I like that definition seems to run in our family too. I heard "but Mom" all last week as I do every year when I propose different menus LOL. So it is turkey and herb dressing like Grandma used to make and then gravy...lots of gravy and mashed potatoes. Dear DIL has to have a chocolate cheesecake this year..."youpromisedMomma" ! So I am doing a couple different sides...cranberry chutney not salad and a roasted butternut squash and granny smith apple dish and pumpkin soup. They are ok with that as long as they have the REGULARS !! Dear daughter can't make it til Christmas but the boys and their sig others will be here. So all is well on the home front. c

Your post made me laugh...we are doing the same thing. I love your insanity remark..perfect :).

I am going to my daughters in Indy...my hubby and I...I will meet him there, his work will keep him a bit later than I. My daughter has a 7 month old ( where did the time fly, he will be going to college before we know it) so it will be our first real holiday graced with his presence. We are looking forward to it. She is cooking...........did I say SHE was cooking? :) More like I will be up at the crack of dawn and have it most of the way done by the time she is done with baby stuff :). I usually end up cooking most of it in her kitchen. Cooking is what I do to pay the bills and it is hard for me to let that go. She is a great helper tho, she has inherited my love to cook so as soon as the little one is fed and bathed she will be at my side. Her Inlaws and brotherinlaw/ sister in law will also be there....but the real surprise....(If I can keep my mouth shut, I am so excited) is that my daughter who is studying in London this semester will be flying in to spend three days with us. No one knows but me, and I cant wait to see there faces when she gets out of the car......I expect tears and tears and more tears. Now lets just hope I can keep my trap shut long enough... :)

My brother in law is coming down for the first time since we moved here. He's staying almost a week, and my FIL and and MIL #2 are coming for Thanksgiving day, maybe overnight. That means we'll be crammed into this tiny home, but it will be so nice. Right now we are still in the "temporary" house, the counter tops and stove vent are not in place yet next door, and we need to finish building out furniture etc. That is what the inlaws plan on helping with. And bringing back the washer and dryer...taking furniture to be upholstered etc.
Thanksgiving dinner will be vegetarian, a lentil loaf with "Grit" (a vegetarian restaurant in Athens, GA) gravy, mashed potato, squash, a salad and pumpkin gooey cake for dessert (that is easy to make gluten free). Hopefully pop-in-law will bring some of his sweet potato rolls. I'm going to try and cook Wednesday before work, and then on Thursday make Pop's favorite ginger spice cookies to surprise him.
One of my favorite days of the year is just before Thanksgiving, when we serve our special church dinner and have a beautiful service. I'm bummed I can't go, must work. However, I am thankful for a job!!
I expect that on Friday, before I go to work my MIL will want to shop a sale or two if she is up for it.

girlgroupgirl

For starters, my family all live in or around the same town so getting together is an easy thing. Thanksgiving had been at my grandparents house for years. A couple years ago it was moved to my Aunts as my grandma just couldn't handle it anymore. My grandma will be missing this year, as she is in poor health and living in a nursing home. I predict a rather somber tone to the proceedings.
My Aunt is a good cook, and the meal will be perfectly traditional, as it always is. I don't think its changed as long as I can remember it. Name any classic dish, and I'll bet you it's on our table. Always tasty, though.
(This gives me an idea for a topic. Uh oh!)
The bigger issue(at least for my wife and son) is that this kicks off Christmas season. We'll go cut down a tree Friday morning, and get the house all decorated over the weekend. I started with the outside lights this past weekend, but am only halfway done.
I suppose I'll have to go find my Trans-Siberian Orchestra cds.

Well, as I said in Mr Morton's Thanksgiving post, I went to the city this past weekend and had an early Thanksgiving dinner with all three of my kids, significant others and grandson. On Thursday I'll be cooking wild turkey and grouse along with all the other traditional dishes. It will just be Rick, Alyssa and myself this year for dinner but we'll probably have some friends and hunters around the place too. Of course no Friday shopping for me...we don't have any where to shop here. Fine with me, I'm exhausted from all the wedding shopping we've done the last two times I've been in the city. We are just about completely ready for the wedding in January. I just have some decorations to put together that will go in the church on the pews. Might finish those up this weekend.

Have a great Holiday everyone!

MeMo

This year is looking like a quiet one for us. Johnny and friends of ours are working at least part of the day. My folks will be with the rest of our family in the country, which I'm passing on this year. So, J and I are having friends over for dinner which gives me time to push dust under a doiley and create a meal. I've been humming the Wonder Woman theme under my breath all week.

So, most of us, I assume, have families like Patti's who fix pretty much the same thing every year, right? So what happens in your families when someone passes away? People in my family seem to see the death of a relative as their big chance to take over some traditional dish.

"Ah ha! Now that Great Aunt Mildred is dead, I can finally make the Braised Radish and Curried Apple Souffle the way it ought to be done! Bwahahaha!"

Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic, but when my maternal grandmother died there was a flurry of macaroni-and-cheese and banana pudding making (standard country fixin's). The 1st year we had maybe 6 of each, in varying levels of competency. And don't doubt for a second that every person who brought some could tell from across a room whether or not you had a spoonful of theirs on your plate. Woe unto the person who either didn't sample some of them all or worse, was caught praising one or making faces when trying another.

Now, years later, every time the family gathers, several relatives will still bring those dishes and tell us all with vast dignity that theirs is "just like mama/grandma/meemaw/etc used to make" (or, more daringly, BETTER, which usually causes us all to look away in embarrassment).

Every year or two, some brave soul will actually attempt to usurp some living relative's traditional dish. No actual physical fights have ever broken out, but words and looks are usually enough. If you are near enough to the buffet you can pick up shocked whispers of "who brought the other greenbean casserole?" and the scandalized response.

GGG, you mentioned lentil loaf. That is the traditional dish one of my vegan friends makes every year. I've been pleading with her to bring it this year because mine sucks. Unfortunately, she keeps telling me that it is my turn to do the cooking and she's only making a stuffing. I've banned her "pumpkin mousse" (I swear it is actually just canned pumpkin) because, as I told her, it tastes like sadness. She could at least show it a picture of Splenda or something. Why make the holidays harder than they need to be?

ROTFL Slub, I can relate, makes me think of my DH and brussels sprouts, I love them, well I won't say what he thinks of them. When at my daughters on thanksgiving it's become a tradition, he has to eat at least one. We usually eat buffet style and all eyes are on his plate making sure he takes his token brussels sprout. I've never had a green bean casserole, you mean I'm not missing out there? Fresh green beans done up in a stir fry with shallots and sliced mushrooms is pretty tasty in my books though.

Annette

All this talk of food is making my stomach rumble. I'm not doing a traditional turkey dinner this year, I just didn't feel like it. I'm planning the following:
A celery/apple/pecan salad, whole berry cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, sherry sauced sweet potatoes, spiced beets, porkloin fixed in the crockpot with spiced wholeberry cranberry sauce (cinnamon and cloves mixed into the sauce) over the top. Bread I haven't decided on yet. A nice chilled white wine and for dessert, a pumpkin/cream cheese pie in graham cracker crust.

Happy Thanksgiving to all ~ FlowerLady

Oh my goodness, Kent, that was TOO funny. Sounds like something you'd see in a movie. So tell me- what dish do you make that is better than grandma's/meemaw's??

Like most of you, we will be having some of the traditional dishes: turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, stuffing, etc. Pumpkin pie for dessert only because my husband absolutely loves it and he is my mother's favourite. So of course she can't let him down. haha

Mike and I have started our own tradition of getting up at the crack of dawn and going downtown to run in the Turkey Trot. It gives us a little more reason to pig out at the table later. Plus, I love running past the wonderful architecture down there and seeing all of the crazy costumes.

Happy turkey day to all!
Tracy

So, what are we if we do the same thing over and over, but we expect (and hope for) the same result? Sane, I hope. Any other time we'd be accused of being in a rut, but in this season we are just being traditional, right?

T-day will be smallish in this house. DD1 and family are 1500 miles away and not coming this year, but DD2 lives next door so her DH and little sons will be with us. I'll be giving my brother a call soon to see if he would like to come or if he has a better offer somewhere else. :-) I'm trying to decide whether to call him today or let him sweat for another day. Could call Thursday morning, I guess.

Happy Turkey Day to fellow USers.

ThinMan

Tracy ~ "I don't" is the short answer, lol. My grandmother (mom's mom) was a fabulous cook (she made a mean bear roast). My grandma (dad's mom, who is 'meemaw' to every other grandkid, 'grandma' was our compromise because she couldn't abide 'grandmother') made a few good dishes. I'm still trying to figure out her pickled beets. On the other hand, I make yummy cakes, if I do say so myself. But what can compare to the memory of someone's cooking? (One relative has hit upon a really really good banana pudding recipe, it's actually better than grandma's but you didn't hear it from me.)

If you were here the crack of dawn wouldn't be safe, you'd be forced to run with a handful of cream scones. Running on an empty stomach?! On a holiday!?

Oooh, but this has been a satisfying thread to read. Kent, you really should write a book or play. You are gifted. It's like Florence King meets David Sedaris.

You would think with a new kitchen and dining room we would be pulling a big one. But nay, we are just having our closest friends to eat Brian's 14 pound brined Turkey. I'm making a crab and lobster appetizer and Brian's doing the rest. He's an amazing cook. Besides the turkey, we're having, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, kale, cranberry sauce, corn maque choix, and steamed green beans. For dessert, Brian is making his most excellent profiteroles with chocolate sauce.

I'm really excited about the wines we've selected. We've chosen six (I know, we're only four people...but it's going to be a long meal). All the wines are very good, but I've been holding a most excellent bottle of DuMOL pinot. Wine snobs weep at this one. It's perfect that we're only four people so everyone will get a glass and a half.

Before you think I'm being too fancy, know we'll all be wearing expandable pants.

More friends are taking the ferry up from San Francisco on Saturday for the leftovers. Buzzards. That meal will be the single most delicious soup you've ever tasted. As a bonus, I'm going to share the recipe in another thread.

Everyone have a wonderful time with your loved ones. And to those that are traveling, safe passage.

Steven

Kent - I do mean Florence King in her earlier writings. She's grown sour and a bit nasty over the years. That reference was not intended. Let's see...David Sedaris meets Bailey White is a much better comparison.

Oh you are the most delightful bunch!

Caroline, I'm starting to think that I need to try Chocolate Cheesecake again. I've only had it once, and thought it was terrible! Maybe I got hold of a bad cook!
Then again . . . I guess I really don't need another food on my "love it" list!

Keesha, how wonderful that you're daughter will be home from London! (Mum's the word!)

GGG, I've not had lentils since my flower-child days. Now that I'm actually making some effort to eat healthier I need to drag out some of the old recipes!

MrMorton, Thanksgiving has been our traditional day to start the Christmas season too. I figure that it's too much work to go through just for a few weeks, and I love the decorations and lights etc.

Memo, selfishly I'll be glad when the wonderful wedding is behind you . . . maybe we'll be see more of you around the C.G.! So glad to hear from you!

Kent, I agree with Steven (even though I sadly have no idea who the writers are that he refers to!), but your post about your relatives and the traditional dishes was hilarious and you really should be paid.

Annette, LOL at your DH and the brussels sprout! A drumroll please.

FlowerLady, your meal sounds delicious.
I'm ever thankful for your gracious presence around the cottage.

Tracy, What a fun tradition! No doubt your run will be a piece of cake after hosting the Seed Swap!

ThinMan, I hope you're really not going to make your brother wait until Thursday! lol!
What lucky children to be living next door to wonderful grandparents (I should know, mine lived next door too!).

Steven, I hope you'll be sending us a photo of you with your DuMOL pinot and expandable pants!

Happy Thanksgiving to All,
Patti

Flowerladys meal sounds wonderful, as I love porkloin. Steven mentioned making "profiteroles with chocolate sauce". I had no idea what a profiterole was, so I looked it up. Looks like a cream puff. Yum.
Nan and I enjoy our wine and would love to come over and relieve you of your "burden"(2 more people = 1 bottle for each. perfect!) lol
Then Kent mentions Cream scones. I love scones, and am thinking a cream scone sounds tasty.

I have no idea who's coming and who's not. Lol! It's generally 4-6 of us, but my son usually surprises us with a friend or two without family to go to so out comes more place settings. We never mind as we always have enough. How can you possibly cook small portions on turkey day! : )

This year I'm going to venture past the tried and true and try Tyler Florence's recipe for Maple-Roasted Turkey with Sage. I think I'll make his cornbread stuffing, too, minus the onion but with sausage. And I'm trying a new apple cake recipe. We always have apples in some form - stuffed in the turkey, in the cranberry relish, pie, etc. - it just seems to go with the whole harvest theme of this time of year.

After dinner we play games like Yahtzee and Scrabble. Then we trim the tree and turn on the outside lights for the first time (Mark put them up this past weekend). By that time we're all ready for some leftovers and dessert. And bed! : )

Have a great holiday, everyone!
Diana