17 worst Thanksgiving sides
Robert Guerrero 
What does DL think? Are there any of your favorites here, or do you agree?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 130 | November 23, 2023 11:46 PM |
You'll pry sweet potato casserole from my cold, dead hands.
And before you say it, I'm 5'8" and 150 lbs.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 21, 2023 8:20 PM |
I actually like a lot of these sides. Nothing wrong with cranberry sauce from the can or cranberry compote. I like slicing the molded cranberry from the can, it's fun. I also like corn pudding, green bean casserole, mac and cheese (although not for Thanksgiving- however that may be a cultural thing), and wet stuffing.
I've never heard of creamed onions, though, or ham as a "side." It's ham INSTEAD of turkey.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | November 21, 2023 8:25 PM |
Anchovies or anchovy paste, followed closely by Limburger cheese.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 21, 2023 8:26 PM |
R3 those are sides? Good grief, Charlie Brown!
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 21, 2023 8:27 PM |
Is Macaroni & Cheese a big southern thing? My bf makes it every year to go with everything else (and he makes a delicious from-scratch recipe) but he's southern and Yankee that I am I never had it growing up (besides the Kraft version obviously, and not on holidays). He also makes it for New Years
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 21, 2023 8:34 PM |
Yep r6. Mac and cheese is huge in the south. You will see it everywhere, all the time.
And sorry I agree with them on that r1. Taking sweet potatoes and piling a bunch of sugar and marshmallows on them is insane as a savory side dish. It's just a dessert item at that point.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 21, 2023 8:40 PM |
About the only two things on that list I have never been served at various Thanksgiving dinners I've been invited to over the years have been ham and macaroni and cheese. I've made corn pudding, green been casserole, and sweet potato casserole to take to others' pot luck Thanksgiving dinners. I can't stand canned cranberry sauce but most people I know seem to love it, it's a tradition, and including it on that list is sheer clickbait. The whole fucking list is sheer clickbait. Of course, I clicked on it, LOL.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 21, 2023 8:45 PM |
My mother would make mashed turnips, also known as rutabaga. Those were horrible bitter grainy mush to me growing up. Her people are from South Carolina so I guess it was a Southern AA thing.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | November 21, 2023 8:46 PM |
The person who wrote that article is demented.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | November 21, 2023 8:47 PM |
I think many of the dishes cited in the article are falsely maligned because most are prepared by people who have no business being near a stove/oven, who buy substandard ingredients, and who have no idea how to create and build flavor.
OP/R2, I agree there is nothing wrong with cranberry relish or canned cranberry sauce, which are lovely paired with turkey or ham.
Many of us Southerners cook fresh mustard/turnip/collard greens for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and well-prepared candied sweet potatoes are wonderful with them.
Brussels sprouts should be air fried or roasted. Try pairing them with air fried okra--I've even air fried them together, and they are delicious.
Again, re: Southerners: Ham is essential for meat-eaters who hate turkey (of which there are legions), just like for Christmas many of us will serve a good beef roast alongside turkey.
As for macaroni and cheese, my Mom made this every holiday, but not that loose excrescense pictured in the article--it MUST be a macaroni and cheese CASSEROLE, not the stove top mess.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 21, 2023 8:47 PM |
[quote]My mother would make mashed turnips, also known as rutabaga.
Those are two different vegetables.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | November 21, 2023 9:47 PM |
[quote] Nothing wrong with cranberry sauce from the can
I must have the end slice with the rings from the can intact or else...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 14 | November 21, 2023 9:47 PM |
We have corn pudding every year at my partner’s request. It’s meh to me but easy enough to make,.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | November 21, 2023 9:59 PM |
Green bean casserole is THE definition of a guilty pleasure - how I love it, but only once a year.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | November 21, 2023 10:02 PM |
Green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Canned cranberry sauce. Nasty.
Cranberry sauce is so easy to make yourself and tastes so much better than that gelatinous goop in the can which is too sweet.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | November 21, 2023 10:07 PM |
In my childhood house:
Squares of lime jello with cottage cheese blended into it. A dollop of mayonaise on the top. Nestled on a leaf of lettuce. This was not dessert. I guess it was supposed to extravagantly elegant, like an aspic or something. But it was fucking jello.
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | November 21, 2023 10:12 PM |
Fruit cockmixed with instant chocolate pudding
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | November 21, 2023 10:14 PM |
R20 what in the fresh hell?
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | November 21, 2023 10:17 PM |
I’m not a big fan of most Thanksgiving foods. Don’t like sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce. Even green bean casserole, which I loved as a kid, seems gross now. Give me the turkey and mashed potatoes and I’m good.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | November 21, 2023 10:18 PM |
When I was a kid, there were always sweet mixed pickles and green olives on the table to have on the side.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | November 21, 2023 10:26 PM |
Aldi sweet potato casserole is too sweet - even to be served as a dessert!
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | November 21, 2023 10:27 PM |
R24 Yep, and cut up celery and carrot sticks. Although no one would in a gazillion years would have called that crudités -- served WITH dinner on separate "pickle dish" plates, not a platter.
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | November 21, 2023 10:31 PM |
R9 and R13 I also grew up eating mashed rutabaga, which we called turnips, every Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite Thanksgiving dish. My Dad’s family was stationed at a base in South Carolina for years when he was a kid. South Carolina has historically had a lot of Scottish immigrants, the Scots refer to rutabaga as “neeps” and neeps and tatties is stereotypically Scottish dish.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | November 21, 2023 10:32 PM |
Another vote for cranberry sauce from a can. It has four ingredients, one of which is HFCS. For a couple of months out of the year, I can live with that. It's great on the Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. I think it's a Yankee thing because my partner never heard of it. Now we have to have it every year. It's a turkey sandwich on a hard roll with Hellmann's mayonnaise, stuffing, and Ocean Sauce cranberry sauce. Stuffing is just that. It's not dressing and it's not made with corn bread.
A lot of those sides are Southern and mid-Western dishes. I don't care for a lot of them myself but they are traditional and have meaning to a lot of people.
How can soup be bad? Clearly, the writer is a philistine. It's a course. We never just throw everything out there all at once. Growing up, our holiday dinners went for hours. But we're Italian and courses are a thing.
Potatoes with skin? Seriously? This was made popular by people too lazy to peel. There's good au gratin potatoes and bad. The pomme dauphinois from Cordon Bleu At Home is excellent.
It seems a lot of the criticisms aren't for the food itself but the preparation. Creamed spinach is delicious. Did this person ever eat at a steak house?
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | November 21, 2023 10:39 PM |
I'd be all over that, too, R27.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | November 21, 2023 10:40 PM |
Not an American here, so I wonder what people do if they can’t stand turkey? Is there any provision made for people like me?
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | November 21, 2023 10:42 PM |
So true, R11, re the mac and cheese and the South. The special-recipe baked mac and cheese came out for the holidays. Using Kraft would have been so taboo as to be laughable. Or, an insult.
| by Anonymous | reply 32 | November 21, 2023 10:45 PM |
My mom always served ham and turkey because my uncle didn't eat poultry.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | November 21, 2023 10:47 PM |
[quote]Not an American here, so I wonder what people do if they can’t stand turkey? Is there any provision made for people like me?
I don't mind eating turkey, but as long as there's stuffing, mashed potatoes, and homemade cranberry sauce, I'm fine. Who needs turkey?
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | November 21, 2023 10:50 PM |
Oh, as for rutabagas, (or Swedes as they're know on the continent), it's funny you mentioned them mashed together with potatoes. That's how I liked them. My Italian mother must have picked up that idea from somewhere. I thought she just thought the taste of rutabagas was too strong. Oh, and as you know, everyone you ever knew who called them turnips was wrong.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | November 21, 2023 10:53 PM |
R31 ham is also sometimes served.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | November 21, 2023 10:55 PM |
Yes, in our house we had turnips, rutabagas, parsnips.... all together actually.
And everyone put a ton of "real butter!!" on them...
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | November 21, 2023 10:56 PM |
What I find disgusting is the tendency of people in certain parts to serve Ukrainian food like pierogis and cabbage rolls at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. Like, WTF?
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | November 21, 2023 10:56 PM |
We were eating it in Massachusetts, surrounded by the mashed acorn/butternut squash brigade R30.
Swedes is short for Swedish turnip. It’s really a regional thing about the naming convention.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 21, 2023 10:58 PM |
Nothing like a whole stick of butter in the mashed rutabagas
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | November 21, 2023 11:00 PM |
What I find disgusting are troglodytes like R39 who think people who have adapted their traditions with American traditions are disgusting. Go back to Dubuque.
We always had lasagne, manicotti, or ravioli as a first course on holidays.
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | November 21, 2023 11:00 PM |
[quote] Not an American here, so I wonder what people do if they can’t stand turkey? Is there any provision made for people like me?
I eat the sides. I don't really like meat.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | November 21, 2023 11:01 PM |
My mom always made mashed turnips (but I guess they were mashed rutabagas?). Smelled like farts and looked like a big bowl of earwax.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | November 21, 2023 11:13 PM |
[quote]We always had lasagne, manicotti, or ravioli as a first course on holidays.
r42 Oh, how I would love to have had Thanksgiving with your family, Dustin. These are things for which I can feel truly grateful. Sweet potatoes and that awful green bean thing, no thanks.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 21, 2023 11:23 PM |
Anything Greggoth concocts
| by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 21, 2023 11:30 PM |
Most of these are sides are fine, the problem is people who don't know how to prepare them so they don't taste like slop.
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | November 21, 2023 11:33 PM |
I vote for DataLounge Thanksgiving at Dustin’s next year.
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | November 21, 2023 11:39 PM |
Turnips, rutabagas, and all those root vegetables like any vegetable will vary in quality depending on how they’re grown and how they’re cooked. Done right, they are delicious 😋
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | November 22, 2023 12:00 AM |
I think the root thing can go on overkill though: I swear I remember T-Giving dinner tables at home with raw carrots in a cut glass dish (ice? why did they put ice chips on it???); mashed potatoes; sweet potatoes; rutabagas/turnips/parsnips.
Our DNA must have tracked to gophers.
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | November 22, 2023 12:09 AM |
This list is stupid. Most of these sides are classics.
Where is the squash casserole, though?
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | November 22, 2023 12:11 AM |
Nope. I have heard tales of people requesting "the stuff in the shape of a can" for their Thanksgiving meal.
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | November 22, 2023 12:12 AM |
Once a year, I enjoy 5 forkfuls of Stove Top stuffing. That fulfills my USDA sodium level requirements for the rest of the year.
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | November 22, 2023 12:18 AM |
Canned cranberry sauce is a must because a lot of people prefer it to homemade and you need it to mix with mayo for the turkey sandwiches.
I always have both, prefer the homemade kind with the meal but enjoy a couple of bites of the canned stuff. Which I buy year round to have with chicken, pork chops and to make cranberry mayo.
| by Anonymous | reply 54 | November 22, 2023 12:27 AM |
R31, there’s no law that says the Thanksgiving dinner has to be traditional. I’m doing Mexican food.
I really doubt the pilgrims and natives would have served a plain turkey and green bean casserole if they had other options, like birria tacos or chicken tikka masala.
| by Anonymous | reply 55 | November 22, 2023 12:49 AM |
Love creamed onions...that picture doesn't do it justice. My Mom used to make it...absolutely delicious but so rich. The hard part is pealing the pearl onions.
And I enjoy green bean casserole...easy to make comfort food.
Love rutabagas...when younger I thought they were turnips. It's a sweet alternative to mashed potatoes. Older French men and women and older Germans don't like them because they're associated with food rationing and shortages during the world wars..
I had a great aunt who made cranberry relish. It was good. And cranberry sauce is so easy to make. Just follow the directions on the package of cranberries.
| by Anonymous | reply 56 | November 22, 2023 12:59 AM |
Nothing is as bad as the green bean casserole
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | November 22, 2023 1:54 AM |
At every single Thanksgiving dinner I've been invited to that involved dishes contributed by guests, someone who wasn't a strong cook brought a homemade cranberry sauce or relish. It was always the worst dish at the table. Even with the help of a recipe, cranberries take some experience to handle successfully because of their tartness and texture. These days I'm relieved if someone shows up with canned cranberry sauce in hand.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | November 22, 2023 1:59 AM |
[quote]The hard part is peeling the pearl onions.
After making a double batch of Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon forty years ago, I vowed always to use the frozen pearl onions. I have never broken that vow, and no one has been any the wiser.
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | November 22, 2023 2:32 AM |
I love mashed rutabagas too. Mashed with butter, salt and pepper.
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | November 22, 2023 2:59 AM |
For those that find rutabagas too bitter, add a 1/2 tsp or1 full tsp sugar to the boiling water. Or add two white potatoes, half way into the cooking since rutabagas take much longer than a potato to cook.
Or if you're making rutabagas AND mashed potatoes (as we always have), just mix them on your plate.
That pic of creamed onions looked disgusting, and nothing like traditional creamed onions. And unfortunately the frozen pearl onions don't quite cut it; totally different flavor than boiling onions.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | November 22, 2023 3:19 AM |
[quote]R31: Not an American here, so I wonder what people do if they can’t stand turkey? Is there any provision made for people like me?
That's what the ham is for.
I don't care for turkey, and neither does my brother. We generally do chicken tenders with cream gravy.
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | November 22, 2023 3:49 AM |
Yeah, ham is not a "side." It's a main dish equal to turkey. Just like crudite is a nibbly for people to snack on before dinner is served, not a side served at dinner.. And I like "wet" dressing with crunchy celery.
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | November 22, 2023 4:00 AM |
[quote] We always had lasagne, manicotti, or ravioli as a first course on holidays.
Those things are fine, R42, but pierogies and cabbage rolls are gross and don't pair with traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas meals.
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | November 22, 2023 4:02 AM |
With your traditional meals anyway.
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | November 22, 2023 4:07 AM |
mac and cheese is great, I just don't associate it with thanksgiving any more than I associate chicken chow mien.
sweet potatoes are nice, but the sweet version was never served in my family growing up.
some of the options given above though sound heinous
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | November 22, 2023 4:11 AM |
[quote] What I find disgusting is the tendency of people in certain parts to serve Ukrainian food like pierogis and cabbage rolls at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. Like, WTF?
Why the hell not? Sounds good to me.
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | November 22, 2023 4:18 AM |
Ham. I'm not a fan, but this is an expensive item. If I went to a Thanksgiving dinner and the host or hostess served ham, I'd be thinking: Wow, they really went all-out for this dinner.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | November 22, 2023 4:19 AM |
Ha! My host just called me to request my Green Bean Casserole, as he and his best friend love it! And yes, it's strictly the Del Monte--French's recipe!
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | November 22, 2023 4:26 AM |
The article is bullshit.
Canned cranberry sauce is essential for Thanksgiving sandwiches. It is perfectly acceptable at dinner.
Creamed pearl onions are delicious and the picture chosen to illustrate them is garbage.
A well-made green bean casserole is a thing of beauty.
Candied yams or sweet potatoes are a garnish, not a side.
I prefer roasted Brussels sprouts to boiled, certainly.
Au Gratin and Mac & Cheese are both great but too heavy for Thanksgiving.
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | November 22, 2023 4:35 AM |
Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | November 22, 2023 6:17 AM |
In my family we add carrots to the mashed potatoes, making it pastel orange with tiny flecks of carrots that didn't get mashed. It has a slightly sweet flavor. My mom says that's how they did it in Quebec.
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | November 22, 2023 8:00 AM |
Is there a way to make green bean casserole from scratch? Without condensed soup?
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | November 22, 2023 2:56 PM |
R74, it can be done. Here's an example of a recipe:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 75 | November 22, 2023 3:07 PM |
I made this recipe a couple of years ago. I like the shitty canned version better.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 76 | November 22, 2023 3:27 PM |
If you don't have the taste memory of the green bean casserole (canned / packaged ingredients), then I see no reason to try to recreate it, using fresh ingredients. There are so many other vegetable side dishes you can make.
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | November 22, 2023 3:34 PM |
We had both turkey and ham. The ham was prepared old school southern American style with pineapple and maraschino cherries. It is pretty to look at but I won't eat that mess.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | November 22, 2023 4:59 PM |
You can take the pineapple and cherries off, R78. It will still taste like ham.
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | November 22, 2023 5:11 PM |
What’s the DL consensus on canned yams with the marshmallows on top? There will be children at my Thanksgiving table this year, so I think they’d get a kick out of it. I find it kind of disgusting. Am I making a terrible mistake?
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | November 22, 2023 6:53 PM |
R80 all yams/sweet potatoes are heinous unless:
1. In fries
2. Baked in the oven like a regular potato, opened with butter and salt
or
3. In a pie.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | November 22, 2023 6:59 PM |
Don't do it r80. Kids shouldn't be exposed to that, and there is no need to keep that "tradition" going. A baked apple/sweet potato dish is so easy to put together, no added sugar, full of fiber and vitamins.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | November 22, 2023 7:00 PM |
Yeah, why expose kids to that yam and marshmallow thing.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | November 22, 2023 8:03 PM |
R82 .. and while you are at it take their phones away and don't let them watch TV
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | November 22, 2023 8:09 PM |
Have you guys heard about Green Goo/Watergate Salad/Green Slime/Green Stuff? I was just at the pet store and a clerk said she was tasked with bringing this dessert. I'd never heard of it. Pistachios yes, lime jello, no. I guess kids of all ages love it.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 86 | November 22, 2023 8:17 PM |
Carry on old American traditions, R80. Fuck the snobs and health fanatics.
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | November 22, 2023 8:18 PM |
How about a compromise, r80? Marshmallows with yams from the produce aisle?
Yeah, r82. A once a year fun dish for kids is a soul-crushing and palate-destroying experience for the 12 and under set who'd prefer to be taught "nutritional lessons" on holidays, including a strict scolding from you followed by forced kale and organic yam smoothie w/cane juice from r84. They'll practically be begging for more visits to your happy home.
You'll be the "hit" uncles at the gathering
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | November 22, 2023 8:35 PM |
Shrugging my shoulders. There’s just enough pie and whatnot to go around without having a dessert as a side dish.
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | November 22, 2023 8:40 PM |
I realized that sweet potato/marshmallow casserole sucked when I was five years old. Maybe three. What's this fiction about it being "a fun dish for kids"? It was nasty then, and it can only have gotten worse. After the first taste, I never would even put "a little bit" on my plate, lest it take up up space rightly devoted to stuffing, mashed potatoes, and (homemade) cranberries.
| by Anonymous | reply 90 | November 22, 2023 8:41 PM |
Does anyone remember this stuff, speaking of lime jello?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 91 | November 22, 2023 8:47 PM |
I don't care for canned cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, boiled vegetables instead of steamed or roasted, salads with marshmallows and maraschino cherries, oranything made with canned mushroom soup. Almost everything on that list with a few exceptions is delicious if properly prepared. No quality control at those clickbait listicle mills.
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | November 22, 2023 8:58 PM |
Why do some people feel the need to point out that "clickbait listicle mills" are, in fact, "clickbait listicle mills," as if we haven't all been online since the 1990s (some earlier).
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | November 22, 2023 9:12 PM |
Kenji Alt-Lopez has a recipe for stuffing that is fucking sublime and it is custard-y. So, not dry. But my god is it the best thing ever.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | November 22, 2023 9:15 PM |
Sublime. There is a word the woke have cabbaged onto that now makes me puke.
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | November 22, 2023 9:20 PM |
If you don’t like my Constant Comment iced tea you can go fuck yourself!
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | November 22, 2023 9:22 PM |
My grandma used to make a jello casserole: orange jello made with apricot juice and mandarin orange slices, then chilled and topped with a whipped mix of cool whip and coconut. And then THAT was topped with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Don’t ask me why. It sucked.
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | November 22, 2023 9:27 PM |
And don’t forget Aunt Mary’s famous holiday punch, made out of vodka and ice cubes.
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | November 22, 2023 9:28 PM |
r91 There's several videos on YouTube highlighting this "creation." Usually mocked with good grace through a delightful song and sometimes a little bit bitchy. I remember seeing a drag queen many years ago do this song as the finale to her show and it brought the house down.
I'm a big fan of mashed white turnips and CARROTS. Roughly 50/50, seasoned simply with S&P and plenty of butter. Ponzio's restaurant in Cherry Hill, NJ has had this side on their menu for decades so it must be well-received. I suppose they could be made with rutabagas but I'd up the percentage of carrots to compensate for the inherent bitterness in the Swedes.
One of my favorite sides is Brussels sprouts and the recipe is one of Martha's best. You carve out the tough core from the sprouts, stand them up upright in a steamer basket and steam until the leaves can J-U-S-T be separated, do not overcook(this MUST be done last minute ) Put all the leaves into a warmed serving bowl and dress with browned butter and S&P, toss and serve. Couldn't be simpler or better.
Not a fan of creamed onions, but creamed peas are quite toothsome.
Canned, jellied cranberry sauce is fine with me, so is Ambrosia, sometimes called 5-Cup Salad.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | November 22, 2023 9:29 PM |
Since I see there are a bunch of fellow rutabaga fans on this thread, did anyone else’s family have meat dressing in addition to regular stuffing? I believe it is a French-Canadian dish. I remember it being delicious, but haven’t had it in decades.
| by Anonymous | reply 101 | November 22, 2023 9:32 PM |
My grandma made a salad with orange Jell-O, shredded carrots, crushed pineapple and pecans. I loved it.
| by Anonymous | reply 102 | November 22, 2023 9:36 PM |
[quote]R86: Have you guys heard about Green Goo/Watergate Salad/Green Slime/Green Stuff? I was just at the pet store and a clerk said she was tasked with bringing this dessert. I'd never heard of it. Pistachios yes, lime jello, no.
Watergate Salad doesn't have green jello in it. You're thinking of some kind of Ambrosia.
I last made Watergate Salad a couple of years ago, just without the marshmallow, 'cuz they're an abomination, ya know.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 103 | November 22, 2023 9:40 PM |
Thanks DL. No Marshmallow yam casserole will be served at my table. What a relief.
| by Anonymous | reply 104 | November 22, 2023 9:58 PM |
[quote]R95: Kenji Alt-Lopez has a recipe for stuffing that is fucking sublime and it is custard-y. So, not dry. But my god is it the best thing ever.
If you bring it up, you ought to link it.
Hmm... contains sausage.
I suppose that the sausage-in-dressing thing started as an alternative to having giblets/offal in it. While sausage is way more palatable than offal, and I do luvs me some sausage (mostly), I don't really want it in my dressing. The flavor/texture is jarring to me, and I think it makes the dressing spoil more easily.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 105 | November 22, 2023 10:04 PM |
I couldn't agree more, PD, about sausage in turkey stuffing. There's just no reason for it. It is, as you say, jarring.
| by Anonymous | reply 106 | November 22, 2023 10:07 PM |
R107 I know it’s off topic but are you an Anne Murray fan?
| by Anonymous | reply 108 | November 22, 2023 10:21 PM |
Thx for letting me know. It’s been a burning question I wanted to know.
| by Anonymous | reply 110 | November 22, 2023 10:42 PM |
[quote]R107/Elderlez: Giblets are delicious.
You can have them. My refusal to eat them just means more for you. ;)
| by Anonymous | reply 111 | November 22, 2023 10:46 PM |
r106 - I use Canadian bacon in my stuffing. Also, beyond the usual mirepoix: mushrooms, red bell pepper, black olives, walnut pieces, and dried cranberries. 🤗😋
| by Anonymous | reply 112 | November 22, 2023 10:47 PM |
[QUOTE]Giblets are delicious.
In gravy or a component of another dish? I can see in gravy, otherwise, they scare me. I get Foster Farms gizzards and giblets for my pup when they're discounted. It's ~ $3 for 1.5 lbs. Simmered and chopped, an excellent protein with connective tissues humans gross out about. And cheaper than canned food with inevitable fillers.
| by Anonymous | reply 113 | November 22, 2023 10:55 PM |
I cook up the giblets for my pets. I’m making a turkey breast this year so no giblets for them.
| by Anonymous | reply 114 | November 22, 2023 11:07 PM |
R112, I too use Craisins in my dressing. Onions, celery, parsley, rubbed sage, poultry seasoning, black pepper, chicken broth, butter, cornbread, and an assortment of cubed bread (sourdough, wheat, dark pumpernickel).
Red bell pepper, though. Is that a Cajun take on the dish?
| by Anonymous | reply 115 | November 22, 2023 11:08 PM |
Water chestnuts give stuffing a nice crunch.
It’s was traditionally my job to handle the giblets for the gravy R113. I think they are tasty on their own, but very rich. I always removed the connective tissue.
| by Anonymous | reply 116 | November 22, 2023 11:22 PM |
[QUOTE]Red bell pepper, though. Is that a Cajun take on the dish?
No, it's a Spanish addition from a "family recipe." My uncle who left Spain in the 1920s, came to the U.S. through Cuba, was an Army cook during WW II, and eventually owned a popular restaurant. Its his stuffing recipe. He added the olives (black & green) and red pepper. I've omitted the green olives for a while because it's a little too much sodium. When I was a kid (in the 70s) chopped hardboiled eggs as well as a couple of beaten eggs mixed in were also included. I've left those out
| by Anonymous | reply 117 | November 23, 2023 12:52 AM |
^ I forgot to say that the dried cranberries and walnuts are my addition to update the recipe.
| by Anonymous | reply 118 | November 23, 2023 12:54 AM |
[quote]When I was a kid (in the 70s) chopped hardboiled eggs as well as a couple of beaten eggs mixed in were also included. I've left those out.
Good for you. Hard-boiled eggs render anything to which they are added inedible.
| by Anonymous | reply 119 | November 23, 2023 12:58 AM |
I agree, R119, about the chopped boiled eggs, but I'm intrigued by adding some beaten eggs to make a super-savory bread pudding type of dish. But I'm making it for a lot of folks and there's always an egg allergy.
| by Anonymous | reply 120 | November 23, 2023 1:44 AM |
[QUOTE]I realized that sweet potato/marshmallow casserole sucked when I was five years old. Maybe three. What's this fiction about it being "a fun dish for kids"? It was nasty then, and it can only have gotten worse. After the first taste, I never would even put "a little bit" on my plate, lest it take up up space rightly devoted to stuffing, mashed potatoes, and (homemade) cranberries.
As the NY Times Pitchbot child, you have completely failed your mission to exude superiority over other toddlers and those older than five.
Your palate proves nothing other than child-cuntiness and unreserved demands of superiority despite ignorance of anything and everything.
You are most welcome.
| by Anonymous | reply 121 | November 23, 2023 1:55 AM |
R91 That's it. I forgot they/she put pineapple in it too. I'm very sure it was canned "crushed" pineapple.
| by Anonymous | reply 122 | November 23, 2023 3:08 AM |
Once you’ve made your own cranberry sauce, you’ll never go back to the canned stuff.
| by Anonymous | reply 123 | November 23, 2023 6:37 AM |
My family prefers the canned cranberry “sauce” to a homemade relish. Sad but true.
| by Anonymous | reply 124 | November 23, 2023 7:16 AM |
We use ground beef in our stuffing. The sausage has too strong of a flavor between the pork and the spices. Because it's delicious, my stuffing doesn't hang around long enough to spoil. Put the cubes in a mixing bowl. Cook onions and celery in butter with a little salt until softened and add to the cubes. In the same pan, cook the ground beef. Add to the bowl. Add McCormack's poultry seasoning (the minimum recommended amount) and mix. Then add chicken broth (Better Than Bouillon prepared at half strength) to moisten the bread cubes. Avoid making it soggy. I stuff my bird and put cook extra on the side.
I now expect the "don't ever cook a turkey stuffed!!" contingent to weigh in. Avoid them.
| by Anonymous | reply 125 | November 23, 2023 3:46 PM |
[quote]Once you’ve made your own cranberry sauce, you’ll never go back to the canned stuff.
I've made my own. They are two different dishes. I still like the canned stuff in addition to homemade. The homemade is lousy on sandwiches.
Well smell you, R124.
| by Anonymous | reply 126 | November 23, 2023 3:51 PM |
R126 Yep. To me the cranberry debate is like jelly vs preserves/jam. They are different experiences. And sometimes the non-canned cranberry sauce seems like it has twigs and small stones in it.
| by Anonymous | reply 127 | November 23, 2023 3:59 PM |
[quote] Well smell you, [R124].
What's your problem? Just saying that my family does not have sophisticated tastes when it comes to cranberry sauce. Not bragging or anything.
| by Anonymous | reply 128 | November 23, 2023 6:16 PM |
[quote]R128: What's your problem? Just saying that my family does not have sophisticated tastes when it comes to cranberry sauce. Not bragging or anything.
At R124, you characterized the preference for canned cranberry sauce as "sad."
| by Anonymous | reply 129 | November 23, 2023 6:53 PM |
You probably took 5 big shits
| by Anonymous | reply 130 | November 23, 2023 11:46 PM |
