Maybe I am reading the map wrong but deviled eggs are listed for Indiana not Ohio.
My husband and daughter would say root vegetables are essential. The map says our state is “cream corn” by which I assume they mean “creamed corn” and I say no thanks. And green bean casserole yes, but only if made with 2-3 times as much french fried onion as any recipe calls for. And fresh green beans french cut by yours truly.
This year we will cook it all as we prefer it and deliver it to our usual guests.
We don’t do green bean casserole. I’ve made it a few times, but it wasn’t very exciting. We always have a broccoli/rice/cheese dish with fresh broccoli and a broccoli salad. Nothing else green on our table!
It says PA (and NY) is stuffing, so it’s yes from us. I had to teach H that stuffing comes from inside the turkey, not out. It only took one bite and he was convinced.
He’s from VA/NC so we’ve spent many holidays in those states. Neither one of us have heard as mac and cheese as a Thanksgiving side - not with his family nor with his friends from school in the old days. It must be in different areas than he’s familiar with.
I love stuffing but I’m trying to lose weight so I have to limit myself this year. I’ve ordered Thanksgiving dinner from Whole Foods. They do a really good job. I asked my kids if they preferred Whole Foods or home-cooked, and they said WF!
Corn, of course, for Iowa. My MIL usually has some at Thanksgiving. I have a hard time finding good frozen corn at the store, so I fix it less and less. The best corn is sweet corn straight from the field in the summer, I should buy extra to cut off and freeze.
Stuffing for sure, but what we make is a set of dishes made traditional by MIL who hosted Thanksgiving feasts for many years, including pumpkin soup, a squash dish, 73 other kinds of sides and desserts, and always a choice of male and female pumpkin pies.
@stradmom , male and female pumpkin pies???
I’m in California which is mashed potatoes. I make a really good garlic “smashed” potato recipe which I think I will make for Thanksgiving since we will be at home and not at my parents this year. I have been married 30 years and this is only the 3rd time I’ve done Thanksgiving. My family has already asked that I get just a small turkey and that we do a local seasoned tri tip on the grill also. It’s going to be lots of leftovers with just 5 of us for dinner!
I don’t love Thanksgiving foods, but I could make a meal out of dressing and cranberry sauce. And even though I am transplant to Maine, I usually make a side salad just to cut through all the carbs. Radicchio, arugula, chopped dates, toasted hazelnuts and simple lemon vinaigrette.
A good salad chef is a friend to keep.
Lumpy mashed potatoes. And grandma’s stuffing, which uses cinnamon.
The green bean casserole isn’t meant to be haute cuisine. I used to take the Jiffy corn pudding ish thing to TDay potlucks and people couldn’t get enough.
We live in Mississippi and one of the small towns here proclaims itself the Sweet Potato Capital of the World. I love sweet potatoes, but alas, my family doesn’t. They are popular here, so I agree with Mississippi’s side dish.
Try Senator Russells Sweet Potato recipe. (My state). I did not like sweet potatoes prior but that is just too good! And fresh cranberry sauce…
I’m not a green bean casserole fan but everyone else is and you can’t beat it for easy. I’d rather have fresh. Lots of those onion thingies.
My fav is the dressing. A plate of dressing with gravy and a side of turkey is my go- to.
I love mac n’ cheese but never heard of it at TG.
I usually make key lime pie for dessert.
I think so much emerges from what we grew up with. My family always made a canned yam dish with marshmallows on top. If I step back, it sounds absolutely awful and way too sweet. Do we make it every year (only on Thanksgiving)? Absolutely. About 1/2 the guests love it and the others (those who married in) stay away.
I think it’s the same with the green bean casserole. My MIL made it for years (again, just once a year) and everyone enjoyed it. It wasn’t like a family favorite that then showed up throughout the year though.
My grandparents were from Mississippi and had a pecan farm. Growing up, we’d receive boxes of pecans which we kept in the freezer. Pecan pie was a staple for Thanksgiving and now, we would never have a Thanksgiving without one.
I guess I got a little off topic. My state’s fav is mashed potatoes which I love and are always on the Thanksgiving table. We also always have a delicious rice stuffing which I like much more than bread stuffing. No mac and cheese, no cole slaw, no deviled eggs and no sweet potatoes in sight.
@abasket with or without…er…(wal)nuts…
Hmmm, nope, brown gravy definitely is not among HI prized side dishes. Weird where they’d come up with that.
I have always lived in NC or VA and have never, ever seen mac and cheese on a Thanksgiving table. LOL.
And Idaho? Green bean casserole and not potatoes?? Then again, maybe they get tired of potatoes.
In hs, we drove from DC to FL and my brother and I got so overwhelmed by the Stuckey’s billboards that neither of us went near pecan pie, for decades.
I finally tried a sliver and was surprised how good it was.
And you know i like my sweet potatoes plain.
My family’s favorite way to do sweet potatoes is to toss small cubes of potato with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast until the edges are nicely brown, then just before serving squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro (unless you have the cilantro-tastes-like-soap gene). I usually roast the taters a day or two ahead and then do the lime and cilantro after reheating.
I have always lived in the south and have never had mac n cheese for TG!! Side note: I never had the boxed kind until college… only homemade.
Our TG meal is the one time per year I allow myself casseroles and the comfort food from my childhood. We usually serve turkey & dressing, hen or ham, Senator Russell’s Sweet Potato casserole (so good!), creamed corn, broccoli casserole (not a fan of green bean casserole), some type of fruit salad, a tossed green salad, various cakes and pies (definitely a pumpkin using a pie pumpkin not the canned)… and we all bring a cranberry dish and vote on the best one.
About 20 years ago, I read Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation when we hosted and that has also become a tradition.