Traditions

I enjoy trying new recipes; Thanksgiving is no exception. While our menu consists of some traditional foods, it also includes some new twists on family favorites. If they are well-received, they sometimes become traditional dishes for us.

Like most families, we have turkey on Thanksgiving. However, we deep fry our turkey rather than roast it in the oven. Fried turkeys are quicker to cook, turn out more moist, free up oven space on Thanksgiving Day and just taste really, really good. The only drawback is that there aren't pan drippings for homemade gravy, so I end up using turkey gravy mix.

Shane frying a turkey - 2006

Another practice that has become very traditional in our house is serving pumpkin roll instead of pumpkin pie. We all love it; I don't have to worry about finding space for the leftovers since there never are any.

(Photo from Libby's Brands)

I'll do most of the cooking, with some help from my daughter Jeanne. Shane is in charge of the turkey. Here's our menu, with the new-this-year dishes in italics:

Fried Turkey
Mashed Potatoes w/Cream Cheese & Sour Cream*
Turkey Gravy
Stuffing (I admit it, I use the kind from a box)
Green Beans
Turnip Gratin**
Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls***
Cranberry Sauce
Cottage Cheese
Pumpkin Roll (recipe here)
An additional dessert or fruit salad that Jeanne will bring

As for other (non-food) traditions, we usually watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on television in the morning and eat our meal around 1:00 in the afternoon. No football for us; we spend the rest of the day watching movies, being lazy and raiding the fridge again around 7:00. Gotta have those turkey sandwiches!

Are you trying any new dishes this Thanksgiving?



* I think I saw this first at The Pioneer Woman Cooks, but have seen it on at least four more blogs since then.
**Also a Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe.
***This one comes from Pinch My Salt.