What Thanksgiving dish do you refuse to eat?

[Jpan99]

Oyster dressing. Who on earth thought this one up? Okay, I hate oysters anyway but just the thought of slimy fishy blobs stuffed into a turkey is just disgusting.

[fldhkybnva]

I feel like I have missed out. Green bean casserole and baked sweet potatoes with a marshmallow topping have never been on our holiday table and I am a virgin. I feel the need to whip up both for Christmas to test out the waters

[cacruden]

Only if you want to ruin your reputation :o

[fldhkybnva]

Yea, I'm not sure it would go over with my grandmother who has much pride in her southern green beans with hamhocks and fat back and perfected bourbon-rum baked sweet potatoes. It would be good for laughs however

[sandylc]

I really truly hate those mushy, stinky, overcooked green beans. They were the only ones I ever tried growing up, until HS home ec class did a veggie week....what a wonderful thing that was. All of the grey, mushy veggie nightmares of my childhood disappeared and the wonder of vegetables was revealed......!

How can people eat those stewed green beans?

[cacruden]

Doing anything with food for humour would not go over well with my grandma, she was the most frugal person I have ever met (and I have met a few - only one came close).

[Bacardi1]

Now, now. . . . I posted my own highly-tweaked version of the infamous "Green Bean Casserole" previously in this thread, & can positively state that it has not only not "ruined" my reputation, but has even made converts out of green-bean-casserole haters. :)

[laliz]

Please, no oysters anywhere in any thing.
No cornbread
No Marshmallows
No creamed onions
No hard cooked eggs in the gravy
No Cool Whip
No Store bought dessert

However, bring on the Waldorf Salad, GBC, Canned Jellied Cranberry Sauce, Pumpkin in any way, shape, or form,, Mashed Potatoes and Watergate Salad

[emu48]

Creamed anything. Anything involving yams or sweet potatoes and marshmallows. Marshmallows are the world's first edible plastic product. They are disgusting.

[suzigirl]

As I said earlier in this post.... ban marshmallows. No bouncy food..... ever!

[Bacardi1]

While I don't like raw oysters, I do like them cooked, so did make Oyster Stuffing once. Just once. Didn't care for it at all. While it was sort of okay on it's own, I just didn't enjoy it along with the turkey. The fish-combined-with-poultry thing just isn't my thing, I guess.

[melpy]

I like raw oysters and fried oysters and other preparations but I keep trying the oyster stuffing and I just don't get it.

[Kashmirgirl]

Green Bean Casserole. That has to be a strictly suburban thing. I've never had nor do I want to. Ugh!

[sandylc]

<<<<<<<That has to be a strictly suburban thing>>>>>>>>>>

Wow. Speechless.

[Kashmirgirl]

Really? Why?

The only homes I've seen it offered had been suburban.

[cosmogrrl]

Because you seem to be using the word suburban as an insult?

[Kashmirgirl]

Nope - not an insult at all. I live in the suburbs, lol. It's all about location/region.

[melpy]

Plenty of folks eat it out here in the sticks too!

[EWSflash]

those stupid little buns that people seem to feel is necessary, like you have a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner in front of you but you need to put the turkey on a damn white bread bun. Why the hell is that?

[sandylc]

Your family makes sandwiches at Thanksgiving dinner?

[suzigirl]

I forgot about cornbread stuffing. Yuk. I want white bread with extra sage please. That was what my grandma made that sticks with me. My boyfriends mom makes and it is a good second.

[mudcat]

I no longer eat turkey. Just the smell of it cooking makes me ill. I always loved turkey, farm raised or wild. About the time I got my first pacemaker (13 yrs ago) this all started up. Thank the good Lord that I still love oyster dressing, raw oysters, roasted oysters, oysters in any shape or form but rotten. I cannot imagine a feast day without oyster except the Foruth of July. I cannot eat as much as I did in the past but, my gout and medication permitting, I enjoy what I can.

[EWSflash]

I love turkey. It's a close second to grilled beef, which I love beyond reason. I live in Arizona, and therefore view oysters with suspicion. There are good oysters here, but too many of them come from areas in Mexico that have osterias despite the fact that the town empties their sewage into the water there. The good oysters come from other places, obviously.

[Passadumkeg]

If a guest, I eat everything cheerfully and w/ gusto! For our own Thanksgiving the most important thing is to have family. We have 5 children and last Thanksgiving, none could come, and it was just the 2 of us. Personally I abhor anything in cans, and make fresh pumpkin pie and fresh cranberry sauce. This comes from being forced to eat canned C-rations for almost 9 mos. straight in 'Nam. In '67, I had no Thanksgiving, litteraly. My squd and I were on recon patrol in N Vietnam, scoping out the Ho Che Minh trall, When a NVA regiment, heading south, decided to camp and resupply right around us. We were well hidden, but couldn't move. We used up all our food and water, and on Thanksgiving Day, had nothintg to eat or drink. Finally, the next day, they moved out to the south. We were 20 miles from "home", but double timed it back after night fall. Our company had turkey dinners flown in the previous day, Thanksgiving Day. We had been given up for lost. So we 8 all sat around talking what our various families would have been eating on Thanksgiving. We got out a case of canned cream of chicken and a case of canned rice / tomato, heated it up and tried to pretend that it was turkey. Today Thanksgiving remains my most joyous holiday, and 2 of our boys will be joining us! I have so much to be thankful for. God bless you all, even the fussy eaters!

[pine time]

Just wow. Happy Thanksgiving, Passadumkeg, forever more! Great reminders...

[Jpan99]

Amen.

[Becca Porter]

Wow is right. Happy Thanksgiving, Passadumkeg!

[KaimukiMan]

if i ever wished for a "like" button on chowhound, it would be now.

[Passadumkeg]

No SPAM either!

[jmcarthur8]

Passadumkeg, thanks for the poke in the side to remind us what it's all about. We have a son in the Navy, and one in the National Guard (who just came home safely from Afghanistan). Please accept my thanks for your service and your sacrifice - my father spent four years in the infantry in the South Pacific, and I know he had to have had some pretty lousy Thanksgivings, too. We haven't forgotten you... Happy Thanksgiving.

[latindancer]

All the greatest blessings, Passadumkeg.

[melpy]

Literally brings years to my eyes.

[latindancer]

Not too many *years* I hope :).

[Passadumkeg]

Mepy, it's a joyous day! I'm here, unlike many of my buddys. We raised 5 wonderful kids and I've been a teacher since '71! I was asked when I plan to retire and I replied when it stops being fun! We have soooooo much, as Americans (Canadians too!) to be thankful. I plan to put the bird in the oven late and the four of us will go hiking to the Narrows Trail., track mountain lion tracks and come back hungry and thirsty for a simple feast!

[nikkib99]

What a beautiful story. This is a reminder of what the holidays really should be about - coming together to share a meal and celebrate together rather than be divided because of mismatched table settings or who did not eat what.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[desertdweller]

Thank you for your service sir. And the reminder to stop bitching about all the work I have to start doing Tuesday night as the host this year.

[Passadumkeg]

If I had to do again, I'd be speaking Swedish right now. And eating lox for Thanksgiving!

[MGZ]

At least your not still back here in Jersey, my friend. Sayreville got battered by Sandy. The Shore will never be the same. But, life goes on . . . . Happy Thanksgiving, Pass.

[Passadumkeg]

The sun , warmth and drought are killing me! Red chile sauce w/ the turkey!

[steve h.]

happy thanksgiving, 'keg.

[Passadumkeg]

Same to you Steve!

[steve h.]

I dug this out of the archives.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/746761
Semper Fi, 'keg (from an Army guy).

[gingershelley]

SO glad you have at least some of your children with you, Psdk, to celebrate better times than that memory. And thanks for your service to all of us!

[FoodFuser]

Bless.

[Florida Hound]

We live in country where we can share stories on what we refuse to eat. We are blessed with abundance. I moved from the NY area to Florida many years ago, and I am thankful this year for a spread that will probably have many favorites and a few klunkers that are the favorites of others. But I don't have need of supplies from the Red Cross trucks as many of my former neighbors up north may still have. This is a provocative thread. I'm thinking that even those "foods we refuse to eat" can give us pause and reason to be thankful.

[cosmogrrl]

That's the best post here, and thanks so much Pkeg for posting it! I share similar thoughts about Thanksgiving being all about being with family and sharing a meal. I'm making many of the dishes that people seem to abhor, because the family want them, and I don't care, because they're happy, and that makes me happy.

[laliz]

Thank you Passadumkeg

[noodlepoodle]

Anybody out there have to endure Brown & Serve rolls, the kind you get off the bread shelf in grocery stores in the cellophane bag? MIL loved those. and they came out every year. The chemical taste was to die for...literally. Strangely, after all these years of eating beautiful artisanal breads and rolls, my DH still asks for them.

[Jpan99]

And nobody ever knew how to heat them properly, they always came out black on top! Ha ha, just another taste from childhood that brings back memories.

[Isolda]

We had those all the time when I was a child, just not on Thanksgiving. They absolutely tasted just like the bag.

[jujuthomas]

omg my MIL buys those! and burns them. ;) Last year I think we had the crescent rolls from a can... which I actually like for some strange reason.

[thistle5]

Not all commercial rolls are terrible-sure, homemade yeast rolls are better, but Sister Schuberts are decent, & who wants to fill valuable stomach capacity w/ rolls, when there's usually lots of other good stuff? Variety is great, you can pick & choose for yourself....& w/ everyone chowing down, noone's watching to see what you're eating or not eating...

[suzigirl]

Noone's watching but the cook. She/he is watching what you eat. I did when i cooked and was privy last year to my bf's mom making note of what two guests that had eaten and left consumption. She was mentioning what they took, hadn't tried and left on the plates. What did she say about me? Yikes!

[KaimukiMan]

i don't think my brother would turn up for thanksgiving dinner if the canned crescent rolls weren't on the table, even if it was at his house. a huge step up from the brown and serve that I thought of as a special treat when I was growing up.

[suzigirl]

Those things just taste wrong. Had them a few times and they are off tasting

[manda]

Oh thank goodness I'm not the only one. I hated those wretched little things with their strange smell.

Those brown and serve rolls aren't as bad as Subway "bread" with the smell but they both make my stomach churn.

[suzigirl]

Subway bread smell... don't get me started.

[chefathome]

Not sure whether it constitutes as a Thanksgiving thing but I loathe seven-layer dip. There are very, very few things I dislike so strongly.

ETA: Not sure whether I would absolutely refuse it if it were plunked onto my plate by a gracious and loving grandmother or other host/ess but I admit I would probably pick and poke at it.

[tcamp]

I think seven-layer dip is outside the boundaries of "traditional" american Thanksgiving dishes.

However, I wouldn't turn up my nose but may put down the dirty martini and go in search of a Negra Modelo.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I hate seven layer dip as well. Maybe I am finicky, but I prefer simple appetizers as opposed to these crazy combos of all sorts of stuff, half of it canned. I love a nice cheese plate, or even a well executed cheese ball., simply made stuffed mushrooms, things like that.

[jbsiegel]

Pecan pie - just never liked
Cranberry sauce of any form
Green been casserole
Creamed onions

[Shellhead]

My family is of Norwegian ancestry, so Thanksgiving has a lot of ethnic dishes mixed in with the traditional. The one I absolutely can't stand is Lutefisk. It's awful. The problem is I can't refuse it because it's very difficult to prepare and considered a delicacy.

[Crockett67]

Lived in North Dakota for a bit when I was young. If it's what I think it is.... totally feel ya there. Like the smell would ruin the whole meal and still turns my stomach. Did I mention I moved away like when I was 8! And this still haunts me!

[Ikkeikea]

I live there now and was always wondered about it. Asked my MIL to make some for me last year at the holidays..... it was horrible. I asked for it, so had to choke it down and had no other Thanksgiving goodness to lessen the blow. I feel your pain.

[Passadumkeg]

I lived in Norway for 5 years and I really like lutefisk! And fried cod tongues and cheeks! Power of association?

[mamachef]

My former, wonderful MIL's oyster stuffing; horrid stuff, which is weirdness squared, since she's a great cook, and I have much love for the oyster.

[jujuthomas]

I forgot one - my cousin's gross corn casserole. It's sort of a rif on scalloped corn. I've tried it, I didn't like it, so I don't take any. there's plenty of other stuff, she never notices and it gets eaten. no harm, no foul. :)

[mamachef]

Does she by any chance call it scalloped corn? LOVE THE STUFF! (but only when it's done right.)

[jujuthomas]

she calls it corn casserole. I love scalloped corn if done properly. this ain't it. :)

[melpy]

Does she make it with creamed corn froma can and saltines? That's what my in laws do.

[jujuthomas]

I'm pretty sure those are ingredients in it, but maybe also a can of that "mexican corn" as well... the one with the green and red peppers in it. I dunno, I just know it's a mushy overcooked waste of calories. :)

[melpy]

Definitely nothing remotely Mexican in this one. I don't even think his grandparents have tasted Mexican food. His parents have had it at a restaurant but I can't picture them making any at home.

[Beach Chick]

Dark meat of the turkey.

[MGZ]

Hell, that's the best part of dinner - at least the part that you eat and not drink.

[Beach Chick]

People LOVE when I come to dinner since its more dark meat for them and more white breast meat for me!

[Bacardi1]

I'm not into sweets much, so I guess my biggest Thanksgiving bugaboo is marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes. I do make sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, but just bake them whole, then simply halve them & top them with butter.

[cacruden]

Thanksgiving Turkey dinner I usually avoided all the vegetables, especially since they are mashed stuff or close to it that I did not particularly like (and I like a lot of vegetables):
- potatoes - don't like pretty well all potatoes that taste like potatoes (mashed, boiled, baked with butter etc.).
- turnip - not a big fan of turnip

While everyone was eating the "traditional dinner", I would eat hot turkey sandwiches with stuffing.

[scubadoo97]

Green bean casserole with canned green beans just irks me out. The tinish taste from the green beans just is something I don't want to eat

[Bacardi1]

Sorry, but if you're invited to someones house, while you can POLITELY decline to sample some dishes, you REFUSE NOTHING.

Good grief. How rude.

[nikkib99]

That's easy for you to say. I would rather be rude and refuse to eat something than be polite and throw up all over your fancy thanksgiving table.

There are some foods that I can not even look at without fighting an impossible urge to vomit. I don't make a thing about disliking something because that would be rude, but I'm not going to spend my evening washing up vomit from my shirt.

Hey, I have food issues.

[latindancer]

<Hey, I have food issues.>

Ya think?

[nikkib99]

Trust me, not by choice. I've always said it does not take much to torture me.

Just put a piece of bread on one end of a table, a glass of water at the other end, and wobble the table a bit. I'd spill state secrets faster than you can say waterboarding.

[Isolda]

I didn't take the question that literally. If offered, I'll accept everything with a smile and a thanks, but I will only pretend to eat the stuff I find gross (green bean casserole, for example.)

Some people do have food revulsions, though. My son, who is on the Asperger's spectrum, has a lot of weird texture issues and really won't touch anything on his plate if there's something he considers gross on it (salad with dressing, for example.) So he just says no, thanks when something he doesn't like (or is afraid of) is offered.

[gingershelley]

What a polite son, Isolda - you have taught him well that, despite his food issues, he can just politely decline.

I am one who thinks it is even ruder to take food you won't eat, and leave it on your plate and waste it.

[nikkib99]

Stuffing! Blech!

I don't care how good they claim the stuffing is, you don't throw innocent bits of bread up a bird's ass and expect me to eat it.

[Jay F]

Aren't you the person who can't stand wet bread? French toast grosses you out, IIRC.

[nikkib99]

Yup! That explains my extreme disdain for stuffing. The minute I see it, I don't touch the entire bird. I won't even take the thinnest sliver from the breast.

You can't be too careful.

[jw615]

I feel the same about stuffing, but it's not a wet bread thing, since I don't have a problem with French toast (or didn't before I became allergic to eggs), and enjoy a good Italian beef sandwich.

It is a texture thing though - just not a fan.

[sisterfunkhaus]

If you like French toast, you might like a savory bread pudding. I am not a stuffing fan either but love savory bread pudding. There are all kinds of cool savory BP's out there.

[Jay F]

Love savory bread pudding. Sweet, too. Yum.

[nikkib99]

Damned savages!

;p

[adventuresinbaking]

I am allergic to eggs and dairy now too. When I make french toast I do a tahini and cashew coating for the bread. So good!

[Christina D]

Thank goodness I wasn't drinking when I read this! LOL!!

[tcamp]

I, for one, stuff that bread down the turkey's headless "neck," not up his/her ass!!

Actually, I don't much care for soggy bread and I generally make the dressing to stand alone.

[The Professor]

I like the stuffing better than the turkey for the most part, though I do love the dark meat turkey. I'd sooner feed turkey breast to the cats than eat it myself. Bleeeeecchhh.

[kengk]

Everything on this list of things people hate are mostly things I really like, once or twice a year, or at least would eat a small serving of with a smile.

Would prefer my sweet potatoes without marshmallows but no biggie. If the dressing or gravy has hard boiled eggs I push them to the side or discreetly get them to my wife's plate.

[pine time]

That's a new one...have never heard of hard boiled eggs in either dressing or gravy! While I like hard boiled eggs, would probably move 'em off my Thanksgiving plate, too.

[suzigirl]

I have tried gravy with eggs. I thought it was gross. No offense to those who like it. Just not my bag. The texture is weird.

[Jay F]

>> If the dressing or gravy has hard boiled eggs<<

Then you've crossed over to the other side, and not in a good way.

[kengk]

It was a new and traumatic experience to me when I got married and went to the in laws for dinner. They think all dishes can be improved with the addition of hard boiled eggs.

[melpy]

That would be miserable. I hate hard boiled eggs.

[Jay F]

I wouldn't eat hard-boiled eggs with kengk's in-laws' mouths.

[sisterfunkhaus]

That's why I forgot in describing MIL's gravy. It's got giblets, eggs, and some sort of canned cream soup. I never did understand why she didn't whip up a quick turkey gravy. I always just took the drippings, stirred in flour until pasty, and cooked for a few minutes. I add some white wine, stock, herbs, and spices. It makes a great gravy.

[KaimukiMan]

cranberries in any form. even aunt so-and-so's recipe that 'everyone' loves.

pumpkin pie, pupmkin cake, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin stuffing, anything pumpkin. bleah.

I never used to eat sweet potato anything, but sweet potatoes have grown on me over the years, just expect to find the marshmallow topping scraped to the side of my plate when finished.

i will eat green bean casserole if it's made with fresh beans, non-canned soup, and lots of onions carmelized in the bacon fat from the half pound of bacon that gets crumbled into the casserole. Oh, and since potatoes are a special treat, i love them in almost any form on holidays, including baked, twice baked, mashed, smashed, or scalloped.

[suzigirl]

+1 on pumpkin anything. Yuk. Can live without sweet potatoes.

[thistle5]

I would sound like such a T'giving grinch if I listed all the things I didn't like- mashed potato, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes...so I try to focus on the things I enjoy-we're smoking & bringing turkeys, bean dip (not at all traditional, but it's becoming so in our family), pickled shrimp, & poundcake...I just like getting together with my family...

[Motosport]

My W.A.S.P. wife's family is into parsnips, turnips and rutabagas which I will try but do not relish.
BUT: they make this side dish with jarred pearl onions and cornstarch that is prepared by slowly stirring over low heat until the onions "dissolve".
I got roped into doing the stirring one year. Somehow I could not get the hang of it. "Too slow, too fast." Ay bendito!!!
The in-laws love it!!
Reminds me of wall paper paste. I don't eat wallpaper paste either.

[jw615]

I won't eat any stuffing or dressing - I've tried multiple versions, I've tried to like it, I just don't. Please don't try to convince me that I just haven't had the right kind - it's just more stuffing for you, ok?

[Christina D]

I absolutely will not eat the sweet potato marshmallow thing. The very thought of it gives me the heebie jeebies. When I host, I won't even make it. If somebody wants it that bad, they can bring it.

Now, oyster stuffing? I could have a plate of that and nothing else. I've even been known to sneak some cold leftovers for breakfast. AND...it's not a Friday post T-day sammich without it.

Gotta have the mashed taters. First reason is that I never make them any other time of the year, so they have "special occassion" status in our household. Second, you need two piles...one for the gravy and the other to host the sauerkraut and kielbasa.

[juster]

I don't think I've ever been served oyster dressing, but it sounds SO good . . . Is this a regional thing?

[Christina D]

I think you see it quite a bit on the East Coast and in New England. I live in Maryland.

[biondanonima]

My grandmother always made it and she was from Ohio (and definitely not one to look around for interesting recipes from elsewhere). I think there's a midwest tradition too. I've never seen the oyster casserole with crackers, butter and cream in the midwest, but a standard stuffing recipe (bread, celery, onions, stock) with oysters is pretty normal.

[melpy]

Never saw it in CT or MD but they eat it here in PA.

[Ikkeikea]

My In Laws serve it every year in south Alabama. It was the first time I was ever introduced to oyster dressing and it was love at first taste.

[Isolda]

My Alabama relatives also serve it. I don't love it, but will eat it.

[MGZ]

Man, I'm the kind of 'hound who is willing to try everything. Nevertheless, the one thing I do not eat at Thanksgiving, or any Holiday gathering for that matter, is anything "store bought." If someone cooked it or baked it, I'll try it. If it came in a box from a grocery or such, the only way I'll put it in my mouth is if I haven't gotten full on the stuff that had love in it (or if I get really baked after dinner).

[latindancer]

I agree with you.

[letsindulge]

I didn't know this when I agreed to marry my husband that he likes lima bean succotash on Thanksgiving. Ick...Yuck...just the thought makes me shudder. I've compromised after 10 good years to make an edamame version.

[pine time]

Lima bean succotash doesn't deserve its place on the table any time of the year,but particularly not at Thanksgiving. Just my--slightly biased--2 cents... :)

[tcamp]

I *love* lima bean succotash. Not necessarily at Thanksgiving but in season.The frozen stuff is yucky, though.

[Savour]

I love lima bean succotash even made with frozen limas. I make my own succotash, though, and it's delicious. Never thought to make it for Thanksgiving.

[KaimukiMan]

serving lima beans in any form at thanksgiving should be punishable by making the cook of said item having to do ALL the dishes from thanksgiving dinner.

i know of someone who puts lima beans in his chili and baked beans. simply no excuse for such food cruelty.

[pine time]

Amen. Guess I should apologize for yucking somebody's yum, but limas deserve no yums.

[suzigirl]

I agree. Blick.

[scubadoo97]

Such food hate on this thread. I only have an issue with the metalic taste of canned green beans.

My son hates most vegetables except a few select ones like tomatoes and potatoes.

I like most anything if it's cook well. LImas can have such a buttery taste.

[sandylc]

How old is your son?

Introducing him to food and cooking would likely be good.

[juliejulez]

I don't think I'd ever refuse anything if I was at someone else's house. Maybe if it was buffet style and nobody noticed I'd avoid a few things, but not straight up refuse if it's offered.

However in my house, I refuse to use canned jellied cranberry sauce.

Unfortunately I get to not only make, but probably eat, the marshmallow sweet potato thing. My boyfriend specifically requested I make it. I am making it with fresh sweet potatoes, not canned, and am adding brown sugar and pecans to the top, in addition to the marshmallows. Also, I get to make Watergate salad, another boyfriend request. Pretty sure I won't be touching that.

I am also not a fan of pumpkin pie but will happily make and serve one. More apple crisp for me.

[suzigirl]

Watergate salad...ick ick ick. Why?

[juliejulez]

No idea, he likes some really weird stuff sometimes. He had his mom send me the recipe, apparently she makes it every year :-P

[suzigirl]

That is as bad as Waldorf salad. Mayo on fruit. Eeeek

[melpy]

I like Waldorf salad! Says the girl who decided to add golden raisins to her spaghetti sauce last night.

[Motosport]

I've been known to add raisins to my red sauce.

[suzigirl]

Someone had to like it. No one would make it otherwise. I just find it blicky

[gingershelley]

My mom when she was still with us, used to make this 'new-fashioned Waldorf' to start T-day;

Sliced braeburn and Granny smith apples& green pepper slivers, marinated in a sharp red-wine vinaigrette, served over butter lettuce with toasted walnuts and marsala-poached raisins on top. Each plate individually arranged nicely and set at place settings. A whipped cream/horseradish/blue cheese-finely-crumbled fluffy dressing was passed at the table to add to taste. AWESOME salad.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I don't suppose you have a recipe or a link to one? This sounds fantastic.

[mamachef]

Good lord that's mouthwatering...

[tcamp]

Yum. I'd love to have that for christmas eve.

[Kontxesi]

I just googled it, and I have to agree. Why would anyone make such a thing? Worse, why would anyone request it?

[suzigirl]

Different strokes for different folks

[juliejulez]

He like some really weird stuff. His mom is a very old-fashioned type cook so he grew up with that sorta thing. Lots and lots of various casseroles, including pretty much the only thing he knows how to make, enchilada casserole. Blech.

His other weirdness is he always wants cottage cheese as a side with steak. Good thing he's cute.

[chefathome]

"His other weirdness is he always wants cottage cheese as a side with steak. Good thing he's cute." Love this! :-)

[suzigirl]

That is so familiar. My sweetie eats some weird stuff that I had to learn to ignore. Cheese and sardines on toast, hot dog caserole leftover turkey soaked in apple cider vinegar. He was single to long. I'm lucky mine is cute too.

[jujuthomas]

googled - never knew the name of that "green stuff". now at least I know the proper name for something I won't eat. ;)

[suzigirl]

Just about every thing I dislike is based on texture. Just the look of that salad makes me as green as the salad.

[juliejulez]

Suzi I think that's my problem with it too. I don't like fruit mixed in with anything, like yogurt, ice cream, nothing. The texture it makes creeps me out.

[suzigirl]

I can relate. Certain things just don't belong in fruit.

[gingershelley]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO disgusting - even as a 'dessert' this is a gag alert!

[Isolda]

Watergate "salad" is actually a dessert. A gross dessert, but a dessert nonetheless.

[sandylc]

Make the pumpkin pie with rum and sour cream. Many foods can be elevated.

[Timmy McTimmerson]

You're having 2 boyfriends over for Thanksgiving? ;-)

[sisterfunkhaus]

I have made it with homemade marshmallows because someone insisted that it be served. It was far better. I use fresh sweet potatoes as well.

[merrua]

I wonder can you play around with the recipe to bring it back to orginal ingredients? No packet cool whip instread the mix of fresh homemade marshmallow and cream, and fresh fruit and nuts. It sounds interesting to try.

[biondanonima]

Pumpkin pie. I generally eat low-carb, so when I splurge on dessert (as I always do on Thanksgiving), it has to be something I really, REALLY love. Pumpkin pie just isn't it. I don't find it repulsive but definitely not worth wasting calories on. I gorge myself on apple pie or sour cherry pie instead.

[Isolda]

+1 on the pumpkin pie, but I prefer mincemeat to apple, at least on T-day. Nonesuch condensed mincemeat, reconstituted exactly as the box directs, is delicious. Think it has real suet in it, which is probably why it's so yummy.

[biondanonima]

You know, I've never had mincemeat pie, with or without suet. I like everything in it so I'm sure I would love it, but I've never been inspired to make one. Maybe for Christmas this year.

[Becca Porter]

Giblet gravy, and any mass produced dessert.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I second the giblet gravy. it always seems to be made with a canned cream soup everywhere I go. I love a good turkey gravy made with white wine.

[tim irvine]

Hear! hear! On good gravy made with wine. I use reconstituted dried mushrooms in lieu of giblets. Giblets are a horridly overpowering taste, not a good one IMHO.

Also in our home green casserole is a good thing...still crisp haricot vert tossed in olive oil, coarse salt and pepper, minced garlic, grated Romano, and large French bread crumbs, baked just until the crumbs are browned.

[Steve Green]

Now _that_ sounds like a green bean casserole I would enjoy -- the standard one, never.

[ttoommyy]

I've yet to meet a trad Thanksgiving Day dish I didn't like. Yes, I even like the green bean casserole with its canned and frozen ingredients and the sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping (although I prefer a meringue topping if making it myself).

[KSlink]

Rutubaga and brussels sprouts...........

[melpy]

Love these! Wish more people did so I could put them on our table.

[kubasd]

I put them on our table... and I'm the only one that eats them. More for me!

[KSlink]

I did recently try sprouts roasted and found them quite tasty, but I don't think I could handle them any other way.....and the white turnips with the purple tops are actually sweet, but most people serve rutabagas as yellow turnips and it's just a whole different animal, so to speak.....

[melpy]

Are you from New England? Never knew our "turnip" was actually rutabaga until I was in high school And never tasted actual turnip until my 20s due to this misnomer.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I make Brussels Sprouts in a gratin of sorts. They get cut in half, placed in a baking dish, almost covered with heavy cream, butter, and parm, then baked until tender. So yummy.

[melpy]

I will taste the oysters but I don't like them.
Also, steamed red cabbage from a jar or sauerkraut.
I don't like creamed onions made from jarred onions either.

[MGZ]

"I don't like creamed onions made from jarred onions either."

Who the hell would do something like that?

[latindancer]

<Who the hell would do something like that?>

No sh%$t.

[Jay F]

>>Also, steamed red cabbage from a jar or sauerkraut.<<

Vomitatious, but not Thanksgivingesque.

>>creamed onions made from jarred onions either.<<

You can buy onions in a jar? Ewww...

[tcamp]

I confess that I've always sort of liked those little jarred cocktail onions. Not creamed, just in a bowl with toothpicks nearby. Sort of a bar snack.

[MGZ]

Jarred onions are fine in the bottom of a glass of stirred gin and vermouth.

[melpy]

I do not. But that is the way my mother makes them. I am going to ask if they always did it this way and if not volunteer to make th palatable using fresh or perhaps the frozen?

[latindancer]

Melpy, creamed onions are very labor intensive because of the preparation and handling of the fresh onions. If a person doesn't want to go to the trouble, then forget the dish.

[melpy]

Just found out they have it on the second menu Sunday dinner for those who didn't get what they wanted in the first go around. I'm keeping my mouth shut. I'll eat the mashed turnip (rutabaga) I in stead.

[Bacardi1]

Actually, the BirdsEye brand of frozen pearl onions is pretty darn good. I gave up prepping my own & using BirdsEye for all my recipes that call for pearl onions & they've all turned out wonderful - indistinguishable from fresh. Particularly nice in Coq au Vin.

[latindancer]

Good to know, Bacardi1. I'm going to give this a trial run and, I'm sure, thank you for it after Thanksgiving :).

[Bacardi1]

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that since they're pre-blanched & frozen, you need to keep a sharp eye on the cooking time. Less is more - especially if they're going to be sitting in a hot sauce.

[Savour]

I don't outright refuse anything, but I do try to limit my portions of tomato aspic salad made with lemon jello and served with mayonnaise.

[melpy]

Yowza! I would take a Pasadena on that one as my Gramma says.

[Savour]

Oddly enough, we are from Pasadena.

[melpy]

Oh the irony!

[suzigirl]

Take a Pasadena. That's a crack up.

[melpy]

No idea where she got that one! Basically it means she'll pass thank you.

The crazy sayings from her house though... So many!

[tcamp]

That dish really merits a little more detail and discussion.

[Savour]

Family dish. My grandmother makes it because she has fond memories of my grandfather eating it, and my mom and aunts eat it out of nostalgia. Its made in a ring mold and has chopped celery, too. The funny thing is, my family is full of really fantastic cooks. Thanksgiving dinner (potluck) is usually juicy turkey, 2 or 3 kinds of stuffing, 2 or 3 kinds of homemade cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, 2 types of gravy, 5-6 vegetable dishes with nary a marshmallow in sight and 3 or 4 types of pie, all with homemade crust. And then there's aspic.

[alwayshungrygal]

Generally, if I am a guest, I'll try everything, no matter how processed (canned cranberry sauce), or not. If it's something I know I can't digest-- spicy sausage in the stuffing (oops, no room on my plate)-- or am allergic to, then no, I won't eat it. Some ingredients (olives, bleu cheese) literally make me gag so I try to avoid those too. But generally, I'll eat almost everything my gracious hosts serve.

[bagelman01]

anything cranberry
mashed potatoes
green bean casserole w/canned mushroom soup and fried breaded onions from a can/bag

[ricepad]

I'm with you on the cranberries. I don't like 'em fresh, frozen, or canned. I won't prepare them in any way, so Mrs. ricepad has to make cranberry relish/sauce/compote if she wants it. I just won't.

[mike0989]

With you on the cranberry's as well. Gotta have my cardiac mashers though.

[bagelman01]

potatoes are my least favorite starch. I much prefer grains, then pasta, then potatoes. I'll be making a mushroom barley casserole as the main starch this Thanksgiving. My SIL will bring 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, she will rave about making the best in the world, and she will take home 9 pounds of leftovers.

i

[Jay F]

>>My SIL will bring 10 pounds of mashed potatoes, she will rave about making the best in the world, and she will take home 9 pounds of leftovers.<<

Not the most portable of dishes, mashed potatoes.

[bagelman01]

SIL lives 5 houses away, they are still piping hot when brought to our table from her stovetop. MIL lives across the driveway. Wife is a designer builder, subdivided our property years ago and built a family compound.

[Jay F]

I guess they just suck, then.

[tcamp]

Maybe she really likes the leftovers. That sounds like something I'd do, then eat fried potato patties with bacon bits mixed in and a fried egg on top for the next several days.

[melpy]

I hate leftover mashed potatoes even in mashed potato patties .

[mamachef]

You little 'tatet-hater, you. ;)

[gingershelley]

The above folks are simply NOT invited to join the Parmentier society:)

[suzigirl]

I like to make extra to reheat I like them so much. I also love tater patties or as I call them, cakes.

[gingershelley]

You, suzigirl, are invited to join.

[suzigirl]

I'll bring taters so we have enough for leftovers

[mamachef]

double up; we'll need 'em.

[suzigirl]

You got it. Extra butter and cream, just the way they should be. No butter powder and veggie stock here. Gimme the fat baby.

[Jay F]

I love mashed potatoes. My favorite is with S&P, butter, cream, and the p-r of your choice (mine's Parmigiano-Reggiano).

[mamachef]

you both best stop it w/ the feelthy talk.

[suzigirl]

The addition of cheese is always welcome

[bagelman01]

actually, I've never tasted them. I don't care for mashed potatoes, and the others at the holiday table much prefer baked white or sweet potatoes, as well as whatever grain and the stuffing and don't waste calories and stomach space on the mashed. After all these years one wouyld think she'd realize and cut down on the quantity, but this way she can complain to all her friends about how hard she worked to make all those potatoes and they go unappreciated.
She is told every year not to bring the potatoes, but does as she pleases. Last year she had her 10 year old excuse himself to use the bathroom, and he sneaked out the back door cut through the yard and returned with a tureen of mashed potatoes in less than 4 minutes. This year if he excuses himself from the table, I'm going to lock the doors two minutes later

[ricepad]

Don't lock out the poor kid...it's not his fault! I'd play it in one of several ways, depending on my mood. (1) Leave the tureen out on the back step to give SIL a new twist on her bitching; (2) Dump 'em in the trash/down the toilet/down the disposal so SIL thinks they were a hit (I like to mess with people's minds when they desperately deserve it); (3) Make a big deal about how her spuds are not too bad, but if she just tweaked them a little bit (I dunno...add sugar?) they'd be AWESOME; (4) Greet the spuds at the door with, "What, AGAIN? Time to learn to make something else!" (5) Lose the tureen.

[bagelman01]

locking the door forces him to ring the bell to gat back in. This teaches him that it is not ok to lie to extended family, and will also embarrass SIL.

[tcamp]

Egads, this has "tragi-comic screenplay moment" written all over it.

[Jay F]

Or a five-minute episode in his story when the kid starts his 12-step program of choice.

[JenJeninCT]

mashed potato, crumbled bacon, blue cheese and sliced green onions, formed into cakes and pan fried in butter- YUM

[Jpan99]

Surprised at all the potato haters. I love mashed potatoes but rarely make them. I may have to make a small batch for Thanksgiving now that there has been so much discussion!

And cranberry sauce is one of my favorites. It's always one of my contributions to the dinner. I like to add a chopped apple for extra flavor notes.

[Jeanne]

I'm surprised at the mashed potato haters too - and some of the rude comments. They are one of my favorite things - creamy, peppery and buttery with delicious turkey gravy over them - yummy. I eat them only about twice a year and the potatoes are probably the main dish I look forward to.

[cacruden]

I am one of those mashed potato haters.... I was forced to eat them when I was younger - sometimes still at the table at 1am because I refused to eat them. I am not a big fan of baked or boiled potato either, but mashed is the worst. For me it is the texture.... can't stand it, whenever I ate them when I was younger I was near gagging (threw up a few times) them. It is not because they were not "good mashed potatoes", I was told by those that like mashed potatoes that my mother makes some of the best.... Funny thing is that I would have no problem eating a raw cube of potato (even though it is starchy). Now the only potatoes I eat are french fries -- preferably with salt and vinegar.

Now that I am grown, I live mostly on Thai food -- no potatoes there..... jasmine rice, sticky rice, and noodles are my starch of preference.

[Jay F]

- canned cranberry "sauce"
- sweet potato thing, with or without marshmallows
- pumpkin pie

[hyacinthgirl]

I'll see your Marshmallow Sweet Potato thing and raise you ANYTHING with marshmallows in it. Also anything with jello in it.

But about the mashed potatoes... well, I love potatoes so much that in order not to be 378 pounds, I try to not eat them most of the year. Thanksgiving is the one day I allow myself to eat as many potatoes as I want. In fact there have definitely been years of overcooked green bean casserole, dry turkey and some experimental broccoli and cheese dish where the nice creamy homemade mashed potatoes were the Only thing I ate!

[tcamp]

I'm with you. Marshmallows could be permanently banned from the day and I'd be fine. Sweet potatoes should be roasted with garlic and rosemary and not sullied by sweet flavors.

Mashed, chunky with plenty of roasted garlic, butter, and sour cream - one of the best things about Thanksgiving for me.

I also eschew pecan pie, not crazy about pumpkin, frankly I'd rather have another helping of potatoes than any dessert.

[hyacinthgirl]

We could definitely celebrate Thanksgiving together : )

[suzigirl]

marshmallows should just be banned period. The texture is just wrong.

[Jay F]

Marshmallows truly are disgusting, and yes, banworthy.

[sandylc]

marshmallows. are. icky.

[laliz]

+1,000,000

[lcool]

Straight up refuse......canned cranberry,vile,gelatinous....marshmallow sweet potato "thing"

Over the years,I have met green bean casserole,mashed potatoes,cranberry ?sauces and turkey that were nasty,awful.Thankfully a minority experience.

[rockandroller1]

Green bean casserole

[jujuthomas]

+1... what a terrible thing to do to a lovely vegetable! :)

[Jay F]

I never even *heard* of green bean casserole before I moved to Pittsburgh in 1999 (after spending my formative years in NJ, NY, and DC). I tried it at my second Pittsburgh thanksgiving. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I didn't eat it again.

It's made with canned green beans, no?

[rockandroller1]

canned or frozen beans, canned processed soup, disgusting canned fried onions.

[sisterfunkhaus]

It is technically gross, but it's a childhood thing for me, so I still partake of it. I would never eat canned green beans in any other situation, and I try to avoid canned cream soups except for a couple of childhood favorite dishes I make on rare occasions.

[Steve]

+4. I hope to never see it again.

[Antilope]

+100 The first time I ever tasted a green bean casserole I though, what is this all about, it's awful.
The individual ingredients are ok, but together they are a disaster.

[Bacardi1]

I'm not a fan of the original recipe for "Green Bean Casserole", but my husband likes it. So to make us both happy, I revamped it & now make own version which we both like much better.

BACARDI1 GREEN BEAN MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

1 pound package frozen whole green beans, thawed (or you can cook up 1 pound of trimmed fresh if you like)
6-8 fresh Shitake mushrooms
1-2 clusters Oyster mushrooms (or 1 cluster oyster mushrooms & 1 cluster Maitake mushrooms)
6-8 Cremini mushrooms
2-3 tablespoons butter
1 can regular condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (NOT low or no fat!)
¾ cup of half-and-half or heavy cream
1/3 cup dry sherry
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 can French’s Original French Fried Onions

Preheat oven to 350.
Rinse & trim mushrooms (discard shitake stems or save for stock); slice. In a skillet large enough to hold all ingredients, melt butter & sauté mushrooms until they release their liquid & are “just” starting to brown a little. Stir in soup, half-&-half or cream, & sherry. Stir & simmer gently until mixture thickens a little, season to taste with salt & pepper, & gently fold in thawed green beans & approximately 1/3 can of fried onions. Transfer mixture to a baking dish (around 2-3 quart size) & bake for 20 minutes or until heated through, then top with remaining fried onions & continue baking for another 10 minutes or until onion topping is toasted a bit.

[KaimukiMan]

Bacardi1, your recipe looks wonderful. If you really want to get away from the 'canned' taste, make your own bechemel sauce (someday Ill learn to spell that) in place of the condensed cream of mushroom. And if you have an asian grocery see if they have the little jars of deep fried shallots... yummier than the French's (although I've been known to have to buy an extra can of those because the first can mysteriously ended up empty in the trash can before the casserole went into the oven) I tend to like to add some carmelized onion - even better if it is carmelized in bacon fat, the crumbled bacon added to the casserole as well.

[Bacardi1]

Thanks, but I really don't mind Campbell's "Cream of Mushroom" (or any of their "Cream of" soups at all. When the dish is finished, there really isn't any noticeable "canned" taste. For this particular dish, don't think a bechamel is necessary, but anyone who wants to sub that, by all means have at it. And the French's Fried Onions is - to my husband at least - what keeps it somewhat traditional. As for bacon/bacon fat? Hubby doesn't eat any red-meat products, so that's out, & frankly I think bacon would overpower everything - especially the wonderful mixed mushrooms.

[desertdweller]

So pork isn't the other white meat? ;). I did something similar to your more "upscale" version of green bean casserole one year and the house was divided. Half didn't appreciate the quality at all and the others request it every year now.

[Bacardi1]

"So pork isn't the other white meat? ;)"

Not in this house - lol!!

[calumin]

I tried once to make a fresh version of green bean casserole, with fresh beans, homemade mushroom soup, and freshly fried onions instead of the canned ones.

It wasn't very good. The soup on its own was great, and the onions on their own were good. But for some reason the only way those tastes come together is when you use the Campbell's recipe.

[Timmy McTimmerson]

I re-read the list of ingredients 3 times to see how you would use Bacardi in a green bean casserole... Then I saw the user name haha.

[suzigirl]

To funny

[Bacardi1]

LOL!!! No - no rum in this recipe.

[jujuthomas]

because I don't care for it and it's not part of my thanksgiving tradition, we asked MIL to make green bean casserole this year. (because SIL seems to NEED it on the table.) because of various food sensitivities, she is going to make it this year with tomato soup so that DH and I can eat it.
I will smile and take a teeny bit. I appreciate her efforts on our behalf, but I can't even decide which sounds more disgusting... the original recipe or her modified recipe.

[Kontxesi]

Green bean casserole with tomato soup? My stomach just knotted up. :/

[jujuthomas]

i know, right?

I'll be packing a couple bottles of wine for my personal consumption both before and during the meal. ;)

[kubasd]

+2 It was never on the Thanksgiving table until a new cousin (by marriage) started bringing it... Just the idea of it kind of grosses me out. I always either serve cold steamed with a vinaigrette, walnuts, and dried cranberries, or sautéed/roasted with garlic.

[jujuthomas]

It's definitely not part of my thanksgiving tradition - but last year my SIL "HAD" to have it... it was quite a scene, because my MIL was trying to figure a way to make it dairy free so I could eat it. SIL was pitching.a.fit. She finally made it w/ the traditional can-o-mush soup and SIL was happy. DH and I left it all for her. :)

[Kontxesi]

I just can't imagine caring enough about a particular side dish to cause a scene like that. Especially over something as bland as green bean casserole.

[jujuthomas]

Weeeelllll... I can't imagine it either, but my SIL is a special case.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I lightly saute them with garlic, olive oil, and butter and top with bacon and lemon juice. So good.

[biondanonima]

+3. It's just wrong.

[juliejulez]

I've never actually had the traditional green bean casserole. Kudos to my mom for never, ever, ever making it. Makes up for her "jello" creations every year I guess LOL

[melpy]

I think 8-10 years ago was when we finally scrapped the jello mold or gelatin salad as Gramma calls it.

[Antilope]

The components of a Green Bean Casserole are like a nuclear weapon. As separate ingredients they are benign, but when assembled they can cause great harm. ;-)

[ola]

Fortunately, my family doesn't serve green bean casserole. Agree that it is a terrible thing to do to green beans.

[lmann]

Lucky you!

[Antilope]

The only way they could make a Green Bean Casserole worse would be to encase it in a Lime Jello Mold. ;-)

[sandylc]

Serious Eats should look into that one.

[Uncle Bob]

Refuse?? ~ Prolly not much in most social settings. ~ On the other hand, there are no Mashed Potatoes on my table ever. With dressing, oyster dressing, and maybe rice dressing, I find no use for a plain, "vanilla", white envelope, starch in this setting.

[pine time]

Oh, but doesn't "no mashed potatoes" mean that your gravy is sad? What goes better with gravy than creamy potatoes.

[melpy]

Mashed rutabaga goes better.

[jujuthomas]

mmmmmm... mashed rutabaga with a little nutmeg. yum!

[melpy]

Nice! Wish I was could make some of my favorites but whatever I don't make on Thursday I will beg my mom to let me do on Sunday.

[jujuthomas]

I don't get mashed rutabaga until Saturday either! DH's family won't eat it ... nor do they eat squash of any type, except pumpkin... so no butternut squash soup, etc for me on Thursday.

[magiesmom]

double yum

[jmcarthur8]

My gravy is never sad when it's poured over my delicious stuffing!

[FrankJBN]

"a plain, "vanilla", white envelope, starch"

Just like the guy who can't taste the oysters in his oyster dressing, if your mashed potatoes may be described as above, you are doing mashed potatoes incorrectly.

[sisterfunkhaus]

Agreed.

[PenskeFan]

We have one person who wont eat the oyster dressing . So I always make 2 kinds, and he is the only one to eat the non oyster one.
You cant really taste the oysters, they just make it richer. I have one guest who every year wants a full pan of the oyster stuffing for leftovers to take home!

Personally I refuse to eat the mashed potatoes - the least interesting starch on the table. More room for oyster dressing and turkey, etc.

[cresyd]

I am with you on the no-mashed potatoes front. For plain potatoes - the only part I'm so into is when it's a quality crispy french fry or a roasted potato (that has nice crispy/crunchy bits). During a large Thanksgiving meal with lots of dishes, skipping on mashed potatoes is an easy choice for me. Also, if there is plain bread or rolls - I also won't have those.

[juster]

Ditto on the rolls. Don't get me wrong -- I like bread and rolls, but at Thanksgiving (and often other meals) there are so many other things, or just enough good things, that I don't want to waste my space on bread. Caveat -- once in a while, it doesn't work like that. I was recently invited to a Brazilian meal where everything (and there were lots of dishes) was tasty, but the rolls were deeelicious, so I ate two. (No, this wasn't that cheese bread, just standard dinner rolls.)

[biondanonima]

I also don't eat mashed potatoes - not because I hate them, but because I prefer to save room for stuffing. I skip plain bread or rolls for the same reason.

[FrankJBN]

If you can't taste the oysters, you're doing oyster dressing wrong.

[chefathome]

Don't hurt me but I am not a fan of turkey. We would have roast duck or goose or lamb instead. We've also had seared duck breast instead. But we are usually alone for Thanksgiving (recent years in Europe) so we'd prefer something smaller and packed with flavour. Oh, yes. Porchetta.

However, if we do manage to get together with family (we live far from both families) we do have the ubiquitous turkey which I do not refuse to eat but about 99% of the time it is so overdone and dry it is not funny so I take a piece and choke it down. But I cling to the skin!

[biondanonima]

I don't ever eat the turkey - why bother with such a bland, boring meat when there are so many other delicious items on the table? I enjoy a couple of pieces of crispy skin and then concentrate on other things. The skin is really the only part worth eating anyway!

[chefathome]

Agreed. Most other meats are vastly superior in flavour so to me it is a worth of calories and time!

[sisterfunkhaus]

Turkey is just a vehicle for good gravy. Unfortunately, we have TG with folks who make a weird cream of some mysterious thing gravy, and it is vile. I end up eating ham and sides and whatever I brought.

[sandylc]

Ugh, my mother's gravy has always been just awful. Which is why I thought I didn't like gravy until I discovered it as an adult. She always took burnt drippings and stirred in a flour slurry which she didn't cook the raw taste out of. So, raw flour, water, and burned stuff. Yum.

[cacruden]

No No, can't make good Turkey stuffing without the turkey.....

[tvmovielover]

Canned cranberry jelly!

[suzigirl]

+1 and the orange pecan relish. Ick

[mandymoo]

I loved the canned cranberry jelly...must be a genetic mutation on my part! I make the "real cranberry sauce" for everyone else but I covet the jelled stuff :)

[Jpan99]

I'm embarrassed to admit I like canned cranberry jelly stuff too. And I make terrific homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, but I still love the taste of the canned jelly. I do not like the canned whole cranberry sauce tho, homemade is 100 times better. The jelly love is just an odd taste thing from childhood that you can't shake.

[jujuthomas]

I honeslty only eat the canned jelly style cranberry sauce... i've tried the fresh made stuff, it's a texture issue for me i think.

[Jaz Cooks]

I'm with you. Cranberry jelly from the can is a treat. I only eat it once a year, but I would really miss it! Besides, my mom had a special dish for it, to make the slices look so pretty. I have no other use for the dish, so I just HAVE to put the jelly out, right? LOL

[latindancer]

Yes you do :).
Every year I make the dish of a loved one who's passed in order to honor and remember them. It's really what Thanksgiving is all about for me.

[sandylc]

I'd love to do that for my Dad, but my mom turns into a waterworks.

[Motosport]

I confess! I love canned jellied (not whole berry) cranberry sauce served in a plate as it comes out of the can with "ribs" and all. Last year my MIL mashed it up and ruined it for me. Go figure? No logic to it. Just a memory from childhood.

[melpy]

Love Is a strong word. First tried it in collee and it is edible. Works well on my sandwich if not homemade is available.

[Motosport]

What is "collee?"
Makes a great day after sammich!! Couple of slices of leftover turkey on some good bread with a nice slice of canned cranberry sauce in the middle. Yummy!!!

[ttoommyy]

I believe Melpy meant to write "college."

[melpy]

Indeed!

[Jay F]

Hahahaha...I thought she meant "coffee."

[gingershelley]

jellied cranberry sauce MAKES the turkey sandwich! Stuffing, dijon, more mayo than should be reasonable, on dark rye..... one of my favorite parts of Tday food!

[blair3b]

[phone] gack to the sugar jelly with cranberry juice in it... and almost as bad is the cranberry melange in a can.

[Maximilien]

I would refuse to eat any Marshmallow Sweet Potato "thing"...

[Crockett67]

Exactly!

[Jpan99]

We always have sweet potatoes but never with the marshmallow stuff on top. We cook real potatoes (no canned stuff) and top with brown sugar and butter. My favorite!

[Uncle Bob]

May I have pecans with that??

[iluvcookies]

Agreed... I love sweet potatoes, and I love marshmallows. But please keep them out of the same dish. Thank you.

[mandymoo]

+1

[jbsiegel]

I refuse any version of sweet potatos!

[Steve]

Really, any version? I roast my sweet potatoes until they are all dark and crispy on the outside with the natural sugary goodness oozing out a little bit. No butter, no added anything.

[jbsiegel]

Just don't like that sweetness at all. Love my potatoes bland and white LOL!

[Jay F]

Yeah, Steve, I'm sure we sweet potato haters would all just *love* them if only we tried them the way you make them.

[linguafood]

The only way I was ever "able" to eat them and remotely enjoy was similar to a double-stuffed potato skin -- it was topped with prosciutto, sage, and shaved parm.

All that saltiness made up for the icky, inherent sweet taste. But yeah, fuck sweet potatoes. Gimme the regular ones instead.

[gingershelley]

I like a sweet potato, fried - as in french fried - then served with spicy cajun mayo!!!!! Otherwise, not so much....

[linguafood]

Anything to hide/mask/balance the sweet.

[Steve]

Oooh, snark. When he said 'version', I didn't know if that equated with 'recipe,' such as adding other ingredients. I just cook 'em. That's all.

Go ahead and hate 'em if you want. I say there's not enough hate in the world. Me, I try to keep an open mind, so I have gone from food aversion to adoration based on suggestions and guidance from knowledgeable Chowhounds.

[mwk]

Finally...someone else who despises sweet potatoes. I thought I was the only one. When I used to cook Thanksgiving dinner, I'd make a sweet potato casserole but refused to taste it at any time during the cooking. I'd have my wife do it.

[cacruden]

Me too.....

[biondanonima]

Nope, my husband hates them too. Something about the starchiness combined with the sweetness. I find it weird simply because he likes pumpkin, butternut squash and all similar squashes, which to me have a lot in common with sweet potatoes.

[kcshigekawa]

My Spousal Unit dislikes orange food (except carrots). The only way he'll eat (and now says he enjoys) sweet potatos is when I cook them in a Thai-ish curry.

[mwk]

I also like pumpkin and butternut squash...but not sweet potatoes or yams. It's not really the same flavor profile, I realize it's difficult to explain. Then again, I like bananas, but I don' t like banana-flavored anything (no banana bread, or banana flavored drinks, etc.)

[virtualguthrie]

Hate 'em.

[pacheeseguy]

I'm enjoying my sweet potato pie as I read these posts. mmmm good.

[AnnieWilliams]

Don't hate, but I put marshmallows on my sweet potatoes (I use fresh potatoes and make a sauce). It's what my grandma always did. I am a stickler for tradition at Thanksgiving. My husband hates sweet potatoes too.

One thing I will not touch is that godawful green bean casserole that my cousin makes.

[Marusik]

+ me:)

[sisterfunkhaus]

I love freshly baked sweet potatoes mashed with butter and brown sugar and topped with a streusal style topping, then baked. Yummy.