Anyone Tired of the whole "Thanksgiving" Food Traditions?

I'll be honest. I'm no fan of turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and all the other foods that are supposedly "traditional Thanksgiving".

I really wish Thanksgiving could be grilling some hamburgers, chips, and deviled eggs. But my wife is all about things having to be "traditional".

When I point out that at the first Thanksgiving they almost certainly didn't have any turkey anyway she ignores me. It has been suggested that the "delicacy" at the first Thanksgiving was probably venison as in England, only wealthy landowners tended to have enough land for hunting deer so it was rare.

HA! We did just this at my work - our section grilled steaks for Thanksgiving today. It was great!

We need a "jealous" icon.........

Nah, turkey is great

Slather it in some Luxury Breadsauce and gravy with some mash and you're in delicious town, population you

I'm also not a big fan of turkey. Turkey is boring. I'd prefer ham. And aside from the stuffing my family makes (greasy and full of spicy sausage), nothing really stands out.

However, I haven't had a proper Thanksgiving in four years, since I have not been home in the US. This year I found a Irish pub in my Chinese city that is serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I'm looking forward to it, although my expectations of the quality are low.

We haven't had turkey for Thanksgiving in many, many years. I've made lamb, Cornish hens, and other non-Turkey meats for a decade or so. This year it's a prime rib roast.

Last year I did cornish hens. Not sure what I'm doing this year, I was thinking maybe a ham. Or maybe smoking a pork loin.

Yep. After my grandmother died the family held a vote, no more turkey. We're getting a nice ham for Thanksgiving.

Turkey and dressing, my normal food.

Nobody is stopping you from doing things your way.

If it were Thanksgivikah again, would you feel funny about latkes and chullen?

For years, I would tell people that I only ate Turkey one day per year. Now I can finally say that I don't even do that. I've finally convinced my mom, the matriarch of the family, to drop the turkey in favor of a ham. I've also worked to simplify the menu.

We'll be having ham, chicken and dressing, potato salad, vegetable casserole, turnip greens, sweet potato casserole, cole slaw, deviled eggs, my mom's homemade red velvet cake, and my niece is insisting that she's making homemade macaroni and cheese. Yes, that's the drilled down, simplified menu.

Gotta have the mac & cheese, green beans with the kosher salt and almond slivers, and chocolate pie. I don't really care about the rest.

There's lots of way to make turkey less boring. I prefer brine, or even smoking now that I live in an area where the coldest Thanksgiving I've had, I could still have a decent day at the beach.

That said, I'm all for trying new shit, too. I could go for lamb.

I brine and smoke the turkey.

My wife and I can both cook a great turkey (hers in the oven, mine in a barbecue pit). We just got tired of it.

I did have turkey last Thanksgiving, but it's because I was working and the company had a catered lunch.

Nah, it's tradition, and one I like. I prepare all of it for the family, including my signature potato salad, and everybody seems to love it.

I love it when people who can't boil water bitch about what their spouses spend the whole day preparing while they sit on their fat asses watching football...

Vegan Thanksgiving (delicious)

Indian Christmas

Can’t be tired of traditions you don’t observe.

Last year we did A Christmas Story lunch on Christmas Day, though we didn't have Chinese turkey.

♫♪ Jinger Berrs, Jinger Berrs, Jinger Arr The Way. ♫♪

Fa ra ra ra raaaa ra ra ra ra.

No, I like it. Also Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without Grandma's traditional oyster stuffing. She maybe gone but the recipe is still around.

My wife out of the blue decided she wanted a full spread turkey dinner like her Granny used to make. Lucky I have all her recipes. Cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, ham, giblet gravy and a 16 pound bird, and pecan pie for desert.

For two people.

I could take or leave turkey. Just seems a lot of work.

So, the menu for Thursday...

various appetizers including shrimp cocktail with a ripping hot cocktail sauce, cheeses and crackers, different quiches, etc.

26lb bird, prime beef, lasagna, sweet potatoes, mashed, cranberry, sausage stuffing, sweet corn, various other dishes that guests are bringing. Apple, cherry, banana cream, pumpkin, pecan pies.

Winter ale, lagers, various wines, etc.

22 people this far, football, fire pit.
New England Thanksgiving. Ain't nothing like it. Boom!

Two people? You have even less motivation than I do (my wife and myself and an adult son who is not a big eater) to make a big spread. We are going to Golden Corral to have teeny portions of a wide variety of foods with no mess to clean up!

Then, there was the year that I ran someone over on Thanksgiving. It was my ex girlfriend's sister.

No one was thankful about that.

Well, actually my wife and her family are.