Fabled Kitchen

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Thanksgiving menu ideas can be hard to make on your own. The holiday is about gathering together and enjoying food while giving thanks for what you have. The menu is a tradition, at least in the United States. These three menus will show you how entertaining style plays into serving and what to serve.

Friendsgiving

No need to worry if you’re not cut out for a traditional or family-style thanksgiving. Have a friends-giving! Going to a friend’s giving and not know what to bring? Take a look at this post all about what to bring to a potluck.

• Embrace non-traditional dishes to add a fun twist to the celebration.
• Make it a potluck to share the cooking duties and create a sense of community.
• Include a variety of dietary options to cater to different preferences and restrictions.

• Menu
  • Stuffed Turkey Breast – Lana’s Cooking
  • Sage gravy – Southern Kitchen
  • Smashed potatoes – the Cozy Cook
  • Harvest Salad – Fabled Kitchen
  • Cranberry Chutney – Fabled Kitchen
  • Cheeseball w/ crackers – Fabled Kitchen
  • Apple-Blackberry Cake – Fabled Kitchen
  • Beaumont Bread – Fabled Kitchen

Traditional

I have never done the traditional Thanksgiving set up, that has been left to my aunts back on the East Coast. And, man, these ladies go hard. They split the jurisdiction by switching houses every year and I love that idea! For them, haha. Here are my Crazy Aunt Deb’s (her idea, not mine) tips for a Traditional Thanksgiving:

• Classic dishes like roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce are mandatory
• The turkey has to be stuffed with dressing
• You have to have something for people to snack on
• Don’t forget the pumpkin pie! Or the coffee

• Menu
  • Dressing Stuffed Turkey – Fabled Kitchen
  • Extra Dressing
  • Crock pot Mashed Potatoes – All Recipes
  • Giblet Gravy – Tastes Better from Scratch
  • Green bean casserole – Campbell’s Soup
  • Corn
  • Cranberry Sauce (Jellied, of course)
  • Olives & sweet pickles
  • Celery & cream cheese
  • Coleslaw – Fabled Kitchen
  • Crescent rolls
  • Libbey’s Pumpkin Pie – Very Best Baking
  • Mince Pie – Pillsbury
  • Coffee
  • Iced Tea

Family-Style

This is the Thanksgiving I’m used to. Big serving dishes spread on the kitchen counter and plates at one end. It has downsized at my house over the years. Here are my tips after taking over a decade ago:

• Large serving dishes make for easy serving
• Disposable pans make for easy clean-up
• Family recipes make the meal
• Buffet style works best when you have people coming in and out and eating at different speeds
• Don’t forget the Tupperware! Tell guests to bring containers too take food home
• Want this broken down more? Read my Thanksgiving tell-all.
• Menu
  • Grilled Turkey
  • Dutch Oven Stuffing – Fabled Kitchen
  • Mashed Potatoes – Fabled Kitchen
  • Gravy (the one in the turkey or Pioneer powdered)
  • Ms. Stacy’s Potatoes – Fabled Kitchen
  • Succotash – Fabled Kitchen
  • Green bean casserole – All Recipes
  • Candied Yams – Fabled Kitchen
  • Cranberry Surprise – Fabled Kitchen
  • Dinner rolls (I use Rhodes brand)
  • Butter
  • Pumpkin Pie – Very Best Baking
  • Crumble Apple Pie – Fabled Kitchen
  • Vanilla Ice cream
  • Whipped topping
  • Mulled Apple Cider

No matter what your hosting style, there is always a menu for you to follow if you’d like to cook your own thanksgiving dinner! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

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