Thanksgiving is arguably one of the best holidays. You probably look forward to a delicious roast turkey. Or creamy mashed potatoes. Or sweet, tangy cranberry sauce. Or maybe it’s oysters and garlic bread.
That’s right, everyone has their own different food traditions when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. And in one Reddit thread, a man from New Zealand asked Americans what he could make for his American girlfriend. The answers varied among everyone, but one thing’s for sure: You can’t go wrong with any of these foods that people consider “staples” for Thanksgiving!
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Cranberries
“My aunt makes an excellent cranberry relish with orange juice, sugar, cranberries. It’s really lovely and is delicious. Sometimes I’d buy cranberry conserve from this market in NYC that’s so fabulous. It has brandy, pecans, and orange juice and leaves the cranberries whole and is a textural change from my aunt’s cranberry relish. Each are delicious, but slightly different.”
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Stuffing
“A thanksgiving staple; involving dried bread, veggies and meat, and sometimes nuts (try to get a recipe that involves baking it in a dish and not in the turkey). If you can’t get bread, rice stuffings are also pretty good. After that you can get creative with whatever vegetables are available to you.”
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Green Bean Casserole
“Just don’t use canned green beans, they’re horrible. It’s best if you can find frozen French cut green beans.”
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Gravy
“You’ll want to make a gravy from the drippings of the bird after it finishes baking. The gravy is then put on literally everything savory on your plate.”
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Brussels Sprouts
“Usually roasted very simply with salt, pepper, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon at the end.”
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Pie
“Pumpkin, apple and sweet potato pies with cool whip.”
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Mashed Potatoes
“Indulge! Cheese, bacon bits, butter, roasted garlic, add it all to those potatoes.”
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Garlic Bread
“No clue if this is traditional but it’s easy to make and my friend’s mom always makes it when it’s Thanksgiving. Just fresh garlic, butter, salt”, and parsley microwaved in a small dish, then spread on bread and toasted.”
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Turducken
“I tried to make a turducken one year and found out how awesome duck is. Butterfly it and cook it inside down. They are really fatty so the duck fat keeps the meat so soft and moist. A little salt and pepper is all you need.”
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Oyster/Oyster Stuffing
“They’re a staple in some families. I have a lot of friends that do oyster stuffing and no bird. I have personally never made it but I am sure one of these fine people have a recipe….or of course there is always the internet.”
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Chicken
“I think turkey is overrated, I switched to just serving chicken at my Thanksgivings and it has been one of the best decisions of my entire life. It is so much easier and better.”
What Thanksgiving menu item do you always have to have?