The First Annual "Tell Us What You're Cooking This Year For Thanksgiving Dinner That You Didn't Cook Last Year"

Here's the deal about Thanksgiving dinner at our house: it's the same every year, except for one thing. Every year one thing changes.

Sometimes we try something new and it stays forever, like the apricot jello mold that's been a guilty pleasure of our Thanksgiving dinner for at least fourteen years.

Sometimes it's something that makes the cut for several years -- like sweet potatoes with pecan praline -- and then, for no real reason, falls off the menu never to be spoken of again.

And sometimes it's a mistake, like the pearl onions in balsamic vinegar, which turned out to be a dish that was far too full of itself.

Anyway, here's what we're doing on Huffington Post: the First Annual "Tell Us What You're Cooking This Year For Thanksgiving Dinner That You Didn't Cook Last Year."

Send in your recipe. Send in the thing you've never cooked before on Thanksgiving day, the thing that proves conclusively that you're up for change, that you're not your mother, that you're open to new ideas, that you're flexible and full of surprises and with-it food-wise, even though the truth about Thanksgiving is the exact opposite -- it's about ritual and tradition and the same-old same-old.

This year, in our house, we're cooking our version of Suzanne Goin's succotash. Of course Suzanne Goin doesn't call it succotash; in her book Sunday Suppers at Luques, she calls it sweet corn, green cabbage and bacon. We call it succotash because we throw in some lima beans and way more butter:

Cut 6 thick slices of bacon into small pieces and cook in a casserole until crispy. Remove and drain. Melt 1 stick of butter in the remaining bacon grease and add 1 sliced onion and some salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes, then add half a small green cabbage, sliced, and cook until wilted. Add 2 packages of cooked frozen lima beans and 2 packages of frozen corn. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring, till the corn is done. You can do this in advance. Reheat gently and add the bacon.

Comments

[TheKat]

The very last post on "It's Hard to be a Democrat," (which so far has over 700 comments) reminds Nora that last year she asked for holiday recipes too late.

And here the very next day we find a request for holiday recipes in plenty of time.

Impressive.

Kitty Kaufman
corp-edge.com

[BonnieJW]

There's no such thing as a "first annual." It doesn't become an annual event until the second year.

[Maezeppa]

Tequilla-braised onions

Tequilla.
Mounds of onions sliced paper-thin.
Marinate for a couple days.
Sautee' in butter until carmelized.
Salt to taste.
Reheat before serving.

This can be a side vegetable alone or used to garnish pretty much everything else on your plate. It's simple and head-swimingly good.

[labluvver]

Wow! Lots of great ideas. I have Thanksgiving with my BFF and neighbor's family across the street. Sometimes we throw in my parents, her parents, her husband's parents, children who've moved out and their boyfriends, and/or an assortment of friends without family. That can make for a big gathering, so we both make lots of food.

Her family is uber traditional and can tolerate only Green Bean Casserole, plain Turkey & gravy, plain ol' mashed potatoes, store-bought stuffing, frozen corn and pumpkin pie. I simply can't. So, I make something new and different every year, although admittedly, they're not terribly unusual foods, just different preparations. This year I'm making some recipes from the Cooking Light November 2007 issue, but I'll change each a little to suit my family:

Sauteed Green Beans with Bacon
Wild Rice with Cranberries, Apricots & Pecans
Ranch Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Root Vegetables with Walnut Pesto

and, my family favorite for 3 years,
Easy Herb Roasted Turkey, using the High-Heat method (recipe at www.allrecipes.com)

I serve Pinot Noir, Champagne and Riesling to cut through the fat but intensify the flavors.

Cheers to all for a tasty Thanksgiving!

[Freedomfinder]

In order keep the kiddies from getting grumpy try this it has worked for two years.
Take one matzo cracker
Spread tahini on top
Drizzle lightly w/honey
Place small bed of Alfalfa Spouts on top
Sprinkle w/Raisins and sunflower seeds
Then place another matzo w/Tahini on top
It makes a great tide me over and the children don't get hyper!

[Xysea]

I think for me, it's that I'm varying slightly on an old theme.

It isn't the food that's going to change, so much as what we usually do. My best friend split up with her SO, and I had to send my long-distance boyfriend back to the UK for a short while so we're combining families - which means combining traditions and families. My mother is nearby but my brother is overseas in S. Korea. So, it's my friend, her son, my mother, my daughter and me.

My friend's ordering a pre-roasted bird. I don't eat poultry anymore, except for this one holiday. It's either vegetarian dishes or seafood/fish.* She' leaving town right after, so no muss no fuss is the rule - and we're only making enough to feed our party of 5 (kids included). She's also bought a pecan pie.

I, on the otherhand, am bringing my sweet potato souffle (that I am famous for), greenbeans with sliced almonds and mushrooms (I was tired of greenbean casserole!) and individual Yorkshire puddings that I make each year.

My mother will do the mashed potatoes, dressing and cranberry orange relish.

*I've seen a lot of people jumping on other people for how they define themselves, as vegetarian or other, so let me be clear for the legal eagles among us: I do not call myself a vegetarian, by and large. However, when my SO and I are asked to a dinner party, we do inform the hostess we are vegetarian because invariably we are served some dish either stewed in a meat sauce, or meat broth - or are served a slab of meat. We do not often feel like splitting hairs - 'yes we eat fish and seafood, eggs and dairy, but not poultry, pork, lamb, rabbit, beef or exotic meats.' We are not vegetarians for anything other than aesthetic and financial/health reasons - we prefer fresh eating, even keeping our seafood/fish consumption low. Calling ourselves vegetarian when we eat out simplifies a lot of things, and leaves the restaurant or our hostess (and ourselves) clear and satisfied.

[sir_ken_g]

Chinese Duck - Peking style

[Wilburrr]

Tofu Stuffed Baked Potatoes -- Potatoes ala Congress

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees. Scrub, rinse, and dry enough potatoes for your expected crowd. Apply a thin coat of canola oil to each potato and wrap potatoes in aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and split open with a fork. Insert a 1" square of fresh tofu in each potato. Serve hot.

For a little more excitement, add a dollop of plain white yogurt.

[Definer]

To Nora Ephron: For me this post started out to be a fun conversation about what constitutes Thanksgiving. That is, until I got to the words, "the thing that proves conclusively that you're up for change, that you're not your mother, that you're open to new ideas", etc.

Let me assure you, my mother was up for change. She was a feminist before you were born (I looked up your age). Isn"t it time that negative comments about mothers, however small they be, are eliminated from discourse? I find this type of comment especially egregious when uttered by women. In comparison, how often do you hear the comment, "I"m not my father" uttered by men? I would say almost never.

I hope Ms. Ephron is made aware of my comments, although I doubt that she will be. But perhaps others of you may also take notice. Pam

[Meteor]

Here in St. Mary's County, we doa stuffed ham. You can Google St. Mary's County Stuffed Ham and find several recipes. They vary if you live "up county or down county"! Use a corned ham. We use a butt half with the bone in about 12 lbs. Some do a whole ham, about 24 lbs. Some have the bone removed. It takes a lot of greens run through a food processor, We use kale, cabbage(s), 4 large onions. A large canning pot about 2/3 to 3/4 quarter full of chopped greens is about right. Blanch the greens with a couple gallons of boiling water. Drain off the water and add the spices stirring well into the greens. The recipes vary on the spices, basically salt, pepper, red or hot pepper, lots of mustard seed and whole celery seed, for visual interest as well as taste, and dry mustard powder, You cut many slits down into the ham; some do a curved slits or crosses. Pack the slits as full of the greens as you can. Easier to do this in the sink, ham in a shallow pan and the greens in the other side. It takes This takes about a half an hour just to stuff the ham. Any remaining greens can be packed on top of the ham. Wrap the ham in cheese cloth or cotton material and wrap and tie it snug with some heavy thread or cord. The ham is then placed in a canning pot with the rack in the bottom to keep it off the bottom. Cover the ham or almost cover it with water and take to boiling and then cook for 20 minutes per pound or about 4 to five hours. This is a labor intensive process, kind of a family thing. The ham should cool for at least a day in the refrigerator and it is served cold, not re-heated. Serving the ham with dinner rolls large enough to make a sandwich is also part of the culture. Great with a beer for lunch in the following days.

[terrylchapman]

Watercress salad will thrill all the young vegetarians and ascetics home from college!
Just add sliced mushrooms, red onions, slivered almonds, and a light vinagrette. Such beautiful bright gangly green amidst the autumn colors! Meditate while slicing! Terryl www.thehurlyburly.blogspot.com

[dahpunkster]

ok your prob sick of my posts but i have to ad this one because even my anorexic roommate who
hates food ate some of this AND LIKED iT :)
pumpkin cheesecake

a half stick of butter softened
A half of a bag of the cheap gingerbread cookies in the big brown bag
(the sell them at the dollar store i think)
blend in food processer
line pie shell

filling

1 nine oz pkg cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 c pumpkin
1 cup of white sugar
blend your filling in the food processor
dump filling in pie crust cover pie crust
with a little bit of tin foil so it doesnt burn cook for 45 minutes or until set serve with whipped cream

[dahpunkster]

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
1 SMALL ACORN SQUASH
1 SMALL BUTTERNUT SQUASH
1 LRGE ONION
1 LRGE CARROT
3 CLOVES GARLIC
3 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH
HEAVY CREAM


COOK FIRST 5 INGREDIENT IN OVEN FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OR UNTIL TENDER
BLEND IN BLENDER WITH BROTH STRAIN INTO PAN
HEAT TO A SLIGHT BOIL STIR IN HEAVY CREAM TO
TASTE

[dahpunkster]

SEAFOOD SALAD

1 SMALL BAG IMITATION CRAB MEAT
3 HARD BOILED EGGS CHOPPED
3 PIECES CRUMBLED BACON
2 GRANNY SMITH APPLES CUBED
AVOCADO
1 SMALL BAG LETTUCE
GOOD BLUE CHEESE DRESSING

DUMP BAG OF GREENS ON PLATE
SPRINKLE THE REST OF THE CONTENTS ON TOP
SERVE WITH MEXICAN CORN BREAD
ITS REALLY BEAUTIFUL

[Trittydi]

Okay - I'll share . . . .

The two recipes on the back of the Ocean Spray Cranberry package - one raw, one cooked. Make one of each. No sugar in the one with Orange in it. Mix together, serve at room temperature.

KICKS ASS with the turkey and stuffing.

Maple syrup instead of sugar is a nice twist too.
*
Also - it makes the absolutely BEST filling in the world for either Icelandic pancakes or crepes in the ensuing days. Lovely Brunch item on a holiday weekend. You'll think you've died and gone to heaven. Lite sour cream okay - no powered sugar.
*
Other than that, we're doing a duck and Cornish Hens on the grill and a nice white fish or salmon for our vegetarian daughters (all on the grill - no oven).
*
From my MIL - Is that okay?
*

[Helene52]

Cornbread Salad will be added to our table this year. Every time I serve it it's a big hit. So I thought why not have it for Thanksgiving.

I usually layer this in a glass bowl, because the colors are great and it shows nicely.

You can easily double this for a big crowd. Obviously, if doubled you'll have more than two layers.

Cornbread Salad

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix, baked as directed and crumbled
1 green pepper, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. onions, chopped
12 slices lean bacon, browned and crumbled
1/2 c. sweet relish or dill relish
1 c. light mayo
1/4 c. sweet pickle juice or dill relish juice
1 c of sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Mix together tomatoes, onions, green pepper, mayo, sweet relish and pickle juice. Spread half of this mixture over half of the cornbread crumbled in a glass bowl or deep dish. Sprinkle with bacon. Spread second layer of cornbread and cover with remainder of chopped mixture, sprinkle remaining bacon on top. Cover and let sit overnight in frig.

* If you'd like you can sprinkle 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese on each layer prior to sprinkling on the bacon.

[Smartblonde]

My family would never tollerate any big change in the traditional dinner. This year I will bring a vegetable dish that I have used for a long time.
End of the Garden Vegetables
1 lb fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
corn sliced from two fresh cobs of corn
1 large onion, chopped
1 large fresh tomato, chopped
2 carrots, scraped and sliced
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chile powder.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in chile powder. Add the vegetables and stir occasionally over medium low heat until vegetables are tender. Season with salt to taste.
It doesn't really matter which vegetables you use or how much you use. It is just whatever vegetables you have available. Don't use squash, it gets too soft.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[gala1]

Upside Down Pumpkin Pie

---which is improbably good. I am just feeling too peaked, probably a reaction to having to spend so much of my energy gritting my teeth over sub-banal candidates, to face a rolling pin.

This is so easy Arianna could do it.
Not that she would, dahling. She'd read over this recipe and then immediately call her cardiologist.
You don't wear Dolce and Gabbana and put this sort of thing anywhere near you.

None of us is immune to heresy and I don't know how to justify something that tastes this great and is made with things I normally shudder past when walking down the aisle.

I guess it falls under the same category as Rice Krispies Treats. The sum being excusable for it's parts.

Here's the recipe.

1 29 ounce can pumpkin pie mix
1 5 ounce can evaporated milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar -part light brown
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
sprinkle ground nutmeg
1 tsp chopped candied ginger
1 Pillsbury Plus yellow cake mix with pudding - no substitutions, sorry
2 sticks melted and cooled butter
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

350 degree oven. Makes 2 9 inch pies.

Line 2 9 inch pie pans - not deep dish- Wis waxed paper.

Mix together pumpkin, eggs, milk, sugar, salt and spices. Pour right into the pans. Sprinkle ALL the cake mix over top, then sprinkle on the pecans, then drizzle on ALL the butter.

Bake 1 hour. Chill.
Invert and peel off wax paper.
Serve with Caramel Sauce and whipped cream with a little vanilla and brandy added to it.

Caramel Sauce:

2 Sticks butter
2 cups light brown sugar - or part dark brown
1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a small heavy pan. Stir in brown sugar and cream. Cook over very low heat, whisking constantly, yes constantly, until all melted and thoroughly blended. Do not even think of boiling this.
It gets better on sitting and reheats easily in the microwave . Watch it like a hawk to not overheat.

gala

[MrJoyboy]

Cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries along with Eastern European style red cabbage--oh, and there's a turkey too.

[levibatgirl]

Yummy. I can smell the gravy and stuffing already.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[Izzystone]

So great that you've preserved the holiday recipe tradition you began several years ago. And yes!! yes!! on the apricot jello mold.
This year we're trying Mario Batali's sauteed sugar pumpkin with mint, honey and chili flakes.
In his book "Simple Italian Food" he tell us to take

1lb. sugar pumpkin or acorn squash cut in 1" cubes, 4 tbs. extra virgin olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly, 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, 3 tbs. red wine vinegar, 3 tbs. honey and 3 tbs. fresh, chopped mint.

In a 12" -14" saute pan heat the oil and then add the garlic and squash. Stir for 5 minutes when it becomes golden brown. Add pepper flakes, vinegar and honey and let things boil. This won't take more than a minute. Cook until the liquid has become a syrup. Take off the stove and add the mint.

On one of his shows, years ago, he said this recipe came from ancient Rome.

Thanks for the food tips and great recipes, especially the ricotta pancakes. I continue to wonder about the cabbage strudel.

gobble, gobble
Izzystone

[gems]

I'm a vegan and a PETA member. Tofurkey.
Gemma

[coastalcarla]

Since my only son is gone to college, and I live hundreds of miles from my nearest family, I am going to a luau at a friend's house where they are roasting a pig in the ground and everything! But they said everyone has to bring a dessert. So for the first time I'm not making turkey dinner for 20, and I'm learning to bake my very first apple pie from scratch (I have an apple tree in my new yard). Got the recipe online, because I hadn't a clue what to do to the apples to make the pie. Here's crossing my fingers that it's not hideous! I always bought my pie or someone else brought pie in the past.

[Cunningham]

Great idea, Nora! Love the recipes, everyone!

Everyone wanted a break from the traditional turkey & fixin's so we're having a seafood Thanksgiving this year... grilled shrimp and halibut. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Here's one of the side dishes we'll be enjoying:

1 head shredded cabbage
2 grated carrots
1/4 cup thinly sliced red peppers
1 medium sliced onion
few sprigs chopped parsley
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tblsp. grated horseradish (optional)

Dressing: In a medium saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, celery & mustard seed, salt & pepper, and bring to a boil. Add the olive oil, return to a boil, then lower heat to medium, and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let it cool as you prepare the cabbage & veggies. If using horseradish, add it now.

Using a non-metal bowl, add cabbage, onions, carrots, peppers, and parsley. Pour the dressing over veggies and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for 3 or more hours. Drain off any excess dressing before serving. Mmmmmmm!

[RAMHaiti]

It's not always about change and new stuff. Sometimes tradition is meant to be just that, tradition.
Can anyone remember which tribe it was that helped, and then gave thanks, with the Pilgrims? Where are they now?