In 2011, my extended family decided to mix things up for Thanksgiving. We swapped out old standards for different recipes, most of which we’d never tried before. There was a flurry of emails and texts between all of us, as we split up food assignments and shopping lists. We met early and cooked together all afternoon.
I loved it. It was my very favorite Thanksgiving meal ever. Unfortunately, there was a big fuss from the traditionalists in the family, so things have gone back to the turkey + stuffing routine.
If your family wants to party like it’s 2011, here are some of the recipes we used for that delicious dinner. Enjoy (and save some leftovers for me)!
Appetizers
:: Cheese Plate
:: Bruschetta with different toppings
Dinner
:: Caramelized Butternut Squash
:: Green Bean Salad with Fried Almonds
:: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Desserts
:: Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake
I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever gone non-traditional for a holiday that centers around food? (Also, are there any holidays that DON’T center around food?)
Looking for more delicious recipe ideas for Thanksgiving?
Make sure you also check out our big list of traditional Thanksgiving dinner recipes here!
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I love new recipes, but I also love tradition. 🙂 Maybe the compromise is that every 2nd or 3rd year could be a “shake it up” meal for your crew.
I can side with both-I like the traditional, but also this looks delicious too 🙂 As the first two replies have said-it may be better received on Christmas. Traditionally for me-prime rib was our christmas eve dinner. Now we also do the theme dinners-using a different country each year.
I agree about the traditionalist! Since I don’t host thanksgiving there isn’t much I can so about it. But, we host Christmas and every year we have a new theme dinner. We have done Mexican, grill (yes, my hubby was grilling in snow), pizzas (not store bought – mashed potato pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, pasta pizza), spinach salad and the toppings, Greek, etc. I think this year it will be Italian!
Yeah, “traditionalists”… these are the men in my family that have nothing to do with the planning, shopping, cooking or cleanup of a massive meal. I feel for you. 🙂
Unluckily for my traditionalists, I’ve also taken over preparations for the Christmas Day meal and I do whatever I damn well please, which involves a lot of dishes I can prepare ahead of time. That meal is always a lot less hectic and is a nice way to wind up the holiday season. Your 2011 menu looks delicious!