Experimental reformer for sure! Just hosted my Friendsgiving party, which is a performance and testing space for all new recipes. Pumpkin pie turns to calavaza en tacha. Turkey gets Bon Appetit's Tandoori treatment. Mama Stamburg's relish gets relished. I've never been impressed by traditional Thanksgiving food, but getting to riff on the ingredients is really fun - especially since my palate is more tuned to Asian and South American flavors.

Major reformer, I'll admit it. It went from simply enhancing family favorites (mushroom soup became wild mushrooms & caramelized onions in a béchamel; milk chocolate in a classic family cake became 3 layers of different chocolates) now to sneaky ingredient substitutions. For instance using lowfat milk + agar to get the body & mouth-feel of heavy cream. I don't tell anybody, just ask if it tastes good, and love seeing their jaws drop when they learn they won't have to run 10 miles to work off a holiday meal. Whenever I can make a switch and it makes sense I've gone mad reformer in the kitchen. Why not? It makes holiday cooking so much more fun.

Reformer. I thought quite cautious, since for our first Thanksgiving hosting I decided to only try to change the most egregious dish: marshmallow sweet potato casserole (though eventually we plan on ditching the turkey and all his friends). Apparently radical, though, since I just spent 20 minutes on the phone with my mother, who just couldn't comprehend what other way I could possibly fix them.

Reformer here, but lucky to be in a reformer family. My dad wants to oust The Turkey! A couple of my innovations have become traditions (to be supplanted in turn, I'm sure). Other than what I'm bringing, I'm not quite sure what we're having on Thursday!

I guess I'm somewhere in between. I've spent a long time perfecting my cranberry sauce and stuffing recipes so I don't want someone messing with them, but if someone wanted to add something I guess I'd be ok. I'm still trying to perfect the turkey so I'm very open to that. I love trying new sides though I do have preferences (green and sweet potatoes!). My dad usually makes something new and creative every year.
As for dessert though...my mother has been making the same apple pie and Libby's pumpkin pie for years. They're good but I can't help but wonder if there's something better out there...I'm not huge on chocolate desserts so I would love to try a different fruit tart or crisp or something with cranberries or sweet potato pie. My mom thinks my brother will be "sad" if we don't have pumpkin pie but I'm not sure he cares that much, lol.

Reformer, baby! OMG this is so funny! But the sad thing is that this application not only applies to Thanksgiving but also to any Jewish food my husband grew up with. I can just imagine the look on his face when I suggest filling my babka with Nutella!

Is there a category for "pioneer"?

My extended family Thanksgiving has undergone some serious morphing over the past 20 years -- we started with one aunt and uncle hosting everyone else (my parents and brother, my 2 other sets of aunts, uncles, and cousins, and my grandparents) for a traditional meal at her house. But then:

1. That aunt and uncle moved 3000 miles across the country
2. Three cousins moved to Arizona, Los Angeles, and Ohio respectively
3. My brother moved to Los Angeles
4. Another cousin got married and mostly joins his in-laws now
5. First one grandparent, then another, passed away
6. Finally, my brother moved back east two years ago with his own family and alternates between his own in-laws and our own family

So some Thanksgivings, it's just my parents, one lone aunt, and me, so we say to hell with it and just go to a restaurant on Saturday. But my brother has started saying that the years he wants to be with us, HE wants to host.

So it is COMPLETELY uncharted territory in terms of food, which made for a golden opportunity to float a couple pie ideas. One aunt may still show up with a steamed cranberry pudding for dessert that's always gone over well, and another aunt may bring a number of side dishes, and since we are suppliers for Ocean Spray there will definitely be cranberries, but this is the golden opportunity for me to establish the new tradition of "Aunt Kim's apple cider cream pie".

Oh, I'm a traditionalist. I love seeing all of the Thanksgiving recipes posted on blogs and on the glossy pages of magazines, but I never make them for Thanksgiving. That day is reserved for family recipes that I love and cherish and only get to eat once a year. I may try a creative dressing recipe some weekend for a family dinner, but on Thanksgiving, the only thing I want on our table is our simple family cornbread dressing recipe.

Can I get a blank copy of this? I could see this as being helpful.

I'm in the middle of the spectrum, but leaning a bit more towards the traditional side. I do like to try new dishes and have to convince my mom that it's ok to try something new, but I also enjoy the old favorites. Of course, I come from a family that overloads the table with dishes, so there's usually room for more as long as the "usual" dishes are still on the table! :)

I'm a little of each. I prefer some recipes to be classics but yet like to stetch some boundaries on others. The majority of the group we are hosting this year (my side of the family) is less into experimentation and more into the tried and true so I will be sure and things to keep them happy and yet satisfy my, and others', urges to reform things a little.

I'm basically a traditionalist, Thanksgiving only comes once a year. Since it's usually just my parents, brother, and me, it's hard to get rid of any of the classics to make room for new things, and I don't usually make those dishes except for at Thanksgiving. However, my plan this year is to make the pecan pie from scratch, make green bean casserole without canned soup, and add in a kale salad to make it less... starchy. But otherwise, there's already going to be too much food!

When my sister was first married, she asked her mother-in-law (who is really great) what she could bring and was told "Oh, nothing, we are having a normal Thanksgiving meal, dear."
She was already known as a "reformer" as most of my family is. Mix in a few traditions, mix up the rest.

Reformer, but I don't get appreciated. =)

Seconding the request for a blank version of this form. :)

So long as we remember to pop a can of Pillsbury rolls into the oven alongside the homemade ones, no one complains.

I'm a reformer and luckily so is the husband. His family (mainly one very vocal sibling) is such a traditionalist it boggles my mind. She threw a tantrum when her mother dared to replace the standard side of creamed corn. It's CANNED! I couldn't believe she would rather someone dump some cans in a bowl and stick it in the microwave than try something new.

I'm all for tradition as long as it tastes good. No sense making jello pudding pie, that no one eats, year after year simply because it's tradition.

Traditionalist when it comes to the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Reformer on everything else.

Traditionalist but I did somehow convince my family that my husband's cranberry habanero sauce is very good and they should let him make it. I'm sure they will have the kind in a can as back up though!

Reformer-- to the chagrin of my family.

I'm a reformer and not just for holiday meals. But so's everyone in my family - except my dad. He doesn't care about holiday foods, but don't mess with anything remotely Italian.

My girlfriend is spending Thanksgiving with our family this year...her first Thanksgiving away. Her family was so distraught about not having her to make dressing, we made a humorous instructional video for them to follow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE5J6GW-H48

I got a pretty bad taste in my mouth at Thanksgiving a few years ago. My uncle usually brings the pies, but that year he never called my mom and told her he was bringing them. So she asked me. I made 3 homemade pies, they were perfect. What happened? I came to thanksgiving and my uncle brought store-bought pies. Frustrating.

I like a little of both. I think we should ALWAYS be willing to try something new. What if we are just one recipe away from "the best ___ ever!"? I think we should try two new recipes per holiday. Keep some things the same and alternate year to year what you try to change up. That way you aren't overhauling everything, but you are still branching out. I get tired of the same old thing. But, still want to have the basic delicious holiday flavors.