Try this, add some frozen orange juice, ground clove and ground allspice to the hot cider along with the cinnamon stick.
We always have the same meal on Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, cranberries and rolls. The stuffing half cooked in the bird half not in the bird. Pumpkin pie for dessert. I cook and my wife visits with what ever family shows up.
Hard to believe that Georgia's most popular side dish is mac and cheese...hell, I get that year-round.
We aren’t big on Thanksgiving Day (as my dad used to say, everyday should be Thanksgiving Day) so we were hoping to go out for dim sum on Thanksgiving (like last year) but Covid pretty much put paid to that. Looks like the usual dried out mess at the in laws this year. So much for giving thanks......
Just glad to find some more people that know green bean casserole is hot garbage!!! Never liked that goopy crap and I was always the outsider at my parents house. Now I live in Texas and the in-laws do Thanksgiving. Their sides are horrible as the wife's aunt makes them but she went gluten free a few years ago and now it's just bland potatoes and corn out of a can. My first year going I made mac and cheese with some Cougar Gold and it was delicious. Last year M&C with my cream corn recipe. This year (if we get together) I'll be taking those two plus the mashed potatoes, just slowly but surely taking over the side dishes. Might even toss a couple turkey legs on the offset smoker too just for fun.
I make green beans sometimes but basically the vegetable, sauteed or roasted with olive oil or maybe browned butter and nuts.
I think maybe the reason green bean casserole is not everyone's favorite is because they may have not ever had it made from scratch...NO CANNED INGREDIENTS ! FRESH green beans, REAL cream of mushroom soup, and a topping made with a mixture of cubed and garlic buttered sourdough bread and/or real onion rings make all the difference in the world.
This is how I serve green beans on Thanksgiving too, just add in some crispy bacon. What kind of nuts do you add?. I also make a really simple easy chocolate mousse pie and help my parents if there are any other dishes they need done.
I feel like part of your family, especially after reading your menu. Just remember, I like all the crusty brown turkey skin and I like dark meat unless the white meat is medium rare. The rest sounds delectable. I'm more than happy to skip the visiting and concentrate on the beer and white wine before and during dinner. I also require a good college football game only interrupted with the turkey skin and booze. I say let's do away with the small talk and get down to business of eating, drinking and watching football.
I can easily skip the bacon there. I only like bacon for breakfast, in a BLT or wrapped around a chunk of pineapple that's been sprinkled with brown sugar and then broiled until the bacon is rendered. I only eat bacon that's been fully rendered. I don't like bacon on a hamburger, crumbled on a baked potato or wrapped around a steak.
