What do you Americans eat for Thanksgiving??

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  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Turkey with all the fixings for thanksgiving. Honestly on X-mas we usually take it easy, as we have to work the next day so we just kind of relax maybe a ham in the oven, or maybe just order out. For Us (our family) thanksgiving is the biggest dinner of the year. Again xmas is more low keyed for my family anyways.


    I personally like a good cooked Ham much better than Turkey but I love the home made dressing that cooks inside the turkey.

    Apple Pie for us is our favorite. Along with the rolls, corn, sweet potatos. Usually a variety of pies.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    edited November 2015
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    altygirl wrote: »
    Oh and my first taste of pumpkin pie was a big disappointment! I'm not sure what I expected .... I bake one if the family want one but they're just as likely to ask for an apple pie or apple crumble.

    I had never had a pumpkin pie made from a fresh pumpkin until I was an adult. I could not believe how different it tasted from a pie made with canned pumpkin, which I have never liked. I love a fresh pumpkin pie.
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
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    Thanksgiving is usually turkey, dressing (not stuffing), potatoes 2 ways (white and sweet), green bean casserole, some sort of salad, yeast rolls, croissants, pumpkin pie, pecan (pronounced PEE-CAN :) ) pie, apple pie, and pumpkin cheesecake (recent addition within the last 5 years).

    Christmas is usually much the same, except we have ham. Christmas dinners vary in America as many people follow OLD family traditions. I know many Swedes, Germans, Scandinavians who would never dream of eating ham for Christmas dinner, let alone have their big meal on Christmas night. Super stereotypical, all of my Jewish friends eat Chinese food on Christmas :)
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    Some years it's turkey and all the previously mentioned fixins. Other years we have North Carolina style bbq, coleslaw, baked beans, and cornbread.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    Turkey
    Stuffing
    Green bean casserole
    Candied carrots
    Sweet potato mash
    Mashed potatoes
    Gravy
    Hawaiian sweet rolls
    Salad

    Dessert: apple crisp with vanilla ice cream is usually our go to.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited November 2015
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    When I was a kid Christmas dinner and Thanksgiving were basically the same. Now they are different--I've tried to create different traditions for Christmas (currently it's usually prime rib).

    Thanksgiving is:

    turkey
    mashed potatoes
    various sides including stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, rolls, a vegetable involving cauliflower, broccoli, and cheese, roasted brussels sprouts, my fancy green beans (with dill and pine nuts), some sort of cranberry dish.

    Pies including pumpkin and apple.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I'm cooking this year...there's 40 of us now in my extended family.

    Some of us get together the day before Thanksgiving and make home made cheese ravioli....yum! That's always our first course on thanksgiving.


    In addition to the ravioli, i'm making:

    Antipasto tray
    Crudites
    2-3 other apitizers

    2 turkeys (one fried, 1 roasted)
    turkey gravy
    Mashed potatoes
    2 types of Stuffing
    Baked sweet potatoes
    fresh green beans
    Steamed broccoli
    fresh dinner rolls
    Spinach salad
    Cranberry sauce

    Pumpkin pie
    apple pie
    Chocolate pie
    Brownies
    Chocolate mouse
    Fruit salad


    My sister will also bring a ham. I can't stand ham, so I refuse to cook one. But she loves it, so she brings it!

    We will have pretty much the same thing for Christmas, except we will swap out the ravioli with either lasagne or stuffed shells.

    Christmas eve is just my husband, our kids and his parents. I make prime rib, mashed potatoes, a veggie of some kind, bread rolls, and a couple desserts.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,503 Member
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    Being Filipino, my family eats a lot of Filipino food that we don't eat a lot of on a regular basis.

    Dinaguan
    Lechon
    Sisig
    Palabok
    Kare kare
    Pinakbet

    And the assortment of desserts too. Since our family is big, we pot luck it and everyone is designated to bring a dish.

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  • KirstenSapp
    KirstenSapp Posts: 1 Member
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    mrsmackieblacky wrote: »
    When you say rolls do you mean like bread buns?? Thats strange to me to have a bread bun with what we call "Sunday dinner". Also do you eat pumpkin pie or is that a stereotype??

    My family and I definitely eat pumpkin pie!
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
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    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    It's not fair, don't rub it in, we only get the excuse for slapup feasts and lots of goodies xmas and easter in the UK.

    Yes, it's not fair! It's difficult to get from October to January in this country with all the food feasts!

    Thank goodness for MFP. Knowing how much all these indulgence will cost you make it a lot easier to say no to the second slice of pie or whatever.

    My favorite item is Thanksgiving turkey and calorie-wise it's a pretty good deal so I've stopped dreading Thanksgiving. This year I figure if I fill up my plate (which I will steal from the kids table so it's not a huge one) with turkey and some green vegetables there will only be so much room for other stuff. Lol.



  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    Our Christmas meal is a lot simpler then our Thanksgiving meal. But my week surrounding Christmas is crazy busy with 3 kids with birthdays (two on the 21st and one on the 27th,) I have to pace myself that week!

    Thanksgiving we have a turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, various roasted veggies and veggie dishes, homemade rolls with a couple of desserts. My husband prefers pumpkin bars (a bar cookie with cream cheese icing) so I make that instead of pie. All pumpkin delights are made with fresh pumpkin that I've processed, pureed and froze in October.

    Christmas we have a ham, and a couple of veggie base sides with rolls.
  • kristydi
    kristydi Posts: 781 Member
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    dawnz75 wrote: »

    What do you do with your turkey leftovers?

    Hot browns. A piece of toast topped with leftover turkey and ham then cheese sauce (bechamel with shredded sharp cheddar) poured over the top and sprinkled with bacon. Totally calorific awesomeness!

    On the question of which is a bigger feast, Thanksgiving or Christmas, for my family the food is a much bigger deal at Thanksgiving. The feast is the celebration at Thanksgiving. At Christmas, there is food, but its not the focus.
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    altygirl wrote: »
    Oh and my first taste of pumpkin pie was a big disappointment! I'm not sure what I expected .... I bake one if the family want one but they're just as likely to ask for an apple pie or apple crumble.

    I had never had a pumpkin pie made from a fresh pumpkin until I was an adult. I could not believe how different it tasted from a pie made with canned pumpkin, which I have never liked. I love a fresh pumpkin pie.

    i havent eaten any type of pumpkin yet, so intrigued how this pumpkin pie will taste. the other one intriguing me is peanut butter pie. I love peanut butter but not sure how that one will taste.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    this is all making me jealous! Sounds delicious!
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Somewhere, someone asked about leftovers. My mom always made a variety of things she typically would make with chicken, but just used turkey instead: curry, tortilla soup, etc. And of course turkey and cranberry (or mashed potato) sandwiches.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    This is the first Thanksgiving that won't involve a big gathering with extended family and friends, and my wife has suggested going out to dinner. That would be kinda weird.
  • bluestarlight19
    bluestarlight19 Posts: 419 Member
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    We have Italian on my dad's side that mixed with my mom's Irish so we get:

    (start just after noon or 1pm)

    First course:
    Salad
    Lasagna
    Meatballs
    Italian bread and butter

    Second course
    Turkey
    Rice stuffing
    Gravy
    Broccoli cheese bake
    Garlic mashed potatoes
    Cranberry sauce
    Black and spanish olives
    Any other foods someone wanted to bring or experiment with

    Dessert
    Tea and coffee
    Apple pie
    German chocolate pie
    Pumpkin pie
    Whipped cheese cake

    Christmas Dinner is more of a buffet style because its much bigger, a lot more people come.
    Its laid out and people grab a plate and then mingle more than a sit down dinner.

    Sweet kielbasa, ham with chutneys, pasta salad, mashed potatoes, salad, olives, bread rolls, crab cakes...um there is more I'm just forgetting it. Its usually way more about the people and seeing family that we don't normally get to see all year than the food at christmas dinner though.
  • j75j75
    j75j75 Posts: 854 Member
    edited November 2015
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    I just hosted a friendsgiving dinner. Our menu was a mix of traditional and some new stuff thrown in.

    Turkey
    Turkey Gravy
    Ribs
    Stuffing
    Corn Bread
    King Hawaiian Rolls
    Macaroni and Cheese
    Rainbow Loaded Mashed Potatoes
    Green Bean Casserole
    Stuffed Pizza Bread
    Deviled Eggs
    Spinach Dip and Chips
    Pumpkin Cheese Cake
    Carrot Pound Cake
    Apple Cider
    Wine
    Beer

    Was a good time with friends before the big day :)
  • adbhmb
    adbhmb Posts: 37 Member
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    The proper question is: "what don't Americans eat for Thanksgiving?"
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
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    auddii wrote: »
    Somewhere, someone asked about leftovers. My mom always made a variety of things she typically would make with chicken, but just used turkey instead: curry, tortilla soup, etc. And of course turkey and cranberry (or mashed potato) sandwiches.

    I buy some refrigerated pie crust (the kind you roll out) and throw all my leftovers in there to make thanksgiving pasties. Leftover sandwiches are tasty as well!

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