Are there foods your family only eats at Thanksgiving?

For the most part, roast turkey. I just can’t be arsed the other 364 days of the year, even though I’m a poultry roasting ninja.

Green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberries, and yams.
I hate all those so much, they’re so nasty.

I never eat cranberry sauce any other time of year. On Thanksgiving, I proudly eat a whole can myself. And yes, I prefer the canned variety. OMG :))))

My famous apple-cranberry relish/sauce. Guaranteed to convert the even the most diehard cranberry sauce haters. :-) It’s almost time to whip out the giant witches caldron and maketh the sauce. I was just taking inventory of my supply of jars yesterday.

Cranberry Shrub drink. It is cranberry juice with a bit of club soda and sherbet. Delicious. Why don’t we drink it all year?

Pretty much everything. We don’t really have roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. any other time of the year. Although we may get a couple pumpkin pies per year…

Scalloped oysters. It’s the one thing we only do that day. I don’t know why.

My husband makes a mean cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries, not the nasty canned stuff. I enjoy putting it on top of the pumpkin pie I make for the holiday (it’s what I usually eat for breakfast the day after). I would eat it any time of the year but he only makes it at Thanksgiving.

Roast turkey.

Everything else I eat a couple other times during the year usually, but not often. Green bean casserole I make maybe 3 times a year including thanksgiving. Pecan pie maybe 2 or 3 times a year, but not always homemade. Cranberry “sauce” 2 or 3 times a year, but mine is basically black cherry jello with whole cranberries and pineapple, I eat It as a dessert. I never eat all those things together like on thanksgiving though during other times of the year.

Same as @DominicX . We never have turkey, yams, pumpkin pie, stuffing or cranberry sauce at any other time. I gave up on the green bean casserole as no one will eat it but me. We replaced it with fresh brussel sprouts done in butter and pancetta. The brussel sprout dish is a hit – we have it at other times of the year, too.

Pumpkin pie. I don’t care what kind of health kick or diet I’m on. I’m eating nearly a whole pumpkin pie on thanksgiving (and a slice or two of pecan pie).

@tom_g Oooh, Pecan Pie! My heart be still! Damn you all…it is almost noon on the west coast..I must EAT soon!
Oh, to wish up a Turkey dinner right now with all the trimmings!

We eat roast turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing only on Thanksleeping.

Cranberries. Wait. That’s not true. I use orange flavored dried cranberries year ‘round.
Fresh cranberries is the correct answer.

I am sort of surprised at how many people only eat turkey at Thanksgiving. We love turkey and eat it several times a year.

We eat turkey year round because I always cook the biggest turkey I can find and freeze the left overs. We only eat fresh cranberries at Thanksgiving, but we do eat cranberry juices of various types year round.

We only eat on the big table on the good china at Thanksgiving.

This will sound strange, (I was an adult before I learned that it wasn’t a holiday food) Potato Salad. And it’s GREAT with turkey.

Yes. Multiple Gin Fizzes.

@AstroChuck A jolly holiday, indeed.

Since our family Thanksgivings now look like this, there are no foods that we do not eat.

The struggles last year between the gluten-free and non-gluten stuffing people made the Trojan War look like fourth grade recess.

Turkey. Although we do eat delicious turkey pot pie the day after, too. Any other time of year, a whole turkey is just too much for us.

@YARNLADY “Leftovers”? I’m not sure I am familiar with this concept…

Seriously, though, anything not eaten Thanksgiving day is pretty much obliterated before sunrise on Saturday.

Growing up, the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners were identical except for dessert. For Turkey Day, it was homemade pumpkin pie with a drizzle of maple syrup on top. Christmas is a plate of homemade cookies and (gag) fruit cake.

@Pied_Pfeffer Did you enjoy the identical dinner for both? I always found it odd that some families did the same dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although, I make the same 10 dishes over and over again in general, it’s not like I don’t sometimes make the same chicken dish a couple times a month. But, something about a big family and freinds get together with the same food within a months time seems strange to me.

@JLeslie Ideas for changing Christmas dinner were batted around over the years, and it was always unanimous to leave it the same way. Chalk it up to the family not wanting to let go of tradition. Plus, Mom’s turkey meal is always perfect. :)

@Pied_Pfeffer I know it’s a tradition to insist that fruit cake is horrible, but I’m wondering if you are talking about store bought cake or homemade? My Aunt used to make the most delicious fruit cake I’ve ever eaten.

She took a standard boxed Lemon Cake mix and stirred in several kinds of glazed fruit pieces. I believe she also substituted a cup of rum for some of the liquid and added an extra egg.

@YARNLADY The fruitcake is made by Mom. I’m the only immediate family member that does not care for it. The rest adore it. My oldest sister even made a fruitcake for her wedding cake. Maybe I’m adopted. :)

Your aunt’s recipe sounds better. It’s the liquor and fake (?) red and green cherries that ruin the taste.

Turkey is always on sale around Thanksgiving, typically 50 cents per pound or free if you spend more than $75. I try to get about 2 or 3 extra and put them in the freezer. I’ll cook a turkey on a cold winter day when all the BTUs from my oven are used to heat my home and give it a delicious aroma. It brightens any dreary, gray day.