter. Pie for dessert, either pumpkin, apple, or pecan. And a nice cabernet sauvignon. I like the whole-berry cranberry sauce best, but for the next-day sandwiches (turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce between thick slices of bread), the jellied stuff that ooshes out of the can in a log is better.

Then you get to pick at the leftovers for the next two days. Mmmmmmm, Thanksgiving leftovers.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Shanna, I've had fried turkey the last two Thanksgivings. I love how we can take a perfectly healthy bird and fry it in 5 gallons of peanut oil... It is really tender and yummy.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Yup, Gardanna....fry up me one of them there turkeys. I need to up my cholesterol just a tad! hahaha

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

I don't know if any of you are vegetarians, but last year I hosted thanksgiving at my house and had a great dinner. I made rice and lentil cabbage rolls, squash, baby peas, potatoes, corn, fresh bread, some kind of dressing in a casserole dish, and the *best* gravy I have ever eaten. I got most of the recipes at Veggies Unite! website.

I know that thanksgiving is traditionally difficult for vegetarians to host because of the expectations of the guests. My family, carnivores all, loved the dinner that we had and I'm glad that I went with a modified traditional spread rather than going with pasta (which I had considered).

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Why did I forget some of the menu? I don't know. We also had yams, a huge green salad and both apple and pumpkin pie.

Did I mention that I was nine months pregnant at the time? That's when I tend to cook elaborate stuff.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

LindaC...rat trap is a kind rather than a brand. You have to look for it and not all stores carry that type...but it's worth the hunt. It usually comes in a wedge shape and says right on it...Rat Trap cheese. It's much better than cheddar or Monterey Jack. Even the kids love it. We cut 'em a chunk so they don't get all whiney before dinner and force one of the adults to "DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT KID, WILL YA'" if you know what I mean.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Bubba, I know what you mean about the kidlets. But, I usually give them a chocolate turkey and it makes them really nuts. Thanks re:the cheese. I love almost all kinds of cheese and never heard of rat trap cheese. I'm going to look for it.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

Mashed potatoes, moist turkey and mince meat pie (actually is just spicy fruit, haven't been curious enough to figure that name out) with whipped cream on top--three good things I don't get often enough.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

umm, I'm not trying to ruin any mystique or anything...but rat trap cheese is cheddar. I have several recipes that call for it and they *always* put cheddar in parentheses right after it. I think it's maybe a really sharp cheddar??? I could show you some links to those recipes if you want..

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

don't kill me, bubba :) As an update, a friend of mine takes issue with my assertion that rat trap is cheddar (though I'm telling you...it is!). My new assertion is that probably no one cares, right?

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2000

I always thought it was extra-sharp cheddar. But I've been wrong so many times before.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

I usually make potatoes that contain lots of butter, sour cream, and cream cheese in the for Thanksgiving. You beat all that stuff into the potatoes, then put it in a baking dish with more butter and bread crumbs on the top. This year though, I didn't feel like peeling potatoes, even though my husband usually does it for me, so I made the hash brown casserole that I first discovered years ago at a work potluck meal. I've heard it described as a "white trash" dish, like that was a bad thing.

You use a one kg bag (2 pounds) of frozen hash browns, a 500 ml tub of sour cream (about two cups), a can of "cream of" soup (I used Campebell's mushroom and onion), half to three-quarters of a cup of diced onions, at least half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I used old, white cheddar).

Combine all of the ingredients into a 9x13 pan, reserving some of the cheese to put on the top. You can also put in some crushed garlic or sauté-d mushrooms. The recipe I have calls for crushed potato chips to put on the top, but I didn't do that.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Well slap my ass and call me white trash, because that potato dish you made was awesome, Maggie. I'm going to make it for Ian, because that boy loves his starches and loves his cheese.

Also, does anyone know of a potato casserole that is cheesy and has cornflakes on top? My Dad got the recipe off someone when I was younger, and made it once. It was lovely. He lost the recipe.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

In Utah that dish is called either "Mormon potatoes" or "funeral potatoes." It's one of the dishes that made it onto a 2002 Olympic Pin, and it is yummy.... We had this cook in my sorority house for a while who was really, really good, and always made this elaborate meals with everything from scratch, and we used to beg and beg him for Mormon potatoes. The very idea of using frozen hash browns and canned soup in anything made him cringe, but we broke him down.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Butter? Sour cream? AND cream cheese? HELL YES!

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

my granny all ways made a speshial dish with the gizzerds and innerds of a turkey, she would fry it up with butter and onoions garlick and some speshial spice but she wouldnt tell us what ti was and she tooked it to her grave. oh boy was it good!!!!

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Butter? Sour cream? AND cream cheese? No wonder they call 'em "funeral potatoes!" LOL Seriously, though, this sounds like an awesome dish to wallow in, think I'll try it. :-)

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

On the Rat Trap cheese debate...it MAY be a type of cheddar, but it is DEFINITELY NOT extra sharp. To the contrary, it's got a smooth, almost buttery taste, not at all like that orange-colored sharp cheese. Honest. It's without a doubt the best tasting cheese that I've had and it's a hit with everyone in our family. When we have home-made tacos and there's no rat trap...everything halts until someone goes and gets some.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2000

Dwannolah,

I make a similar stuffing - but use hot Italian stuffing instead (you slit the casings and sqeeze it out) and also add garlic and brown mushrooms and DO use wonder or some other poison-white-bread.

But since it's a hassle to do Thanksgiving overseas, I do the Turkey at Christmas instead. Growing up we always had turkey at thanksgiving and "Roast Beast" (roast beef) at Christmas and then we had to have Yorkshire pudding.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000

I wish we had Honey-Baked Ham stores in the UK like in Ohio. I'm sick of turkey and don't want pheasant or grouse or any other game.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000

Does anyone know of a good recipe/site for a recipe for a baked macaroni and cheese casserole? Feel free to just email me if it's long...

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000

fruitbat, www.epicurious.com usually has kick ass recipes, and I just looked and saw one for mac and cheese that sounded really good.

I always go there if I need a recipe.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000

Thanks a lot Nicole. I'll check it out.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000