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Thanksgiving 2007: What's Your Favorite Side Dish?

2007_11_09-Thanksgiving.jpgTurkey gets a lot of press at Thanksgiving, but we all know the side dishes are the real stars. Gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce - we love them all, but for us it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without real bread stuffing, baked inside the turkey.

We know it's a rough thing to ask, but if you had to choose your favorite, which would it be?


 
 

(Image credit: Country Home)

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Surveys, Holidays - Thanksgiving

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Comments (23)

I've never heard it called "bread stuffing" or "dressing!" We just say plain ol' "stuffing" or even "filling," because its what you fill the turkey with :)

posted by suziegoombs on 2007-11-09 10:30:30
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Pumpkin bread!

posted by lz256 on 2007-11-09 10:37:44
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Stuffing is the artist's true Thanksgiving medium.

Other dishes require a recipe (actual or memorized) to get them right... but stuffing can be constructed by wandering through the store, choosing whatever seems good, and letting the spirit guide one's hand.

posted by wende in the twin cities on 2007-11-09 10:38:59
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My mother-in-law makes a rockin' sweet potato casserole with pecans and Calvados.

posted by Green Me on 2007-11-09 11:15:51
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My mom's cranberry relish is a true holiday signifier since Thanksgiving and X-mas are the only times we eat it. She used to put the fresh cranberries, oranges, and granny smith apples through a huge, hand-crank nut grinder, but the food processor made things much easier many, many years ago!

posted by J on 2007-11-09 12:07:36
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My Thanksgiving traditional?

(caution: read further at your own risk of drooling)

*PRIME RIBS, CREAMED SPINACH, YORKSHIRE PUDDING, and PINOT NOIR!

posted by callbob on 2007-11-09 12:15:59
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Baked jalepeno macaroni and cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, real cranberry sauce (with a hint of orange and honey), my dad's made from scratch biscuits...delicious!

I'm only a little biased by the fact that I'm the one who makes the mac and cheese, mashed sweets and cranberry sauce ;-)

posted by kuumba on 2007-11-09 12:51:17
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It's not Thanksgiving without the family's special salad dressing.

posted by mollyjade on 2007-11-09 13:27:15
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I could fill my plate with mashed potatoes...and I don't know why I almost never make them any other time of the year!

posted by classiccook on 2007-11-09 14:07:50
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Wild rice with celery, onions and pecans - kind of a rice version of stuffing.

posted by Aaron on 2007-11-09 14:36:43
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Sauerkraut! It's a Baltimore thing.

posted by rachel on 2007-11-09 15:14:24
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The creamed onions--little onions boiled in white wine with thyme and finished with heavy cream. I don't always make it home for Thanksgiving, but I always have to ask again for the recipe and make the onions. This year I'll be home, and I know the onions will be there too.

posted by cmcinnyc on 2007-11-09 15:25:18
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Every Thanksgiving since I can remember, we have baked yams with an Amaretti crumble topping. The yams are mashed w/ ginger, orange marmalade, and Amaretto liquer, amongst other yummy things. It's not Thanksgiving without them!!!

posted by DC Sarah on 2007-11-09 15:49:36
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While the real stuff is great, it's still not a holiday for me without the canned cranberry sauce. Still in the shape of the can.

posted by Jessa on 2007-11-09 17:23:58
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rachel...make that sauerkraut and kielbasa for all of my Baltimore Thanksgivings.

posted by catlike on 2007-11-09 17:44:54
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My mom's stuffing is unbelievable. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. A close second is mashed potatoes, but that's ingrained in my DNA (most of my family is from Co. Mayo!) so it doesn't give a fair shot to the rest.

posted by thebeahive on 2007-11-09 18:30:21
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Mmmmm-- my grandmother's cornbread dressing kicks off the holiday season. We only eat it at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Can't wait!

posted by DLT on 2007-11-09 23:06:19
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Brussel sprouts, usually with a mustard sauce, are what we consider to be the most important side dish. I mean, we like stuffing okay, but we normally just buy a box of stovetop style stuffing. Actually putting stuffing in the turkey's gut? Ugh, gross! Cranberry sauce? some years, we just buy a thing of that frozen cranberry orange sauce, some years, someone makes a new recipe they saw somewhere. Sweet potatoes, we often have, but just toss 'em in the oven and have them baked.

No, brussel sprouts are the thing we all love and look forward to.

posted by RoseCampion on 2007-11-10 10:06:41
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Can desserts count? If so - it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie...

posted by Mike D on 2007-11-12 09:36:43
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Had to vote for green bean casserole but 2nd choice is the sweet potatoes... mmmm orange mashed goodness.

posted by kdb on 2007-11-12 16:16:38
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jello mold (a crazy tradition from when we always went to my aunt's for thanksgiving) and, instead of pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll.

posted by abby on 2007-11-12 20:33:23
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I'm also from brussel sprout people. Sometimes we add a mustardy vinaigrette, other times a drizzling of cranberries, but mostly we roast 'em with balsamic vinegar.

posted by krister on 2007-11-12 23:36:39
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This is our second year out on the pier for Thanksgiving and all I can think about are the steamed clams and seafood stew.

posted by JasonD on 2007-11-13 13:57:22
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