I make a simple beet salad: beets, thinly sliced apples, walnuts with a little bit of sour cream.
I boil my sweet potatoes, then peel and cube them, then heat them in a pan with butter and a dash of brown sugar. No marshmallows or sweet toppings.
Had not heard of or seen apple roses before. They are very attractive and sound yummy!
^^abasket:
In the colder months I make a beet dish combined with roasted potatoes.
Cut up sweet & russet potatoes into chunks along with cutting up beets (skin on or off, not necessary to boil first), slices of red onion, herbs & spices, oil and roast in a hot oven (@400) for about 40 minutes or so until nicely browned. Delish! (I also use any beets, red, yellow or the candy cane type)
The other day I purchased organic sweet potatoes at trader Joe’s. (Their smaller) I peeled and sliced them like steak fries. Marinated them in a mix of olive oil, lemon pepper seasoning and cumin. Baked them in the oven till crisp.
They have a bunch of recipes on their website like salad stuffed sweet potatoes topped with candied pecans.
We always host Thanksgiving. No family nearby but a group of friends comes over every year. H cooks the turkey and most of the sides, I bake the pumpkin pie and corn casserole. Friends bring the appetizer, rolls, wine and a few additional desserts.
D and her new H will be coming but this will be the first time that S will not be home for Thanksgiving. He is in school in London and will have classes that day.
Fallgirl, corn casserole sounds yummy. Have you tried polenta?
^ raclut - I am 100% northern Italian on my Dad’s side. I grew up eating polenta 
This thread made me get myself in gear and finalize travel plans. My son can come home a night early, which makes things easier, and I only had to pay 30 bucks extra. My mom will be coming, and we haven’t been with her on Thanksgiving for many years. Even thought she’s pretty young (less than 70), she may not be around many more years, so we will try to enjoy our time with her. We will have Thanksgiving dinner withher sister, so hopefully she will enjoy it. It’s really just going to be a relaxing time for us.
Your beet salad sounds great @BunsenBurner - do you roast the beets first? Or…???
Has anyone cooked a heritage/heirloom turkey? They are supposed to have more dark meat. There are just four of us for dinner. None of us really like turkey except for the dark meat. I had thought of serving duck, which we all love, but DS2 would like a turkey. I guess he is a traditionalist. I am wondering if it is worth the extra expense, and whether it will be more flavorful than the usual turkey.
How about a duck and two or more turkey thighs? That way you’re guaranteed dark meat, duck and turkey! The turkey thighs can even be cooked in a toaster oven or the regular oven with the duck.
Sounds like a lovely girls weekend. I picture matching flannel pajamas and slippers…candles, some tv time (like Gilmore Girls)…along with a little baking. (milk and cookies and hot apple cider) I would also gift your DD something to remember the special weekend…something like a photo mug with a picture of the two of you.
Abasket, yes, I roast or boil the beets first, then shred them, add apples and walnuts, some salt and sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt).
Flannel pajamas, slippers, Gilmore girls, candles. hot apple cider - none of those things describe me. Just a peaceful weekend away from daily responsibilities. Just an enjoyable staycation. I don’t like crowds and mad parking lots. Plans are not set in stone. We may decide to do something else spur of the moment entirely different. Neither of us have had a vacation in a very long time and just need a change in routine to get refreshed. This past year has been a very stressful one. Hoping 2016 is a lot better. Holidays were always difficult times to get through but we try our best to make it as relaxing and fun as possible with what we have.
@acollegestudent You’re going to love being at the Macy’s Parade.
But dress WARM, in lots of layers, regardless of the forecast. Know that all that hot chocolate that goes in must also come out, so go easy on it if possible.
There’s absolutely nothing in the world like being on the street and looking up at those balloons as they go by! Have the time of your life!!
This Thanksgiving is going to be the first one when we’ll purchase all the side dishes ready-made from Wegmans. For the best possible reason - we’ll be meeting our first grandchild! He’s due just 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, and his parents have generously offered to host the day, as long as nothing gets too crazy in the kitchen. Only grandparents and aunts/uncles are invited, but that will still make for a party of 11 (one of whom won’t require food that comes from a kitchen, though).
The only dish that has to be prepared at home is the turkey, and that has to be done using Alton Brown’s brine recipe. It would just mess too much with my husband’s sense of tradition and order to do it any other way, so my D has decided he can knock himself out with the turkey, as usual. My contribution will be the cleanup, which should take less time without all those prep dishes.
^^^ What a great plan! Enjoy!
@frazzled1, how exciting! Will this little fellow belong to W&M D or Vandy D?
Thanks, @2VU0609! This little guy belongs to W&M daughter #1 (my youngest went there as well). Vandy d is happy to be the auntie but I don’t expect any baby announcements from her for a while. They’re getting older, aren’t they? Which means …
What it probably means is that in the coming years we will find ourselves holding babies in one arm while we play grandmother and scrolling through CC with the other hand :))