thanksgiving is one of those holidays that can either be a great windfall and you can be really successful or it can be the total opposite. i think that it's a good thing that you're reminding us to think about menus and things like this now when we still have some time to plan.

My family has ALWAYS served the traditional green bean casserole, which is yummy but not very exciting so this year I talked them into letting me serve a green bean dish that is a tiny bit different...green beans, bacon, onions, and water chestnuts. If they aren't keen on it, I will serve the other dish for New Year's.

I guess my menu would be considered "Texas Southern" . My family's traditional menu has always included mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread dressing, sweet potatoes, biscuits or rolls, the green bean dish, and pie for dessert. I will be straying from tradition this year by serving Cornish hens instead of turkey because there will just be me, my husband and his mom this year. I might make mini pies for dessert.

i don't think that it's going to be difficult at all. as usual, it's just immediate family and once i drag my sisters out of bed, i know they'll help out with the cooking and baking. but i'll keep these tips because i know down the line i will need them. lol.

We don't deviate from the traditional Southern menu because everyone demands a certain dish each year. If it's an extended family affair, it's pretty much what Rancher's Girl listed: turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, green rice casserole, jell-o salad, parker house rolls, sweet potato pone, cranberry sauce, and pie. If it's just my parents and siblings, then that menu minus a dish or two.

Mom demands that horrible canned jellied cranberry sauce, but I've managed to convert the rest of the family to my fresh brandy and cinnamon spiked cranberry sauce.

Dessert is usually cheesecake, pecan pie, and/or apple pie. We're not big fans of pumpkin.

It's always the same at my house. The only real American dish on the plate is the turkey the rest is full on latino. Arroz con guandules, tostones (fried plaintain), flan, empanadas, etc....

I have already started planning my menu. I will have Herb turkey, parsnip mash potatoes/ w gorgonzola cheese and chives. Brussels sprouts with pancetta, cornbread stuffing w/ sage sausage. Buttermilk biscuits and pumpkin pie with amaretto whip cream.

We have a very traditional Southern Thanksgiving at my house. It's always the same menu...but always delicious!

Whatever menu involves the least amount of dishes is my favorite. I always buy a disposable pan to cook the turkey in.

We too also do a southern thanksgiving theme, but we add my father's Hispanic roots to it. Homemade cornbread, plantains, collard greens and smoked turkey legs, the traditional turkey, canned cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese and a spice or rum cake and pumpkin is always on the menu. Bring on the cholesterol!

I'm buying a Vegetarian Field Roast, making mashed potatoes, squash & cheese (similar to the one you posted, biscuits, a green bean recipe I found in Vegetarian Times.