Thanksgiving Recipes: How to Cook Stuffing and Other Favorite Side Dishes

A turkey can't just sit alone on the table. Here are some recipes for Thanksgiving's most popular side dishes.

What would a turkey be on Thanksgiving without its faithful side companions? Often more popular than the turkey itself, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and other favorites are staples of the food coma-inducing meal. Try one of the recipes below to bring a new taste to your Thanksgiving feast. Roasted Winter Squash Gauge the amount of squash you’ll need by allowing 1 small squash (acorn and butternut are good choices) for every four people. Cut each squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Brush sides and inner cavity with olive oil and place flesh-side down on a lightly-oiled baking sheet. Roast for approximately 45 minutes or until flesh is very soft and easy pulls away from the skin. After removing squash from oven, let …

• Photos (1)

5 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dishes

Food ideas for people for whom Turkey Day involves no turkeys.

In less than a week, we'll be doing the Thanksgiving scramble: Running to the in-laws' house, hitting the store for some last minute cranberry sauce, or checking on the bird in the oven every five minutes. What some consider the best meal of the year, fit for kings and gluttons, is centered around meat. Not all of us, for varying reasons, choose to eat meat, though. What is one supposed to prepare for those who don't eat turkey on Turkey Day? The answer is easy, and the options are many. Whether you're cooking for a vegetarian guest, or are a vegetarian yourself, Patch helps you out this week with five tasty recipes for a vegan/vegetarian Thanksgiving. 1. Tofurky: Funny sounding name, seriously tasty substitute. What you need: 1 Tofurky …

• Photos (1)

Enough of Apple Pie

Adding some chocolate to the Thanksgiving (or leftovers) table

My sister, a confessed chocoholic, has an attitude about Thanksgiving: “Not enough chocolate!” My husband has similar attitudes about Thanksgiving: “All the Thanksgiving desserts stink.” Surprisingly, I tend to agree with both of them. Don’t get me wrong: a good apple pie, warmed and cinnamon-y, with a pool of half-melted vanilla ice cream, can be scrumptious (especially my grandmother’s!). I can easily pass on pumpkin pie, but I know others who swear by it. Pecan pie is delicious, but in this age of omnipresent allergies, who ever actually makes it? And, of course, there is a New England staple – Indian Pudding – which has wonderful flavor but a texture I’ve never quite been able to embrace. Finally, there’s mincemeat pie. I don’t know …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Casey Meserve

11:10 am on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Desserts in my family have always been the highlight of Thanksgiving. Also, you've never tried my apple or pumpkin pies, which are a-maz-ing.   more ›

Share Your Thanksgiving Recipes on Patch

Got a Thanksgiving recipe everyone in your family looks forward to every year? Share it here for the world (and all of Plymouth) to see.

Does your family go crazy over your stuffing, or nuts over that pumpkin pie? Does your turkey come out perfectly brown, crispy and juicy every. single. year? Share your family's favorite Thanksgiving recipe on Plymouth Patch. Share photos of that amazing turkey from past years. Post your recipes below in the comments and we'll make sure to feature every one of them this week. Post photos by clicking on the green button below. Hope to see some great recipes. Here's my recipe for my favorite pumpkin pie which features REAL pumpkin not the canned stuff: Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Preparing the pumpkin: Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the guts (seeds and such), drizzle vegetable oil over pumpkin and sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Margaret Carroll-Bergman

4:12 pm on Monday, November 21, 2011

Scallops wrapped in bacon is a Thanksgiving Day favorite at my house. It's easy to do and the kids can help. Wrap a quarter strip of bacon around a scallop and use a toothpick to hold the bacon in place. Put scallops on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated 450 degrees. Cook for 10 minutes or until the bacon is done. You cannot eat just one!   more ›

Frustrations of a Flourishing Foodie

Berries in Abundance

A Southern twist on a Thanksgiving staple.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, cooks of all levels, ages, and styles are thinking about “the meal.” While turkey, no doubt, tops the list (make sure to brine it overnight for extra flavor and juiciness – a great combination includes water, kosher salt, brown sugar, oranges, lemons, fresh thyme, and rosemary), there is great ability to make the dinner uniquely yours by customizing some of the traditional sides, and leaving your friends and family remembering a singularly deliciously holiday feast. Cranberry sauce is one of those sides. Here in Plymouth County, we’re blessed by an abundance of the berry, and so can afford to be generous in its offering and varied in its preparation. I’m planning to make a traditional cranberry …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)