I'm not a fan of that green bean casserole. For Thanksgiving, I'm making 2 green veggie dishes, green bean almondine and roasted Brussels sprouts.

For the green bean almondine I keep it really simple. Rinse beans under cold water. Cut off ends. Steam or boil beans until just fork tender (about 5-6 minutes). In another pan melt butter (2 tablespoons). Throw in sliced almonds (maybe a quarter cup?) Saute until almonds start to turn a light brown color. Put beans in a serving dish and pour the almonds & butter over top.

I've never made the roasted brussels sprouts this way before, but it looks really good. The recipe is below.

In the past I've also made roasted asparagus._

Here is a link that might be useful: Roasted Brussels sprouts

My usual take along dish for holiday meals (besides apple pie) is kale. I stir fry the kale in a hot hot pan with garlic and chopped carrots and dress it with a little lemon wedges. I like the carrots to be slightly browned - they add color contrast and sweetness. This dish is nice hot or warm. Lots of people who don't like kale like this dish.

I will often make the green beans where you cook them however you wish (steam, boil, mw...) and then toss them with buttered bread crumbs that have been toasted in a pan and sprinkled with some ground thyme...

Peas with tiny onions....not sure why the onions....but just buy a can of tiny onions, briefly cook some frozen peas and doss with the onions and some butter.
I also make peas dressed with tarragon and oregano.
For a package of frozen peas ( think those boxes are 10 oz) I mash together 1 T. butter and about 1/2 tsp of cornstarch cook the peas with a half teaspoon of crushed dried tarragon and a pinch of dry oregano for about 4 or 5 minutes with just enough water to keep them from burning..1/4 inch in the bottom of the pot. After 4 or 5 minutes stir in the butter and cornstarch mixture and cook another 2 minutes. But think they are better fixed at the last minute.
How about either asparagus or green bean bundles? I like asparagus wrapped with a skinny strip of bacon....I split a strip of bacon lenthwise...wrap 3 or 4 asparagus spears in the bacon and secure with a tooth pick, lay into a 8 1/2 by 11 dish, put a small dab of butter on each bundle and and squeeze some lemon juice over all. Can't tell you how much every lemon is different...or you could drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Cover with foil and bake 375 until just tender. You can also bake uncovered, but the asparagus gets a little crusty....I prefer it steamed.

Hate to break it to you, but green bean casserole does get eaten at pot luck meals! I have tried other dishes with my family but the GB Casserole always is a hit and other experimental dishes get ignored. So while you may feel a sense of accomplishment to do others a favor by not serving the "dreaded green bean casserole", other veggie choices may be thrown in the garbage! *shrugs shoulders*

Roasted asparagus. It's good cold, warm, or hot.

Any possibility of a green vegetable salad? I have a couple featuring broccoli, and one featuring marinated asparagus. That would mean no need for you to do anything in the kitchen. Or you could do something in the crockpot, that would probaby keep warm enough during the drive over there if you kept the stuff in the crock. I know it takes mine hours to cool off. You could bring the crockpot with you and plug it in somewhere in the house not in the kitchen if you had to wait some time before dinner. I have done that. And Linda's idea about frozen peas is a good one. They take a mere few minutes to cook, and are quite good if you don't overcook anyway.

Love oven roasted broccoli..

I'm making snap peas with an orange sauce sauce and cashews. Not a green bean in sight this time. Last year I did green beans with almonds. They were eaten but weren't very interesting.

Eileen

I like braised Brussels sprouts. Dress them up with a roasted red pepper or two for color. My favorite vegetable is roasted cauliflower with slivered garlic and a little lemon.

I also love brussels sprouts, in nearly any form, but a lot of others do not, so I make them for my own dinners.

My family loves the green bean casserole, and I abhor it. Not only is it too salty and has that fake canned soup flavor, the texture is just too gloppy for me, I'm strange about texture. I've tried making it homemade with white sauce instead of canned soup and everyone else didn't like it, go figure.

This year we're not having it and I don't care who likes it, they can make the stuff at home! I'm making broccoli and cheese (which my mother adores) and if pressed, I'll sprinkle the top with some of those fried onion things, LOL.

As lpink mentioned, could a cold salad do? There is that broccoli/raisin/bacon kind of salad, my family also loves that, or a layered salad of some type. Something cool and crunchy might be welcome with other hot or creamy type things.

Annie

Although it's not a very "green" one, I like the roasted mixed veg with cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Get a nice char on the vegs but still keep some crispness to them. Not a good transportable one, but an electric frypan would whip it up in no time on site. Otherwise the chopped salad with the above, bacon, onion, mayo, some cashews, etc is good too. That would transport well and need no on-site prep.

Green beans with onion and bacon? That would be my choice.

I never make green bean casserole....the only place I have had it is at potlucks....and my family is the same. But for some odd reason I decided to make it for Thanksgiving...thinking perhaps the teen agers would like it.
Nope....threw all but the "polite spoonful" away.
We just don't like it...

These sound good! Do you think any of them would keep well in a crockpot, or popped in the oven for a few minutes to reheat? I could keep them fairly warm before then.

The other guests are all foodies to an extent, so I think they'll enjoy anything. The host doesn't like brussels sprouts, so I won't make them. He might like them just fine roasted, but this probably isn't the time to test that!

Someone else is bringing a salad, and she usually makes a fairly substantial one. I will call my hostess this evening & double check re oven & stove availability.

Spinach and Artichoke Bake

2 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1/4 C. butter
1/2 C. finely chopped onion
1 14 1/2 oz. can artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
1 16 oz. carton sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Cook spinach, drain well, pressing with paper towels. Melt butter in large skillet. Add onion, cook until tender. Gently stir in Spinach and artichokes and next 3 ingredients. Stir in 1/4 C. Parmesan. Spoon in lightly greased casserole. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 350 25 - 30 min.

Green Beans with Roasted Onions

6 medium onions (2 1/2 lb.) peeled, cut vertically through root end into 12 wedges
3 lb. green beans, trimmed
2 cans low sodium chicken broth
6 T. butter
3 T. sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar

Spray 2 large cookie sheets with pam. Arrange onions in single layer. Dot equally with 4 T. butter. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 450 until onions are brown (dark) on bottoms (35 min). Boil broth in heavy skillet over high heat until reduced to 1/2 C. (6 min.) Add sugar and vinegar whisking until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boil. Add onions, reduce to medium low. Simmer about 5 min. Season with S & P. Can be prepared day ahead. Cook beans until crisp tender. Reheat onion mixture. Drain beans. Add remaining 2 T. butter and toss to coat. Mound beans in large shallow bowl. Top with onion mixture.

I have mad this whole dish ahead of time. Undercook the beans slightly, toss in the butter and put in an oven proof dish, top with the onions and heat up before serving.

The following recipe is also very good but for some reason or other I always pair it with beef tenderloin for Christmas:

Luxe Peas and Celery

4 T. butter
1 C. celery cut on bias
2 3 oz. jars sliced mushrooms, drained (I saute' fresh sliced mushrooms)
4 T. pimiento, chopped
4 T. finely chopped onions
1 tsp. salt
dash freshly ground pepper
2 10 oz. pkg. petite peas, cooked and drained

Melt butter in skillet. Add next six ingredients. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently until celery is crisp done. about 5 -7 min. Add peas heat just till hot.

I have also made this up and put in oven-proof dish and heated through just before serving.

A few years ago my mom gave me a Pyrex dish with plastic cover that fits in an insulated carry case and has a thing that you heat in the micro and pace in the bottom before putting the hot casserole dish in. That thing has gotten some use! But not everyone has one of these....LOL

If you don't have too far to go you could make this and wrap it in towels to keep warm until you arrive.

It is a favorite from Sharon Cb aka Canarybird, a former member that we all love.

SPINACH GRATIN
serves 8

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large)
1/4cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
About 3 pounds frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (5 10-ounce packages)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saut� pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saut� until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened.

Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2cup Parmesan and the Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

I agree with the above. If you use brussel sprouts, cut them into quarters because they really change flavor when they caramelize. Take any number of root vegetables - carrots, turnips, rutabagas, etc., and even cut up some squash, if you have small cippolini onions peel those and add, maybe cut into halves or quarters if they're a little larger. Toss together with herbs, salt, pepper and whatever other seasonings you want and bake. Add some chopped hazelnuts if you want. Every so often shake the pan around or move the stuff with a spatula so it browns evenly. Leave out the brussel sprouts if you want, but I think it's a shame.

Steamed baby leeks. It's not the season for asparagus :)

It isn't the season around here for baby leeks either. Although not local, asparagus and leeks are available year around. Transportation has obviously improved greatly, because it is possible to purchase asparagus that actually tastes like asparagus.

~Ann

Here are my favorites:

1. Lightly sauteed assorted greens. I sautee them with garlic infused olive oil, just a tad salt pork fat and leeks until the greens are bright but not wilted i.e. a very quick sautee.
2. Roasted green & white asparagus bundles wrapped in bacon. The key is to par cook the bacon until lightly browned but still flexible. Wrap the bundles and roast just a few minutes until the asparagus tips just start to carmelize but not droopy.
3. Fresh baby vegetable medley: baby 3" long zucchini, baby carrots, baby corn, baby snap peas. I steam each type of vegetable individually until crisp tender then toss all the veggies together with a little garlic infused olive oil, fresh ground sea salt and pepper and some crisp fried shallots.
I undercook all the veggies, preheat the serving dishes with hot water, cover with foil and wrap the dishes in bath towels. These will stay warm for 1-2 hours and be perfectly cooked.

Great ideas for transport Moosemac! That to me would seem to be the biggest challenge if you are bringing the green vegetable to the party and kitchen space is limited. 'Cause the point between yummy and overcooked mushy bitter with green vegetables seems to be seconds. At least it is in my kitchen, I can't tell you the number of times I've had a perfectly prepared green vegetable dish go from yum to "meh" because I got distracted for a few minutes.

You could cook green beans until barely done and finish them in the microwave with herb butter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Haricots Verts with Herb Butter