<p>Sound good, abasket. I think it’s impossible to do a “healthy” muffin, except with good gains!</p>
<p>Just make the small ones.</p>
<p>If I were to put low fat milk in my potatoes or cut down on the two entire sticks of butter or sour cream, people would definitely notice.</p>
<p>“why they act like scaling back the fat/salt/sugar makes food inedible.”</p>
<p>Exactly. Isn’t it better to train your palate to enjoy food without there having to be a million sauces / creams / etc?</p>
<p>ZMom - so they’d notice. So what? You said your H struggles w weight. Isn’t a barely perceptible change worth it? I guess I don’t get why it’s important that every food you put in your mouth be the most flavorful taste sensation ever, such that it’s a big deal if it’s slightly less rich.</p>
<p>I’m doing a sweet potato biscuit with country ham as part of our earlier meal along with a corn chowder (just in case anyone thought I was a real killjoy). My mother is bringing rolls (she of the cinnamon roll fame) but I think those muffins sound great. I love oatmeal in just about anything.</p>
<p>I react to this discussion, because for quite a number of years now I’ve gone to in-laws for Thanksgiving, and essentially all the elements (except the turkey itself) have been replace by more “gourmet” versions–i.e., shiitake mushroom gravy instead of standard gravy, squash soup, etc. All of it is good and well-prepared. But I really like mashed potatoes with regular gravy. I’d like to have some rolls. And so on. Suggesting or providing alternatives isn’t really an option–so a day or two after Thanksgiving I go to a diner and get a turkey dinner–not great, but it works.</p>
<p>I guess what I would advise is that you shouldn’t assume that replacing a staple will be OK with most people–even if they don’t complain. On the other hand, I think adding something new is always OK. Foods can be important parts of people’s family traditions–changes can matter. It can be like what would happen if you threw out that ratty old Christmas stocking without saying anything about it.</p>
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<p>And some people don’t get why it matters to go to a school where there is a large population of highly intelligent and/or intellectual peers. </p>
<p>Isn’t food just fuel? Isn’t college just a credential to get a job?</p>
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So what? We enjoy our mashed potatoes, which my husband really doesn’t, and the rest of us don’t have weight problems. I think it is a very perceptible change for everyone else. If my husband wants to eat the mashed potatoes, he can eat a small amount as the rest of us do. Every bite doesn’t have to be the most flavorful, but some things should be or why even bother to live. My nickname is not “Spud” for nothing. Mashed potatoes are my absolute favorite food in the entire world. I will not sacrifice my enjoyment of something so important to me for something my husband could take or leave and that he is never forced to eat, anyway. Just like I would never ask him to make his Sunday Gravy without meat to accommodate the fact that I am a vegetarian. We believe in our marriage in supporting the special things that we each enjoy and don’t believe in making things mediocre just to make them fair.</p>
<p>Just put gravy on those mashed potatoes. It won’t matter what is in the potatoes! :)</p>
<p>Gravy!!! Ugh, no!! I am a vegetarian and the rest of the family is not. I’m mellllllting, I’m mellllllting </p>
<p>I make my mashed potatoes and they are wonderful. They are not a problem for me or anyone else who doesn’t eat like a pig. There are also plenty of other options for everyone. I will not infantilize or insult my husband by banning foods that everyone else enjoys and eats in moderation because he is heavy.</p>
<p>Zoos, like I said earlier in the thread. Thanksgiving is ONE day. Folks with diet restrictions can eat smaller portions, and eat only what is on their diet plan.</p>
<p>Now…if someone is lactose intolerant, AND a vegetarian, AND gluten free, AND diabetic, AND overweight, and on a fat free diet…they WILL have issues no matter what you serve!</p>
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Exactly! And we can send them to the nearest takeout.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have a family member whose tradition involves pasta and antipasto at Thanksgiving? My husband feels lost without those things.</p>
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<p>Maybe that’s where my disconnect is. Both my side and my H’s side always did and do “traditional” Thanksgiving fare - with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pie for dessert, the typical things – but beyond the general concept of turkey with trimmings, no one is so very attached to one thing that it’s Just Not Thanksgiving Without It. H makes / brings a zucchini casserole every year. Now that D has to be gluten-free, he’s making a gluten-free version of it so she can enjoy it, too, as it’s one of her favorites. If other people whine that it’s gluten-free - they can go pound salt, really. There are a dozen other things to eat, no one’s going to go hungry. I guess maybe I don’t get the super-attachment to any given food that it’s horribly disappointing if it’s not available. It’s not as though food is rationed.</p>
<p>Zoosermom: when I’m cooking for Thanksgiving, I always make two gravies. One is standard turkey giblet gravy (using my father’s method), the other is my sister’s vegetarian gravy, made with massive amounts of mushrooms, shallots, sour cream, and cream.</p>
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That sounds FABULOUS, but I am unfamiliar with the process. Would you consider sharing?</p>
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Well, my mashed potatoes are just that awesome! Come on over next time you are in NYC. I will show you a very good plate of mashed potatoes!</p>
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<p>No, but I’m not Italian. I have friends of Italian background who’ve told me that EVERY holiday meal includes a big pan of baked ziti. :)</p>
<p>AA friends have told me that Thanksgiving always includes a big pan of macaroni and cheese. :)</p>
<p>I seem to have the only family where a marshmallow has never been sighted, no one knows what green bean casserole is, and mashed turnip is de rigeur. And–absolutely essential–pie for breakfast the next day. 
(I now console myself with my sugar-free pumpkin cheesecake.)</p>
<p>I should get off this thread: the constant talk of mashed potatoes is killing me. People often wonder how I can make truffles and so on without eating them. No problem. But I would sell my soul for a baked potato with a nice crispy skin, or a heap of garlic mashed potatoes, or your fabulous-sounding potatoes.</p>
<p>That’s all right consolation. I don’t think I’ll ever stop wanting a cigarette around smokers, and I haven’t had one in a quarter of a century. I always tell my kids I’m taking it up again when I hit 92. :p</p>
<p>LOL. I think I’ll look forward to my potatoes at that age. :)</p>
<p>Consolation, my family never had anything with sweet potatoes, no green bean casserole, and always mashed turnips (my mouth is watering over the thought of turnips), but the big ta-da of my mother’s Thanksgiving was creamed cauliflower. Just steamed cauliflower in a medium roux. I have no idea why.</p>
<p>Vegetarian gravy (for Zoosermom):
Chop 2 or 3 shallots (be generous, it’s hard to have too many) fine. </p>
<p>Put pan on low temperature and add olive oil and butter (one or two TB of each). </p>
<p>Add the shallots and ignore for about half an hour; they will cook very slowly and caramelize just a bit.</p>
<p>Chop mushrooms to desirable size (I like chunks no bigger than 3/8" in any dimension, but YMMV). Add mushrooms to the shallots and turn up the heat. You want them to brown somewhat but it doesn’t matter if they don’t. </p>
<p>Once they’re browned lightly (and you can take them off the heat or even put them in the refrigerator until the next day), turn the heat to high until they’re really sizzling (you’ll need to stir fairly steadily for a few minutes here), then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and add a half-and-half mixture of sour cream and sweet cream, and stir until it’s hot but NOT simmering (this should take only a minute or two if the pan is really hot). Turn it off before it simmers or the sauce will “break” (the fats will separate out) (if it does, add a bit more cream, with the heat off, and stir like mad). Add salt, pepper, herbs, spices to taste. I like to add chopped fresh chives and some Ancho chile (adds depth of flavor without heat).</p>
<p>I’ll note that I don’t do the finishing (the part where I put the heat on high and add the creams) until just before I serve, usually as everyone is coming to the table. This is not a sauce that holds well. Warm the bowl before you put the sauce in.</p>