I quite fancy making Thanksgiving dinner this year

[canihaveacoffeeplease]

Just for a bit of fun I thought it would be nice to have a family thanksgiving dinner on the weekend closest to Thanksgiving. We won't do the full on celebration, presents etc but just wanted to make a bit of effort and have a lovely meal. So, any suggestions of what we should/shouldn't have? Also, I know it's traditional but just can't bring myself to make sweet potato topped with marshmallow, fairly sure 90% of it would end up in the bin!

So far I've got:

Roast turkey (obvs)
Cornbread
Mash
Stuffing/dressing- as traditional a recipe as I can find
Creamed spinach
Green bean casserole
Some more veg...again want trad recipes not just steamed veg

Pecan pie
Another pud, maybe traditional apple pie?

I'd love suggestions!

Cranberry sauce
Mac & cheese
Popovers
Dinner rolls

Pumpkin pie

Sweet potato mash with brown sugar sprinkled I'm on top and grilled. It's the best.

You are missing

Turkey gravy
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pie

Maybe a pumpkin soup
Glazed carrots

Presents aren’t a part of Thanksgiving.

American here - pumpkin pie was an essential dessert for our Thanksgiving as children, served with whipped cream on top.

Brussel sprouts cooked in bacon as a side and cranberry sauce from a can (just for show - no one will actually eat them but it’s tradition for everyone to pass around the bowl).
A salad made with mainly mayonnaise although my family gradually phased this out over the years for a fresh salad but my childhood memories of a giant bowl of mayonnaise with veg makes me smile.
Gravy on everything.
Butter buns (would have these instead of cornbread but that’s regional).

Are you celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving which is next weekend or American Thanksgiving in late November? Neither involve presents, just a big meal so don’t worry about that. I don’t really know any traditionally Canadian Thanksgiving recipes but enjoy your meal!

Pumpkin pie! Of course! How could I forget that??

Thanks so much for all the ideas, really appreciated.

Yes definitely to turkey gravy and cranberry sauce

Not sure why I thought presents were a part of thanksgiving...I stand corrected!

We're going to go for the November American Thanksgiving, I feel terrible I didn't know Canada and America celebrate them at different times. But you learn something new every day!

Sweet potato mash topped with mini marshmallows is actually surprisingly nice, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

I’m in Canada so ours is coming up a week Monday, to be honest it’s not dissimilar to a British Christmas dinner, just more pumpkin/sweet potato involved.

We are having roast turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, brussell sprouts, carrots, green beans and corn. Mashed potatoes. Pumpkin pie. Sometimes I will make a squash dish.
It's a lot for only three people, but we like having leftovers for
sandwiches and pie or turkey noodle dish over the next couple of days.

Sweet potato casserole with pecans is similar to pumpkin pie, I sometimes make it, but not the marshmallow version. It is kind of sweet for us.

We’ve lived in the US for a decade and thanksgiving is my FAVOURITE holiday and green bean casserole is possibly the greatest gift America has given me

We make bourbon slushies which are amazing

Hmm maybe I should give the sweet potato marshmallow a try?? Although sweet potato casserole with pecans sounds pretty tasty.

Bourbon slushies you say!? I think we could enjoy them

Just ew, don't do all the weird nasty sweet stuff! It's awful.

Also, there aren't gifts on Thanksgiving, not in USA or Canada. There is, in the USA, lots of shopping afterwards, but no gifts.

Thumbs up to bourbon slushies but honestly I find Thanksgiving food in either country - and yes I've lived in both - pretty yuk.

I like to do thanksgiving every year - we have no connection to USA/Canada, but just take it as a nice opportunity to share what we’re thankful for, and have some fun, different food!

I usually do a turkey breast joint, mashed sweet pots, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, biscuits, cornbread, and some kind of pie - pecan is the favourite here.

Some of it seems like weird, 1950s, highly processed food, like that odd marshmallow dish, and so much sweetness.

As an American living in the uk most of my life I find it a bit odd for the most American of all holidays (well there are others) to be celebrated in the uk by those with no links to the USA. Obviously we can all do as we please but I’ve never heard of this here and seems odd. Kind of worried that eg Bonfire night ir Diwali is going to get lost amongst British doing very American Halloween and thanksgiving stuff.
Hmmm

You do know there are no presents for Thanksgiving, right?

It’s basically Harvest Supper, but as a national holiday. I’ll be celebrating next weekend like all right-thinking ~Canadians~ people.

Damn, strike through fail

@HeronLanyon, you do realise that Halloween is a traditional celebration for much of the UK, and was exported to the US rather than imported to the UK?

Cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie (pudding) sweet potatoes with marshmallows (not pudding!) go figure. I've had red cabbage, roasted carrots when I lived in USA as well. Btw there are no presents at thanksgiving, it's just about the food,

@Mrstwiddle

Sweet potato mash topped with mini marshmallows is actually surprisingly nice, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

It's disgusting - and goes some way in answering why the US has so many diabetics if that's what passes for a vegetable.

I was looking forward to trying the marshmallows but despite being here for four thanksgivings and having had a variety of Thanksgiving meals this hasn't appeared.
I've come to the conclusion it is like the fried Mars bar in Scotland, it does exist but isn't really actually eaten by most people. It is slightly mythic.

[quote DaisyWaldron]@HeronLanyon, you do realise that Halloween is a traditional celebration for much of the UK, and was exported to the US rather than imported to the UK?[/quote]
Well yes, but then they went and ruined it.
First by removing the apostrophe and then by all this trick and treat nonsense.

I've done this before and we actually liked the sweet potato with marshmallows. I've also served an American lunch on Christmas Day for a change.

@campion have you actually experienced an American Halloween?
As a Scot I miss the turn element of guising that I don't miss hollowing out a swede with a spoon.
I also love the way that so many houses are totally decorated, that 20 somethings come down from their apartments with their dressed up dogs and sit in beach chairs on the pavement handing out candy and drinking something warm an alcoholic out of a flask to avoid freezing.
All the dc are very polite and say thank you.
When you run out of candy you put out your pumpkin light 🎃 and that is it until next year.