Waiting for Things to Cook

[Melissa]

So, when it comes to holiday feasts be it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or other Holidays, does anyone have any dishes that are traditions in their family? Or just dishes you love to have?

For us it's my mom's homemade rolls. Thanksgiving, Christmas, we always have to have the homemade rolls. In fact that's what we're currently waiting for to get done cooking.

[[deleted user]]

Pecan streusel topped sweet potato casserole, and dried onion topped green bean casserole.

[Carole]

When I was a teacher I used to ask the students to bring in their Thanksgiving menu. Everybody had turkey, that was universal, but some had kimchi, others listed lasagna, there was corn beef and cabbage, kugels, rice and beans, herring, chopped liver, foods from all over the word. We would list them on the board and then try to guess where the family's ancestors came from. It was a fun day in class.

[Melissa]

Morris wrote: "Pecan streusel topped sweet potato casserole, and dried onion topped green bean casserole."

I love green bean casserole. And I also recently got into sweet potatoes.

[Melissa]

Carole wrote: "When I was a teacher I used to ask the students to bring in their Thanksgiving menu. Everybody had turkey, that was universal, but some had kimchi, others listed lasagna, there was corn beef and ca..."

I love hearing about other foods people eat for the holidays. I had a friend who talked about how they do lasagna, and someone else once mentioned having lobster.

[Jessica]

I put a rack of ribs in the smoker at 6am to go along with my mom's turkey. My family raised their eyebrows curiously at my offering, but they gobbled them up nonetheless.

Green bean casserole is a MUST, candied yams, and cheddar biscuits. Mmm.

[Carole]

Melissa wrote: "Carole wrote: "When I was a teacher I used to ask the students to bring in their Thanksgiving menu. Everybody had turkey, that was universal, but some had kimchi, others listed lasagna, there was c..."

It's interesting. Lobster for Thanksgiving. When the Pilgrims arrived in the 1600s, they had very little to eat- you know the story, right. The natives taught them about the local foods- Guess what was the mainstay of their diet- Lobsters! hah. They hated them. Later on, lobsters became the diet for prisoners, 'cause no one else wanted to eat them.

[Carole]

Jessica wrote: "I put a rack of ribs in the smoker at 6am to go along with my mom's turkey. My family raised their eyebrows curiously at my offering, but they gobbled them up nonetheless.

Green bean casserole is..."
hummm...cheddar biscuits, rack of ribs...you have any room at the table?

[Christina]

I'm not even sure how I'm not in a food coma right now. We did a modest meal this year and I still managed to stuff my face. Stuffing was the surprise favorite. I only used six slices of seedsation bread and added a cup of lentils. It was amazing, dense, and added a bunch of protein and fiber.

[Jessica]

Christina wrote: "I'm not even sure how I'm not in a food coma right now. We did a modest meal this year and I still managed to stuff my face. Stuffing was the surprise favorite. I only used six slices of seedsation..."

That sounds Dee-lish Christina. I love how varied stuffing recipes can be!

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

Olive Salad.

You find a woman named Olive, you dice her up... I've said too much.

No, really. It's this crazy dish made of gelatin, olives, cream cheese, tomato soup and some other things. My grandma always made it for holidays when I was a kid. She's passed now, so the duty has gone to my mom and my aunt. Nowhere outside a family holiday meal have I seen this stuff. Some of us love it. Some of us hate it. There's no real in between. And it's always there, every year.

[Riley, Viking Extraordinaire]

We eat Lasagna on Thanksgiving. When everyone else was eating turkey sandwhiches a week after Thanksgiving, I was bringing in the heavenly goodness that is Garfield's favorite food (Sans ricotta! I never got why you would put cottage cheese in your Lasagna!).

[Christina]

Riley wrote: "We eat Lasagna on Thanksgiving. When everyone else was eating turkey sandwhiches a week after Thanksgiving, I was bringing in the heavenly goodness that is Garfield's favorite food (Sans ricotta! I..."

Gasp! Ricotta is not cottage cheese! (Though in a pinch you can blend one egg and cottage cheese in the blender for a faux ricotta) ;p

[Jane]

I'm getting the impression that thanksgiving is just an excuse for a blow out.

Way to go. I'm going to start a campaign to have it here too...

[B.A.]

For my family, it was the traditional turkey with the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green beans (not in a casserole) and custard corn along with Waldorf salad and homemade pumpkin pie.
The custard corn was handed down from my great-grandmother and is still a favorite of mine. Oh, I forgot the home-made dinner rolls as my mother (and I) made fresh bread once a week.
This year, it was eating out at a restaurant, no cooking or cleaning required....lol.

[G.G.]

Riley wrote: "We eat Lasagna on Thanksgiving. When everyone else was eating turkey sandwhiches a week after Thanksgiving, I was bringing in the heavenly goodness that is Garfield's favorite food (Sans ricotta! I..."


You are so right! who puts ricotta or cottage cheese in a lasagna? Heck...who puts spinach in it? But I wouldn't mind Lasagna for Thanksgiving. My mom often did it for Christmas after getting tired of Turkey for Christmas and then turkey for New year. (Good thing we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada as we do here. Turkey would really have been sticking out our ears. :P)

[Thomas]

When I first got together with my wife, she introduced me to an appetizer that at first sounds weird, but it turned out to be really good.

Take thick sliced deli ham, pat the moisture off and then spread cream cheese on one side. Then stick a green onion stalk in it (minus the root) and roll it up like a wrap. It's a soft outer texture with a little crunch inside and the green onion is offset by the cream cheese and the ham.