OT: Annual Thankgiving Day Poll

[bac2therac]

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Time to put the protein shakes on the back burner and enjoy the feast. What is everyone's favorite food at Thanksgiving? Does anyone have a least favorite? Does anyone have any different food on thanksgiving not traditionally associated with the holiday. Come into the fryer and lets talk turkey folks.....

 

[knight90]

Stuffing is by far my favorite thanksgiving food.. My aunt also makes pineapple stuffing which is really good.

 

[Plum Street]

Stuffing with sausage in it and lots of gravy is definitely my favorite .
I like a good mix of white and dark meat .
Least favorite is sweet potatoes .
I could do without the desserts and just eat lots of dinner

 

[MoobyCow]

I can't vote in this poll. It's the combination of stuffing, gravy turkey and cranberry sauce. I can't choose one as it's like asking if cheese is your favorite part of pizza. No, it's the combination that makes it great.

 

[Knight Shift]

Everything on the list except the green bean casserole.

 

[mdk01]

Enjoy everything on the list but sweet potatoes

 

[Beancounter88]

I also love pecan pie and cherry pie but it's gotta be from Delicious Orchards, which is completely dependent on the dinner location. At my sister-in-laws this year everything will be either undercooked or burnt. She even burns Pillsbury crescent rolls. And I'll be the unsocial d-bag in the basement watching football. Reminds me to smuggle in a turkey sub from Wawa.

 

[RC1991]

Stuffing - corn bread with apples, sausage, chestnuts.

 

[mdh2003]

I can't vote in this poll. It's the combination of stuffing, gravy turkey and cranberry sauce. I can't choose one as it's like asking if cheese your favorite part of pizza. No, it's the combination that makes it great.

Yup, a little bit of each on a fork...heaven.

 

[RU848789]

Not a big fan of traditional Thanksgiving food. Hate yams, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (oddly, I like baked and fried regular potatoes), cranberry sauce, green beans, pumpkin pie, etc. Turkey is probably my least favorite meat (meaning I like it, don't love it). I do love stuffing, my wife's home made mac-n-cheese and rolls/biscuits and I love football on TV that day. Would much rather get takeout or go out to a restaurant.

 

[JPhoboken]

Stuffing is the best, but only with a really good gravy.

My sister-in-law makes deviled eggs, and they go like hot cakes.

 

[brista21]

Thanksgiving is probably my least favorite holiday food-wise. Turkey like Chicken is very hard to cook properly as most people dry out the meat thinking that's normal and possibly even desirable. Stuffing when made right is very good. No sausage in it, its just weird. Mushrooms are good but if they've been chopped up relatively small. And it should never ever be cooked inside the bird. It tastes better cooked in a pan and its good food safety practice. Which goes back to a way to keep the bird moist and tender stuff the cavity with lemons (quartered) or oranges (sliced) and onions, celery, garlic cloves, fresh herbs, apple slices, etc. Adds a lot of flavor to the bird and really helps keep it from drying out.

I prefer Christmas Eve to all of it, so much seafood so little time.

 

[BeKnighted]

How are mashed potatoes not among the choices?

I am a big fan of Thanksgiving food in general - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pie (pumpkin, apple, whatever). And my wife makes a squash soup that is to die for.

 

[RU Husky]

Kasha

 

[ponyfoot19]

Pretty much like and eat them all, even the absent mashed potatoes above. As for an unusual food, we have sauerkraut along with the traditional choices.

 

[David_RU]

Thanksgiving is probably my least favorite holiday food-wise. Turkey like Chicken is very hard to cook properly as most people dry out the meat thinking that's normal and possibly even desirable. Stuffing when made right is very good. No sausage in it, its just weird. Mushrooms are good but if they've been chopped up relatively small. And it should never ever be cooked inside the bird. It tastes better cooked in a pan and its good food safety practice. Which goes back to a way to keep the bird moist and tender stuff the cavity with lemons (quartered) or oranges (sliced) and onions, celery, garlic cloves, fresh herbs, apple slices, etc. Adds a lot of flavor to the bird and really helps keep it from drying out.

I prefer Christmas Eve to all of it, so much seafood so little time.

If you want to really prevent dry and overcooked turkey, spatchcock your bird this year. Just cut the backbone out and lay your bird flat to cook. There are plenty of tutorials out there but this one is my favorite

I voted stuffing but mashed potatoes are only slightly behind. The stuffing recipe we use is fairly simple. Toast a bunch of white bread. Make an onion heavy mirepoix (3:1:0.5 onion, celery, carrot) that is lightly browned in butter. Mix well. Wet the stuffing with your turkey stock, place in a pan with a few pats of butter on top and bake it with the turkey.

Our potatoes are done a little more scientifically. We cut them into evenly sized pieces, place them with butter, milk\cream, salt and any other flavorings you want (I use onion powder typically) in a bag, pull a vacuum on the bag and cook them in a 90°C water bath until the potatoes are tender. Remove from their bags and mash. Serve as is or bake for a bit to get a nice crust on top.

 

[Upstream]

I can't vote in this poll. It's the combination of stuffing, gravy turkey and cranberry sauce. I can't choose one as it's like asking if cheese is your favorite part of pizza. No, it's the combination that makes it great.

I have to agree with this. It is the mixture of all the dishes that make it great. So while turkey on Thanksgiving is essentially the same roasted turkey I get on a sandwich in September, it isn't the same at all.

 

[Piscataway]

not cooking a bird this year. only 5 adults and 3 eat like they had their stomachs removed. Getting 3 or 4 rotisserie chickens from Costco, but making the rest of the traditional stuff.

 

[Upstream]

Kasha

No, no, no.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that all Americans celebrate the same. There are plenty of other holidays to celebrate ethnic differences. But barring some overarching reason (like being vegetarian), it is the traditional Thanksgiving dinner that unites us all as Americans. No matzo ball soup, no lasagna, no kimchi, no kapusta.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Any kind of stuffing works for me. Pecan pie is a must.

I always separate the leg/thigh from the carcass prior to cooking. I then debone the thighs and stuff w/ stuffing. Those who like dark meat are treated to a boneless roulade of goodness. Btw, this process cuts the cooking time in half. I learned from Master Pepin:

 

[RUfromNJ]

Mashed potatoes FTW

 

[AreYouNUTS]

How are mashed potatoes not among the choices?

I am a big fan of Thanksgiving food in general - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, pie (pumpkin, apple, whatever). And my wife makes a squash soup that is to die for.

This (other than the squash soup, lol, sorry...)! Where are the MP's with Gravy??!!!

 

[BeKnighted]

This (other than the squash soup, lol, sorry...)! Where are the MP's with Gravy??!!!

Hey, if you don't want the squash soup, that's more for me. (I didn't think I would be a fan until I tasted it - now it's a tradition in our house.)

 

[rutger80]

Stuffing, with the juice from the turkey. (Not a gravy mix...ugh)

 

[knightfan7]

Mashed potato, peas, and cranberry sauce all mixed together smothered by gravy.

 

[yesrutgers01]

No, no, no.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that all Americans celebrate the same. There are plenty of other holidays to celebrate ethnic differences. But barring some overarching reason (like being vegetarian), it is the traditional Thanksgiving dinner that unites us all as Americans. No matzo ball soup, no lasagna, no kimchi, no kapusta.

Then you may want to vote on wildfowl, corn, porridge or venison.

Mac and cheese and stuffing are my favs but we just don't do turkey anymore. Oxtail, salmon, red snapper, curry goat, jerk pork shoulder is on the menu

 

[RUtix4me]

Stuffing is the best, but only with a really good gravy.

My sister-in-law makes deviled eggs, and they go like hot cakes.

Tthats funny, my sister in law makes hot cakes and they go like deviled eggs!

 

[vkj91]

all of it on a nice sandwich while watching football on Friday. Leftovers are easily the best part of turkey day.....
a close second is when everyone leaves my house and I watch Texas play at night with wife and kids.
This year I'm doing three turkeys, 2 will be smoked and one will be fried.

 

[RC1991]

Then you may want to vote on wildfowl, corn, porridge or venison.

Mac and cheese and stuffing are my favs but we just don't do turkey anymore. Oxtail, salmon, red snapper, curry goat, jerk pork shoulder is on the menu

That sounds great!! Where do you live?

 

[RC1971]

My wife makes great stuffing with sausage. She will stuff the bird but what many of our group love is that she carves out the inside of a medium size pumpkin and loads it with stuffing as well. She puts the cap back on and bakes it in the oven. It looks festive and tastes even better.

 

[RU848789]

If you want to, spatchcock your bird this year. There are plenty of tutorials out there, but this one is my favorite...

I've always wanted to spatchcock my bird, but have always been a little bit afraid to...now that you've provided a tutorial, I think I'll go ahead and give it a try. I hope it doesn't hurt...

 

[Scarlet4ever]

I've always wanted to spatchcock my bird, but have always been a little bit afraid to...now that you've provided a tutorial, I think I'll go ahead and give it a try. I hope it doesn't hurt...

TMI

 

[LC-88]

stuffing without raisins or nuts
other=creamed spinach

 

[MADHAT1]

Guess the Turkey is my favorite, but Thanksgiving is about the only time I put gravy on my mashed potatoes and the only time homemade stuffing is made in abundance.
Also cranberry sauce is not served except on that day.
So it's a combination of all those parts of Thanksgiving Dinner, but without the Turkey it wouldn't be the same.

 

[RocktheRac]

I make the best candied yams on the planet. With marshmallows of course.

 

[GimmeSomeMore]

Definitely my favorite holiday.

A couple specific items I love:

Stuffing waffles - take your favorite stuffing - add an egg or two to the mix, and place in a waffle iron ... So great!

Homemade cranberry sauce with orange peel, grand marnier and a little cayenne - really good

Southern pecan pie

Beer + football + nap + seconds .... Rinse and repeat

 

[rutexan84]

Stuffing with cornbread, raisins, walnuts, celery, onions, mushrooms and applesauce. I think it tastes better cooked in the turkey, despite the supposed health risks. I had turducken a few years ago and wasn't impressed, especially given the price.

 

[Turtle31]

My favorite holiday and always such great memories growing up. Love a good stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce. My sister in law also makes a mashed turnip dish that isn't bad (apparently an Irish family recipe).
Great bottle of wine with dinner, annual touch football game, beer later on, and never an issue getting pumped for leftovers the next day.

 

[yesrutgers01]

That sounds great!! Where do you live?

Ahhh- someone who appreciates

 

[mal359]

Sushi