Thanksgiving Must Haves?

My family! :)) Ok that is corny but its true haha. I was actually daydreaming of taking my whole family to Palm Springs (MIL, FIL and SIL included) just to escape the traditional Thanksgiving day. I know they wouldn't go for that though LOL

homemade cranberries
gravy and mashed potatoes
my grandmother's stuffing

My husband has to have pumpkin pie. One year his mom made a pumpkin tart. You should have seen the look on his face. He's never let her forget it.

Oh, and it must be fresh whipped cream.

To-die-for mashed potatoes, anything baked with cinnamon, and family. Lots and lots of noisy, laughing, talking, arguing (about football) family.

EVERYTHING is a must have for me!

Turkey, cranberry, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams with apples and marshmallows, pumpkin pie, nice rolls, green beans with bacon and onion, my grandfather's Million Dollar Salad (along the lines of ambrosia).

I don't necessarily make tons of any one thing, but without at least a little bit, it feels like something is missing to me.

Oh...and another must have?
A dishwasher. :)

My kids and grandkids.

For me, my aunt's stuffing and sweet potatoes. I can cook the latter as well as she, but she's got some kind of crazy secret recipe going on with the stuffing. It's unbelievable. And, FAMILY.

For my son, cranberry sauce. He could eat ten cans/bowls/whatevers of the stuff if I let him. And the chance to visit the mini-zoo near my uncle's house, which has a talking crow.

For my husband, the chance to NOT spend time with my family. Sounds harsh, but it works for us.

turkey, mashed potatoes, & stuffing!

Not just turkey, SMOKED and juicy turkey. I don't like the smoked and partially jerky turkey they sell in the stores as smoked turkey.

My smoked turkeys are smokey and juicy and have a wonderful boquet.

Good luck to you and yours.

My dads stuffing. Good thing I was watdhing him when I was little.

homemade rolls for me! with mashed potatoes and gravy a close second.

STUFFING--My moms of course and that would require my family so there we go.

I just realized I shouldn't have typed that in all caps. I'm sure you didn't pass mind reading class in college so you wouldn't have known that I like stuffing. I will try not to do that again.

My homemade cranberry sauce!

Our Thanksgiving is just the 3 of us and our tradition is to spend the day baking, basting, etc and enjoy a wonderful meal together.

The last time we went to a family gathering for Thanksgiving, daughter was in elementary school (she is now a Senior) and when we got on the plane to come home, she said... "Mom, when we get home can we have our Thanksgiving". Never again did we go somewhere for Thanksgiving.

Besides family? Turkey & mashed potatoes with gravy, and butternut squash puree. I like stuffing but it's not a must have (and my mom's is GROSS LOL). And dessert!

Turkey, and I love green bean casserole, has to be from scratch tho, I hate it with condensed soup. I also live my grandmas recipe for pumpkin chiffon pie, but my husband hates it, so I do a pumpkin roll with cream cheese frosting, which is also good.

My MIL's desserts... everything else is dry as a bone, but the woman can bake!

Turkey.

And I prefer to have sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, and pumpkin pie as well. The rest is negotiable. My MIL likes ham so she brings that and SIL likes green bean casserole.

Cornbread stuffing! Yum!!

FAMILY! I wish my Mom could be with us!

braised brussel sprouts with bacon and candied pecans.
stuffed mushrooms
spinach and feta fillo pockets (spanikotiropitera)
the kris kringle lottery (christmas gift swap name draw)

Lol... Turkey. Thousands of miles away from home & family. My roommates and I had Turkey & Chinese. It worked.

Fav sides:

- Cream Gravy (turkey drippings)
- Greenbeans (with bacon grease cream gravy, not mushroom soup!)
- Stuffing w hard boiled eggs (and turkey cream gravy on top)
- cranberry jelly in a can

I agree with the turkey, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, and pumpkin pie, with family, at either their house or ours. Once we ended up having to do Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant because there were no other plans - it just wasn't the same!

My mom's stuffing (that we now make and she enjoys). For my daughter it's green bean casserole. for my son it's home-made rolls. For my husband it's the canned, jellied cranberry sauce.

I just love everything about Thanksgiving. It's my very favorite holiday.

The thing I love the most is the fact that I get to cook all of my favorite signature dishes. The whole family knows that nobody does Thanksgiving like I do. :-)

Green Bean Casserole! and Martinelli Sparkling Apple Cider :)

Peace and Quiet...and then shopping:)

I could live my whole life without having another Thanksgiving turkey, but NOT without stuffing!!

I haven't been to my home state for the past 10 Thanksgiving dinners, but I'll be there this year!!! I can't WAIT for my aunt's wild-rice stuffing!

Ditto your husband!!!!! We have the same "must have". That is the one dish that I contribute to the meal every year. Although I make them different every year:)

Cream cheese mashed potatoes! You can make this a day ahead if you like...Our friends and family look forward to this Side every year - 9 or 10 peeled, very well boiled potatoes - drain and mash along with one softened 8-oz brick of Phili cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, 2 tbsps. butter, 2 tsps Onion salt, 1 tsp regular salt, and 1 tsp pepper. Whip with electric beaters till velvety smooth. Pour into a large casserole dish with lid and bake in 350 degree oven for an hour. Of course it is sinfully rich, but it is the most delicious potato recipe I know!

Pumpkin Pie store bought, frozen or homemade. With a ton of fresh whipped cream.
The first years we went to my husband's family reunion T-giving no, not one pumpkin pie!! I died, thought it was a mistake. Year 2. NO PUMPKIN PIE. Third year, brought my own. Only one there and I was the only one who ate it - happy as a pig in - well, you get the gist:)