We love Thanksgiving, as it’s the glorious blend of being with family, taking a good long moment to reflect and appreciate all of our blessings, and enjoying some culinary delight. Growing up, my cousins would all descend upon my house since we were the most centrally located, and we would have an absolute blast. We’d have two days of MarioKart (Super Nintendo version, not to date myself) tournaments, fort building challenges, stuffed animal wars, and Nok Hockey extravaganzas.
Of course, all of our energy was fueled initially by the mega-batch of cookies my mom would always make…and then came Thursday! We’d start with breakfast and charcuterie during the parade before shifting over to the football games. Then, at halftime of the first game, we’d walk to the school and match up on the gridiron for our Turkey Bowl (I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fake pitch to nobody that my uncle used to fake out an entire defense for a decisive touchdown in 2001…twas genius play design and took advantage of a weakness he saw in the scouting report).
Then, we’d get home, and the smell of turkey permeated the entire house. To me, that is still the smell of togetherness, and that is probably the one thing that hasn’t changed about Thanksgiving since I was a kid. As for the rest, change is the only constant. Through the years, the people have changed, the traditions have changed, and even some of the food has changed.
We write this post to embrace the change in food and to share some of our favourites with you in case you want to try something different this year with your spread. So without further ado, here are some of our top choices broken out by category. Happy Thanksgiving!
Appetizers:
- DEVILED EGGS
- FRENCH ONION CAULIFLOWER BALLS
- KALE TOTS
- PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED ASPARAGUS
- SPINACH STUFFING BALLS
Turkey/Poultry: Check out our “How to Break Down a Turkey” post if you are interested in any of the non-whole bird ideas!
- More Traditional:
- If You Want Some Funk:
Veggie Sides:
- BACON AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- CELERY ROOT FRENCH FRIES
- CAULIFLOWER CHESTNUT STUFFING
- GARLIC AND PEPPER SAUTEED GREEN BEANS
- MASHED CELERY ROOT
- MOM’S RUTABAGA AND CARROT MASH
- PUMPKIN FRENCH FRIES
- PUMPKIN TOTS
- ROOT VEGETABLE MASH EXTRAVAGANZA
- SAGE MASHED CAULIFLOWER
- SAVORY PUMPKIN PIE
Starchy Sides:
- ACORN AND BLACK CHANTERELLE STUFFING
- DELICATA SQUASH FRIES
- GRAMMA’S CHESTNUT STUFFING
- HOMEMADE DINNER ROLLS
- MASHED PEATATOES
- PUMPERNICKEL DINNER ROLLS
- PUMPKIN SAGE RISOTTO
- ROASTED SWEET POTATO AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS
- SNEAKY MASHED POTATOES (Reduced Carb Recipe – with Cabbage)
- SNEAKY MASHED POTATOES (Reduced Carb Recipe – with Cauliflower)
- SWEET POTATO WEDGE FRIES
- TWICE BAKED POTATOES
Ideas for Leftovers: