Just go in from Thanksgiving buffet with my son and he and I both chose not to have the traditional turkey and dressing.

He had shrimp and grits, sausage links, mashed red potatoes and went back for a second serving of shrimp and grits.

I had fabulously cooked eggs benedict, sausage, bacon, and a serving of very tender spareribs.

Let me tell you about my bloody mary! Drinks came with the meal, and that bloody mary was something else.

Tall glass, with a huge sprig of rosemary, celery, A CRISPY BACON SLICE, huge olive and a green pepper, rimmed with black pepper and salt.

Needless to say it was delicious but I only took a few sips.

Dessert was cupcake martini with milk chocolate, and son had his with dark chocolate. Cupcake was soaked in some kind of liquer. I was thinking it might be a drink, but wasn't.
Was served in a martini glass though!

That cupcake sounds pretty cool!

Your meal sounds delish Glenda!

You only took a few sips of the fabulous Bloody Mary, Glenda? How come??? Were you driving? Oh, send it my way!

It was delicious, and bloody mary's are my drink of choice, but too much food, I just wasn't in the mood for a big drink plus a big meal!

Now if I was cruising! Wel!!!!!!!!

Haha - - - got it, Glenda. Glad you had a good day with Parke, Sr.

The turkey breast came out deliciously moist and tender!

Did you just roast it Jean?

Well our dinner has been eaten, put away and the stock pot is full.

Everything was yummy..
I think my simple dirty rice was a hit.

I bet dessert will be the hands down winner though.

I brushed it with the melted butter that was left in the skillet after cooking the celery and onions for the dressing, popped it in the oven, and took it out when the pop up timer popped. Was PERFECT.

Ok, terri, what was your dessert?

We will be celebrating tomorrow (Friday) but I made caramel apple cheesecake bars today and some Brussels's sprouts we got from our CSA box.
We had some of the sprouts with our supper tonight and they are so good.
I cooked some bacon pieces in a cast iron skillet, added some fresh, organic carrots, some thinly sliced leeks and the halved sprouts. I let them sort of char and then added a little water and let them steam until tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
The caramel apple cheesecake bars are good but I didn't have the caramel topping. I think adding the caramel topping would make them very good. They were labor intensive and not at all heart healthy but worth the effort.

I guess all of the dishes I took were big hits. My deviled eggs were great. I used dill weed instead of paprika,to be honest I was out of paprika lol. My DB & DN prefer my dressing to SIL's Mom's. DB sure wasn't bashful when he got some for leftovers..lol nor was he shy about eating my peanut butter pie or keeping some for later. He begged us to leave the rest of the cheese rolls we took. I had planned on leaving the pumpkin bread.

All in all it was a great day!!!

Being as son and I did the buffet at local hotel, we had a wonderful, non traditional dinner. NO turkey for either of us..
Total price tag was $90. tip included.

Glenda, I made 3 pies. Pumpkin, Sweet Potato Bourbon and Kentucky Pie (chocolate pecan)...and a batch of World Peace double chocoalate shortbread. There is only a cookie or two left.

I think I was the only one to eat the pumpkin.

Oh the Chipotle Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes were nearly gone after dinner.

It was all a hit. Especially, Glenda's corn pudding, Natural Fresh turkey, twice baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, dressing, meringue and lemon custard with raspberry sauce dessert, thyme biscuits.

My seven roasted veggie dish was a big hit. I covered everything in olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, rosemary, oregano and basil and did them for 30 minutes at 450. They were wonderful, and now I plan to make them every week. Since I am 99% vegetarian, this will be a good addition.

Lily,

What seven vegetables are in the "seven roasted veggie" dish?

We were visiting friends for Thanksgiving, I helped with most of the meal, but I feel the two dishes I brought and made were the hits.

One was a "Fiery Sweet Potato" dish that I got the recipe for last year on the GW Cooking Forum. It had sweet potatoes, caramelized carrots, coconut milk, red Thai curry paste, butter and brown sugar..

The other dish was a broccoli-cauliflower casserole with broccoli and cauliflower florets lightly steamed, and then mixed with cream of mushroom soup, French-fried onions and cooked in oven for 45 minutes, with shredded cheddar being added in the last 5 minutes.

Those 'fiery sweet potatoes ' sound very intriguing! Can I get a recipe?

Everything turned out great, but I'd have to say that the most remarks went to the turkey gravy, which is always good enough to eat with a spoon all by itself, lol. The root vegetable gratin was delicious.

The deep dish apple pie that my neighbor brought was my favorite dessert.

The recipe as I originally received it can be found at the following post:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg1109360423653.html

The recipe as I made it yesterday is:
Fiery Sweet Potatoes
6 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 large carrots (peeled and sliced)
1 15oz can of Coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon of Red Thai Curry Paste (see note)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Boil sweet potatoes until tender and mashable.
At the same time heat oil in pan, and cook carrots, in oil stirring frequently, until carrots are browned and soften.

Place sweet potatoes, drain them, add curry paste and coconut milk, and mash lightly. Place in glass baking dish. Top with carrots, brown sugar, and butter.

(You can set it aside and refrigerate it at this point)

Bake until hot. (375 deg F 20 minutes)

Note: The original recipe calls for 1 TBsp of curry paste. It must be a different brand of curry paste. With the brand I use that much would render the dish too hot to eat.

Here's the sweet potatoes that I bake and with a kick~

Baked Sweet Potatoes with maple-jalapeno sour cream
Rub oil and salt on 4 scrubbed, sweet potatoes and dried
Place on rack and take 450 for 40-45 minuts or until soft (I wrap mine in foil)

Topping
Combine
1/2 c sour cream
1 Tbl maple syrup
2 tsp seeded and minced jalapeno ***I use canned minced green chiles, drained
1 tsp lime juice
salt and tobasco to taste
chill

Serve potatoes with:
maple-jalapeno sour cream
bacon bits
sliced scallions

----------------------------------------

That fiery sweet potato recipe sounds good.

Bob, I used butternut squash, carrots, onions, Brussels sprouts, turnips, parsnips, sweet potato, cauliflower.I guess that's eight. Cut all in small pieces, hand rub all with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, herbs and salt & pepper and roast 30 minutes in 450 oven. Keep then separated. YUM!

Glenda, that recipe sounds good!

I'm seeing many delicious things on this thread that I'll be trying!

I usually don't venture out with new recipes for Thanksgiving. Everyone likes the traditional dishes, so the only variation from year to year is the vegetable.

However, this year instead of the cranberries prepared like I have always made them (the recipe on the back of the bag: 1 c. water and 1 c. sugar to 12 oz. cranberries), I made them like Linda from Iowa suggested in another thread. I used 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. orange juice and the sugar, then after cooking, stirred in 2 T. Grand Marnier. It was a huge hit! Even my son who doesn't like cranberries loved them. Thank you so much, Linda, for your recipe! I will be making them again and again.

Everything was well received, with one guest saying it was the best meal she ever had. :) the dishes I heard the most about were the whiskey glazed carrots, the turkey we brined, the homemade green bean casserole and the cognac gravy. Also the cheesecake, the chocolate peanut butter tart, the caramel pumpkin pie and the caramel apple cheesecake pie.

We had nine guests and I made enough for 30, including 7 different desserts :) I instructed guests to come with Tupperware and they left with bags full of food!

Lily, I'm so glad that your roasted veggies were a hit. It's our favorite way to fix them.

Bob, thanks so much for the recipe.