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Right about now, everyone is in the final throes of their Thanksgiving prep. Maybe you've got a pie to bake tonight or you have to hit the grocery store one last time on the way home from work, but basically, you're there. You don't need our help with recipes for tasty side dishes or tips on how wedge all your leftovers into the fridge anymore. So here's my question for all of you. What's that one food item without which your Thanksgiving is not complete? Your staple food that has to be on the table or the meal just can't go forward. It doesn't have to be traditional or even cohesive with the meal, but somehow brings everything together for you. Me, it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving until I've had a little nibble of crispy turkey skin and a glass of sparkling apple cider. Over at the Epi Log, Esther Sung writes about how there needs to be a dish of kimchi on the table for Thanksgiving to feel rounded and satisfying for her.
Share your favorites, your quirky side dishes and things that make your holiday feel special.
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11-21-2007 @5:23PM Christopher Finke said... Stuffing (or dressing). If it's not on the table, it's not Thanksgiving. Also, cranberry sauce still in the shape of the can it came in.
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11-21-2007 @5:26PM Kat said... P-i-e, pie. Everything else can go south, but as long as I have a slice of pumpkin pie with a dollop of cool whipped cream, it's all right.
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11-21-2007 @5:30PM annie said... Dressing here, too. Nothing fancy; dried challah, butter, celery, onions, (homemade) stock and maybe a little sage. I could live on it.
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11-21-2007 @5:49PM K said... Dressing / Stuffing. Why we don't make it other times of the year, I don't know, but it certainly lends to the anticipation. If there is no stuffing, it isn't Thanksgiving. Also, it's the only time of year we put out a dish of baby gherkins and black olives. Cuz that's fancy eating.
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11-21-2007 @6:21PM AL said... Stuffing. And not cooked in the turkey. Two separate pans baked just for me. I could eat just that,and forget all the rest. Can you say "carb addict"?
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11-21-2007 @6:49PM Janis said... bread dressing
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11-21-2007 @11:08PM Mark Shaw said... Scalloped oysters, from Beard's _American Cookery_. Every Thanksgiving for the last 15 years or so.
Lately, someone else cooks everything else. And that's fin with me. :)
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11-21-2007 @9:41PM Stephanie said... you gotta have pretzel salad. included: pretzels, rasberry jello, frozen rasberries, cool whip and cream cheese. sounds nasty i know but its awesome. sweet and salty sour
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11-21-2007 @11:26PM arjay said... Cornbread dressing with gravy gets it started for me.
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11-21-2007 @10:32PM Lynds said... Oyster dressing
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11-21-2007 @10:58PM Jill said... You guys are making me hungry. As a fellow carb addict, I must say my Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without homemade, fluffy, buttery, creamy mashed potatoes, with gravy made from the turkey drippings. The rest pales in comparison. If I had to eat only one food for the meal, this would be it! Everyone have a great Thanksgiving, and God Bless.
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11-21-2007 @11:27PM Bonnie said... I agree w/ #9-Jill Mashed Potatoes....The REAL stuff NOT instant. My Aunts' Pecan Pie...She said If I move back to AR.(in OR. now) she would make me 6 of the Pecan pies. I'd move BUT it's way to hot for me.
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11-22-2007 @2:07AM alosha7777 said... definitely stuffing/dressing. that just equals thanksgiving. when else do people make it?
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11-22-2007 @8:11AM Marisa Small said... Since I can remember, we have made cranberry orange relish (it's actually the recipe on the back of the package). I recall using a meat grinder on the corner of a counter to make this relish (it was dedicated to cranberries, not meat!) Now I have to bring it to my in-laws house and it truly equals Thanksgiving for me!
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11-22-2007 @11:00AM LAURA said... PLAIN AND SIMPLE: TURKEY, STUFFING SEPERATE, ROAST POTATOES, SQUASH, STUFFED MUSHROOMS, GRAVY, CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE, AFTER NAP: PECAN PIE OR APPLE PIE WITH EITHER VANILLA ICE CREAM OR WHIPPED CREAM..MMMM
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11-22-2007 @11:44AM Henry said... The assistants at my firm (who are all Cuban) are all making traditional Thanksgiving dinners....with black beans and rice instead of mashed potatoes. The idea of a mashed potato was so foreign and offensive to them they foresaw mass rebellion from their families if they substituted mashed potatoes for black beans and rice.
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11-22-2007 @12:22PM garrick said... Giblet gravy on mashed potatoes, and poured over the bread dressing. mmmmmmmmmm
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11-22-2007 @12:22PM DENNIS LA BRECQUE said... MINCED MEAT IS LIKE LIVER AND ONIONS. YOU EITHER LOVE IT OR HATE IT. I LOVE IT! MORE PEOPLE SHOULD AT LEAST TRY IT. THEY'D LIKE IT TOO. IT JUST SOUNDS ODD TO THINK OF MEAT IN A DESSERT/PIE.
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11-22-2007 @12:26PM DENNIS LA BRECQUE said... TRY COOKING YOUR TURKEY BREAST SIDE DOWN. MOIST FOR SURE!
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11-23-2007 @6:45AM Paul B said... I don't mark Thanksgiving as I'm in the UK, but I am responsible for cooking our Christmas turkey.
I roast the giblets (offal) with the bird so I can make gravy with them. In the kitchen, I eat the roasted heart and kidney when no-one's looking - chef's treat! You don't normally get the giblets with a bird anymore, so this reminds me what time of the year it is. At the table, I must have stuffing, whether chestnut or pork, sage and onion.
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