Oh, for sure. I enjoy a traditional Thxgiving meal as much as the next gal, but it does tend to be the same dishes (with minor variations) year after year, judging from previous threads.
I remember being invited to our friends place, and bc there were also pescatarian and vegan guests, the main was a side of salmon (nice but Not Turkey 
) and a larger than usual variety of veggies.
My PIC and I ended up getting a turkey breast to have a āproperā Thxgiving the following weekend. I canāt remember the last time I made mashed potatoes, tho. Theyāre not in my top potato preps. Probably made a gratin, or crispy roasted potatoes.
That reminds me I ordered a goodly amount of beef tallow from a local farm. I should try roasting taters in that - on Turkey day, or some other time 
Maybe Iām in the minority, but I enjoy doing the full Thanksgiving spread. I donāt think I prepare as many different dishes as a lot of you, though. For instance, Iām not wild about sweet potatoes, so I donāt make them in any form, and Mrs ricepad usually makes a cranberry relish since I donāt like that, either. Things that typically appear on my T-day menu besides the turkey are stuffing (usually but not always using sourdough), a Chinese-style rice dressing (naw mai fan), Brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, some kind of carrots, and mushrooms, plus Mrs. ricepadās cranberry concoction. Gravy is a given. Even if itās just the two of us for the day, Iāll make a turkey and at least one of the starchy sides.
My partner is a much bigger Thanksgiving proponent than I am. Every couple of years we go down to her sisterās, and between the two of them they have VERY STRICT PROCEDURES on how certain dishes MUST be prepared. To be fair, they both know how to roast a turkey AND make actual gravy. I am allowed to contribute via dinner rolls, and sometimes a dessert item (cake, cookies, brownies). I am definitely not allowed to do anything involving pie. Again, strict procedures.
That said, weāve been mixing it up a bit in recent years. Weāve taken a long weekend trip with another couple out to the coast, weāve invited a couple of friends to our place, and weāve decided that we were gonna stay in, roast a turkey breast, make some potatoes with too much (i.e. never enough) butter, and and call it good.
I have not tried this yet. On my list.
I have never heard of this, so I hit the Googles, as the kids say, and found this:
Holy crap that looks delicious! Definitely going on the list. I know where the sausage and the dried shrimp are at the nearby SF Mart.
It is technically summer until Monday. So I had not thought of Thanksgiving, or even All Hallowsā Eve. My daughter, son in law, and two lovely grandchildren live here in Austin, but his family is in Houston. So we usually put on a spread on Thanksgiving proper, and the next day they pile into the Family Truckster and head east.
I love the smell of a roasting turkey being basted with wine and butter, but I am not a big turkey fan, nor am I big on desserts. So itās all about the sides and rolls, and, of course, wine. Over the years we have invariably had vegetarians at the table. Whether they are there or not, I love my vegetarian gravy (butter and flour roux, shallot, reconstituted dried porcini, Sherry, salt and pepper, mainly telicherry, and vegetable broth), and I love it over pretty much any dressing that is loaded with pecans and fresh sage. The other sides invariably include haricot vert and roasted root vegetables, but I would eat salsifies if you twisted my arm. We do not usually have a soup course, but Bourdainās tomato and fennel soup might end up in the meal.
As I said, I am not much of a dessert fan, but I do love a gingery, nutmeggy pumpkin pie. I also like apple anything, maybe an invisible apple cake. Wine is the star. I love cabs, but this might be a good time to go Frenchā¦or a really big Zinā¦I dunno.
Then there is the question of what to eat while cooking. JalapeƱo poppers and beer? Delice de Bourgogne and Champs? Belgian endives with sour cream and caviar and Champs? Champagne seems to be emerging. Which? I love the ones I cannot afford. Gimme a vintage Krug. Ok, I am looking for a good grower Champagne heavy on PN or 100%. My favorite $50 all PN has disappeared. Suggestions are welcome.
Or cheeseburgers and black coffee.
No appetizers on Thanksgivingā¦ever. I grew up on my grandmotherās fine china/glassware Thanksgiving/Xmas dinner and later on when my mother took over. There was always a family crystal dish with celery and olives. Nobody really touched it. I may be into paper plates and disposable aluminum pans nowadays, but I want people to fix a plate when theyāre good and hungry. Thereās only one Thanksgiving dinner a year with turkey, stuffing and all the sides and rolls. Just carrying on an old family tradition.
I wouldnāt mind doing a relish tray this year.
I remember the relish tray on crystal, olives, celery, carrots. Must have been a standard thing or started by a magazine or chef.
Re: paper plates, not yet. One of the funniest Thanksgiving stories I remember when I was a kid was a family friendās mom served frozen Turkey TV dinners one year because the dad said something that didnāt go down wellā¦made funnier because he was a big former Marine who was a little intimidating. That story went around a bit, I think as a warning. 
Do you have an actual recipe for that terrific sounding gravy ā¦ that you can post here?
Since there are no real turkey fans here, Iāll probably roast some beef or a chicken (or both) with enough sides to make a good bubble and squeak the next day. Not sure what dessert will be. That depends on whether itās a hot or a cold day. Iām actually looking forward to it. On the other hand, maybe itāll be pasta.
Sad story ā¦ I would have gladly accepted that turkey from you!
I have friends who say this year theyāre going with their kids to Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving. It seems every single year, all her nearby relatives go to her house and expect to be fed ā¦ she and her family do all the prep and clean up. Other members say they will host on Christmas and then it doesnāt happen.
I understand how she wants to break this bad habit of being used. Even though the vacation will cost $$$, feeding a houseful of people and all the clean up just isnāt worth it.
That is pretty much it. I reconstitute the porcini and mince some shallot, cook them in butter until soft but not brown, add flour to make a roux, season liberally with pepper and a little salt, add Sherry, probably an Amontillado, reduce it, and add vegetable broth, heating until everything thickens. My vegetable broth is a browned vegetable broth. I collect onion tops, carrot and celery ends, squash ends, lettuce bottoms, tomato navels, and mushroom ends, basically anything that does not have an obtrusive taste. I collect these until a one gallon freezer bag is full, toss the trimmings in a little olive oil, and roast them on a sheet pan at 425F until lightly browned. I put the roasted vegetables in a pot with about five quarts of water, a dozen or so peppercorns, a bay leaf or two, and a palmful of herbes de Provence. This is salted with about three tbsp. of kosher salt, and the whole is simmered a couple of hours. (To make an easy chicken stock, just toss a chicken carcass or two on the vegetables, but be far more careful not to let it all boil. Cook it at a āsmileā with the lid ajar for about four hours.). Strain with a Chinois. I have also made this gravy with shiitakes. The mushrooms serve as the giblets.
My motherās best friend used to set out a killer relish tray for Christmas - the aforementioned celery and (California, always) olives, radishes, hot peppers, marinated mushrooms, pickled cauliflower.
I should make a relish tray.
Graber olives?
Iāve been to Tahoe, north and south for a few Thanksgivings. The casinos used to put on a great show with the food and entertainment. One year, Circus Circus in Reno had an āall you can eatā Thanksgiving dinner (all day) for about $12. We scarfed it all down and should have had gurneys wheel us to the parking lot. Good thing we stayed away from the peel and eat shrimp. We knew betteršµ
I donāt understand ā¦ why would the shrimp be a bad idea? I now really hate the feeling of being totally stuffed. I watch Mike Chen on FB and wonder how he can hold so much food!
Not really. I adore Thanksgiving food and look forward to the tradition of making it every year. I find it very comforting, and I only have it once a year. But I wouldnāt want it every week.
