Thanksgiving Roundup

Thanksgiving is nigh!  :runs around in a panic like Chicken Little:

Ok, I’m done.  Promise.

But seriously, Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, just over a week away.  If you haven’t already planned your menu, it’s time to do so.  To make life easier on you, I thought I’d do a roundup of Thanksgiving recipes from here at Pots and Plots.  There’s still time to shop for ingredients and throw together a Thanksgiving dinner that will impress even the most critical of mother in laws (although, I confess, mine is made of awesomesauce, so that’s not an issue for me).

For me, Thanksgiving is not complete without Grandma’s Cornbread Dressin’.  I’m Southern.  It’s dressin’, not stuffing.  It doesn’t go IN the turkey, and turkey or chicken DOES NOT go in it.  This is a faithful reproduction of my own grandmother’s dressin’ (okay with a FEW tweaks–I use a different cornbread recipe than she does) and is my favorite part of holiday dinners.

My mom’s usual contribution is Hot Pineapple Salad.  This is one of those recipes that makes me want to snark.  In the south we have all kinds of things that are called “salad” that bear no resemblance to, you know, salad.  But regardless, this casserole, which hails from an old family friend and church potluck dinners, is always a crowd pleaser.

Another favorite holiday side is Corn Casserole.  This one is based on a Paula Deen recipe, though I use less butter than she.  It’s one of those dishes that makes me wish I was a cow and had several stomachs, because I could totally eat the whole thing.

For dessert, a hand-held southern classic, Chess Squares.  We always fight over these, and I usually wind up eating them BEFORE dinner while I’m still cooking.

And while I have never managed to get my recipe for turkey up here, I will say that brining is a must, and this year, courtesy of inspiration from Bon Appetite, I’m brining in BEER!  Not using the malty stuff from their recipe, going instead with a classic Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Other expected dishes at our table will be my mother in law’s sweet potato casserole, her pecan pie, my mom’s asparagus casserole (gag me, she uses canned asparagus), and probably some straight up green beans.

What are your favorite holiday classics?