Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

I'm lucky enough to celebrate two thanksgivings (Canada and US). The Canadian takes place a bit earlier than the US which I prefer but I like the atmosphere of the American better because of the NFL football. CFL (Canadian football) is NOT real football .

Now the real deal is the food. So what do you guys make for thanksgiving and what are your favorite side. Our menus usually consist of.

Fresh Turkey
Gravy
Sausage Stuffing (favorite)
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Beets
Bacon and honey glazed carrots
Creamed pearl onions (favorite)
Green and Yellow Bean Dish (favorite)
Green Salad
Roasted Squash (favorite)
Cranberry Sauce
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie (favorite)

Do wine and beer count as side dishes?

Aren't they the main course? I guess that depends on family relations!

It seems to me that when Uncle Vern shows up, those are the Main Courses.

Dan:: Bumps fists ::Mark

Main course or apps depending on the person . Although on Canadian thanksgiving we have a Canadian specialty called ice wine which is a dessert in and of itself. Usually a Riesling, Vidal or Cab Franc ice wine.

This year I'm fixing Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots. Everyone else is bringing a side or two.

Sounds good. So what are some of your favorite things people bring?

I forgot to mention a killer topping for pies. It works particularly well with Pecan pie but is also great with Apple and Pumpkin. Get a small carton of 35% whipping cream, go to the liquor cabinet and get that bottle of Grand Marnier, the pantry for the vanilla extract (or fresh vanilla pod if you have any) and an electric mixer.

Place the whipping cream in a bowl (I like to have the electric mixer attachments and the bowl cold prior to this). Toss in a shot or two of Grand Marnier, a splash of vanilla extract and whip using an electric mixture until the whipping cream reaches stiff peaks. Have to keep this cold until serving.

Oh and if you are serving hot rolls, a killer way to kick them up is mixing a splash of Canadian Riesling or Vidal ice wine into some room temp butter. To make it fancy grab a pastry bag with attachment and pipe it into a small bowl. Really tasty stuff!

2 favourite traditions we have:

1 - my mom makes an amazing version of mashed potatoes called potatoes Romanoff. PM me if someone wants the recipe - don't want to bore everyone! Short version - mixture of mashed potatoes rebaked with green onion, cheese and sour cream mixture topped with paprika IIRC. It's been a while!

2 - My mother in law roasts the turkey with sausage wrapped around the top. So the sausage bastes the turkey and gets cooked all at the same time. Everyone fights over the sausage pieces - and the turkey is awesome too!

I'm coming to your house this year. lol. My visitors don't drink.

That potato dish was one of my favorite all time side dishes as a child. We always went to my aunts for Christmas and that was the only time I ever had it. Delicious! All I remember is that it was like a very rich version of mashed potatoes that had a wonderful smooth texture to them, bursting with flavour.

You guys are making me hungry!

So what part of the turkey do you guys go for. Dark meat, white meat or both? I like the dark meat (leg in particular) and the white (breast meat) for leftovers for making hot and cold turkey sandwiches.

I'm a breast man myself.

My favorite sides include:

Electric gravy
Baked beans (they're really haricot vert, but, trust me, they're baked.)
Smashed potatoes with Afghanistan poppied goat's milk and compound butter, made with tarragon, parsley and trim.

And for dessert, cinnamon apple ice cubes----in a festive, and holiday festooned bong. I think there's usually a whole turkey involved too, but I can never remember (by the time I get home).

Seriously, when you get old enough, your dump it on your adult kids to host and you bring a gift that you bought at CVS on the way over.

Kidding. They will DEMAND that I make a 3-layer choc/choc cake or 4" high raspberry cheescake, topped with a chocolate glaze. I'm never really keen on baking a huge thing that I'm gonna get only one piece of, so, sometimes, I make an "extra," or just go back to the cinnamon-apple ice cube thing.

Our Thanksgiving dinners kinda suck. We always go to my brother & sister-in-law's, and both their kids have food allergies. That means a gluten and dairy free dinner. I miss mashed potatoes with real butter and gravy. We could make our own food, but we don't want them to feel excluded. But for dessert, I make a special pie for them because there's NO way I'm giving up my pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I could eat it as the main meal!

Ooops. Man, I totally misread that.

T h i s s p a c e i n t e n t i o n a l l y l e f t b l a n k.

Mary, Mary, Mary! You ARE too nice. It's kind of unreasonable, especially for T-giving, to expect that everyone has to eat like crap because two children have to. Too bad. You should bring each of them a pilgrim outfit and all of your leftover Halloween candy. Oh, and bring a drill/driver and a couple dozen screws to "secure" the door to the room where they will be donning costumes and snarfing gummi bears.

Bob, You should honestly start your own advice column. If Ozzy can do a health advice column, I see even greater success for yours. Your advice is much more practical and nets immediate results as opposed to "Stop eating doughnuts, except on birthdays and other special occasions."

I used to hate stuffing. Now it is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving.

Yams, on the other hand, still don't like and I'm pretty sure I never will.

I like yams. Because, I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam.

How do Swedish people distinguish yam from jam?

The fishy-tasting one is the Jam.

Not to be confused with the famous Swedish blues jam that just tastes groovey.

Next time somebody objects to something I say or do, I'm just gonna say I asked Bob and he said it was OK.

My wife makes Brussels Sprouts with bacon, shallots and parmesan. They are delicious. Don't hate.

RECIPE PLZ.

I want Dans recipe for the mashed potatoes!

Sounds good. +1 on the recipe.

+1 for recipe as well. Bacon makes everything great!

+2 for recipe. I can always use Turkey bacon.

I can't stand Brussels sprouts, but this recipe actually sounds really good.


You had me with bacon.

*drool*

Check your PM's Mark.

My thoughts exactly .